TRAPPING RED FOX.
In the many years that he has been striving for his glossy pelt, man
has evolved numerous clever schemes for outwitting the fox, but in
the meantime Reynard has not been an idle observer regarding the ways
of the human enemy, says J. L. Woodbury, of Maine. He lacks the
advantage of books or tradition for handing down his store of
accumulated knowledge, but in some mysterious way it is transmitted
from generation to generation, nevertheless. So it is that the fox of
the older and more thickly settled sections is a very different
animal from the fox--even though it be of the same variety or
species--inhabiting a part of the country where its kind has not been
so persistently hunted. Tricks that prove effective with the latter
are utterly lost on his better-schooled brother. Hence the simple
methods advanced by some trappers are a bit amusing to the trappers
here in the East, where the subject of this sketch reaches the acme
of wisdom, and is, we believe, the peer in shrewdness and cunning of
any animal in the world. However, we do not wish to be understood as
ridiculing anybody's methods. We read the crudest of them with
interest, realizing that they are all right in the region whence they
came.
[Illustration: CAUGHT IN MAINE.]
I would advise the amateur fox trapper to begin with the water set if
practicable. Nearly any one of the many different forms are good
enough, with such modifications as will be found necessary to adapt
it to varying conditions of different sets. As one should not begin
operations until freezing weather, spring water should be selected
for the trap. A good-sized spring works best, but if this is not to
be had, utilize some of the little springs to be found in plenty near
the sources of brooks. One with a dark bottom is to be preferred, as
then there will be no sand to clog the trap, which may be pressed
down into the mud until it is all hidden but the pan. This should be
about an inch under the water, and covered with a lump of moss.
The position of trap with relation to bait has so often been
explained I need not dwell upon it here. If the spring be a large one
it is easy to place the bait so that it will be protected by water on
all sides save the one desired, but if a smaller pool be employed the
side opposite the trap should be barricaded with stumps or brush;
which work, by the way, had better be done some time during the
previous summer. And rather than leave too narrow an approach to the
bait if is better to set two or even more traps, for reynard's
suspicions are quickly aroused by anything resembling an inclosure.
As to the matter of bait, it may be said in general that foxes like
about all kinds of meat. Yet the task of selecting a killing bait is
not always as easy as might be expected from this, as individuals
seem to have their particular preferences, while the morsel that
would be eagerly sought by the same fox at one season will have no
attraction for him at another. If you find "signs" in the vicinity of
your sets, yet they remain unmolested, experiment with different
kinds of baits, as the angler tries a variety of flies at every
likely-looking pool. It is certain that mice, rabbits and grouse are
among the best baits.
For the "scent" part, some trappers claim to do well without them,
but a good scent is unquestionably a great help. Many of those for
which receipts are given I know to be effective. But the most
tempting bait and the strongest lure will jointly prove unavailing if
one's set be unskillfully made, and carelessness be practiced in
going to and from trap.
Water, of course, leaves no scent where it is possible to reach the
set by boat or wading, but where this is impracticable arrange to go
to trap but rarely, if it remain undisturbed. The height of springs
vary but little with wet or dry weather, and this fact should be
taken full advantage of by the fox-trapper. Carefully select a trap
that will not spring of itself. See that the trigger is pushed well
into the notch, pick out a good, close-fibred piece of moss for pan,
not large enough to clog the jaws, and stick a few small twigs around
it to hold it in place. Push the chain well down into the mud, have
the bait exactly in the right place, and in fact use every care to
have things fixed so that they will not be disarranged by trivial
causes. Then in visiting, go no nearer than is necessary to see that
bait or trap have not been disturbed.
Skunks will often prove a great bother, as they take all kinds of
bait and kick up no end of a "bobbery" when caught. The fact that
their pelts pay the bill in part is but poor consolation, when one
has just got a particularly shy old red coat about worked up to the
"biting" point.
Sometimes one will run upon natural conditions particularly favorable
for a set--a rock, islet or piece of drift in mid-channel, or an old
log spanning the stream. Experienced trappers are quick to note all
such places as these, as well as points where, with a very little
human handiwork, traps may be placed to advantage.
It is best to make all essential preparations as long before setting
as possible, though bearing in mind that the streams are usually much
higher in the trapping season than during the summer. Also begin
putting out baits some time before setting traps. No animal exercises
afterward the same degree of caution as on the first two or three
visits to a spot, and even so shy a creature as the fox, if he become
accustomed to picking up a few choice bits at a place, will soon
neglect much of his usual precaution in approaching it, and though he
take alarm and shun it for a time will ere long get up sufficient
confidence to renew his visits.
If you find where there is a burrow with a family of young foxes,
watch them all you can during your leisure moments. Learn where they
get their food, where they cross the streams, and their general lines
of travel. True, the family may be broken up and driven to sections
miles away before time for trapping, but nevertheless a few traps
should be placed in the old beats, as if one of this family should
ever return to the vicinity he will be certain to revisit his former
haunts.
Many trappers, and especially young trappers, expect to get a fox the
first night, and, as it would seem, think to make their set so that
not the slightest taint of man or iron lingers about the spot after
they leave it. They boil their traps in this or that, or smear them
with some odorous substance (the very thing perhaps to draw the
game's attention to them); they handle them gingerly with gloves
(which are often as strongly imbued with man smell as their naked
hands); strap hides, pieces of board or snow shoes to their feet when
setting or visiting, and in fact go through a rigmarole that would
require about half a day to set a single trap. Then they think that
if the shyest old fox imaginable should come along that night he
would walk into their snare as confidently as a cow into a stall, or
a man into his own house. Without reflecting upon the methods of any
one, we must say that we consider many of these expedients
unnecessary, unless when dealing with an unusually shrewd customer.
For my own part we make but little reckoning on a trap for the first
two or three days, especially one with bait. Sometimes, of course, a
storm helps us out, or we may nab a youngster who is green at the
game; but this is an exception, not the rule. We take all needful
precautions in respect to disturbance and scent, but our chief aim is
to secrete and cover our trap well; to cover it so that no smell or
iron can possibly reach the surface, and so that it will remain
covered for weeks if necessary, and yet be ready for business, let
the weather be what it will--snow or rain, heat or cold. Herein lies
the essence of the art; to fix your trap so that it will not soon
require your attention, then nature will speedily dispose of whatever
scent you may have left about it. We are speaking now chiefly of land
sets.
In looking up a place for a set, select one if possible where some
natural or artificial provision will admit of approach without
leaving much scent--a hard-beaten path, a double stone wall, a line
of ledges, or a combination of some such conditions, which should be
invariably followed in going to and from trap.
[Illustration: CAUGHT BY A MISSOURI TRAPPER.]
When you have decided upon the place for a trap, make all possible
preparations at a distance; then go to the spot and do your work as
quickly and cleanly as you can. If the ground is soft, use a strip of
board to stand on. If you use gloves, have some especially for the
purpose, and never leave them lying about your dog's quarters or the
house. It will do no hurt to smear them lightly with whatever you are
using for scent.
See that the trap rests evenly and firmly, so that if any part of it
be stepped on it will not tip and pull apart the covering, or grate
upon rocks or the chain. Make your excavation quite deep, filling in
the bottom with some two inches of hemlock twigs or something of like
nature, so as to prevent the gathering of moisture and a consequent
freeze. Secure to a clog, or use a grapnel. The latter is in most
cases preferable, as it may be buried from sight, while the former
adds one more to the objects likely to arouse suspicion.
The covering is something that you will pretty much have to learn for
yourself. Like swimming, no one can teach it by any amount of
talking; practice is necessary to acquire the trick. Moss, leaves and
rotten wood are the principal materials used, though pinches of
herbage and dirt may be added to harmonize with set and surroundings.
Leaves, however, should be used sparingly, as they change shape with
every phase of weather, and thus frequently spoil what would
otherwise have remained a good covering. If well rotted they give
less trouble in this respect, and offer less resistance to the jaws
in closing.
When using bait, if not setting in a bed, find a spot where little
building is required to protect it--a hollow log or stump, the
entrance to an old burrow, a niche in a ledge or hole under a rock.
Sometimes, where a trout-stream flows under a step bluff, a little
shelf is found in the face of the bluff (and one can usually be made
if it is not already there); and by placing a trap on the shelf and
the bait just above it, you have sly Mr. Fox at great disadvantage,
as he must leap from the opposite side of the brook to the embankment
to reach the bait. A projection in the face of a cliff, several feet
from the ground, if it is inaccessible from overhead or either side
may be similarly improved.
Always be on the lookout for such places as these, where those sharp
eyes and that keen, pointed nose will be kept at a distance from your
set until it is too late for them to detect signs of danger.
Old roads offer good possibilities for traps without bait. Unused
plain roads, where the grass has sprung up may be practically covered
by placing a trap in each wheel-rut and the central path. The space
under a set of bars may be partly filled with brush and two or three
traps placed side by side in the opening with good chances of
success. We say two or three traps, as by so doing a larger opening
may be left, which adds greatly to your chances. An attempt to coax
this slippery fellow into narrow quarters quickly excites his
suspicions.
Cow and sheep paths are much traveled by reynard, especially those
leading around and through swamps. These are more easily trapped than
roads, a good method being to first go along the path with your decoy
scent, applying at intervals to objects close beside the path, and
then setting traps, without bait, between the "doctored" points. An
old pelt of some sort dragged behind you will serve to kill your own
scent, and to keep the intended victim to the path.
As stated, an important element of successful fox trapping is to make
as little disturbance, and to leave us little scent us possible, in
working around, and going to and from trap. It follows then that one
should not only aim so to fix his traps that they will require no
actual attention under ordinary conditions of weather, except at
considerable intervals, but should invariably locate them with a view
to being able to look after them in a way not to arouse wily
reynard's suspicions.
[Illustration: WHITE FOX SKINS.]
Sometimes, when trapping along a creek or other waters where it is
not convenient to keep a boat, a rude raft may be constructed from
which to make sets, and to be employed in visiting same. It
simplifies the work one half to be able to do the whole thing by
water, as water leaves neither scent nor trail. But where it is not
possible to make use of this helpful agent, care should be taken to
select a spot that can be approached over ledgy ground, or by jumping
from rock to rock, two short strips of board to be stepped upon
alternately, being often useful in bridging over any breaks that may
occur in such line of approach.
Where this method cannot be employed, owing to the nature of the
ground, it is advisable to vary the route in visiting, as by always
following the same line a well defined trail will soon be made, which
is certain to excite suspicion in an animal as shy as the fox. When
dealing with an unusually shrewd customer, some wear snowshoes or
strap hide of some sort on the feet, either of which is not a bad
plan, as well as that of dragging a fresh pelt behind one to
obliterate one's trail.
As to making beds of chaff, while I have no personal experience with
this material, it never impressed me as being the proper thing for
the purpose, as it is out of place in the woods or fields. If a man
comes upon a pile of chaff any where away from buildings, it
instantly occurs to him as being queer that it should be in such a
place. Do you not suppose that the wild creatures, whose very
existence depends upon their sharpness of observation, are likely to
note the unfitness of the thing quicker than we? Of course, if the
chaff be deposited in place early in the season, allowing time to
discolor and decay, it may help the case, or feathers may be thrown
over the bed. But in the latter event wind may at any time remove the
covering. For myself, I have always had better luck in making sets
for any animal with materials obtained from the immediate
surroundings, and having therefore nothing foreign in smell or
appearance to offend the creature's nose or eye.
Now a few words as to the fox's regard for iron. Does he feel that it
is a thing to be avoided or not? It is my belief, brother trappers,
that he does, under certain circumstances, have a strong instinctive
fear of metal of any kind. That is to say, when he finds it in places
where as a rule it is not to be found. The fact that he will walk for
miles on the railroad track, and even upon the rails, is no argument
to the contrary, for the reason that he has become accustomed to the
iron in such places. A large quantity does not alarm him, but a small
piece, half hidden in the dirt, in field or wood where he is not
accustomed to see it, awakes his distrust. For the same reason, he
will trot deliberately out in the road in front of a passing team,
when the mere snapping of a twig beneath the hunter's feet would send
him off flying. He has learned that danger rarely comes to him from
persons traveling by team; it is of the stealthy step and the swift
act of raising a gun that instinct has taught him to stand in fear.
And so it is with respect to iron. It is all right in its place, he
knows, but he also knows that it is quite out of place--from his
standpoint, at least--in proximity to his favorite articles of diet.
Why even the stupid muskrat, who will go into people's cellars, and
in fact most everywhere else he wants to, and who will walk into any
sort of set so long as the trap be covered, will not step into a bare
trap. Dozens of times have I had my dog follow the tracks one has
made around my trap when it was left bare by falling water, but
invariably the rat has left the bait rather than put his foot on the
uncovered trap. It is absurd to think the thick-headed muskrat is
sharper in any respect than wise Mr. Fox.
[Illustration: A RHODE ISLAND SCENE.]