The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-04-11
TRAPPING IN NEW YoRK.
A Pr5iitable Winter Calling sf.na Fact
of General Interest

a aAhSAttAnt NAuAeI AHlAlhs ~ thH. INFU~
OF General Interest
Cor NeW Yor& Sul1 ''"
One Of the most remunerativo Il well
as exciting occupations of the moltn
.taineors of Ulster, Greene elaware and
Sullivan co5ntieS, is hunting and trap.
ping Wild animals in their season for the
purpose OF selling their pelts, The fur
trade in the frst-named county the
present season is much lighter than
usual, Notwithstanding that the open
ness of the winter early in the season
was considered unu ,ually favorable for
trapping The peit of the skunk is the
only kind that keeps up anywhere ne,G
its former ordinary yield. Jna nt
There are four grades of skunk skins,
ranging from very llaek, which is the
most valuable. selling this season at 81
skin, to what is known In the trade
as "half-striped, ? the value of which is
about one-half that of the black. The
"iong striped are valued at 80 cents a
skin, 4 hose nearly white at rs cents.
Thelfur is known in market as "Alaska
sable. and there is a great demand for
it. A hunter of Marbletown, lllstef
county, has this season sold seyenty-six
skunk pelts, and that he expects to get
more is evident from the fact that atthe
present time he has sixty traps set This
trapper expects to catch and dispose of
300 skunhS and their skins h;;; his III ter SC T.
! This, he says, is is not up to his average
by3a great many. ~.
: BearskinS also form a large article Of
trade in these oatskill counties. ears
arelshot or trapped in Ulster, Delaware
Sui ivan and Greene counties A bear,
skin In good fur is valued at from 81,
to 800 Cub and yearling skins are
worth s.. The skin OF a l00-pound bear
was recently sold in Shandaken for $50
The bear meat also is sold bringing
from ~ to 25 cents per- pound, The
bears found in the counties named are
the common black bears, and for them
there aarb a great many hunters,
as there IS little or no danger in hunt
ing them al this season Their fur is
now prime but the neat poor @
Red fox skins are often brought to
market, and are worth this winter about
$L25 each The SKIN OF the black fox
is more valuable, bringing from $50 to
$3.50, hut this animal is no>lopger found
an Blsthrf county or its vicinity The
ssknl OF a silyerfex is worth from $40 to
SIS, While the pelt of the cross. bar is
valued at ~, sometimes $3.h0 1he
former is seldom or never found here
Tfxhtter is also rare, The ''cross-bar'
is ~nanfed from tue fact that there is a
white croSsoyersthe loFeshouder Of the
fe% TheAeed fox is plentiful in Ulster
c6hhty IBafH of the wood gray fox,
being eoafser, is held at from so eeRts
to $lg25 a skin. ed 5t
The skin OF the muskrat is brought
to. market here in large numbers A
prime spring ratskin will bring Is cents
fall skin never sells for more than
. centsj a winter skin brings about K
cents. TIE Isopus creek, as far up III
the rocks as MarhletoWn, the Eendoud
creek torl Naponach, the branches that
run through Ellens'ille to Homowa k,
1 and the " allkili creek are all excellent
| places in which to find and trap The
lmuskrats. The best time to get them7i
dAQn& a9freshet, when the water ruu,
up m their nests, forcing them to com,
| outN Whey are then easily shot, and
! boys frequently shoot or otherwise take
as many as twenty-five water,rats i'm tia
course Of a day. The skin of the musk
rat is used mostly in this country tc
! tim ladies' .cloaks.
leMink skins are yalueless compared
with the prices obtained few years
ago The fur, when fashionable
brought'to the hunter from P5 to %j pei
tpelt. Since sealskins are in and minh
skins are out, the latter gees begging al
80 cents a skin. Mink skins are only
handsome six weeks ingthe year, as tLel
will begin to. get dingyand brown IN tht
middle of January. Minks get new
coats about the middle OF November,
and then they are known to the trade a.
full furred. The skin, when prime
is of a flesh color, and worth little OF
nothing to the trade. sf .gjaa,
X The fur of the raccOon has assumed
considerable Importance in the market o
late years, and is used to a large eAtent
in fancy trimmings. This fur is verl
plenty in this region, and an expert
enced hunter will have no trouble il
securing two orthree ina night in tn.
/ hunting season. The skins are WORT
4 from 60 cents to ST. x no hunter il
Shapdaken has received an order for
twenty wildcat skins froma we'll know
New York gentleman, who wants then
with their headsiion. i,iia did not tel
the hunter what he wanted to use then
for, but he will pay 81 skin for them
The hunter has killed ten of the eats
| all immense fellows, and is very san
I guino that he will get The other ten be
/ fore the snow goes away. y.la4lo $50 90