furrier there is little doubt that there would be no trouble in 

 getting $1,000 for it. Silver-gray foxes are also quite scarce, 

 but they are plentiful indeed compared with the black ones. 



The Duluth furriers do not by any means handle all the 

 pelts that are shipped through Duluth. All through the trap- 

 ping season buyers represting fur-handling houses in New 

 York, Chicago, St. Louis and elsewhere, travel through this 

 part of the country, making Duluth their headquarters for the 

 buying of furs directly from the trappers. A Twin City buyer 

 recently took a drive of 45 to 50 miles through the Northern 

 Minnesota woods, just to see what he could get from the trap- 

 pers, and purchased only three or four furs. The number of 

 such buyers making their headquarters in Duluth at any one 

 time in the trapping season usually runs between five and 

 twenty. 



It is not every trapper, however, that is content to sell either 

 to these agents or to the Duluth furriers. One Northern Min- 

 nesota trapper, well known to the Duluth taxidermists, makes 

 an annual trip to New York city with his furs and disposes 

 of them directly to the fur houses there. This man claims 

 to clear $1,800 annually from his trappings. Thus far this 

 year he has trapped furs to the aggregated value of about 

 $900. He has four bungalows in the woods, and. makes it a 

 practice to tramp from one to another, examining the traps 

 at each as he comes to it, and killing and skinning the vic- 

 tims. 



When the Animal is Caught in the Trap, the Hunter Stuns 

 With a Club Before Killing. 



The traps that are used in this pursuit are almost alto- 

 gether the steel spring ones, such as are commonly used in 

 catching rats. They are of various sizes, according to the ani- 

 mal that is sought. When the trapper sees his animal se- 

 curely caught he usually stuns and kills it with a club. He 

 would rather not shoot, as that makes a hole in the fur. An 

 experienced trapper will set his snares right in the path where 

 he knows such animals as he wants have run, for it is well 

 known that these animals, have certain fixed routes, which 

 they regularly travel in their quest of food. 



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