CHAPTER XXV. 



Advice from a Veteran. 



TN trapping, cultivate the habit of taking great care in making 

 sets. Always leave the surface level. As you cannot tell 

 what particular animal may come your way, prepare for the 

 most cunning. Note the surroundings of your set and use 

 such material for covering as may be found there so that all may 

 appear natural. Never stake the traps down for a dry land set, 

 but select for a drag an old limb or root; not one fresh cut if 

 avoidable. Obliterate your tracks; John Sneakem will not then 

 catch on so quick. Above all things, never molest another's traps. 

 The jump-trap as now made by the Oneida Community has 

 thicker jaws than the old style and therefore it is not so liable to 

 foot the animal. I find it a good trap to use. 



For mink, a good set is close to a bank and near the edge of 

 the water. The bait if any is used, should be fresh muskrat, 

 rabbit or chicken. All are good. If you wish for scent, the musk 

 from the animal you are trapping is preferable. 



One famous trapper says, "any fool knows enough to catch a 

 muskrat." I doubt whether this man himself, knows how to trap 

 them successfully. Of course, everyone knows that muskrats should 

 be trapped along streams or swails where you find their works. 

 For bait use carrots, cabbage or sweet apples. I like sweet apples 

 best, and so do the muskrats. Set the trap in about two inches of 

 water, fasten the chain at full length to a sunken limb, drive a 

 stake on either side of the chain near where it is fastened and 

 you need not fear that the rat will "foot" himself. He will soon 

 become entangled and drown. 



Another good set for rats is by scooping a piece out of a sod 

 and placing it on a stone or root just under the water, Set trap 



232 



