The National tribune., 1900-05-03
TRAPPING IN THE FAR WEST.
Money Still to be Made in the Montana
Mountains.
Chicago Record,

There are small fortunes in flIrs brought
down out of the Bitter Root Mountains
every Spring by men who go away back
into the faStnesses of those almost mac
| cessible mountains in September and re-
main there hemmed i'll by snow which does
not melt enough TO allow of their coming
out until the end Of April or the middle Of
May. During the six or eight months of
their stay they generally get a dozen or
more bearskinS apiece, a couple of dozen
marten and any quantity Of deerskins.
These, which may safely be counted as an
average catch. will be worth from $500 TO
81 600, according to the sizes, kind and
quality of the furs.
The men who follow this sort Of business
are for most part typical trappers, and their
lives and the scenes OF their occupatiou are
as wild and far from civilization as any
lover Of adventure could desire They
generally go alone, though there are now
and then couple who make the expedition
in company. As there will be no coming
out until Spring, ii is necessary to take i'm
enough food 10 run them for six or eight
months, along with camp equipage. 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 Mis-
soula and the Lost Horse, are so difficult
and dangerous that il is unsafe and inprac-
ticable 10 load an animal with much over
$50 pounds; and then it is necessary 10
have one or two extras" in case of a chance
fall laming one of those loaded
After the start is made they do not stop
until they have wound their way back 10
the summit Of the range, where they halt
for few days, working along it in search
of the particular canyon which seems most
likely 10 offer 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.
The next thing To do is to get the camp
outfit and the pack animals down into the
canyon far enough for the first Winter
camp, usually about 10 miles down from
the summit OF the range. Here they build
rude cabin, and, leaving some food and
bedding and as many traps as will be
needed at this end of the line, push on 10 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 fow 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 next thing then in order is the kill
ing Of the Winters meat, for by this time it
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
packhorSeS are pressed into service again
and the meat distributed ut 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 one end of it and the other the
other. Then they will begin setting their
traps, each mans string generally ex-
tending over a distance OF so or go miles, |
Generally steel traps are used, but occa-
sionally deadfalls made of heavy logs are
built for the cap'ure of a particularly large
bear which wcIld be likely 10 get away
with a common trap; and then there are a
few trapperS who make use of bent sap
attached which springs up and draws the
loop tight around anything that touches
the bait.
Whatever sort of methods the trapper
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 it is no uncommon thing for him
TO have trouble with trapped bear. Some
times the animal gets away with the trap
and has to be followed for miles before he
can be found, but the dragging trap hinders
his progress ard scratching along the
ground makes his trail easy TO follow. He
is always in an ugly mood when his pllr-
Suer comes up, and cases are known where
he has actually lain in ambush for the pur-
suing trapper, and, jumping out unex-
pectediy, mauled the life out of him before
he had chance TO use his gun.