so ’rats each trip he will surely have his 
hands full. In some instances a small 
houseboat might be practical for this 
job; a lot depending on the amount of 
territory to be covered. 
When I was a youngster every bit 
of literature that had anything to do 
with north country trapping was read 
greedily. Like a lot of misinformed 
men I got the notion in my giddy young 
head that real wilderness trappers 
didn’t bother with such things as grub- 
stakes. With a single blanket, an axe, 
a rifle, fry pan, a few steel traps and 
a small sack of salt, they sallied forth 
to live off the land. When they got 
hungry (according to the way I had 
things doped out) they shot a rabbit or 
grouse and proceeded to cook the game 
on the spot. Sounds romantic? Well, 
I’d smile! Fact is, we tried it and got 
so flour hungry the first week we ate 
the stuff raw with a spoon the first time 
we got back to it. Boys, you can get 
along with a few traps, any old rifle 
will do in a pinch, you can sleep with 
your clothes on to save a blanket or so, 
BUT you can’t trap without a grub- 
stake! 
T’S a hard matter to choose most 
anything for the other fellow and 
especially is it difficult to know just 
what is required to satisfy your fellow- 
man’s appetite. But we will follow a 
commen-sense law in this matter, list- 
ing the most essential foodstuffs and 
our trapper friend can add or detract 
as he sees fit. 
We have figured this list out on the 
basis of a season’s grubstake for one 
man, and by “season,’’ we mean at least 
eight months. 
alte Seer cea ars eae, ane 25 lbs 
Peppers .20 0s tee. 3s oo eee ¥% |b 
HOUT ee ol cee 200 lbs 
Bakingspawoer. oo sc Pcs dete 10 Ibs 
Vedsrenkecern cus. cues 10 pkgs 
ar darren is. utd 30 lbs 
Beans eercbe ee .iee se roeee 40 lbs 
Butterterrmreietc . Sots ok reek 40 lbs. 
Baling wedaaiey 2604. we ota 4 lbs. 
LAINS MRM hee he se a a TN Ce 20 lbs 
MuUstanditement. aes .'o0- sca ctocbtake 2 tins 
Coflee Mewmemrretec ch techs 30.0 ee 15 lbs 
COCO RMN et. cre + Gi. cane 10 lbs. 
AWE cs oie. uc cla Ree eee ce eee 5 lbs. 
Milke(eondensed)) $s... 00.0% 1 case 
Salt pork (or bacon) ....... 40 lbs. 
Gornestarchee dy... eee 5 lbs. 
RA DIOCAMEEIeronter soe ts co merew 5 lbs. 
SOAD MULANG ye etcc oss Slee 5 bars 
Soapacaundary) © 2.0... 08 ue 10 bars 
Candlesmeentcie. 2 0he's Sale ae eS 10 doz 
IPOts Danleverewrk:® scr <1. sens gate 15 lbs 
Rice ks . ke a 10 lbs 
Raisinsweeeents os oo Mrmr els 20 lbs 
DTICdmeEULLS Ret: as ae: bl 40 lbs 
Sila Hee yei ee. setae ea ee 40 lbs 
Oatineseeeries ce... Ssulekisan® 20 lbs 
WOGNMe ale ee ke Siallble dave 20 lbs 
SV LUPSMe ste Jutolltetienas-s 10 Ibs 
The above list has been selected with a 
view to supplying the average need but 
a man should study his personal tastes 
before making up such a vital thing as 
a grubstake. For instance some men 
eat twice as much bread as others; if 
you’re a hearty bread eater remember 
that the staff of life is made of flour! 
SOME men don’t like beans, others 
can almost live on ’em. Beans are 
handy to pack and have lots of food 
value. To the uninitiated, 40 lbs seems 
a lot of butter. It is, at present prices 
and personally we could do with half 
that amount. But don’t stint yourself 
and be sorry for it afterward. One 
thing you will discover—food that you 
might ordinarily disdain eating will 
taste mighty good on the trapline. 
Some of the substitutes for butter, such 
as nut margarines and vegetable prod- 
ucts, do very well if one isn’t too 
squeamish and have the advantage in 
that they cost less. 
If a man does a lot of frying 30 lbs. 
of lard isn’t a bit too much. A fellow 
should keep a tab on his food supply 
right from the start and if certain 
thing's seem to be disappearing too fast, 
cut down on them and use something 
else for a while. There is a real sci- 
ence to the correct handling of a grub- 
stake, as any trapper who knows what 
it is to go hungry can testify. It is 
absolutely a shame to waste food but 

Page 711 
The prize of the trapline—a silver fox 
