Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1897-01-16
PASSING oE The 1RAPPER.
ur-Bearlng Animals Are beeom'HH
Scarce and Pronts Are Small


Far Bearing Animals Are Becoming
Scarce and Profits Are Small.
The fur trapper has had his day in tho
Unit / States, and as n product oil 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 nc
is found in ~dwindling numbers, vainly
striving to make a living in his Precarl-
Gus calling and bemoaning the times
when 1t was an easy matter to mn"
enough animals in his traps each day
to keep him supplied with money II
is now the work of Il we gather
the skins that formerly ca...t to his
traps in a day.
The popularity of furs has not de-
clined. In fact they are more i'll de-
mand than ever, aul fashion DEGREES
that they shall be worn every winter on
garments for men and for women.
Most of them command n higher price
than ever in the history of civilization,
hut the trapper does not profit SO much
by this change as might be supposed
The fur-bearing animals are disappear
ing faster than the prices for furs adj
vance. Other unsettled regions of the
globe are being explored to help supply
the markets of the world with skins,
ard science is doing everything in It's
bower to utilize the common skins OF
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
the curriers' skill the wearers OF cheap
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 a comparative
" rare animal, and from 800 to 5000 are
paid for first-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 be found 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 are
very scarce and the few remaining ones
are more timid and harder to catch
than the common red fox.
Bear skins generally come next to
the furs of the silver foxes, and
they rur all the way from $40
to SIS apiece for the raw fur.
Dealers grade the skins according IN
their idea Of the value, and the trappcr
Is not always sure that he win receive
the highest quotations even after h ehas
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 a good specimen will
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 IS
These are the principal fur-bearing ami
mails caught by the trappers in this
country, but a long list of cheaper ones
are brought to market, such as the
mink, skunk, badger, wild cat
red and gray fox, muskrat and rabbit
The prices paid for these vary from a
few cents apiece to several dollars. The
rabbit skins are so cheap that the trap
pers would not take the trouble to eX'
press them to the cities If it were not
for the fact that they can be packed il
with the others at no extra cost.
The trapper is essentially what his
ishiilt llblii'Nr anu hbb IL illllf VI
sportsman. The shotgun is not his i'm
plement, for this tears and Injuries thu
skins and furs. The trap and skinnins
knife are his chief articles OF trade
The traps are usually divided into
three classes-snares, deadfalls am
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 is "grizzlN
bear traps" These latter are man
moth affairs, weighing 40 pounds, ant
with rows of sharp teeth spread Il
inches apart. When the jaws Of such
trap close upon any creature they ar
pretty sure to break the leg and hole
the captive prisoner until relieved b,
some outside person. The grizzly bear
have been known to tear the heav,
traps from their moorincs and draj
them q mile or more through the for
ests, but they have never been known t,
pull the leg away from the relentles
teeth.
The deadfalls are made both for larg,
and small animals. In the small horse
shoe Enclosure a tempting bait is fast
ened on a delicate trigger which, whel
slightly moved let down upon the ami
mails back a number of heavy logs
These fall squarely upon the back o
shoulders of the hungry creatures, an,
either break it or crush out the life
The animal caught in II deadfall rarel
lives to tell the tale. The wary animals
like the fox, can seldom be induced Il
enter a deadfall, for their instinct
make them suspicious. Shares are use,
for catching a variety of small animal,
and they are arranged in n great variet
of ways, the most common of which |
with the spring pole.
The trappers visit these snares, deat
falls and steel traps every morning
travelling through the woods in the BIZ
terest cold weather, and often return
ing without a pelt of any great valu,
Hard work, rough fare and little pa
are his rewards, and there is little wor
der that he complains. He sees his il
dustry shrinking year by year, an
without any possible improvement |
the future, he realizes that the doom {