THE FOX.
The various members of the fox family are found in almost all parts
of the world but are most abundant in the Northern Hemisphere. There
are many species and varieties, but it is those of North America that
are of the most interest to the trapper.
Those found on this continent are the red, the gray, the kit and
Arctic foxes, and there are a number of varieties of the red and gray
species. The black, silver and cross foxes are supposed to be only
color varieties of the red, but why this occurs, and only in the
North, is a mystery.
The Silver or Black fox is the most beautiful and most valuable of
all the foxes. It is found in the high, northern latitudes of both
continents. In this country, it is found as far south as the northern
tier of states. They are most abundant in the interior of Alaska, the
Northwest Territories, Ontario, Northern Quebec, Labrador and
Newfoundland.
At the London fur sales, specimens have been sold at over one
thousand dollars each, but the average price is probably about two
hundred dollars. Wherever the Silver fox is found, the Cross or Patch
fox is found also, and they also range somewhat farther south. They
are always found in greater numbers than the Silver variety.
The red fox is the most common and is distributed over a larger
territory than the other varieties. They range from the northern
timber line, to well down in the Southern States. They are probably
most abundant in the Eastern provinces of Canada and the England
States, but they are found in fair numbers in parts of New York,
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Michigan
and the larger part of Canada and Alaska.
The Gray fox is one of the least valuable, and is most abundant in
the Southern States. In the East they range as far north as
Connecticut, In some places they have supplanted the Red species, and
in other places the grays have disappeared and the reds have taken
their place.
The fox, as well as the wolf and coyote, belongs to the dog family,
which is second, only to man in intelligence. The different species
are all practically the same size, but the same varieties vary in
size in different localities. The average weight is from nine to ten
pounds. In general appearance they somewhat resemble the dog, being
rather light of build, considering their height. The ears are erect
and pointed, the tail thick and bushy, and the muzzle small and
pointed. The fur varies in the different species, being coarse and
rather short on the Gray, while that of the Silver fox is extremely
fine and soft.
The mating season comes in February, and e young are born usually in
April, there being from four to nine in a litter. They make dens in
the sand hills and in rocky districts, den in the rocks. Except
during the breeding season they spend very little time in the dens,
but lie during the day in some clump of brush or weeds, or often on
top of a stump or log. In mountainous sections they lie during the
day, somewhere on the mountain side and come down into the valleys at
night in search of food.
The fox is not strictly a carnivorous animal. When food is scarce
they often feed on apples and other fruits, but their regular food is
flesh. They are fond of partridge, rabbits, mice, skunk, muskrat or
opossum flesh, carrion of almost all kinds, fish, eggs, poultry, and
often they come around the camps and gather up the scraps, bread,
bacon rinds etc. If they are given time and not disturbed they become
quite bold in coming to such places for food and the trappers
sometime take advantage of this peculiarity by baiting them awhile
before setting the trap.
The fox in the North becomes prime in the beginning of November and
remains in good condition until the middle of March, when the fur
begins to take on a rubbed and woolly appearance. In the South they
do not become prime until the last of November or the beginning of
December and go out of prime in February. Most of the foxes are
trapped in the fall before the ground freezes too hard for dry sets,
and of course, many of them are not prime.
The traps recommended for the fox, for dry land use are the Nos. 2
and 3 Oneida Jump and Blake & Lamb, the 1 1/2 Newhouse and Hawley &
Norton and the No. 2 Victor. For water and snow trapping, the Nos. 3
and 4 Oneida Jump and Blake & Lamb, and the 21 1/2 and 31 1/2
Newhouse will be found most desirable.
In places where there are springs and small streams, there is no
better method than the old water set, which is made as follows: It is
best to find a spring which does not freeze, but for early fall
trapping a brook will do. The rise and fall of the water in small
streams sometimes makes trouble, and a spring or small pond gives
best results. The spring should be at least four feet in diameter and
should be prepared for the set in the summer, but if care is used,
may be fixed up during the trapping season. A moss covered stone, or
a sod (according to surroundings) should be placed about a foot and a
half from shore, and should rise about two or three inches above the
water. This is the bait sod. The trap is set half way between the sod
and the shore, and the jaws, springs and chain should be covered with
mud, or whatever is found in the bottom of the spring.
[Illustration: Water Set for Fox.]
The pan of the trap should just be covered with water. Now take a
nice piece of moss or sod and place it on the pan of the trap, so
that it will rise an inch above the water. When properly placed, this
sod will look natural and will, apparently be a safe stepping place
for the fox. The pan should be so adjusted that it will not spring
too easily. A small piece of bait and also some scent should be
placed on the larger sod.
In making this set you should wade up the outlet of the spring, and
stand in the water while making the set. Do not touch the bank or any
of the surroundings. The trap should be fitted with a chain about
three feet in length, with a two prong drag attached, but most
trappers simply wire a stone of eight or ten pounds weight to the end
of the chain. The drag, whatever is used, should be buried in the bed
of the spring.
I recommend the flesh of the muskrat, skunk, opossum or house-cat for
bait, and it should be allowed to taint by remaining about a week in
a glass jar. This method was first used by William Schofield a famous
fox trapper of the Eastern states. Two men have been known to catch
over one hundred foxes in a season with this method, besides
considerable other furs taken in the same traps, for the method is
good for many other animals besides the fox.
One trapper recommends setting the trap in exactly the same manner,
except that the bait sod is omitted, and the bait, a bird, is
fastened by means of a stick thrust in the bottom of the spring. The
stick must be entirely out of sight, and the bird, apparently,
floating in the water. Both of these methods are very good, and are
especially recommended for the novice, as they are the easiest and
surest methods to start on.
The water sets given above, can of course, only be used in certain
places, for in some of the best fox countries, springs cannot be
found, and even the streams are not suitable for trapping. For this
reason many professional fox trappers prefer to use dry land sets,
and the blind set will be found to be one of the very best.
Look for fox tracks in old stock trails, foot paths, old roads in the
woods, openings under fences, etc., and having first cleaned the
traps by boiling or washing, find a narrow place in the trail and dig
out a nest for the trap. Make this nest so that when the trap is set
in it, the jaws will lie lengthwise of the trail. Line this nest with
dry grass or leaves, and having attached the trap to some sort of a
drag, set it and place it in the place prepared. Fill in all around
the outside of the jaws with dry dirt, and cover the springs. Now
lay a piece of clean paper over the trap and cover all with about
one-fourth inch of dirt, making it look like the other parts of the
trail as much as possible. The chain and drag must be carefully
concealed.
It is best to have a basket or piece of canvas in which to place the
dirt while making the set and to carry away what is not needed. Do
not spit near the trap, and do not leave any signs of your presence.
It is not necessary to wear gloves, but the hands should be kept
clean. This is an excellent method, especially for the old, sly
animals.
[Illustration: Dry Land Set for Fox.]
The professional trappers of the East use the bait method, mostly,
and although the different trappers use different baits and scents,
the methods of setting the traps are all, practically the same.
The following directions are almost the same as you will get when you
buy a method at from $1.00 to $5.00 or more. "Prepare your bait about
a week before you want to set the traps, by cutting into pieces about
half the size of an egg, and placing in a clean jar to become
tainted. Put a little bit of scent on each bait before placing in
jar. There are different ways for preparing the traps; most trappers
prefer to boil them in hemlock boughs, or lay them over night in
running water. Wear clean gloves when handling the traps and carry
them in a clean basket. Now find an old stump or a rock along some
hillside, and dig a hole under it making the hole four or five inches
in diameter and ten or twelve inches deep. Stake the trap solid,
driving stake out of sight, and set the trap about ten inches in
front of the hole. Cover the trap first with a piece of clean paper
and finish by about one-fourth inch of dirt dug out of the hole. It
should look as if some animal had dug the hole and scratched the dirt
out in front. Use a small shovel made for the purpose, or a sharpened
stick to dig the hole, and keep your gloves on all the time. Do not
walk around, but stand in the same spot until the set is complete.
Now put a piece of bait in the back of the hole, using a sharpened
stick to handle the bait and put just a little scent by the side of
the hole. When you catch a fox, kill him without drawing blood, and
set the trap back in the same place. Your chances for catching
another fox are doubled. Skunks, coons and other animals will also be
caught in these sets."
The following method is a good one to use in settled countries, as it
is not so likely to catch dogs and other animals, as other methods
are. Find an ant-hill, a small, pointed knoll, an old rotten stump, a
moss covered rock, or an old log with one end off the ground. Set the
trap on the highest point, covering carefully, so that it looks just
like it did before the trap was set. Place a fair sized bait, such as
a skunk or muskrat about eight feet away from the trap. The fox is
always suspicious of a bait, especially a large one, and will always
get on the highest point to look at it before going close. Of course,
there must be no other place for him to get up on, near the bait. In
the winter, traps may be set on muskrat houses, and bait placed on
the ice. I think it best to set the traps several days before placing
the baits, as in that way the human and other scents have a chance to
pass away. When baiting, go just close enough to throw the bait into
place.
Some trappers set traps around large baits, such as the carcass of a
horse, cow or sheep, but I think it best to place the bait by the
side of a trail and set several traps on the trail from thirty to
seventy five yards from the bait. When feeding on the bait the foxes
will travel on the trail, and they will not be looking for danger so
far away from the bait.
Comparatively few of the professional fox trappers can trap the fox
successfully after the deep snow come on; but the following methods
are the best known, and will catch the fox if you use care in
setting. Of course, snow sets of any kind can only be used when the
snow is dry and loose and likely to remain in that condition for some
time.
The first method given is the one used by the Canadian Indians, for
taking the silver fox in the great northern wilderness. Out on the
ice on some frozen lake, or on any open, wind swept piece of ground,
make a cone-shaped mound of snow, beating it solid, so that it will
not drift away. The trap should be fastened to a clog, and the clog
buried in the mound. Make the mound about two feet high, and make a
hollow in the top for the trap to set in. The hollow should be lined
with cat-tail down, or some other dry material, and the trap set in
the hollow and covered first with a sheet of white note paper,
finishing with a half inch or more of loose snow. Do not handle this
snow with your hands, for if you do it will be certain to freeze on
the trap. The best way is to take a bunch of evergreen boughs, and
brush the snow up over the mound so that it sifts lightly over the
trap. The covering on the trap should be a little lower than the top
of the mound so that the wind will not uncover the trap. The bait is
cut into small pieces and stuck into the sides of the mound.
After the trap is set it will only require a short time for the wind
to drift your tracks shut and remove all traces of human presence,
and the trap will remain in working order as long as the cold weather
lasts. If water rises on the ice it will not reach your trap, and if
there is a snow storm, the first wind will blow the loose snow off
the mound, leaving just a little over the trap. When looking at the
traps you should not go nearer than fifty yards, and do not turn off
your route, but walk straight by. This is a splendid method for use
in the far north where the snow never melts or freezes during the
winter months.
For use in the settled countries I have been very successful with
this method. Find where foxes travel on old wood roads and with your
traps clean, and with drags attached, go and break a trail in the
snow by walking back and forth on the road, and set the traps in this
broken trail without bait. The traps should be set and covered, as in
the other method, and the chain and clog pushed under the snow at the
side of the trail. Do not let it appear that you have stopped at all,
and when looking at the traps you can follow the trail and step right
over the traps. In settled localities, the fox will follow the trail
because the walking is better, but in the wilderness where the track
of a man is seldom seen, they not only refuse to follow the trail,
but often will not even cross it.
I believe that scent is more used for fox-trapping than for trapping
any other animal. Some of the best trappers, however, do not use any
scent at all, but I believe that if the right kind is used, that it
is a great help. One of the best scents known for dry land or water
sets is prepared as follows: Remove the fat from one or two skunks,
chop it fine, and take a sufficient quantity to almost fill an
ordinary pickle bottle. Take two mice; cut them up and add to the fat
and let the bottle stand in the sun until the mixture is thoroughly
decomposed; then add the scent of two skunks and five or six
muskrats. The bottle must be kept covered so the flies will not blow
it, but it must not be tightly corked. Different trappers have
different ways of preparing this scent, but I think this way is the
best.
Another very good one is made by allowing the flesh of a muskrat to
rot in a bottle, and adding about four ounces of strained honey and
one-half ounce of essence of musk.
Pure fish oil is attractive to the fox, and is used by some very good
trappers. We believe that one of the most successful scents,
especially for winter use is made by taking the generative organs of
the female fox, when in heat and preserving it in alcohol. The urine
of the fox is also good, but in using these two scents, no bait
should be used.
The brine from mackerel or other fish is claimed to be a good scent
for foxes, but if there are any porcupines, or snow-shoe rabbits
about, it will make plenty of trouble as the salt is very attractive
to these animals.
When making blind-sets, or when setting on a trail some distance from
a bait, do not stake your traps, but fasten to a drag of some kind: a
brush, a stone or a grapple. By so doing the fox will not spoil the
trail for the next one, and the trap may be set back in the same
place. For a bait set on dry land, the trap may be staked to
advantage, for if one fox is caught and rolls around over the ground,
you are more likely to catch another one there.
Do not start out with a dozen traps and expect to make a success of
fox trapping. You should have all the traps that you can look after.
Do not depend on one method of setting, as a fox will sometimes learn
your method, but some other method, even if it is not so good, may
fool them.
When killing foxes in traps, do so, if possible without drawing
blood. One of the best ways is by piercing the heart with a wire
dagger. Another good way is by breaking the neck, which may be done
as follows: Strike the fox a light blow over the head with a stick,
just hard enough to slightly stun him, and when he drops down, place
your left hand on the back of his neck, pinning him to the ground and
with your right hand pull his nose backward against his back. It
requires some practice to do this right.
The track of the red fox resembles that of a small dog, being perhaps
a trifle narrower. The length of step is about twelve or fourteen
inches, and the foot prints of an average sized fox will measure
about one and a half inches in length.
The track of the gray fox is rounder and more like that of a cat.
Some hunters claim that they can distinguish the track of the male
fox from that of the female, the footprints of the female being
smaller and a trifle narrower in proportion.
There is no difference in the footprints of the black, silver, cross
and red foxes.
[Illustration: The Coyote, or Prairie Wolf.]