Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-08-25
Help for the Man
Who Does Trapping

The lure of the chase, of the woods
and the wooded wastes; of the noun
tain and the flood is the birthright or
man, having it's transmission In the
blood of humanity, since our forefath-
ers battled for their existence Wneh
the cities of our country were Wiiu
places of an earlier century. and man
procured his daily rations by artince
of the hunt, by matching his cunning
against the cunning of the bird. beast,
and water-creature of the forest ana
the rapid.
The trapping of animals has. how
ever, lost none of it's charm since the
days of the pioneer, but the incentive
of the occupation has changed from
necessity to sport.
Yet in the trapping and Turing OF
wild animals, not so much for the
food as for the fur, Canadian wilds
have, since the white man learned the
Indian trapper's art. provided an oc-
cupation very lucrative for those who
have followed its pursuit, and though
the days of the explorer have almost
passed away; though he ceases to
drive his canoe along streams un-
known, dotted here and there by dan
gerous rapids and falls; ceases to por-
tage through trackless forest; for the
lfur-bearing animals which were once
so numerous in Canada, there is still
| in this age of cities and civilization, a
profitable living in fur hunting.
| Strange as it may seem the catch OF
furs today is greater and of more
value than when this country was a
wilderness. For whilst the professional
trapper has almost disappeared. the
bulk of furs being caught by the am
bilious farmer and his son, in order
| to add a substantial sum to their in
come, the means of trapping are now
so numerous that the annual catch has
become greater today than heretofore.
The asprant to trappers honors or
the procuration of furs, can, however
find all he needs in the way of expert
ence around his own neighborhood
and will find that winter spent In
the woods will help him to add hand
somely to his finances and provide am
pie sport in a good season.
| There never was a better outlook fol
the winter catch than exists in Can
ada today Demand for all classes o
furs was never better. Skunk furs are
more popular in Canada than hereto
fore, and muskrat are finding new uses
year by year. This season the highes
prices for many years have been pro
cured, despite the fact that there has
been an unusually large catch oi
skunk and muskrat owing to the hare
winter of 1911. Everything was fro.
zen up and this prevented large
nd oil Of
prolific and extensive breeding. giving
a larger crop for the present year
In reference to trapping Hallam's
guide says:
1T is not necessary to wait until the
trapping season opens in order to To-
cate places to set the traps, but in
passing through the woods look care
fully for signs of animals here you
may find bunch of feathers, mute
remains of woodland tragedy; hert
an ear of corn or other vegetable part
Iy eaten here den tree with its bari
scratched by climbing raccoons; her
a hole in the ground with tracks il
the soil and hair on the side of th
entrance proclaiming the home of thu
skunk; here trails made by passing
animals and their droppings, which
proclaim their presence while on sand
bars and in the mud along the streams
and lakes you find tracks of mink,