The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-04-16
TRAPPING in THE WEST.
MONEY Still no BE MADE IN THE
JIONT1NA MOUNTAINS.

That IL as wild ms IL Ever Was
Preparations for Winters Cam-
paign Eight Months Long-prohts
Trapping.
Hamilton, Mon, April There are
small fortunes in furs brought down
out Of the Bitter Root Mountains every
spring by men who go away back into
the Businesses of those almost inaccessi-
BILE mountains in September and remain
there hemmed in by snow which does
not melt enough to allow Of their COM
Ing out until the end of April or the
middle of May. During the six or eight
months of their stay they generally get
dozen or more bearskins apiece,
couple of dozen marten and any guam
Z tity of deerskins These, which may
safely be counted as an average catch,
will be worth from five hundred to
thousand dollars, cacording to the sizes,
kind and quality Of the furs.
The men who follow this sort of bust
Il6c5S are lOI IIlOSI part ~ pledl lidPpClo,
and their lives and the scenes of their
occupation are as gid and far from civ
ilization as any lover Of adventure could
y desire. They generally go alone, though
there are now and them a couple who
make the expedition in company AS
there will be no coming out until spring,
! it is necessary to take in enough food to
run them for six or eight months, along
with camp equipages, their bedding,
traps and ammunition. There are no
such things as roads back into the
mountains, SO they carry their supplies
In with pack animals-a dozen to each
man. for the two trails which lead in,
the Missoula and the Lost Horse, are so
difficult and dangerous that it is unsafe
and impracticabla to load an animal
with much over one hundred and fifty
POUNDS; and then it is necessary to have
one or two extras in case of a chance
fall tanning one of those loaded.
After the start is made they do not
stop until they have wound their way
back to the summit of the range, where
they halt for few days, working along
it in search of the particular canyon
which seems most likely to offer a good
seasons trapping and hunting ground.
This is often hard to find, but the
search is kept up until they have found
the very best locality.
Sometimes they decide on a canyon
that. winds down on this side toward the
valley of the Bitter Root, but more fire.
quently they pick on one that follows
down the western slope of the range to-
ward thee valley of thee Clear Water, |
for that Is an unsettled country and Of |
fers more advantages. In either case,
as soon as the locality has been found |
they start in on their preparations for |
the seasons campaign; the canyon |
must first be explored from head to |
mouth and in many cases long and dan
gerouS detours are necessary before the |
trip Is ended and the return made. |
There are sheer walls of rock half a
mile high that have to be passed, |
lodged pines SO thick and tangled that |
1t puzzles man to get through on foot,
and here and there treacherous masses
of slide rock that roll under a mans
weight, and, If he Is not nimble and
careful, may break a leg for him-an
accident which will cost him his life if
he be alone.
After the explora ton has been made
the next thing to do is to get the camp
outfit and the pack animals down into
the canyon far enough for the first Win
ter camp, usually about ten miles down
from the summit of the range. Here
they build a rude cabin, and, leaving
some food and bedding and as many
traps as will be needed at this end of
the line, push on ten or a dozen miles
further, cutting trail as they go to
the next place for camp, where they
build another cabin, and, supplying it
as before, continue on their way to the
valley Having arrived there they
turn their pack animals loose. Then
few days are spent in exploring the
canyons opening into the valley, and if
exceptionally good trapping Sign" is
found maybe another camp is erected
near to it.
The mex thing then in order is the
killing Of the winters meat, for by this
time 1t is near the close of October and
the deer and elk are in fine condition.
If the trappers are on the Clear Water
side Of the range the job Of killing the
meat is tame sport, for over there there
is comparatively little hunting done, the
game is abundant and easily killed AS
soon as a sufficient number Of carcasses
have been obtained some of the pack
horses are pressed into service again
and the meat distributed at the various
cabins along the line of the route.
Everything is now in readiness for
the winters work, and if there are two
Of the trappers together on the line
one of them. will take an end of it and
the other the other Then they will be-
gin setting their traps, each mans Z
string generally extending over a dis
lance of fifty or sixty miles Generally
steel traps are used, but occasionally | ,
deadfalls made Of heavy logs are built
for the capture of a particular large r
bear which would be likely to get away :
with common trap; and then there are +
a few trappers who make use of bent !
saplings to which slipnoose of stout !
rope is attached which springs up and {
draws the loop tight around anything s
that touches the bait. /
Whatever sort of methods the trap }
per chooses he generally makes the trip ,
over his line once in three or four days +
TO reset any traps that are sprung and ,
make sure of anything caught. =
On these trips he always takes his gun +
along, for 1t is no uncommon thing for :
him To have trouble with d trapped +
bear. Sometimes the animal gets away +