296 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



The area was thickly grown with one of the three-cor- 

 nered grasses, (the leafy three-square rush, Scirpus 

 robustus), with some bulrush, cattail, wild cat grass, and 

 from outward appearances gave every indication of being 

 an ordinary muskrat trapping sector. Just before the open- 

 ing of the season the two trappers went over the property, 

 but were not at all enthusiastic over the outlook because 

 of what they considered to be a lack of "signs," and they 

 endeavored to dispose of their lease for $300, being willing 

 to stand a $50 loss and try trapping elsewhere. They were 

 not successful in this and several days after the legal trap- 

 ping season opened they began running their trap lines and 

 commenced skinning 'rats. 



In less than 80 days of trapping, the open season then 

 being 90 days (from November 15 to February 15), and 

 before the legal close season was at hand, the two adult 

 trappers, with three young boys assisting by skinning and 

 curing the pelts, "pulled" their traps and left the marsh. 



Being illiterate and unable to count, they could not keep 

 an accurate detail of their catch, but from checks given 

 them by fur buyers it was learned that they received ex- 

 actly $14,200 for their entire winter take of muskrats, 

 which they sold at prices averaging from 74 to 93 cents per 

 pelt. 



After the close of the season a survey was made of this 

 particular piece of ground to see if the trappers had left 

 even the grass roots, and found better "signs" on this area 

 than on any other spot of like dimensions in the whole State 

 of Louisiana that particular spring. Naturally, the lease 

 jumped in price for the next season. 



This catch must have been in the neighborhood of 17,000 

 muskrat pelts, or a per acre production of 35 animals. Such 

 trapping, however, would be suicidal to any one investing 

 in lands for the purpose of making a permanent 'rat ranch, 

 and it is merely mentioned to show what has been done 

 on the Louisiana marshlands, although the Delacroix Island 

 region in St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes duplicated 

 this take the winter of 1926-27. 



