124 
■&he  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
Some  Odd  Jobs  for  Women 
The  Woman  Trapper 
By  Esther  A.  Cosse 
Making  a  Start. — “No,  I  am  no  dif¬ 
ferent  from  other  women.  I  have  nerves 
just  as  you  have,  but  these  things  never 
trouble  me.  It  is  the  outdoor  life  dur¬ 
ing  the  cold  weather  that  I  thoroughly 
enjoy,  and  I  wouldn't  pare  to  change  my 
occupation,”  said  Mrs.  Eleanor  Thomp¬ 
son,  who  earns  her  living  by  trapping 
fur-bearing  animals.  “Like  other  women 
who  have  passed  through  many  of  the 
same  experiences,  when  I  was  left  alone 
it  was  necessary  for  me  to  provide  a 
home  and  food  for  my  family,  and  quite 
naturally  I  turned  to  the  occupation  I 
not  only  knew  the  best,  but  the  one  from 
which  I  thought  I  could  derive  the  largest 
profits  and  was  not  distasteful  to  me.  It 
was  in  ’the  eold  weather  that  T  lost  my 
husband  and  just  previous  to  his  illness 
we  had  been  setting  traps,  and  it  was 
my  duty  to  go  around  and  eollect  the 
trapped  animals.  It  was  while  he  was 
ill  that  I  found  that  I  coubl  manage 
these  traps  myself.  Many  times  I  had 
been  around  with  him  and  watched  him 
remove  them,  but  never  had  I  done  it 
until  that  Winter.  And  after  his  death 
it  seemed  quite  the  proper  thing  to  keep 
up  his  work.  Yes,  I  did  feel  a  little 
afraid  of  them  at  first.  I  was  born  and 
educated  in  the  city,  but  when  I  was 
married  my  husband  purchased  a  small 
farm.  Later  we  moved  here.”  Mrs. 
Thompson  lives  at  the  foot  of  the  Ram- 
apo  bills,  in  New  Jersey. 
Unusual  Work. — “You  say  you  think 
my  occupation  is  unusual,  but  I  don’t 
think  it  is  any  more  so  than  that  of 
plumbing,  blacksmithing,  or  being  a  po¬ 
lice  woman.  When  one  is  left  alone  to 
care  for  a  family  it  is  sometimes  neces¬ 
sary  to  do  many  unusual  and  unex¬ 
pected  things.  And  why  shouldn’t  one 
he  a  trapper?  Surely  all  women  are  not 
afraid  of  mice,  cats,  or  other  animals, 
and  furs  are  used  by  people  in  all  walks 
of  life,  and  while  the  season  is  short,  I 
generally  have  sufficient  returns  to  car¬ 
ry  me  through  until  the  next  season.  I 
am  independent,  and-  the  only  thing 
necessary  for  me  to  understand  is  the 
habits  of  the  different  animals.  1  can 
do  the  work  any  time  I  ehoose  and  not 
cause  any  trouble  or  discomfort  for  any 
one  else.  It  is  true  that  I  live  out  in 
the  air  most  of  the  season,  but.  like  all 
other  things,  when  one  becomes  acetts.- 
tomed  to  outdoor  life,  it  becomes  a  con¬ 
stant  joy  to  one  who  is  fond  of  nature 
and  the  exhilaration  of  the  Winter  air. 
I  like  my  work  better  tnan  anything 
else  I  know. 
IIow  It  Began. — "No.  I  have  not  al¬ 
ways  lived  in  the  country.  I  came  to 
Oakland  as  a  bride  26  years  ago.  My 
husband  owned  a  small  farm.  He  was  a 
carpenter,  but  cared  for  our  farm  each 
season.  The  soil  was  good  and  wc  pros¬ 
pered.  Then  he  purchased  a  larger  farm, 
theu  built  this  house  we  are  now  using, 
and  was  a  trapper  in  the  Winter  and  a 
farmer  as  well.  Many  of  the  things  wc 
did  together,  and  it  was  in  this  way 
that  I  learned  to  set  and  care  for  the 
traps.  The  next  Winter  I  managed 
alone,  and  have  been  increasing  the  num¬ 
ber  of  sets  each  year  until  this  season 
I  can  do  nothing  but  care  for  them. 
Much  has  been  said  by  humanitarians 
with  regard  to  the  cruelty  of  trapping, 
but  when  one  becomes  familiar  with 
tlieir  habits  one  generally  forms  the 
opinion  that  they  are  getting  no  more 
than  they  deserve.  They  are  all  preda¬ 
tory.  and  annually  destroy  more  chickens 
than  their  skins  are  worth,  without  con¬ 
sidering  other  damage  which  might  be 
done  to  property,” 
.  A  Prolific  Region. — Even  1  hough 
fur-bearing  animals  have  been  trapped 
and  hunted  for  more  than  200  years, 
some  varieties  are  still  plentiful  in  the 
mountains  of  New  Jersey.  Most,  of  the 
streams  trickling  from  the  Ramapo 
mountains  still  have  as  their  denizens  all 
of  the  common  fur-bearing  species  which 
were  so  numerous  when  there  were  no 
white  men  in  New  Jersey.  They  are  still 
found  within  40  miles  of  New  York  city. 
Around  Greenwood  Lake  and  along  the 
streams  Howing  into  it,  fur-hearers  can 
be  found,  and  to-day  huts  are  very 
numerous  for  miles  in  both  New  Jersey 
and  New  York  along  its  banks,  and 
scores  of  trappers  are  working  there  each 
season.  Lake  Ilopateong  is  practically 
the  same,  but  many  of  the  trappers  live 
in  the  Summer  bungalows.  Along  the 
brooks  which  flow  through  the  Ramapo 
Valley,  and  along  the  hillsides  of  Oak¬ 
land  is  where  Mrs.  Thompson  does  her 
work.  Many  dozens  of  valuable  pelts 
are  taken  each  Winter  by  her  and  others, 
and  here  in  some  of  the  most  out-of-the- 
way  fastnesses  of  the  hills  one  can  find 
her  at  work. 
Interesting  Work. — "My  work  is 
interesting,”  continued  Mrs.  Thompson, 
“for  many  reasons,  lint  foremost  is  th" 
fact  that  I  must  match  my  wits  against 
the  keenest  animal  intelligence.  The  one 
sensibility  of  smell  is  so  strongly  de¬ 
veloped  in  the  animals  that  I  find  it 
interesting  to  become  t.ieir  master.  If 
one  handles  the  steel  traps  with  bare 
hands  it  is  impossible  to  get  one  of  the 
animals  to  go  near  it  until  it  has  been 
buried  for  some  time.  Even  a  small 
stake  driven  into  the  ground  in  their 
path  will  cause  them  to  detour,  often  for 
a  great  distance^  It  is  only  by  practis¬ 
ing  the  most  cousumato  art  of  conceal¬ 
ment  that  it  is  possible  to  deceive  them. 
If  the  trap  is  left  uncovered  animals 
will  scent  it  long  before  they  reach  it 
and  some  of  them  will  sit  down  and  look 
at  it,  or  walk  very  daintily  around  it 
and  examine  it  critically,  and  even  though 
it  may  be  baited  With  something  of 
which  they  are  very  fond,  they  will  pass 
on  and  leave  it  for  the  less  wary.  Some¬ 
times  one  could  almost  imagine  they 
smiled  as  they  sniffed  the  scent  oe  a 
hand  on  it.  The  skunk  is  the  one  animal 
which  blunders  into  everything.  It  isn't 
necessary  to  conceal  a  trap,  since  he 
will  he  sure  to  he  inquisitive  enough  to 
fall  into  it.  lie  is  one  of  the  most  curi¬ 
ous  of  all  fur-bearers,  and  one  is  always 
certain  if  a  trap  is  laid  near  where  he 
is  expected  to  pass  the  skunk  will  turn 
it  over  while  searching  for  some  new 
eatable.  It  is  very  annoying  and  disap¬ 
pointing  to  set  your  trap  for  an  otter 
or  some  other  animal  which  might  be 
very  valuable,  and  when  you  travel 
around  visiting  your  sets,  find  that  a 
skunk  has  beat  him  to  ;t,  and  the  one 
you  wished  to  get  has  disappeared  for¬ 
ever.  Such  divertissements  serve  to  add 
interest  to  the  work  and  demonstrate 
the  fact  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  be  very  careful  if  one  is  to  succeed 
in  taking  these  keen-scented  and  keen¬ 
eyed  animals. 
Animal  Peculiarities. — “When  I 
am  preparing  for  trapping  I  have  always 
found  it  advisable  to  go  over  what  seems 
to  be  a  favorable  ground  before  cold 
weather  begins.  Minks  and  muskrats  are 
always  found  near  water.  Minks  usually 
stay  along  brooks  or  clear  water  ponds 
where  they  can  burrow  in  the  banks  and 
build  tlieir  nests  just  above  the  water 
level.  The  muskrats  do  about  the  same,' 
and  are  found  in  the  same  place.  It  is 
impossible  to  distinguish  the  difference 
between  the  burrows  of  the  mink  and 
muskrat.  Generally  the  mink’s  is  a  lit¬ 
tle  smaller  than  the  uiuskrrL  but  it  is 
only  the  expert  who  can  see  this,  the 
difference  is  so  slight  Tim  animals  are 
almost  the  same  in  size,  usually  the  mink 
is  a  trifle  smaller,  a  tin  while  the  musk¬ 
rat  sometimes  chooses  a  hole  to  build  in 
he  generally  goes  into  the  swamp  and 
builds  a  cosy  house  of  sticks  and  cat¬ 
tails  and  other  swamp  growth.  The 
entrance  to  this  house  is  usually  under 
water,  with  no  opening  above.  Often 
12  or  more  muskrats  will  spend  the 
Winter  in  one  of  these  houses.  Some¬ 
times  hunters  make  an  opening  in  the 
top  of  the  muskrat’s  house  in  the  cold 
weather,  and  usually  get  every  one  of 
the  inmates  without  the  necessity  of 
setting  traps. 
The  Otter. — “Formerly  otters  were 
found  along  these  streams,  where  they 
made  burrows  some  distance  above  the 
water  in  the  center  of  a  very  steep  bank. 
Often  colonies  of  burrows  would  be  found 
close  together.  The  burrow  of  an  otter 
January  22,  1910, 
can  never  be  mistaken.  He  is  a  very 
playful  animal  and  never  fails  to  make 
what  they  term  a  slide,  lie  climbs  up 
a  steep  bank  almost  to  the  top.  and 
sometimes  stretches  out  flat  on  his 
stomach  and  slides  into  the  water.  Other 
times  ho  will  sit  on  his  haunches  and 
do  the  same  thing.  Where  several  are 
gathered  together  it  is  amusing  to  watch 
them  play.  They  will  seize  each  other 
and  wrestle  and  splash  in  the  water 
quite  like  boys,  all  the  time  making  a 
peculiar  noise  which  sounds  as  though 
it  might  be  a  substitute  for  laughter. 
The  fur  is  much  like  seal,  and  in  these 
times  is  very  valuable. 
The  Trapper’s  Adventures.' — “Have 
I  had  any  interesting  adventures?  Yes, 
many  of  them,  hut  one  particularly  that 
I  often  call  a  hair-breadth  escape.  Move 
than  once  have  I  been  almost  frozen  on 
my  way  round  to  the  sets,  and  struggled 
through  the  fast  accumulating  snow¬ 
drifts  to  secure  my  captures  before  they 
were  buried  out  of  sight.  Once  I  was 
struggling  through  the  snow  to  a  trap 
1  had  set  for  muskrats  late  in  the  after¬ 
noon.  Dusk  was  fast  creeping  on.  and 
snow  was  falling,  and  I  wasn’t  quite 
sure  of  the  location  of  the  traps.  As  I 
drew  near  where  T  thought  the  traps 
were,  I  thought  I  heard  a  growl  that 
sounded  different  from  anything  I  had 
ever  heard  before,  and  not  like  what  I 
expected  to  hear.  A  few  steps  further 
and  something  jumped  at  me,  coming 
the  full  length  of  the  chain,  and  dropped 
to  the  ground,  where  it  rolled  and  sput¬ 
tered  in  a  very  disconcerting  way. 
Quickly  seizing  a  club  which  lay  at  my 
feet  the  next  time  it  jumped  I  struck 
with  all  n:y  strength,  hitting  it  squarely 
over  the  head,  and  it  fell  to  the  ground 
stunned.  After  I  had  struck  it  two  or 
three  times  it  lay  dead  at  my  feet.  When 
I  examined  it  I  found  it  was  one  of  the 
animals  most  dreaded  by  trappers,  a 
Canadian  lynx,  rarely  found  in  this  part 
of  the  country.  It  must  have  strayed 
from  its  haunts.  It  was  as  large  ns  a 
dog.  and  had  beautiful  silky  hair  and 
tassels  on  its  ears.  When  I  removed  it 
from  the  trap  I  found  one  paw  only  was 
caught.  The  skin  is  now  in  a  room  of 
one  uf  the  prominent  clubs  not  far  from 
New  York  city. 
The  Weasel. — "Another  animal  very 
annoying  to  the  armor  or  chicken  raiser 
is  the  weasel,  in  warm  weather  the  fur 
is  gray,  hut  in  cold  weather  it  turns  per¬ 
fectly  white,  exempt  the  tip  of  the  tail, 
which  is  ""ay.  Right  now  the  fur  is 
beautiful  and  sells  for  a  good  price,  and 
is  being  used  for  shoe-tops  and  decora¬ 
tion  for  dresses  and  suits.  Only  an  ex¬ 
pert  ean  distinguish  the  perfect  weasel 
from  ermine.  I  believe  that  I  shall  have 
as  nrge  results  from  trapping  this  sea¬ 
son  as  ever  before.  The  animals  have 
'and  plenty  of  food  and  should  be  fat 
•  ml  their  skins  in  prime  condition. 
Since  the  cold  weather  lias  come  they 
have  their  complete  Winter  coats.  I 
have  been  looking  fr  -ward  eagerly  as  any 
child  for  the  snow  and  eold  Winter  air, 
but  for  an  entirely  different  reason. 
Traps  User — “Yes,  I  use  other  traps 
than  the  stem  ones.  In  many  places  I 
have  the  old-fashioned  figure  four.  I 
-%,v 
kiMuv  few  trappers  are  using  them  now, 
but  I  find  that  I  have  good  success  with 
them.  In  some  cases  animals  have  got 
away  from  the  steel  traps,  while  with 
the  figure  four  it  is  impossible  for  them 
to  get  from  under  the  stone  or  log.  They 
have  gnawed  off  the  paw  which  might 
have  been  caught  in  the  trap,  and  fled 
to  the  woods.  In  other  instances  the 
sharp  click  of  the  catch  will  break  the 
leg. 
Rewards  of  the  Work. — “Yes,  I  get 
good  prices  for  my  skins,  I  cure  them 
myself,  as  you  will  see  if  you  look  on  the 
sunny  side  of  my  barn  as  you  pass  by. 
It  is  an  easy  thin*,  to  do  and  I  prefer 
to  do  it  myself.  Some  skins  only  sell 
for  25  cents,  but  others  bring  very  much 
more.  At  the  end  of  the  season  I  find 
that  my  profits  have  been  fair  and  that 
with  the  foodstuffs  from  the  'arm  I  have 
managed  to  send  one  son  to  college  and 
the  other,  a  girl,  to  the  high  school  at 
Paterson.  Would  I  advise  any  other 
woman  to  try  trapping  fov  a  living?  If 
placed  under  similar  circumstances,  yes. 
If  not,  no.  No  one  unless  she  knows 
how  to  handle  these  things  call  make  a 
success  of  it.  Like  everything  else  one 
has  to  learn.  Rut  the  city  girl,  well,  I 
am  afraid  ><be  would  bo  a  little  timid 
about  handling  animals.” 
Animal  Caught  in  Steel  Trap  in  Hollow  Log 
Mrs.  Thompson  Taking  Animal  from  Steel  Trap 
