CHAPTER I. 

 Autobiography of E. N. Woodcock. 



TWAS Lorn on the 30th day of August, A. D. 1844, in a little 

 village by the name of Lymansville, Potter County, Pennsyl- 

 vania. Lymansville was named after my grandparent, Isaac 

 Lyman, or better known as Major Lyman, having held office 

 of that rank in the Revolutionary War. It is from this limb of 

 the family that I inherited that uncontrollable desire for the trap, 

 gun and the wild. 



At a very early age it was my greatest delight to have all the 

 mice, squirrels and groundhogs and in later years young raccoons, 

 young fox and every other varmint or wild animal that I could 

 catch or could get from other sources, and at times I had quite 

 a menagerie. 



I began trapping at a very early age, the same as many boys 

 do who live out in the country where they have an opportunity. 

 My father owned a grist mill and a sawmill. These mills were 

 about one-half mile apart and it was about these mills and along 

 the mill races and ponds of these mills that I set my first traps 

 for muskrats, mink and coon. Before I was stout enough to set 

 a trap which was strong enough to hold the varmint, it was neces- 

 sary for me to get some older person to set the trap. I would 

 take the trap to the intended place and set for the particular 

 animals I was in quest of, whether mink, coon or rat. 



In those days clearings were small, woods large and full of 

 game. Deer could be seen in bunches every morning in the fields 

 and it was not uncommon to see a bear's track near the house 

 that had been made during the night. Wolves were not plenty 

 though it was a common thing to see their tracks and sometimes 

 hear them howl on the hills. 



Like other boys who lead an outdoor life, I grew stronger 

 each year and as I grew older and stronger my trap lines grew 



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