TRAPPERS' CLAIMS 

 be crowded out of a trapping ground. So some 

 of the old pioneer trappers got together and es- 

 tablished what is itnown as a trappers' claim. 

 Some held certain claims upon rights of per- 

 mission, others from permission of the land- 

 owners, while still others had bought their 

 grounds. These trapping grounds or claims, as 

 they were sometimes called, were divided by a 

 line running north and south as the river is sup- 

 posed to flow from the northeast in a south- 

 western course. So the miles on the river were 

 the base lines of the claims and extended on 

 both sides of the river just as far as it was pro- 

 fitable and ran all the way from two to ten miles 

 in width. Therefore there were a good many 

 trapping grounds lying between the Indiana 

 State line and English Lake. These claims 

 were bought and sold almost the same as real 

 estate and they were about as strong in their 

 stipulation as the Clayton-Bulwort treaty. They 

 have brought many a trapper on the verge ©f 

 war. Among the early trappers who came in 



87 



