The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1899-05-05
TURKEYS AS COON BAIT.
OF George Pitts, nj
Indiana Hunter Of Gener-
alton Ago. a.

"Reminiscences OF George Pitts, nm
Indiana Hunter Of Gener.
alton Ago.
II can remember when wild turkey.
We're so plentiful that you could buy
them for shilling apiece, and the most
profitable use they could be put 10 wa.
in trapping coons,'' said John Bemus
an early settler in Indiana. ''That
sounds rather queer in these days
when there isn't anything in the ami
NAL line much more worthless than the
coon, and when wild turkey is worth
almost its weight in silver. I have
trapped coons and shot wild turkeys
within gunshot of what. is now the
home of ex-President Harrison in In.
dianapolis. In those days the turkey
was not marketable, while coon skins
were worth anywhere from one to two
dollars apiece. t...~s a-. { .
1T didn't used to be any trick to trat
a fox, but man who could catch cooi
in trap had to know how, and using
wild-turkey meat for bait, and setting
the trap on the bottoms of creeks
where coons are in the habit of fishing
for crawfish, were about the only ways
they could be caught. I had been hunt,
ing and trapping a good while around
indianapolis before could trap coon
The only person who had any success
in trapping coons was a young char
named George Pitts. He was profes.
sional hunter and trapper, and used tt
come in every day with more coons
foxes, otter, and other animals whose
skins were worth taking, than all the
trappers on White river and Tale creek
put together. could get quite nice
showing of coons by hunting then
among the sycamores of the river bot.
toms at night, but set my traps fol
the1a- any way I might, never sue.
ceeded in fastening one of the willy
little beasts until T accidentally dis.
covered one of Pitts traps, and found
that he baited with wild-turkey meat
I tried the same bait, and never had any
trouble afterward in trapping coons.
''Then as to muskrats. Pitts used tc
get twice as many of them in his traps
as anyone else. knew he must have
bait of his own for them, too, and I laid
myself out to get hold of it. He never
would let anyone go with him on his
trapping trips, but one day I Swallowed
him and examined one of his muskrat
traps. He had a secret bait sure
enough, but it was simple one, being
piece of parsnip. Pitts had discovered
in some way that muskrats were crazy
after parsnips, and he took advantage
of the discovery. Iadopted the parsnir
bait myself, and never betrayed the
secret and caught just as many musk.
rats as Pitts did after that.
''But Pitts stronghold was COOKS, and
he turned his knowledge and skill in
hunting and trapping them to mighty
good advantage. He not only paid his
way through complete course in the
old Marion county seminary by selling
coon skins that he trapped during
spare hours, but saved several hundred
dollars besides from the proceeds OF
this trapping to start life with after he
graduated. 1 remember that once Pitts
fell in love with famous coon dog
-
White river. That dog didn't know
anything but coons, and Pitts thought
he saw small fortune in him. Cows
were worth $25 apiece in those days.
and Pitts owned as good one as there
was within days journey of Indian.
apolis. The COW had heifer calf by
her side that promised to be as good
COW as her mother was. Pitts had made
the owner of the coon dog several offers
for the cur, and his friends thought he
was crazy for making them, while the
friends of the dogs owner thought the
latter was just as crazy for refusing
them; but when the young trappe1
actually drove his cow and calf the 1:
miles to where the coon dog lived, and
insisted on trading them for the dog
the people felt sure he must be hope.
less lunatic.
''The owner of the dog redeemed him.
self in the estimation of the community
by making the trade. 1t turned out
that Pitts knew what he was about
The very first night he hunted with the
dog he bagged 30 coons and sold every
one of them next day for one dollar
apiece. In one season Pitts gathered
in, with the help of the dog,t200 coons
and there is no telling how much money
the dog would have Melted him if il
hadn't made characterization one night
and tried it's mettle on a porcupine
The dog killed the porcupine, but the
porcupine filled the dogs eyes, mouth:
and head so full of quilts that-h was
ruined and was killed to put him, out
of misery."-N. Y. Sun.