FUR FACTS 195 



against it and shove the noose in. I prefer dead sticks as rabbits 

 sometimes get to eating the bark of green ones, and in this way de- 

 stroy the pen. My object in cutting the top ends of sticks square, is 

 so there will not be any bright, slanting cuts to attract attention, 

 and the lower end, being slanting, it holds better in the snow. Now 

 I cut a stick about seventeen inches long, sharpen one end and split 

 the other about four inches. Roll up fine-blade (dead) grass into a 

 ball about the size of a hen's egg and place it in the split. Now stand 

 the stick, sharp end down, in the snow four inches south of the center 

 of the pen or circle, then lean the top end about two inches towards 

 the noose or loop. When it is placed right, the ball of grass will be 

 eighteen inches from noose. It will be closer (by a few inches) to 

 the noose than it will be to any other part of the pen, and will be 

 on a level with the center of noose, which will be about seventeen 

 inches from ground. Now put about twenty drops of Funsten's 

 Lynx Bait on the ball of grass. Rub Trail Scent on moccasins and 

 smooth out all tracks, at the same time backing away. The lynx 

 smells the bait and goes to it. He finds no entrance to it except 

 through the noose. In here he puts his head and starts to force a 

 way in. This breaks the blades of grass holding noose in place- 

 The noose then tightens, the lynx backs away, upsetting the two 

 forked sticks. This leaves him with the large pole tied close on to 

 the back of his neck. He goes but a few feet, lies down and dies. 

 Sometimes he does not put his head into the loop, but tries to reach, 

 the bait with his paw. In this case I find him alive and fast by a foot 

 instead of dead and fast by his neck. They will not chew the cord 

 oflF, as one would suppose. 



The main objection to this way is that all that get caught by 

 neck are dead and frozen when I get them, and then the wolves 

 sometimes find them before I do. I have had seven large ones 

 eaten and spoiled by wolves this winter. The lynx loves the smell 

 but does not care to eat Funsten's Animal Bait. He likes to play 

 around it and tries to get it to rub against it. He will seldom touch 

 a frozen-meat bait. 



When there is no snow, I use the same methods of trapping Lynx 

 except that I place my sticks in the ground. And then I can't track 

 them, so, of course, choose places where they are most likely to come, 

 but without Funsten's Bait and Trail Scent this method would be 

 no good at all. 



I have caught, since November 1st, fifty-three lynx. It is 

 now March 20th. Forty-seven of them I caught with Funsten 



