Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-11-06
A CHANCE FOR THE BOY;
TRAPPING A GOOD SPORT

When Wallace Bryant of Rogers. Ark.
! was a youngster he took to books Sc
strongly his parents had visions of him
growing into spindling, pallid mar
with a Boston brow. weary eyes AND
no health at ALL Coming, as they did
/ from hardy stock, il was not their de.
1 sire 10 he parents of a boy who could
repeat the dictionary backwards. What
/ they wanted was a son with some sin
ews. and heavy enough to make
| tracks.
Son. in his reading. had become in
\ terested in wild animals and their hab-
! its. SO, taking their cue from this fact
/ they sent him into the woods to get on
| speaking terms with the skunk. the
mink. the raccoon and other animals he
had been reading about. hoping that in
l the pursuit of them he would take on
some ruggednes and acquire an appe-
lite for something besides literature and
buttered toast.
However. when IT came to getting on
speaking terms with the animals. young
Bryant found they had little desire for
human companionship. In fact. he saw
early in the game that none of them
would sit through an interview, unless
of the animals put him on his mettle.
He decided if he had to have a trap he
would get one, that he might have
speech with something wild and furry.
NEEDS RED-BLOODED BOYS.
Mr. Bryant's experience in the woods
and by the streams of his native COM
munity has stocked his mind with a lot
Of information that If possessed by any
boys in these days OF high fur prices
would represent real cash value. 1t is,
however. information easily acquired by
the boy with an observing eye and some
red blood in his veins.
LAS a matter OF fact" said Mr.
Bryant recently. there are more animals
on the average farm or In almost any
community than one would suspect, and
the boy who wants to get back to the
primitive and who likes the out of doors
will find that to go out and catch fur
bearing animals in numbers sufhcient to
make his efforts profitable he will have
to learn and put into practice the same
tactics. the same cunning and the same
skill the Indians used long ago"
LEAVE GUN AND DOG AT HOME.
Success lies in being more observing
than the animals themselves. Mr..
Bryants experience as he relates IL
explodes the boy and dog theory. A
dog that comes thrashing through the
brush in the wake Of a trapper.he says.
is about as helpful to him as a savage
TO. is helpful If left on the shelf at Il
hardware store. 1.-The dog and the gum
said Mr. Bryant, ARE two things the
animals depend on the tell them when
danger is near. and they change their
feeding ground"
Another thing, without gun the boy
who is courteous and has the right re-
gard for other peoples property is well
come on any farm. The live stock is
not in danger. , And without a dog,
which might worry cattle, the boy trap
per can get free range even in a posted
community.
POSSUN, COON, SKUNK, MUSKRAT.
Five animals profitable to trap are
the possum, the coon, the skunk, the
mink and the muskrat. These five are
the most common and widely distribut-
ed In regard to trapping and market
ing the hides there are a lot of things
to bear in mind A trapper must learn
to know a prime hide when he sees one
and rid himself of the fallacy that frost
primes all hides. A hide is only prime
when it is prime and is governed by no
date or incident of the weather. The
fur must be entirely grown out and
must not slip after the hide is tanned
Instructions along such lines he can
get from any fur company.