The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1897-02-18
PASSING OF THE TRAPPE3.
ur-Bcaring Animals Are Becoming
Scarce and Profits Are Small.

United States, ana as pfOduct Oh past
conditions he is disappearing as surely
as the game which he has hunted. In
the great northern belt of states
bordering upon the Canadian line he
is found in dwindling numbers, vainly
striving to make living in his precarl-
Gus calling and bemoaning the times
when it was an easy matter to tind
enough animals in his traps each day
to keep him supplied with money. 1t
is now the work of week to gather
the skins that formerly came to his
traps in day.
The popularity of furs has not de-
clined. In fact they are more in de-
mand than ever, and fashion DEGREES
that they shall be worn every winter on
garments for men and for women.
Most of them command higher price
than ever in the history of civilization,
hut the trapper does not profit so much
bv this change as might be supposed.
The fur-bearing animals are disappear
ing faster than the prices for furs all
vance. Other unsettled regions of the
globe are being explored to help supply
the markets of the world with skins,
and science is doing everything in its
power to utilize the common skins or
the domesticated animals. The fur OF
the cat, dog, sheep, lamb and other an
imals of our barnyard and household
has already become valuable CONNER
cially, and through the dyer's art and
&c lii no
furs are totally deceived.
1t is not an easy matter to ascertain
the relative value Of important furs,
but those taken from the forests and
woods of this country are much higher
than in former days. The silver fox.
that abounded so plentifully in our
| northern woods, is now comparative
| lv rare animal, and from 500 to 5000 are
paid for frst-class specimens. The
| darker the fur of the silver fox the
| more valuable it is, and consequently
| the further north the trappers go the
better luck they have. Those over the
Canadian border trap more and better
| silver foxes than can befound anywhere
in the United States, although northern
Maine and the Michigan peninsula have
yielded some excellent silver foxes.
Owing to the great demand for this fur,
the animals have been trapped and
hunted so persistently that they arc
very scarce and the few remaining ones
are more timid and harder to catch
than the common red fox.
Bear skins generally come next t.
the furs of the silver foxes, and
they run all the way from SO
to SIS apiece for the raw fur
Dealers grade the skins according II
their idea of the value, and the trappeE
is not always sure that he will receive
the highest quotations even after he has
shipped his booty to market. The cross
fox fur comes third on the list and is
generally worth from SIS to $50, accord
ing to size, general beauty and richness
Of color. The fur of the otter is nearly
as valuable, and good specimen viii
command $1S either at the country
store or in the city markets. The beaver
is not worth more than SIS, the wolver
inc $40, the lynx and black raccoon Sc
and the common wolf and marten S.
These are the principal fur-bearing ami
mails caught by the trappers in thi:
country, but a long list of cheaper one:
are brought to market, such as thu
mink, skunk, badger, wild cat
red and gray fox. muskrat and rabbit
The prices paid for these vary from ;
few cents.apiece to several dollars. TIL,
| IL %ho{
pers would not take the trouble to ex
press them to the cities if it were no
for the fact that they can be packed il
with the others at no extra cost.
The trapper is essentially what hi
name implies, and not a hunter o
; plement, for this tears and Injuries It'll
skins and furs. The trap and skinnin!
, knife are his chief articles of trad
, The traps are usually divided int
three classes--snares, deadfalls an
steel traps. The steel traps vary in siz
from the small ones set to capture tn
little muskrat to the large double
, spring arrangements known as "grizzl
= bear traps" These latter are man
, moth affairs, weighing 40 pounds, an
with rows of sharp teeth spread :
inches apart. When the jaws of such
, | trap close upon any creature they ar
=. pretty sure to break the leg and hol
I the captive prisoner until relieved b
l some outside person. The grizzly bear
2 have been known to- tear the heav
r traps from their moorings and dra
r them a mile or more through the foi
ests, but they have never been known
> pull the leg away from the relentles
, teeth.
l The deadfalls are,made both for larg
= and small animals. In the small hors,
2 shoe Enclosure n tempting bait is fas
Y ened on delicate trigger which, whe
G slightly moved let down upon the an
mails back a number of heavy log
These fall squarely upon the back {
shoulders Of the hungry creatures, an
either break it or crush out the lif
' The animal caught in a d.adfall rareI
lives to tell the tale. The wga,y animal
like the fox, can seldom be induced I
enter a deadfall, for their instinc