Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-04-08

was pdiu TIE lldpptlS vi lillS COUNTY
| for the pelts alone. The product Of
| the United States, exclusive of Alaska,
is more than 100000 skins annually,
and Canada produces over 100000
| more. The total product of muskrat
skins in the United States and Canada
during the nineteenth century reached
the enormous amount of 25O,O00.00O.
"A few states have enacted laws to
protect the muskrat In Delaware they
can be caught between November Is
and March Is. In Maryland the season
is from January to April l. In Maine
| it is confined to the months of March
/ and April These varying seasons work
to the advantage of the buyer. as we
are thus enabled to visit several of the
sections in the midst Of the trapping
seasons.
"Muskrats are generally secured in
three ways-by gigs, by traps and by
shooting. the latter mode being sup
posed to bring the slaughter up to the
level of sport.
points. which the hunter drives down
through the top of the house with
the hope that it will pierce one or
more of the animals. and they are
usually so numerous in the house that
he is rarely disappointed.
1.-The traps are small steel affair." that
are set on tops Of logs near the banks,
the traps being attached to the logs by
AS soon as a muskrat is caught It
plunges into the water and the weight
of the trap holds it down until the ami
NAL is drowned. Some trappers fasten
down toward the bottom of the brock
or lake. The knots prevent his return
and he browns long before the trarper
arrives.
The shooting is done mostly at
night, when the rats come out to drink
and the scene is weird in the extreme
The musk -ratters, in long rubber
boots that come up to their thighs,
have torchbearers carrying great sticks
of lightwOOd that send a flaming glow
far around. They make a peculiar
clicking sound through their teeth that
like the Pied Piper's music brings all
the wondering creatures from their
hiding places to be shot.
I'm Maine a very odd method of cap
turing them is followed by boys after
the ponds have frozen over. While
muskrat is compelled to get air in or
der to breathe, it can travel for miles
under the ice, crossing wide lakes and
staying for hours below the frozen
coating. In order to do this it must
stop as often as once in twenty min
utes and eject it's breath into the wa
ter. This vitiated air rises to the sur
face forming big pale bubble which
can be seen easily through the thin ice.
After it has been exposed to the water
for a few minutes the bubble becomes
oxygenated, wnen the muskrat inhales
the globue to it's lungs and resumes
its Journey. Boys who are familiar
with the ways of the animal skate over
the newly frozen ponds looking for bub-
bles, which they penetrate with the
blade of a pocketknife. AS soon as the
air escapes the opening Is plugged with
a silver Of wood and the imprisoned
animal, too much exhausted and daZed
to go away is smothered near the
spot where it left the precious bubble.
Later the bodies are chopped out with
hatchet. A smart boy can eaten
from forty to fifty muskrats a day from
a pond where bubbles are plenty.
During the last five years musk
rat skins have trebled in value. In
1903 paid from thirty to seventy five
cents hide, the hide from the kit
ten,' or young rat, which had mere
tofore been considered almost worth
less, bring the former price.
THE big black rat commands the
highest price, the black fur being con-
sidered the finest as well as the most
durable. The fur of the brown rat is
less valuable because of the color and
COdTSeIleSS VI tie lidll. IL 5SiSioi'y
brings from Is to 20 cents less than the
fur of the black rat.
I'VE buyers snip the pelts to Bos-
ton and New York, where they are
tanned and put to many uses. The
skins are classed as 'firsts,' seconds
thirds 'fourths' and Kittens The first
are those caught during the spring or
very late winter; seconds are caught in
midwinter; thirds, those taken in very
early winter or fall; fourths, in early
winter or fall, and kittens are those less
than three or four months old. Large
quantities are used as Innings for over
coats and long wraps or in making
gloves, collars, caps, muffs, trimmings,
etc. The unplucked skins are frequent
ly dyed to initiate mink and other skins
and at one time were used quite extern
sively in initiating fur Seal.-New York
Sun.