Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-27
A New Hazard in the Fur North
Bards and the Solitude and the Dangers Of Lonely Forests Today Must Be dded
uher Trouble 7,abp-th Scarcity Bearing Auima

fair; those Indians otherwise might starve.
Then, too the big companies often pay in jew
elry and in supplies upon which they make
profit, but at least they are honest in their
trading. If they sell something calico, it
will be calico; and if they say 1t is iron or
brass or wood, 1t is exactly that.
These free traders had no such scruples.
They wanted fur and they knew the failing of
the Indian for bright objects They brought
into this new country bales of brightly colored
"deece-lined" underwear, in blues, pinks, Law
enders and reds. 1t was softer than anything
the Indians ever had touched before the honest
wool garments of the big companies were rough
beside it. It would be warmer, too, the free
traders said.
So the traders got the furs and traded this
underwear for it. Then Winter swept down out
of the North and the Indians found that the
beautiful, heece-lined garments were nothing
but cleverly treated cotton. Pneumonia swept
the camps Indians died by the score. And
somewhere furs graced the shoulders of women,
soft and luxuriant and beautiful-furs which
had been gained at the expense of human life.
THUS trickery, sharp dealing and law-break-
ing woven pretty thoroughly into the
beloved new fur coat last years neckpiece.
Often it starts at the very bottom, with the
trapper who decides to get rich auckland
doesnt-by breaking the law with the use Of
poison
Cyanide of potassium and strychnine are the
favorites, and when man starts to use these
he begins to end the fur supply in his district.
In the first place my observation has been that
a man who uses poison does not get one-tenth
of the animals he kills Sometimes they
wander for miles into inaccessible country or
new fall of snow covers their tracks, thus losing
them to the trapper.
Or perhaps the body is not found until that
snow melts in the Spring and the carcass has
been exposed to changes of temperature, thus
weakening the pelt and injuring the fur. Or
worse, cycle of destruction is started thus
accounting for more than trapped OUT
area.
When lazy; greedy trapper decides to 'go
the route" he kills q moose OF deer cuts it
open and thoroughly poisons the meat To that
potson-fllled carcass comes every form of meat
eating member of animal and bird life. Mag
pies peck at the food and fly away, perhaps 10
mics, there to drop dead and themselves be-
come bait. Wolves eat of the meat-coyoteS,
foxes, lynx. They too, scatter in various direc-
tions. From one bait, hundred other bats
have been set out, to kill everything carnivorous
in the forest. Then the trapper comes along
and following the trails or river beds or the
shores of lake, endeavors to pick up the re-
suit In truth he only finds what has fallen
across his path. For every animal recovered
there SO that are never found or whose
killing has been useless.
Such methods put a terrific strain upon the
fur supply of a region and upon the balance Of
nature. Bears, for instance are more plentiful
today than 10 years ago-they are largely vege-
tarians Likewise have ermine increased in
spite of steady demand; their food is mice
partridge and rabbits, which In turn are vege-
tartan and therefore are exempt from poisoned
bats. The rest of the fur bearers are disap-
pearing in spite of laws against poison and
fervent prosecution when man is caught
Even the licensing of trappers to a certain
limit of catch is not effective as a cure Nor
are closed seasons. Some time ago happened
to be in Western district where the trapping
of beaver had been banned. L wanted a certain
driver for a long automobile trip
Sorry, I can't CO." he said. I'm only
making night trips now. They pay better"
Might trips?" asked. For what?"
Bootlegging beaver. Since the new law
went into effect bunch of the boys have
established contacts with traders who will guar
antee to get the beaver out of the country
The trouble is to deliver the goods So they
bring their bales of skins to a point on the
Restima road at dark and go out and bring
them In. 1t pays well.'
Thus the destruction goes on 1t will con-
tlnue until the trapper runs himself out Of a
job.