April, 1919 
FOREST AND STREAM 
173 
A DISH OF OUR FOREFATHERS 
I F you had lived in 1719 or 1819 in- 
stead of the present year you would 
probably have been familiar with the 
meat product known as jerked venison. 
Under the name of “jerky” it traveled 
in our forefather’s haversacks far to the 
unknown western lands and with parched 
corn, known as “rockahominy,” it shared 
the honor of provisioning the pioneers 
of America in their fight against primi- 
tive conditions. 
Here is the recipe given to me by a 
government official in Wyoming: 
C it into strips 2 inches wide, about 
%-inch thick and as long as the partic- 
ular muscle extends. Mix about 2 tea- 
spoonfuls of salt to 1 pound of meat, 
rubbing in well. Smoke with non-resin- 
ous wood, such as alder, hickory, bark, 
etc., for about an hour. Hang over stove 
to dry. Dry until product breaks when 
bent. This recipe is primarily for veni- 
son but it works just as well with beef. 
This official, an assistant in Boy’s and 
Girl’s Club work in the northern and 
western states, gave a demonstration of 
the process out-of-doors under the blue 
skies and amid the lofty mountains of 
Wyoming, before hunters, forest rangers, 
and mountaineers who came in from 
miles around, bringing their families 
with them. They pronounced the jerked 
venison “good eatin’.” But it seems 
funny to me that Uncle Sam has to “tell 
them how” where the former generations 
of men who occupied that ground presum- 
ably were familiar with the process. 
Charles Keene, Wyoming. 
TO TRAP SKUNK 
I WILL tell you a good way to trap 
^ skunk, civet and muskrat: for skunk 
make a pen of stones or sticks driven 
into the ground. The pen should be 
about two and one-half feet long and 
open about eight inches on one side, put 
a piece of bloody rabbit or muskrat in 
the back of the pen and sprinkle with 
the musk of a skunk and anise oil mixed, 
then set a number one and one-half or 
number ninety-one trap in the opening 
and if there are any skunks around you 
will catch one. For civet go out about 
the last of October and dig some small 
holes about a foot deep in the side of a 
hill. Then when you start trapping put 
some rotten fish in the back part of the 
holes and set a number one trap in the 
openings and you may catch five or six 
in one night. In either this set or the 
one for skunk it is not necessary to 
cover the traps, but it is best to, as you 
may catch a wandering mink or ’coon. 
For muskrat take a bundle of fodder corn 
and put in water about six inches deep 
and set three number one traps on the 
top of it. Have them staked out in deep 
water so that the muskrat will drown 
as soon as he is caught. 
The following is a good way to keep 
your feet from getting sore on a long 
tramp: Take your socks off and rub 
cream on your feet and then put your 
shoes and socks back on and on the 
longest tramp your feet will not get sore. 
John A. Knoll, Iowa. 
SECTION OF CAN CUT /IWAY SHOWING 
FISH WORMS AT BOTTOM OF CAN. 
“CANNED" WORMS FOR BAIT 
I N the spring worms are plentiful but 
in the hot summer months it is almost 
impossible to dig them. They can be kept 
on hand for summer use if one will take 
an old tin can, the larger the better, 
such as a five-gallon oyster can, and 
punch it full of nail holes — small, so that 
the worms cannot crawl through. Bury 
the can in the ground to within an inch 
or so of the top; fill it with earth and 
put in the worms. They will burrow 
down in the earth of the can which re- 
ceives moisture through the many tiny 
holes. Occasionally moisten the soil and 
put some coffee grounds on top. The re- 
sult will be lively, juicy worms which no 
fish can resist. 
There is quite a bit of money to be 
made by any enterprizing boy if he will 
try this scheme. In England bait is sold 
by many shops, but in America it is 
often as hard to purchase worms as it is 
to dig them. 
So boys, get out your spades and, re- 
membering the old proverb about the 
early bird, go forth into the dewy fields 
and dig. 
F. V. W., Canada. 
INFORMATION WANTED 
C AN any of our readers give us the 
information desired by the writer of 
the following letter: 
Friend Nessmuk-' 
Being a constant reader of your paper 
and reading some of your answers to the 
questions of your admirers, I wish to 
gain a little of your information. 
Now, I do not care to kill birds, but 
some people may think my way is not so 
exciting, but to me it is a pleasure. 
I am an admirer of song birds. I 
have a large cage in my home and keep 
canaries, but I want to get some other 
kind that are singers. 
How would I go about it to trap or 
capture such birds as the red bird, linnet 
and such small birds that one can keep 
in the home and give them the best of 
treatment? In return all I ask is a song 
now and then. 
Will you tell me how I can go into 
the woods this spring and catch some of 
these songsters alive? 
Fred E. Finneran, Rhode Island. 
A BOTTLE TORCH 
W HEN working around the camp at 
night it is often more convenient 
to use a flare than a lantern. Some 
times more than one light is needed and 
then it is handy to know how to con- 
struct a simple torch. I have camped out 
a good deal and have used many make- 
shifts, but the best torch I know of is 
made in this way. Fit a cork of green, 
hard wood into a long-necked bottle so 
that it is fairly tight; cut a V-shaped 
groove in one side of the cork. In this 
insert the wick, which may be a piece of 
flannel or any old rag. It must be long 
enough to reach well down in the bot- 
tom of the bottle. Fill the bottle about 
half full of kerosene, insert wick and 
cork, and light up and you have an ex- 
cellent flare. 
The green wood of the cork does not 
ignite quickly and the torch is easily 
grasped and held where one needs it. If 
there is no kerosene in camp any oil may 
be used. It might work safely with gas- 
olene, but I should not want to be the 
one to experiment with it. 
A piece of heavy wire twisted around 
the neck of the bottle serves for a 
handle or a stick can be split and the 
neck of the bottle fastened in the crotch. 
With this torch in hand you may be 
able to go Diogenes one better and with a 
little care and a great deal of patience 
you might be able to find an honest man. 
Mrs. E. E. H., Maine. 
