Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-03-10
The Fox Trap.

The Fox Trap.
When was boy I lived in one Of those |
rustic neighborhoods on the outskirts Of the |
great Maine woods" Foxes were plenty |
for about all those sunny, pioneer clearings |
birch partridges breed by thousands, as also !
field mice and squirrels, making plenty Of |
game for Reynard.
There were red foxes "cross-grays and |
"silver-grays even black foxes were re.
ported. These animals were the pests of |
the farm-yards, and made havoc with the |
geese, cats, turkeys and chickens. In the |
fall of the year, particularly after the frosts, |
the clearings were over-run by them night !
and morning. Their sharp, cur-like barks |
used often to rouse us, and of a dark evening
we would hear them out in the fields,
"mousing" around the stone heaps, making
n queer, squeaking sound like mouse, to
call the real mice out of their grass nest.
inside the stone heaps. This, indeed, is a
favorite trick Of Reynard. At tine time Of
my story, my friend Tom Edwards Oen
years of age) and myself were in the turkey
business, equal partners. We owned flock
Of thirty-one turkeys. These roasted by
night in large butteInut tree in front Of
Toms house--in the very top of it, and by
htl Ai'N dbNhA AAii NhHN1 VI Nh'
clearings in quest of beechnuts, which were
very plenty that fall.
All went well till the last week in Octo-
Der, when on taking the census one morn
ing, turkey was found 10 be missing the
thirty-one had become thirty since nightfall
/ the previous evening. 1t was the first one
we had lost.
We proceeded to look for traces. Our
suspicious were divided. Tom thought it
was the Twombly boys" nefarious Sam in
| particular | thought it might have been
an owl. But under the tree, in the soft dirt,
where the potatoes had been dug we found
fox-tracks, and two or three ominous little
wads of feathers, with one long tail feather
adrift. Thereupon we concluded that the
turkey had accidentally fallen down out OF
the butternut-had fit, perhaps-and that
its hutterings had attracted the attention
of some passing fox, which had, forth
with, taken it in charge. 1t was as we re-
garded it, one of those unfortunate occur
rences which no care on our part could well
have foreseen, and casualty such as turkey
raisers are unavodably heirs to, and we
bore our loss with resignation. We were
glad to remember that turkeys did not often
fall off their roosts.
This theory received something of a check
when our flock counted only twenty-nine the
next morning. There were more fox tracks,
and great many more feathers under the
tree. This put a new and altogether ugly
aspect on the matter No algebra was
needed to figure the outcome of the. turkey
business at this rate together with our pros
pective profits, in the light of this new fact.
1t was clear that something must be done,
and at once, too, or ruin would swallow up
the poultry firm.
Rightly or wrongly, we attributed the mis-
chief to a certain "silver-giay fox that had
several times been seen in the neighborhood
that autumn
1t would take far too much space to relate
in detail the plans we laid and put in exc.
cution TO catch that fox duringthe next two
weeks. | recollect that we set three traps
for him to no purpose, and that we borrowed
a foxhound TO hunt him with, but merely
succeeded in running him TO his burrow in
neighboring rocky hillside, whence we found
it impossible to dislodge the willy fellow,
Meanwhile the fox (or foxes) had sue
ceeded in getting two more of the turkeys.
Heroes, it is said, are born of great crises.
This dilemma of ours developed Toms
genius
am have that fox" he said, when the
traps failed and when the hound proved of
no avail, he still said IN have him yet
" But how | asked Tom said he
would show me. lie brought two-bushel
basket and went out into the fields. In the
stone heaps, and beside the old logs and
stumps, there were dozens of deserted mouse
nests, each wad of fine dry grass as large
as quart box. These he gathered up, and
filed the basket.
There" said he, triumphantly, don't
them smell mousey?"
They did, certainly they savored as
strongly of mice as Toms question of bad
grammar
"And don't foxes catch mice {? A" demanded
Tom, confidently.
"Yes but don't see how that's going to
catch the fox" | said.
"well, look here, then; III show ye,"
said he. "Play you's the fox; and play
twas night, and you was prowling around
the fields Go off, now, out there by that
stump"
Full of wonder and curiosity / retired to
the stump. Tom, meantime, turned out the
mass of nests, and with IL completely covered
himself. The pile now resembled an enor-
nous mouse-nest, or rather a small hay-cock
Pretty soon / heard low, high-keyed,
squeaking noise, accompanied by slight
rustic inside the nest. Evidently there
were mice in it and, feeling my character
as fox at stake, at once trotted forward,
a then crept up; and, as the rustling and
! squeaking continued, made n pounce into
! the grass-as had heard it said foxes did
J. when mousing. Instantly two spry, brown
: hands from out the nest clutched me with a
|. most vengeful grip. As fox, struggled
: tremendously. But Tom overcame me forth
i with, choked me nearly black in the face
then, in dumb show, knocked my head with
a stone.
"D'ye see now 20 he demanded.
}, i saw.
! I" But fox would bite YOU" objected.
y :" Let him bite" said Tom; "I'll resk him
; when once get these two bread-hooks on
J, him. And he can't smell me through the
J. mice-nests, either"
G That night we set ourselves TO put the
: stratagem in operation. With the dusk we
: stole out into the field where the stone heaps
y were, and where we had oftenest heard foxes
! bark. Selecting a nook in the edge of a
b clump of raspberry briars which grew about
!. a great, pine stump, Tom lay down, and
4 covered him up completely with the contents
! of the big basket. lie then practiced squeak
. ing and rustling several times, 10 be sure
i that all was in good trim. His squeaks
I were perfect successes-made by sucking the
air sharply betwixt his teeth.
"Now be off," said Toms and do'nt come
, poking round, nor get in sight, till you heal
q me holler."
n Thus exhorted, | went into the barn and
!, established myself at crack ON the back
. side, which looked out upon the field where
y Tom was ambushed.
= Tom, meanwhile, as he afterward told me
4 waited till it had grown dark, then began
squeaking and rustling at intervals, to draw
the attention of the fox when first he should
come out into the clearing, for foxes hay,
9, ears so wonderfully acute that they are abl'
, to hear mouse squeak twenty rods away, i
IS Is said.
l. An hour passed. Tom must have grow
5 pretty tired Of squeaking. II was a moonles
/" evening, though not very dark. could ss'