The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-11-08
TRAPPING A BEAR.
HOW IT IS DONE IN TIE WILos or
POTTER COUNTY, N. Y.

October the finost Rear Hunting Season Of
the Iear-set,ins the Trap for Brlug
An Angry AnImaI-A TIoAIish Guide.
taking.
Benjamin ]. Jones of Cortland county, n.
Y, on his way to the bear regions, near the
headwaters of the Sinnamahoning creek,
says be takes more solid comfort hunting
bears for a month out in the wilds of Potter
county than he does on his fertile farm in
Cortland during all the rest of the year. In
a talk with Farmer Jones he said:
SETTING THE TRAP
AFTER have selected spot where l want
to set a trap find fallen tree about foot
in diameter. On the trunk of the tree | place
the butts of small logs, one on top of the
other, just as they do in building up log
hut, and let the other ends spread out on the
ground in the shape of a letter V, with the
point at the tree trunk. Then l drive nail
in the log and hang the bait on it so that the
bear can come along the next day, march
right into the log pen with the open front,
grab the bait and run off with it., Oh, no,
don't set any trap then. The bear has no
difficulty in hooking the bait and making off
with it, but he won't come back the next day
after to see if there is any more meat around
there to be gobbled up, but you can set it
down as a fact that he will come nosing
around again within week as sure as he
lives.
From now until the ground freezes up is
the best time to trap bears out there. Their
skins are good from now on, and they can
scent the bait half dozen times further now
than they can after it gets so cold that the
bait will freeze. We use almost any kind Of
fresh meat for bait, and if it hangs till it gets
tainted little bear will smell it when he is
mile away, and hustle around and nose
about until he finds it. In cold weather the
meat will freeze right up, and bears nostrils
can't scent it ten rods away. That is one rear
son why l trap bears in October, and the
other reason is because October is the finest
month in all the year to be out in the woods.
"Just as likely as not he will make his APP
pearance on the third day. In order to know
whether the meat has been carried away or
not, you have to visit the place every day.
When | find that the meat is gone place
fresh bait directly under where the other has
been hanging, pnning it TO the ground with
a crotched sapling. Then / set the trap. l
direct line with it, making sure that the
pan of the trap is toward the point from
which the bear is to come. If the pan is
placed toward the bait, it is more than likely
that the bear will bring his foot down too
near the end of the jaws, and in that case ten
chances to one you will find nothing but a
bears toe or two when you go to the trap.
After have got the trap set and nicely COW
cred with leaves, and have hitched the chain
to either a small piece of timber or an iron
claw a little larger than my hand place
stick as large as my leg across the logs at the
mouth of the V-shaped enclosure, and then
60 away.
MAD AS A HORNET.
Everything is now ready for him to nose
around, and when he gets to the stick that
lies across the mouth of the pen he will not
try to push it away. He will not even try to
raise it up with his nose or to crawl under
it, but he will lift up one of his fore feet,
throw it over the stick, and bring it down
right on to the trap. Then there is some tall
thrashing around, for the bear is just then
one of the most astonished animals in crea-
tion, and in his wild attempts to free his
foot he breaks down the bushes and tears
things up generally. He is madden than a
whole nest of hornets over the fix he finds
himself in, but when he learns that the trap
does not hold him to the spot he cools off a
bit, does everything he can think of to coax
the trap to open its jaws and nurses his pain
full foot
Looking for the bear after you have found
that the trap has been carried away, es-
peciallly when the underground is dense, is
very exciting. tits ticklish business, for you
don't know what minute you may run foul
of the bear, and, if you happen to come pat
upon him, he will plunge at you and make
such noise that for a few seconds you will
be almost beside yourself If there is ever a
time that bear will fight any living thing
that he gets his eye on, it is when a trap is
making every minute of his life miserable.
He acts as though you had something to do
with getting him into the trouble, and he does
his best to get square with you for it. OF
course you have q good gun well in hand
when you find him, and the weight or the
hook on the other end of the chain keeps him
from making quite as fast speed through the
bushes and over the logs as you make, and
you soon stop his noise with chunk of lead.
New York Sun.