Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-12-08


Began-ur. Persai's Remarkable self
SeffIEs Trap.
From the Philadelphia Times
Beyond muskrats. polecats raccoons and an
occasional mink. all wild far-bcarinc animals
nereabouts are extinct. Animals of the kinds
named, however, are sufficiently numerous to
support two professional trappcrs aud every
winter they sell several hundred pelts. Abe
Fox. OF tricks LCcks. Chester county. has for
tSelty years trapped small game in the canal
and marshes near his home and this year he has
tlSea 3l3 muskrats and II pOeCats. David Per-
sai was in the trapping business ten years before
Fox, and his catch since The LIST Of September
when the season began. numbers 275 muskrRts.
thirty-twO pClecGts. one mink and five raccOOns
Fox Is an american and has a family Persal is
Fnelislinan. who settled in Chester county
In 1850. His wife died twelve Years ago. ard
snee then he has lived Ike a hermit in log
cabin. rented from Jonas 8. PassmOre near
PicteHs Ford. FOX says he knows more about
IEuskTats and their habits than any man living
and Persal as stoutly claims that he can catch
more rats in a given time than "a whole tribe of
Foxes"
Persal is so advanced in his business that he
eats muskrats, and what is more declares that
canvas-back ducks Mr.. Fox has eaten them
but is not enthusiastic about it. Persal is six
feet tall. ound-shouldered, gray -haired and
blie-eycd. lie wears a cap e EIUnnd-hOg skins
and a cCat Of the Same material. fIc made the
coat four years ago. and. although the fur has
worn of in patches and given it q diseased sort
OF look. it is for al practical purposes as coed
rs it ever was. Mr. PefSa fully approaching
the warmth G1J durability Of the garment and
having total disregard Tor style. is astonished
that more people DO not wear dOlmans OF that
Kind. He has three dogs, zone for rabbits and
the Others for irUSkratS"
The furniture Ct lis CEe-rOomed cabin con-
sists OF q table. stove. q hammock two chairs.
a cupboard. an cal, chest and lot of cooking
utensils. y d0uit-GarTced run stood in one
corner Of the room on Sunday. and the walls
We're adorned with score Of ntuskrat and pole
cat hides. stretched on shingles aid hung up to
dry The trapper was preparing dinner of
bskcd potatoes. rCast muskIats coffee and
crackers when interrupted by reporter. {.
He TELLS HIS EXPERIENCE
Persal POLITELY kicked the dogs into silence
and then as he turned to cast his eve into the
oven where the muskrat was browning said to
the reporter: 'Sit down. III talk to YOU while
I'm eating" The smoking meat and potatoes
Were transferred to tin Plates before Persal in
yited the visitor to eat The general mGrki-
ness of the atmosphere was too strong Tor any
but trapPer's appetite.
You want to know how catch muskrats.
Ell? said PerSal. attacking the baked animal
before him. - Well. sometimes | spears 'cm"
he continued. nOdding toward sharp iron spear
with wooden handle. which stood behind the
stove; then again i nabS EN- with dip
net. but most times catches em in traps-nOt
dead-falls. that squashes EN-. like Fox uses but
discovery of my own: the greatest trap in the
world for muskrats and | found it out by acct
dent"
He became so interested in describing his dis
eovery that temporarily the baked meat of the
muskrat on the table was forgotten. You
know muskrat has always two entrances to
his nest. One Is above and the other below the
surface OF the water. Sometimes i'm very cold
weather. when they live in families each house
VIII have g dozen entrances but most times
along creeks and in canal banks. there are but
two. If there are more ] stop the holes uD
Wei. then, | take an old piece of stOye-pipe
about three feet long, and in each end fasten a
wire trap-dOOr that opens in. Then | sink the
pipe in the water hole. and when Mr.. Muskrat
dives out lie goes plump into the trap. and. not
being able to get out. is drowned. / have
caught three rats at one time in a single
trap"
''ln midwinter, when they are hiyed In their
houses, chunk up all the holes but one put
my dlp-net over it, and then chop into
the top OF the den. If they 90 out the
water-hOle they strike the net and spear EN-.
and If they come cut above the dogs catch EN-
have taken as many as eleven rats out of one
uOuSe, anu THAT uO9 JACK Inefe Killed nine or
'em under ground"
Jack, 8 rough terrier. came from behind the
stove when his name was mentioned and re-
ceived thigh of the roast rat.
POlecats. they amt nice to handle as
rats, continued the trapper; Il mostly dead
falls EN-. Yes. caught one mink last week. |
was after him for three months. He had nest
eight miles from: here. on Chester Creek. and
went there once day for three weeks to set a
trap for him. don't know what a IGink's WORTH
but about $3.50, think. and this is mighty
nice one"
He brought the rich brown pelt Of the mink
and turned it for the benefit OF his visitor.
"Sometimes." he went on. II get thirty cents
apiece for the muskrat hides but Oftener only
twenty or twenty-five cents. They give NE
ffty cents for pOlecat skin in Chester. but |
can get more than that in Philadelphia and I'll
take all my pelts there after this. | made 1910
on pefts last winter, and the canal company gave
me . little present for killing off the muskrats
that dig out and destroy their banks. Yes, Fox
spends most of his time along the canal"
Persal is hfty-siX years old. He says he is
getting too old TO trap in winter, and next
spring he intends going south and fishing
Every summer he leaves Chester county and
becomes a fisherman at the seashOre and re-
mains there until fur-bearing animals are tit to
trap