CHAPTER XXV. 



ART OF PULLING HEARTS. 



I see by inquiries answered and letters from 

 F. Edgar Brown in an issue of Hunter-Trader- 

 Trapper that my casual mention of pulling the 

 heart of the fox in "Reynard Outwitted," has 

 struck a chord of interest with trappers. As 

 the knack of pulling the hearts of jfche smaller 

 animals trapped is worth knowing, and will 

 save the hunter dirty work in the skinning of 

 the pelts, I will describe the process as plain as 

 I can. 



It is bad enough to skin an animal that has 

 been struggling in a steel trap, and got the im- 

 prisoned leg a mass of congealed blood, without 

 adding to the disagreeableness of the job crush- 

 ing in his head or breaking his back with a pole. 

 This at least can be avoided by pulling down 

 the heart till the cords snap. In no other way 

 do Indians, or those who have learned trapping 

 from Indians, kill the small animals they find 

 alive when visiting their line of traps. Foxes, 

 martens, minks and rabbits are always killed in 

 this way. Lynx, of course, is a nasty animal to 



195 



