WRITE 



WMftT YOU MftVE- 



SEEM 



FOR YOUNG FOLKS 



EDITED BY - 



Edward FDigelow 



W/HPT YOU WP\MT 

 TO KMOW. 



^Soc/nc 



ich , Conn. 



Hunt Snapping Turtles. 

 Wisconsin and Illinois can boast of 

 the most noted turtle hunters in the 

 business. These men have discovered 

 a new occupation which serves them 

 profitably in the dull winter months 

 when there is little to do on the farm- 

 There is not only pretty good pay in it 

 for the man who knows how to hunt 

 turtles, and how to market them, but 

 there is at present very little competi- 



CATCHIXG SNAPPING TURTLES. 



tion. The common snapping turtle may 

 be found in almost any part of the Unit- 

 ed States between the Atlantic ocean 

 and the Rocky mountains. These tur- 

 tles hide in the mud along the streams 

 in the fall of the year and if no one digs 

 them out they remain in the mud until 

 the warm weather of the next spring. 



Among the most noted turtle hunters 

 of the country are J. S. Bassler, Max 

 Bassler and C. D. Taylor, of Darien, 



Wisconsin, and Byron Sweet and Rich- 

 ard Ferguson, both of Poplar Grove, 

 Illinois. No sooner do the turtles hide 

 in the mud in the fall than these men 

 equip wagons for a two months' trip. 

 Usually they take in southern Wiscon- 

 sin, southern Minnesota, northern Iowa 

 and northern Illinois. They ship the 

 turtles from any railroad station which 

 they happen to be near. Shipments are 

 made either to Chicago, Boston, New 

 York or Baltimore. Good turtle hunt- 

 ers can go on such a trip and have a 

 fine time and make the trip pay. but un- 

 less one is "up to snuff" in turtle hunt- 

 ing he had better leave it alone, as it 

 offers a good opportunity to waste time 

 and catch a bad cold. There are only a 

 few men in the country who have made 

 turtle hunting a success. 



Turtles are caught with a five- 

 eigfhths-inch steel rod about seven 

 feet in length with a hook turned up on 

 the end which goes into the ground. 

 The hook is jabbed into the ground 

 along the streams and the expert tur- 

 tle hunters can tell the minute they 

 strike "Mr. Turtle-" The hook is jab- 

 bed into the turtle's back and the turtle 

 is hauled up out of the mud. Frequent- 

 lv a large number of turtles are found 

 in the same bed of mud. Often 200 

 pounds of turtles are dug up out of the 

 same hole. The turtles are placed in 

 bags and carried to the road where they 

 are loaded in a wagon. A bag filled 

 with turtles weighs between 100 and 

 125 pounds. The turtles are packed in 

 sugar barrels and shipped to market. A 

 sugar barrel filled weighs about 325 

 pounds. The turtles are packed in alive, 

 one on top of another, and they will 

 live for many days. The animals are 

 worth 6 to 12 cents a pound on the 

 New York or Chicago market. The 

 meat is used for soup at the swellest 



