The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-07-25

@NA1 W AJAN ~
/ at the time. He comes up to it from
/ the wooded side, and looks it over care
, fully. Perhaps the slide runs dowI
into deep water, and he plans to drown
his otter. Perhaps, on the other hand
, this particular otter has been so freak
ish as to end his slide right at a bit OF
shallow water at the edge of littl(
spring creek instead of the deep watel
of the river. This makes it harder fol
Bill Jones, but he does not despair. He
only puts out his pipe, looks thought
full, and goes deep into the woods to
make his preparations.
| With his aXe--for this he has of
course; trapper without an axe would
be in a sad plight-13ill Jones now cuts
two long poles, each perhaps twelve
feet in length. He trims these careful
ly of limbs and leaves, doing all this
out in the woods where the shavings
and chips may not be seen or smeled
by the wary creature he is after. One
of these poles is his setting-pole and
the other is his chain-stake. He uses
| the setting pole to work with, and the
stake to fasten the trap down. He is
far too wise to so anywhere near the
place where the trap Is to lie, but he
stands back and does his work with a
| long pole.
First he pokes down into the mud to
see how far a stake will have to go be-
fore it will be firm enough to hold a
plunging otter, not drowning otter,
but a live otter in the shallow water.
| He finds the stake will need to be five
| feet long. He goes back in the woods
and cuts ring around his stake-pole,
SO that it is not quite cut off, but will
break off easily when it is twisted. He
now goes back to the bank, and stand
ing a dozen feet away from the trap,
proceeds to let it Drop with its jaw
spread wide, into the soft mud at the
bottom of the little open runway of
water up which he sees the otter has
been in the habit Of swimming as it
came to take it's sport at the toboggan-
slide He does not particularly care
where this Is, but it Is not at the foot of
the slide, for he knows that if the otter
strikes a trap at the foot of the slide
he strikes 1t with his body, his stumpy
forelegs being folded back under him
as he skates down the chute. so that he
would spring the trap with his breast,
and thus hardly get pinched by the
trap, let alone held by it. The bedding
place of the trap is a little to one side
of the foot of the slide. After the trap
is set, the mud and slime are stirred
around until they have quite covered
up the trap and chain, and both being
under water there can be no faint left
upon the air
Having this nicely fixed up, Bill Jones
proceeds to fasten his trap. He sticks
one end of his stake-pole through the
chain-rng and pushes it down till the |
ring binds tightly on the upper end of |
the pole, This is the pole which was |
cut nearly through, just above the |
place where the ring binds fast on the |
pole. Bill now thrusts this cut pole |
deep down in the mud, he still standing |
perhaps ten or twelve feet back from
the place where the pole is being driven |
down. He raps at the end of the cut
pole gently with his axe, sinking it
slowly deeper and deeper into the mud |
until he knows no otter can tear 1T up |
or break loose the chain. BY this time
the cut place on the pole is buried per-
haps a foot or more beneath the mud.
The long end still sticks out and is held
by Bill. Now then Bill begins to work
this cut pole back and forth, sideways,
until the cut place beneath the mud
cracks and breaks off out of sight be-
low the surface of the earth. Bill car
ries away the broken end He knows
his trap is fast now. If you should
look into the narrow runlet of water
you could not guess there was trap
there at all.
Bill Jones looks at his water set jul
liciousy. He would like to take a
chew, but doesn't He is not yet done
With his work, it seems. He goes back
o the thicket and cuts four long will
ow wands, each six or eight feet long. ,
He cuts the ends of these partially off,
Is he did with the chain stake, leaving 4,
lbout foot of the end. He reaches ,
)ver and sticks the cut end of one Of !
hese sticks into the mud at the side of
he trap covers the cut end below the
water, works at it and breaks it off just !
is i've did with the chain stake only not |
,elow the mud and under the surface
# the water He repeats this with the !
our little sticks, and you see the ends
ticking up about the trap, showing
he jaws of the trap. In your mind b
his ruins the whole scheme. Bill Jones s
oes not think So He pokes and stirs \
round in the floating green slime until A
e has draped all these little stick tops A
Nth green covering so that no hint is
iven of their presence. You can bare
Y note a sort of inequality on the bot
1m Of the shallow runway. 1t is all A
nder water and there is no scent. Bill ,
ones has not touched the bank near 4
ere at all, but has stood off and
orked with his pole or his long willow y
'ands. 1t has all been careful cum Il
ing, admirable, shrewd as the wit of i
lie otter himself-shrewder for Bill Is
1nes is able to outwit any animal that q
Wins or flies or runs. You admire the G.
tier and you admire Bill Jones, who G
as taught you something you have ~
ever seen before. But you cannot see
an aortb Ila r111te fo11r 1ittIa | c.