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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 1922)
2 V THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JANUARY 15, 1922 M New York Bookkeeper '3ffciS l Comes From Office, to Sue- 1 jjfa ' BY M. V, SEALE. ' (Copyright 1922.) EVER since I wag 10 years old I wanted to spend a winter or two as a professional trapper. Not - until the spring: of 1919 was I able to realize my wishes. Prior to my arrival on the Pacific coast I was engaged In office work. It was very confining- and, according ly, all my vacations and spare time were spent in the fields and on the streams of New fork and neighbor ing states. Contrary to general opinion In the west, the eastern states still have some game left In their forests, so I was not altogether a greenhorn to the ways of the woods when. In the fall of 1918, I left New York to try my luck in business and adventure on the Pacific coast. After my arrival In Portland I found time to seriously consider a winter cougar hunt which had been in my mind for some time. With this end In view I madjj the acquaintance of H. G. Hayes, trapper and guide of McKenzle Bridge, Or., and went on a two weeks' trip over his trap lines. Work Is nificnlt. Those two weeks represented the hardest hunting I ever had, bar none. Hayes and I did everything possible To secure a cougar, but without Satil. Hayes managed somehow to catch two cats and an otter and these and iz deer were the only wild ani mals seen during the trip. The hard luck experienced, however, only in creased my determination to try my band at trapping. I. therefore, mad the best arrangements I could with Hayes to use his traps, cabins and equipment for the spring bear season. This decision was really the cause of my taking up trapping as a serious business. It was her that I began to study with car the habits and 'ways of the wild creatures who wers my only neighbors. I soon realised that to be a successful trapper one must have the power of observation developed to a very high, degree. It is the small things that count la the art of trapping. It Is my opinion that when a wild animal moves or travels In any direction at all he usually has a definite or fairly well formed object In view. A bedding' ground, perhaps; a good patch of feed, a mate, or simply something that arouses his curiosity. I had some thing over two months to wait before the bears emerged from their winter quarters In April. Tracks Traced la Snow. As there was still ' considerable snow In the hills I formed the habit of following the tracks of the deer, bob cat, coyote, timber wolf and an occa sional marten. This served a triple purpose. It soon strengthened my muscles and put me In good physical condition. It taught me the habits -of the animals and also served to make me acquainted with the country. It was not until the end of April, however, that I caught my first bear. I had returned to McKenzle Bridge ipr supplies and while there received an urgent call to conn on to Portland on' business. It was ten days later before I returned. Just before leav ing for McKenzie Bridge I set my first bear trap oi the edge of a long swamp. In the spring, after emerg ing from their winter quarters, the bear family head straight for the nearest swamp, where they feed on the tender shoots of new swamp grass and skunk cabbage, later mov ing onto their summer range in the grassy meadows high up In the mountains. Bear Trap Constructed. It is not difficult to trap a bear, providing an ordinary amount of care' la used, as he is not very suspicious by nature, and almost any kind of bait, especially tainted meat, im oa his bill of fare. There are several methods of trapping bears, but the one most generally used is to build a V-shaped pen of logs with walls about four feet high and open la front. The bait is placed on the ground at the ' rear of the pen and the traps just in side the entrance. Hayes traps, three In number, had offset Jaws armed with wicked looking teeth and weighed ll pounds each. O'ne trap was used for each pen and fastened to a six-foot seasoned log about five inches through. This Is known as a "toggle" or "drag," and prevents the bear from traveling any great dis tance after being caught. If the trap was securely fastened an angry bruin would soon either tear his foot off or smash the trap and escape. In setting my first bear trap I used table scraps for bait. I had heard that oil of aniseed was a good scent, so I sprinkled a few drops around the pen. Immediately upon my return t camp, therefore, I plaited the trap and was much elated to find It gone. My elation quickly turned to dismay. J again bright and early. I would find the trail only o lose it again,, and the close of the second day found me h... .n.... . v v. half way up a mountain side and h,r tu. - "tuck again at swamp, but this had almost entirely disappeared. The bear had evidently la that trap a week or more. It was all goes a long ways. Trout can be I could do alone to turn him over, smoked also and put away for winter This is only one incident in bear trap- use. A good plan, too, Is to add a ping. No two are exactly alike. It crock of some kind to the outfit, la a cruel game, but It certainly has This can be used to mix and keep its thrills. In following a trapped your sour dough in. bear you never know what to expect. We also included three cameras He may be behind the next log fight- and plenty of films. Wo made a ing mad or waiting-" for you in a standing rule never to go over any brush thicket. I got four and lost trap line without one of these three that spring. cameras. In this way we secured At the close of the season my chum many fine pictures of trapped ani and pal from the east-joined me in mals, snow scenes, etc. McKenzle Bridge and, after due con- The principal furs taken on the slderation, we decided to put out a western slope of the Cascades are trap line of our own the following marten, mink, otter, coyote, lynx cat, winter. With this end In view we racoon, skunk, civet cat and . bear, spent most of the summer looking: the There are a few timber wolves, country over, getting In good physl- cougar, fisher and foxes left, but not cal condition and studying conditions many. In fact, in. the vicinity of Mo from every angle. We finally decld- Kenzle Bridge only two cougar and ed to trap the country between Belk- three timber wolves have been killed nap Hot Springs, on the upper Mc- in the past three years. Beaver, how Kensie river, and Clear lake, 20 miles ever, are now fairly plentiful In cer above the springs. We secured a per- tain sections. There are a few elk mlt from the supervisor of the San- left In the upper south fork and Sepa tlam national forest to use a govern- ration creek countries. These animals ment cabin at Clear lake. Half way are barely holding their own. Deer between the Hot Springs and the lake are very plentiful and it is not diffl we built a cabin of our own, our main cult to secure a nice buck during the camp. Later we built another camp open season. Last winter on day seven miles east to give us access to trip between camps I saw 18 deer. the summit and some fine marten country. This gave us a very good tar Indeed, us including our home cabin at MCKenzie Bridge, we had money and which a trapper can safely four camps to work from. From Belk- figure on catching during a winter's nap Springs to Clear lake and from season In the Cascades are those of Olallle cabin to Summit ct.mp we set the marten. Even then he must be In out a complete line of traps averag- close proximity to the summit, as the lng from four to six to the mile, marten seems to prefer the high These were set principally for cats, places, providing, of course, that they with" a few marten, coyote and mink are fairly well timbered. Winter be sets thrown in. At Clear lake and fore last furs were higher than ever Summit camps we had separate trap before. Marten brought the trapper lines thrown out to east and west es- from $15 to $50 for each raw fur in pecially for marten. We also had the state of Oregon. Other furs were I-ast winter. Trap Line Etablihrd. l" oroppea out or ,, v . . , . the fur market and this winter is very The number of steel traps used was mte bcUer Tha cnancej of about 200. and the actual number of a falr Btake thla r To trap good. Marten Pclta Valuable. The furs which run Into the most return to camp. This left a very slim possibility of ever seeing either bean or trap again. After a careful again at the foot of a big rock slide. The next morning I left .my rifle in camp and, taking my shot- Jdwzrr W7?? pj-ys Va'' Grsrr. however, as I began to realize what of bark- Altogether I followed that trees were thick they were quite TOme mlnk and other Bet, at the uke correspondingly high I was up against. When setting the ueBr ul uuul uw "" plain, dui also quite oia, snowing tnat trap some two week before there, was firat day- Thenext day I w t It tna beaP ha(1 passed through several considerable snow still left in the aealjl bright and early. I would find &Aya before i had to circle con- ntA.ntlv to oleic utVthA trn.11. mil this delayed me so much that the first miles covered was about 45 thing I knew It was 6 P. M. and get- furs on a paying basis requires good Marten are not at all suspicious by ting on towards dark. Just ahead the Judgment, experience, lots of time, nature and are the easiest of all fur ground started to drop down into a hard work, care and a nice little check--bearnr9 to catch. Meat Is used for Bm.ll oanvnn n n A thlnlrtnor T nrmilil tcT trRDS. enulDment and DTOVlstonS. bait KTlA the main diffllMllfv In trnti- search I found where something heavy . l ti b i take a look down that way for luck, I You must take in enough provisions ping marten Is this very meat ques- had been dragged over a rotten log clrclln th rook sIlde a couPIa 01 started forward and coming around to last all winter, but at the same tlon. We hit on the plan of buying near by, tearing off a good - sized times Ilnal.y found the trail again. a bg fir spotted my bear Just 30 feet time not too much, as everything goes an old horse, taking him In to our chunk of bark. Later on I found Brain Drags Trap. 4 away standing and watching me, with In on horses. Everything should be Summit camp, where he was cut up. where a large animal had torn Its The going here was quite steep and his trap all tangled up in a little packed In by the end of October, and In this high altitude he soon froze way through va thick clump of of Mr. Beaf had left a pretty plain trail, clump of cedars. You can judge his by the end of November your traps and'we were assured of plenty of bait young cedars, one of which, as thick It led straight up the mountain side size and strength when I tell you that should be set and baited. In October, for the season.. The traps are placed as my wrist, had been chewed com- to the top of a high ridge well cov- he measured six feet eight Inches from during the last of the open season for on the side of a tree about 14 Inches pletely in two about five feet above ered with snow. The snow was deep, nose to tall; that he carried that deer, the allotted number should be above the ground or surface of the the ground. And so It went, a skinned too, from four to iU feet and better, steel trap and "toggle" over three killed and made Into jerky. It comes snow and rest on two nails driven bush, here a 'broken stick there, a In tba openings the tracks had een miles through all kinds of brush and In mighty nandy during the winter for into the bark. A leaning tree Is claw mark on an overturned piece entirely melted out, but where the up a mountain side and, after being lunches on the trail and a little of it (CoDCiudetl en SO rx
