Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-12-30
Looker-O In Iona

ehSter lily, Dec. ndTieS Mel
calf. of Albion, III addition TO being II
of h best BARRIERS in Iowa, IS also a
very successful trapper. This year he
has out eighty traps. His sales were
So the frs: week. S5l the second. s55
the third. and only SIP the fourth
week. His traps are strung out some
fifteen miles n he visits them every
three days, walking some six miles and
driving nine miles - cove the routes.
AS a rule the farmers are glad to have
meIca!f trap on their farms as nearly
all the fur bearing animals prey on the
farmer in some way. Few realize how
many fur animals live in Marshall
county. This year muskrats are scarce.
Probably the dry season has lessened
the nest building and consequent fam
.ly increase. Mink do not seem TO leave
our Iowa farms even i land has gone
up 70 s125 an acre. The supply is equal
TO former years. Raccoons il a censu
report would not agree in percentage
With Iowa's loss of human population.
and skunks are still in the business of
twenty-five years ago. Some fine speci-
mems have been caught his year,
weighing ten to Twelve pounds. Such
- "--~ - ~ - SSA~ k-iS
c;ver cat. which resembles a skunk.
only very much smaller. weighing from
two 10 three pounds. and has a hide
much priced. is caught almost daily III
some Of Metcalf's traps. Rabbits, which
a trapper dis!ikes as much as a black
bass fisher does a skip-jack. will gel
into the traps and are SO hard TO get in
this locality this year. OF account of a
lack Of are good eating this
time of the yea and have a steady
rlarke. price for the meat. Opossums
for ONE unknown reason are On the
increase in Marshall county. An opos-
sons hide is only worth 25 cents. and
many are caught IN ira ps, but they are
so numerous that If any one desires TO
give a 'possurn dinner NetcaIf will see
that the corpse Is ready. Metcalf shoots
everything caught il his traps before
he attenn pts 20 take them out OF the
trap. With the skunk family this plan
IS a wise act. But II seems that all
animals caught in traps, nearly all by
ore leg, as DON as caught
10 gnaw of the imprisoned leg or foot
and always cut away the flesh and
skin from the under side. II the job
is not finished frequently the animal
can pull OFF the trapped leg and get
away on three legs faster than a trap
per can run on two. Time and again
animals are caught with only three legs
the experience OF losing a leg not teach
Ing them any caution. This year Met
calf caught a civet cat with only one
leg. the other three being gone and only
sore bloody stunps being LEFT to finally
get into the rap for the last time. He
had down at his house one animal that
had gnawed Of a fore leg In two places.
Evidently when caught had gnawed OF
the leg below the trap. n as that did
not allow escape proceeded 70 snaw II
of above the teeth OF the trap. There
IS an & & among trappers that this self
au1putation does not hurt much. The
trap closes SO tightly circulation Of the
blood ceases, and the cold freezing
weather helps increase the insensibility
OF the caught leg or foot.
$50
And the trapping or seining Of the
buffalo fish and German carp this e
in Iowa has run into big figures. A
Spirit Lake citizen tells the writer that
100000 pounds OF buffalo have been
se.ned out of Spirit Lake this year. by
parties that have a contract with the
fish and game warden to do this ad-
mirable work, Seventeen carloads were
shipped besides what has been sold to
the people living near by. And it is es-
tin?ated hat rot half Of the buffalo
have been removed. Some OF US that
have seen an acre or more Of buffalo
summing themselves with the big black
an sticking out of the water, are in
clined 70 believe the latter part Of
the story. These buffalo fsh are
shipped almost entirely to New FORK
City and peddied out on the streets at
10 10 1919 cents per pound. That's the
cost Of high living on a fish hardly
fit for fertilizing purposes. But we
needn't throw stones. In Marshalltown
this winter dressed bullheads" have
; zen retailed for % cents a pound. The
writer has seen in a bayou near Mar
shalltown. after the river had been up"
and then gone down. a wagon load-yes
with one s~ideboard on-of undressed
buIheads. And little we thought tina
some day we should have TO pay 25
! cents a pound for dressed ~bullheads.
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