Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-12-22
MAlnE,s FUR PRODUCE.


Anjunls That Have Sst Xes Fallen StestMs
- ths Traprer's snAres.
Among the animals ii1ss are still trap
nd in Marie. whese fsrs are sought after
b. the BUYERS, are the sable. lynx and
fsker. whssh are confined 70 waodesi. IN
settled REGIONS Of the s1ssp. The sable Il
: tree climber and is caught IN small steel
.t-asss set On the side Of s lssslsing tree The
fisher il called by some ahe black cat /
and inhahits .noantalaaus resssoiis- Ine
lyEx is quite numerous in the northern
part Of the state and Is similar to the bob
rat, ouiy larger. He Is taken in steel traps
and Is . sort Of seavenger- A piece of fowl
or rabbit is u fsrorste bait
Bears are still plenty III parts OF the
northern wilderness. They are of the black
variety. although Il cinnamon Is occasion
ally met with. Dsadfalls AID steel traps
are sometimes used in taking brain, but
the most successful way is by II set gun.
4 headlrss barrel Is laid down near the
haunts of the bear, and a hole Is bored
through enc side about equally distant
between the head and bottom, so that II
will come about a foot from the ground.
The gun is then placed in Position outside
the barrel, with the mnzzle pointing
throrseh the hole. protrudine perhaps an
inch On the inside. Another hole Is bored
through the center Of the bottom OF the
barrel. through which is pulled the end
of cord which passes outside over pull
ley and is attached TO the trigger OF the
gun To the inside cud of the string Is
fastened the halt, which is usually smear
ed with honey, a dainty lnnrssl for hruin
The bear crawls into the barrel after the
bait, pulls the string, the gun Is disehars-
ell, and there Is u dead bear. New
Brunswick man who markets his pelts
down on the kennebee once killed four
bears within Is minutes.
One of the most valuable fc- bearing an
finals indigenous to the state is the otter,
which is amphihious. II is lew seldom
found outside the frozen re- ...s. hat oc-
casionally a pair of l.iem are seeil round
the lakes in the colder parts Of the state.
He is not abundant in any part of the
state and is always crafty and sly, so that
it Is difficult 10 catch him.
OF the fur bearing animals which man
age to keep company with civilization
che fox. mink, muskrat, ia, on and skunk
are the only ones with marketable ielts.
OF these none is better known than the
red fox, which is everywhere present. the
fur always being in demand. There are
yer foNskiu is worth from $50 10 so0.
Then there are silver gray foxes, which are
a cross between silver and the red, and
the wood fox, the progeny Of the silver
gray and the red. Buyers say that fox
furs from tho provinces are Of better
quality than the Maine product, being
heavier and larger,
Mink are quite abundant around the
kennekec lakes. They are captured in
steel traps, and IA favorite way of hunting
them is with mink dogs, which run the
animals into hole, where they are dug
ont, or drive them into the water to fall
before the gun Of the hunter. The mink
is traveller and an old trapper says that
many of them retreat to the seacohst III
the fall, spending the winter there, where
food is plenty, and going inland in the
spring. Others, he states. remain by the
shores of some lake or stream and live by
diving beneath the ice and catching fish,
lie has seen the splintered end of an old
decayed log stuck full of fish, where they
had been placed by mink for future con
sumption. The most abundant fur pro
ducing animal in the state which swims
in the water is the muskrat. He has al
ways multiplied despite the trappersi. -
Exchange