The Penn's Grove record., 1884-03-22

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Trapping grizzly has It's perils and ex-
elements also. The trap employed is
Of thsd double spring pattern, with steel
jaws, and weighs complete thirty-eisht
pounds. The springs are very power.
full and have to be bent with levers. 1t
is quite an art to set and place a trap
cunningly, and trappers vary in their
methods and are chary Of explaining
them. | will then pass this branch of
the subject, says a writer. Let us sup
pose, therefore, that the hunter has
made his camp in a neighborhood redo
lent of grizzlies, and that he has his traps
set in a likely place for bear. At the
end OF the trap chain is a ring about
five inches in diameter, aud this Is driy-
en- about a half a foot over the end OF a
heavy stick or log five inches through
and six or eight feet long. The object
of this ''clog, - as it is called, is to make
a trail which eau be readily followed.
and to hamper the bear sufficiently to
prevent his going to q great distance
away before the hunter can arrive.
Great care must be taken that the chain
be fastened to the extreme end of the
clog, in such a way that it cannot
get across two trees, and so give the
brute a chance to use his enormous
strength to tear himself loose. Neither
must the clog be too large and heavy,
or the same result will follow. 1t may
be accepted as a maxim that a grizzly
caught in such a trap will eventually
get loose, and ordinarily in a few hours.
He Is generally caught by the extremi-
ty of the forepaw, lust above the claws:
the hold on him is not very great: his
} exertions to get away are tremendous,
and result i'll in so cutting and lacerat-
ing the foot that sooner or later he will
tear out of the trap altogether. Two
grizzlies that l caught got away; one
who was probably taken by the claws
alone leaving some hairs only to tell the
tale, the other leaving a small piece of
his foot behind as a souvenir. Many
had all but torn themselves loose; in
one case the foot was almost cut through,
and only a small piece of skin the thick
ness of a mans little finger remained to
hold the terribly Infatuated monster to
the m~uch-detested clog.
The traps are set far back in dense
and gloomy forests near the tangled
swamps, where grizzlies love to make
their lair. background is covered with
fallen timber and travel must be afoot
and is slow and difficult. The bear on
being caught starts off on a tremendous
rush for the swamps which is close by.
Here he catches on a rotten log for a Sc
eond and ploughs a path through wide
enough for a cart, there he hangs on
two fallen trees fifty feet long, but he
hangs for an instant only, moves the
great trees to one side and rushes on.
Next he strikes against a tree, and in
his rage turns and eats the whole side
out Of it, leaving the fresh white pine
red with blood stains from his gums.
Now he reaches the swamp and plunges
deep into its recesses, venting his rage
on the balsams and poplars, absolutely
chewing down saplings and even gnaw-
ing them into lengths like stove wood.
All this time he is slowly but surely
tearing his foot loose from the trap, and
surely but not slowly he is working
himself up into the most tremendous
Hauroa Of ,ana aud farnaitu
When you have thus trapped athous-
and pound grizzly, you have not caught
a bear;you have simply caught the devil
incarnatel Indeed the question some
times is not whether you have caught
the bear, hut whether you have not
given him a irst-class opportunity to
catch you'll Now let us see how thes is
The grizzly thus caught, and thus
worked up into the most formidable
ferocity, has to be followed up afoot,
first through a dense forest, and then
carefully and laboriously into the heart
of a tangled swamp, where n cannot
see ten steps ahead, and where, If the
monster should suddenly rise directly in
front and charge, trap, clog, and all,
retreat would be absolutely impossible.
Add to this that at the time of the hun
ter's arrival the bear may have just sue
ceeded in tearing his foot loose, or may
have Just managed to break his chain,
OF may have just finished eating up the
clog bodily, all of which things have
happened in my experience. He would
then be in a beautiful state of frenzy,
and would te perfectly delighted to
wipe out a hunter or two if only to
quiet down his nerves.