Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1892-09-02
A WILD HOG TRAP.
How Two Boys Made Money to
See the Centennial.

WV
Yesterday | heard one farm boy say
to another: Come and see my two
calves. I'm going to keep them till
they're two-year-old steers and then
sell them and go to the Columbian expo
sition on the money. They'll bring fifty
dollars by that time"
"But I've got colt thatll bring sew
enty-fve by that time" reioined his
companion, triumphantly.
Maybe, replied the first lad, COM
posedly. "But tell you, Frank, there's
good deal moro risk on colts than on
steers"
Their earnestness wildly recalled to
me time, fifteen years ago, when I
was a boy of sixteen, and lived in the
Arkansas 'backwoods." was making
similar plans to visit the centennial ex-
hibition of 1876 at Philadelphia.
Ayoung neighbor, Benton Arbuckle
by name, was equally DESTROYS of at
tending the exhibition; but, like my
self, he was in painful doubt where the
dollars were to come from for railway
fares, for new suit of clothes and for
other necessary matters.
Often we raised little money by
gathering pecan nuts in the woods and
selling them at the store two miles
away; but the pecan crop was light
that year, and our hopes suffered
blight with it. We knew that seventy
dollars apiece was the least possible
sum that would suffice to transport us
to Philadelphia and return us to our
native country. The case looked hope
less.
We studied hard to think of some
other means, Wild turkeys were get
ting scarce in the woods. Formerly a
good many had been shot and market
ed every fall. Deer, too, were far from
plenty.
After a careful canvass of the situa-
ton, Benton and | decided that our
only chance to raise money lay in the
wild hog, which were still to be found
in considerable numbers in the river
bottoms in our part of the state.
These wild hogs are descended from
ordinary swine brought into the coun-
try by the earlier settlers. In several
generations of wildness they have de-
veloped the characteristics of the wild
hogs of the old world. They run swift
ly through the brush upon the slight
est alarm, and are always difficult to
approach.
Shooting is not the best method OF
hunting wild hogs, for unless shot
through a vital part they squeal
frightfully, and often run long dis.
lance The squealing may brighten the
drove away, and cause them to desert
the locality for another tract of forest.
My companion and proposed to trap
them, and so far as possible to conduct
a still hunt We intended to make
bacon, for which we were reasonably
sure of obtaining eight cents pound
We fitted up disused log-shanty as Q
smoke-house, and arranged to bring
nome the carcasses on mules from oul
traps.
Benton, who had more time than l.
spent several days in looking about foI
good place in which to set trap, and
chose one upon Sugar creek. At @
point where high bank had beer
washed out we set stakes and built q
strong corral eight feet high, in such &
way that the bank formed one side OF
she Enclosure, and the fence skirting
the margin of the stream formed the
other sides
The yard thus formed included 6
space fifty or sixty feet across, which
on one side was overhung by bank
from twelve to fifteen feet in height
The earth had been cut away by fresh
cts, so that the roots of the brushwooC
above hung down in struggling
fringe.
A trap gate was constructed to risC
and fall between posts on each side O.
an opening five feet wide. To spring
the gate line was attached to it, which
ran across to our hiding place on the
otner side of the stream.
We did the work very quietly, for we
heard hogs moving about in the swamp
Carefully removing all the chips, w,
masked the corral and the gate will
brush, causing it to look like thic5et
For bait we had bought four bushels
of corn on the cob. This we broke int,
short pieces, which we strewed on trail
leading to the trap. We also gathered
several bushels of &c orns, and theSt
and the corn trails were sown t,
distance of half mile in three direc
tions-all leading to generous heap o
the provendcr inside
We laid these trails very early tn,
morning after the trap was completed
We were to take turns watching, da,
by day Benton undertook to watcl
the trap che first day, and went home
We hoped to capture at least one hoi
every jay.
Before eleven o'clock that forenoon