498 
men out hunting. I had a much better gun than the 
average cf that day. One of the men requested to be 
allowed to examine it. While he was looking it over, 
he engaged in a tirade against allowing boys to trapse 
about the countrj' with a gun. Before he had finished 
the gun was discharged, and narrowly missed blowing a 
companion's head off. the shock rendering him deaf lor 
several days. In the other case, I was out riding with 
a man who had a Winchester rifle along. Coming to a 
town, we drove into a hvery barn and put the rifle in 
a corner of the oifice. There was no cartridge in the 
barrel of the rifle, but several in the magazine, where 
they were perfectly safe. A loafer about the barn, see- 
ing the rifle, picked it up, and finding cartridges in the 
magazine resolved to teach the owner not to leave 
loaded guns standing round by taking the cartridges out 
and keeping them. Working the lever he got a cart- 
ridge into the chamber with the gun cocked, of course, 
and then pulled the trigger and sent a bullet up through 
the mow floor and through the calf of a leg of the livery- 
man, who was in the mow throwing down hay. The 
poor fellow who did the shooting had to hunt another 
fire to sit by that Avinter. 
I once knew a farmer who had two sons who did not 
always agree on all subjects. One morning at milking 
time he saw them throwing clubs about the cow yard 
in a very spirited way. At breakfast he asked them 
which won the fight. The boys said they were not fight- 
ing. At this the father flew into a passion and gave both 
a thrashing, warning them, meantime, that he would 
repeat the operation every time he caught them throw- 
ing clubs when the}!" were not fighting. 
The moral is, Don't point your gun at anyone unless 
you mean it; then the other fellow can understand you, 
and act accordingly. There is no trouble if one will set 
their head to it. Make up your mind that you will not 
allow your gun to point at any animate thing you don't 
intend to shoot — not even your favorite dog. This will 
require some mental effort at first, but will soon become 
a habit, and no further effort will be required, any more 
than it requires a mental effort to put on your hat when 
you go out into the sun. With the best of'training, acci- 
dents are liable, but I have no sympathy with the 
charity that calls shooting a man for a deer an accident. 
E. P. Jaques. 
Birds the Novice Didn't Shoot. 
A MORNING in the early part of November found 
three eager sportsmen and their three dogs about to 
enter a peach orchard in quest of that much sought after 
American gentleman. Bob White. The scene was laid 
in Orange county, N. Y., in a region made famous 
in gun-lore by the pen pictures of that charming writer 
of long ago, Frank Forrester. Of the men, the Veteran 
M'as the guest of honor. This veteran, though nearing 
the three score and ten mark, has retained all his fond- 
ness for dog and gun and still has the faculty of plac- 
ing shot where it does the most good. The second 
member, the Expert, was the breeder and breaker of 
the dogs, and a better shot or truer sportsman I have 
never met. The last of the three was the Novice. The 
dogs, Imp, Belle and Jim (English setters), were all 
high bred, and a glance at their pedigrees discloses the 
name of more than one of our noted crackajacks. 
Imp was first over the fence, and landed plump into 
a half-dozen birds, which flushed and flew into a pat-ch of 
woods above the orchard. In making for this woods, 
four more birds flushed out of shot, taking the same 
direction. This bevy had apparently been scattered by 
rabbit hunters, as it was almost too late for them to 
have been feeding. Almost all the birds found that day 
had been previously disturbed, were badly frightened, 
and wouldn't lie worth a cent. 
Passing through the woods and reaching the upper 
edge we found Jim on a point at a brush heap and Imp 
backing hira. The Veteran, walking in, put up a single 
bird, which he Mt hard, but failed to stop. This bird 
reached a thick scrub oak lot, and the most diligent 
search failed to bring it to light. 
Leaving the woods, Jim flushed two more birds, but 
no one got a shot. Master Jim was here warned to be 
more careful or somcthmg would drop. We were unable 
to raise any more of these scattered birds, and left that 
locality; 
''1 yielded the next covey, which, sad to 
r. nushed, hut within reach of the 
Novice, and the Veteran killed a bird. 
Novice,, you aaj'? My friend, the 
■ txirtTOHj^amourit of noise and the re- 
iuli v/as fill. <-. ' what wss" conning to him ivi 
the form of a p.- "ig. I often v.< 'idfr '^ a Htti^ 
of the' same medi^i.^c ,•, : •■t.dn'^ iiuprove the Novice's wurk. 
After a vain endeavor to find thciie birds, which took 
an extremely long flight, we were crossing a young 
orchard when the V^eteran walked up to another bunch 
of birds, killing one.. Following the direction these 
birds took, and passing through a wooded ravine, a 
rabbit started in front of the Novice, running up hill 
through the brush, but offering a good mark. The right 
barrel was fired in a fit of buck ague before the rabbit 
had fairly cleared the end of the gun (spasmodically, as 
it were), but at the crack of the left the quarry sank to 
rest in a grass patch on the hillside. Not waiting to 
reload, this might}'' huntsman rushed forward to secure 
the prize, when, to his utter disgust, the beast broke 
cover and went bounding over the hill, unharmed. It 
had merely squatted at the second shot to "wait till the 
clouds rolled by." Peals of unrestrained mirth from the 
ravine below told the disappointed one that the little 
scene had not lacked an appreciative audience. 
Leaving this woods and passing into an open field, 
Jim pointed. Belle came up fast, and not seeing Jim's 
point crossed twenty yards in front of him, swung half 
round and also pointed. Imp backed both dogs 
beautifully, the whole making a very pretty scene, and 
the Veteran added to the completeness of the thing by 
killing the single bird that rose. 
Several single birds were after this found and killed 
by the Expert (none over points, however), and 
several more were found by the Novice, and were not 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
The last incident of the morning, or, as it might more 
properly be termed, a tragedy, occurred while on our 
way back to the wagon. Traversing the lower end of 
the scrub-oak lot of which previous mention has been 
made, a woodcock rose and, weary of the life of the 
hunted, deliberately committed suicide by flying into the 
space at that instant occupied by the contents of the 
right barrel of a gun in the hands of your humble ser- 
vant, The Novice. 
New York, Nov. 22-. 
Fox Trapping. 
Editor Forest wnd Stream: 
I might occupy much space by talking about the devious 
ways and home life of the crafty gentleman under con- 
sideration, as I have made him a study for many years, 
and, to quote from Mr. Wells' very excellent article on 
the cougar, "I know how he lives, what he eats, how he 
catches his game and what he does with it after he catches 
it," but so much has been written of late by close students 
of animal life that the field has been pretty well covered. 
For many years I followed trapping and fur buying as 
an occupation, my field of operations being the northern 
wilds of Wisconsin, then an unsurveyed and unsettled 
country. The sound of an axe had never at that time been 
heard ori the since denuded tributaries of the great Wis- 
consin river, and for my training as a woodsman I was 
indebted to friendly Indians of the Chippewa tribe, who 
were in the days_ I speak of — prior to the Civil War— the 
finest and most intelligent body of Indians alive. I had 
many good friends among them. We had many beaver 
in that country, and with otter, mink, martin, lynx and an 
occasional bear, we had heavy packs of well-cured peltries 
when we came down each spring to Lacrosse or Prairie 
du Chien to mingle for a season in the busy haunts of 
men. Yes, we had foxes, too, and occasionally I would 
get one in a trap set perhaps for fisher or cat, but little I 
then knew of the ways of Reynard ; and my dusky com- 
panions, although "up to beaver," were not able to teach 
me anything about the fox. In fact. I never learned him 
till years later, when I lived in a well-settled and sparsely 
timbered co»intry, where he alone of all the fur wearers 
held his own with man. 
And now, with your permission. I will give in detail my 
way of trapping the fox, a part of which I must claim as 
the result of observation, and much of which was taught 
me by a trapper by the name of Kittridge, whose death 
some years ago excuses me for publishing the secrets he 
taught me. First I will make a diagram of trap and 
surroundings as used in what is called the water-set — the 
only reliable method of trapping the fox. 
ARRANGEMENT OF FOX TRAP. 
This will show you at a glance my method of setting 
the trap. No. 2 is the steel trap, with a very thin sod 
on trencher or pan. No. i is the sod on which bait is 
placed. The fox comes up at No. 3. as that is the 
nearest point to the bait which he has located by smell, 
and notices the nice dry sod at No. 2, which seems to have 
been placed there for his especial benefit. He steps on 
this to avoid wetting his feet, and meets his Waterloo. 
I have seen this drawing published somewhere, but with- 
out the details to enable one to get his fox, and it is the 
minute details that count in this contest of wits. No. 4 
and 5 is a brooklet, which has been enlarged by digging, 
as explained in another place. A very small brooklet, even 
a few inches wide, can be enlarged to answer the purpose, 
or any open water can be used until it freezes. A small 
stream can often be led off from a larger one by digging 
a trench. The place should be prepared during tlie month 
of September or before, and trapping begin about Oct. i ; 
this gives the premises tiine to take on a natural appear- 
ance, by reason of rains, etc., and if anything is to 'be 
avoided it is the appearance of nature having been dis- 
turbed. When preparing your place for trap, step into the 
stream and follow up or down until you find a place where 
the ground is dry and the grass short (a pasture usually 
C':;>htains such places) and with a very sharp hoe dig out 
a^^lace as shown in the drawing. If the grass is high, you 
can cut it close, giving it the appearance of having been 
eaten off by animals, and be very careful to leave no mud 
on banks or grass. The place should be quite shallow, 
and when the trap is set, about lYz inches deep. When 
ready to begin trapping, enter the water as before some 
distance up or down, and at one edge set your trap. Have 
the water cover the trap about J/^ inch, then carefully 
cover trap and chain with fine mud, so no part of it can 
be seen. Then with your hoe cut a sod with short grass 
and the same general appearance as the grass on the land 
where the fox comes up. Have the sod about H inch 
thick and sornewhat smaller than the inside of the jaws of 
the trap. This sod must be of good solid and natural ap- 
pearance, and, as I said, with grass short, as though 
cattle or sheep had grazed it closely. Lay the sod on your 
trap carefully by means of the hoe. Place another larger 
sod at No. I for the bait, and you will see by drawing that 
only one sod is placed where the fox can step on it, and 
that is on the trap. As a fox will never wet his feet when 
he can avoid it, he steps on this sod to reach the bait. 
The sod, No_. i, must also have short grass on it and be 
laid so that it just appears above the water, and on this 
sod you lay a piece of bait the size of y^our fist, also a 
drop or two (no more) of scent. Put no scent on bait or 
trap, and above all, put nothing on land where fox is to 
ccme up. Then carefully cover the bait by digging up 
small pieces of sod with the corner of your hoe. This 
gives the bait the appearance of having been covered by a 
fojE, The ground should be smooth and level as po^ 
[Nov, 30, igoi, 
sible, and the land at the side where the trap is must be 
very little higher than the water, thus — side view : 
/ 2- ^ 
SIDE VIEW ARRANGEMENT OF FOX TRAP. [ 
If you have the sod on trap much lower than where 
fox comes up, you will have no luck, or if grass is long 
at No. 3 the fox will not be trapped. This point is very 
essential. 
Never step on the land at No. 3, and if you put a foot 
on the land anywhere within ten rods of your trap it 
lessens your chance of success. I never fasten a trap, but 
put a heavy weight on the chain— a big stone will answer, 
fastened by a strong cord, and must, of course, be covered 
witja mud, same as trap and chain. If your trap is dirty 
or rusty, clean it and sandpaper it bright, then heat it 
quite hot and smear every part, chain and all, with bee's 
wax. This kills the scent of the iron and prevents its 
rusting, and is not necessary more than once a year. Al- 
ways wear a pair of light gloves when trapping. They 
must be clean to begin with, and should be worn to handle 
trap and when skinning game, but for no other purpose. 
Never let them touch a gun or a pipe, and if you use 
tobacco be very careful. A fox won't excuse anything of 
that kind. 
For bait use common house cat if you can get it ; musk- 
rat or skunk also is good. Don't shoot your animal for 
bait, as the shot will give it a powder scent. Skin the 
bait with your gloves on, cut off head, tail and legs and 
divide rest of meat into pieces size of a goose egg. Now 
place the meat in a slow-running stream or swampy place 
for a week or longer. It wants to get old and give out a 
strong smell. Never touch the meat with j'our hands 
after putting if in the water. Use a sharp stick and place 
on sod No. I as directed. You see how careful you must 
be to leave no scent of hands or feet. 
The best scent I know of is the dog bag from a female 
fo3f or dog in heat preserved in alcohol. Muskrat scent 
is also good, and it should be obtained in the spring and 
mixed with oil from a muskrat. raccoon or fish. A little 
skunk's musk added is an improvement. The fish oil is 
obtained by cutting up small fish and exposing them in a 
well-corked bottle for several weeks to the sun. You will 
get a .small quantity of verj'' highly perfumed oil which 
can be used as above 'and which by itself is the greatest 
known attraction for otter, mink or coon. The scent 
from any of the musk pouches will be improved by stand- 
ing all summer in the oil or alcohol. When you catch a 
fox he will scent the spot so strongly that it will attract 
others a long distance, and your chances at that place 
be much improved. 
Never carry a gun when trapping the fox, and do not 
spit on the ground. The main and all important thing 
in trapping wild animals is to leave no human taint where 
you wish the game to come. There are various ways of 
trapping the fox on dry land, and I guess I have tried 
them all. By somd methods I can catch a fox once in 
awhile, but the chances are largely in favor of the fox. 
With the plan I have endeavored to explain, Sir Reynard 
has very little show. I have caught as many as thirty- 
eight in one season between Oct. i and frost, and I never 
used more than a half-dozen traps at a time. Do as I have 
told you and think no detail too small to be important, 
and you will catch your fox without a doubt. 
Trapper. 
The Maine Woods. 
Boston, Nov. 23. — A party of six Boston bankers and 
merchants, consisting of J, L. Richards, John Toulmiuj 
C. L. Dennison, Charles Carter, Mr. Parker and Mr. 
Richards, is just out of the Maine woods. They had 
great success with deer, and considerable hard- 
ship. They went into the Sebois Lake region 
before the recent heavy snow.storm. They found 
the leaves so dry and noisy that they got only 
occasional glimpses of deer, shooting one or two as 
they ran. Two of the party got discouraged and came 
out. The_ others were caught in 15 to 18 inches of snow. 
Then their troubles began. It is true that they readily 
secured their full quota of deer, but saw no moose. The 
moving about was terrible. They could scarcely make 
more than a mile a day in some cases, while the weaker 
ones of the party were soon completely exhausted. They 
say that there is game enough in that celebrated section, 
but they never want to encounter 15 inches of light snow 
in the woods again. Other big-game hunters in Maine 
also suffered from the unusual depth of snow for the sea- 
son. _^ Mr. W, Hall was found dead in the woods at Skin- 
ner Saturday morning. He, with two other men, started 
out hunting Wednesday forenoon from Lowelltown. At 
night two men returned, but Mr. Hall was not with them. 
They had been separated from him in the woods, and as 
he did not come in that night, they concluded that he 
was lost. Thursday morning a searching party was 
formed, but it was with great difficulty that the men could 
cover much ground. It continued to snow till nearly two 
feet had fallen. Mr. Hall was not found till Saturday 
morning. He was dead, doubtless from exposure. He 
had evidently wandered about a good deal, as he was 
nearly three miles from where he had left the other 
hunters. Novices should avoid the Maine woods, and 
even hunters and guides should carry a compass, and fol- 
low it, if occasion requires. Not only is the big-game 
hunter in danger from the weapons used, but life is fre- 
quently sacrificed from being lost. Two instances are 
recorded this season, and it happens every season. I 
suggested yesterday the red-hat scheme, proposed in 
the Forest and Stream, to a gentleman just returned 
from a deer-hunting trip. He laughed, and remarked 
that doubtless it might prevent other hunters from shoot- 
ing the wearer, but it would also "scare the deer all out of 
the woods." Another hunter says that he has tried it this 
fall, and that he was unable to see that it scared the deer 
at all. He got his full quota, and shot almost" the first 
ones seen. Two Auburn, Me., hunters have lately re- 
turned from a deer hunting trip to Shelburn, N, H. They 
secured twq fine deer, one a ^tick, ^pp^rently fiye yee^^s 
4 
