462 
FOREST AND STREAM 
April 12, 1913 
fines or imprisonment for violation of the act 
shall be in the discretion of the court instead of 
the Department of Agriculture. In this connec¬ 
tion It IS gratifying to note that one of the 
most able Jawyers in the country expressed the 
opinion that the Supreme Court would sustain 
the Weeks-j.\icLean law when he heard the de¬ 
cision .It has just made in favor of the consti¬ 
tutionality of the white slave law which was 
passed in July, 1910. 
“Now that the principle of Federal protec¬ 
tion of migrants has been recognized, it should 
logically be extended to international protection. 
Senator Root has introduced a resolution re¬ 
questing the President to propose to other North 
American countries the negotiation of treaties 
for the mutual protection of migratory birds. 
Senators Weeks and McLean are in favor of 
this proposal, and will prove powerful allies in 
getting it through. The National Association 
has already commenced to lay plans with every 
hope that the same protection will be given to 
our migrants when they are beyond our borders 
that we have just accorded them while they 
are with us.” 
A Snake Story. 
Pendleton, Ore., j\Iarch 25.— Editor Forest 
and Strcciin: The following incident, which 
came under my observation several years ago, 
may be of interest to your readers. 
There are one or two questions in connection 
with it which I have never been able to satisfac¬ 
torily answer, and 1 would like to hear from any 
reader who can explain the problems which this 
"snake story” brings out. 
Walking along a railwax' line, where it runs 
parallel to the Umatilla River at a point where 
the railroad and river were very near together, 
and the river ran about fifteen feet below the 
road bed, my attention was attracted by the flash 
of some creature which sprang down the almost 
vertical bluff from a narrow ledge about half way 
between the railroad and the bottom of the 
bluff. 
I stopped abruptly and fi.xed my gaze in the 
direction of the ledge from which I had seen 
the movement in wonderment as to what it could 
have been. 
As soon as I stopped I heard the "buzz” of 
a rattlesnake, and soon discovered the serpent 
coiled up on the narrow ledge from which I had 
seen the Hash of the fleeing creature. 
Within a few seconds, and while I was de¬ 
bating with myself as to how I should get with¬ 
in reach of his snakeship in order to "mimloose” 
him, a cottontail rabbit came scrambling up a 
rough path which led from the ledge diagonally 
down to the river bottom. 
Without apparently seeing me or the rattler 
either, molly cottontail deliberately approached 
within a foot or so of the snake, which latter 
immediately drew back its head and struck the 
rabbit violently. The rabbit gave no sign that 
it felt the blow, nor did it show any alarm or 
make any move to escape, which it might have 
done had it so wished. It simply sat there gaz¬ 
ing vacantly into space (not at the snake) while 
the latter coiled and struck it over and over 
again. 
Finally the repeated coiling and striking of 
the rattler caused it to change its position on the 
ledge, and at last, as it struck again, the move¬ 
ment caused the snake to slip off the ledge and 
roil to tile uottom' of the bluff. 
As soon as tins occurred, the rabbit hopped 
Lack down tne path, up which it had come, and 
i saw neither snake nor raDbit again. 
Now the questions which 1 wish to have 
answ-ered are tnese; What impelled that rabbit 
to approach the snake? If it had been "charmed ' 
in the first instance, my approach evidently broke 
the "charm," for what 1 first saw w'as probably 
that same rabbit as it fled wdien 1 came in sight 
as 1 walked along the track. Again; What was 
the probable effect on the rabbit of the blows 
which the snake struck? Did the snake probably 
poison it, in which event it would soon die, and 
in that event would the snake seek its victim 
and if found consume it for food? 
C. K. Cranston, 
Chairman F. & G. Com., Oregon. 
Muskrat Trapping. 
BY PHILIP S. FARNHAM. 
1 HE muskrat has become one of our most 
valuable fur-bearing animals, and is the source 
of a large revenue to many people in this coun¬ 
try. 
One fur buyer in the East purchased nearly 
$70,000 worth of fur last season, and he tells 
me quite the largest number of pelts w^ere those 
of the muskrat. But there is great danger of 
this valuable animal being exterminated on ac¬ 
count of the manner in which it is being taken. 
Only during the past few years have laws 
protecting fur-bearing animals been in force in 
New York State, and these laws are not yet 
strict enough. It is not so much for sentimental 
reasons that I advocate better protection for the 
muskrat, but more for the protection of a valu¬ 
able industry. 
The wasteful methods which have been em¬ 
ployed in taking these animals are the destruc¬ 
tion of whole families during the summer, tak¬ 
ing them too early in the fall before pelts are 
prime, destroying their houses and digging out 
burrows; taking them too late in the spring after 
breeding has begun, and shooting them during 
high flood time when they are driven out of their 
burrows. This last is very wasteful, as the poor 
little fellows have no place to hide, and the 
shooting destroys the value of the pelts to a 
great e.xtent. 
As a hoy I shall never forget my muskrat 
trapping experiences, and how proud I was when 
I purchased a suit of clothes with money ob¬ 
tained from the sale of fur which I had caught 
myself. I always caught rats with steel traps, 
and of course met with the same experience all 
trappers have met with in losing many hy hav¬ 
ing them gnaw off a leg and get away. 
I have caught rats that had lost three legs 
in this way, and I cannot help thinking of the 
great suffering that these little animals have had 
to go through in an effort to preserve their lives. 
Recently in going along the Owego Creek 
I saw a muskrat upon the bank that was evi¬ 
dently in trouble. Thinking, of course, that he 
was in a trap, I crossed the creek with the in¬ 
tention of hitting him over the head and putting 
him out of his misery, I was veiw much sur¬ 
prised to see him fall over and die just before 
I reached the spot. Upon investigation I found 
that he had been in a trap and had eaten off a 
leg in order to get away. The bone had been 
badly splintered and blood poisoning had set 
in which had caused his death. 
The steel trap at best is a murderous thing, 
but I learned that in trapping muskrats much of 
the cruelty and the loss of many fine pelts could 
be avoided by drowning the rats. This can 
easily be done if the traps are properly set. 
For the benefit of the boys who have not had 
the experience I will explain how this can be 
done. 
Select a place to set the trap where there 
is sufficient water to drown a rat, preferably 
along a bluff bank or upon a point which e.x- 
tends out into the water where a rat would be 
apt to look for food. Here tear off some of the 
earth and make a foundation upon which to 
place the trap. Set the trap under the water 
about four inches and fasten the chain out in 
the water as far as possible by driving a stake 
through the ring. Bait the trap with a piece 
of sweet apple or parsnip, suspended by a string 
over the trap high enough so that the rat will 
have to stand on his hind legs to reach it, and 
in such a position that the trap will be the most 
convenient place for him to stand. A muskrat 
will scent this bait for a long distance and will 
swim over the trap with his front feet and not 
touch it. He will then raise upon his hind legs 
and in his efforts to get the swinging bait will 
step into the trap which will clamp on to the 
hind leg well up to the body. Then as the chain 
will not permit his going upon the bank, he will 
drop off into deep water and soon drown. If 
this method is practiced, many fine pelts will be 
saved and much of the suffering to the captive 
will be avoided. 
After skinning the rat, save the carcass. If 
you do not care to eat it yourself, remember it 
will make an excellent bait for your skunk or 
mink traps or fine meat for the chickens. 
No real sportsman will set traps in a musk¬ 
rat house or burrow. 
Alabama Notes. 
P'OLLOWING is a circular letter from the .A.la- 
bama Game and Fish Commissioner to the 
county wardens: 
Montgomery, Ala., April 5.— My dear Sir: 
The hunting season is now over, the time when 
birds and game, native to Alabama, can be legally 
shot is ended. Therefore, be especially on guard 
to the end that the protected wild life of the 
State be not molested during the forthcoming 
mating, nesting and breeding season. 
A desire to fish will soon be in the blood 
of all lovers of angling. An overwhelming ma¬ 
jority of people of this State favor the taking 
of fish only by legal means, hence those who 
persist in using illicit devices in depleting our 
waters of fish should be apprehended at all 
hazards and promptly convicted. 
In order that the highest benefits may be de¬ 
rived under our conservation statutes, you are 
directed as follows: 
First—Investigate every violation committed 
in your presence or brought to your attention. 
Second—If convinced that the law has been 
violated and the evidence points to a certain in¬ 
dividual as being the guilty party, proceed to 
swear out a warrant immediately before a jus¬ 
tice of the peace and have the defendant bound 
over to await the action of the grand jury, pro- 
