450 ILttinois NATURAL History SURVEY BULLETIN V ol. 22; Artin 
This is explained by the dual activities of 
some fur-takers who both hunted and 
trapped. A reduction from the 1938-39 
figure of approximately 8 per cent in the 
total number of trappers and hunters in 
1939-40 was due probably to local scarcity 
of furs as a result of drought and to 
better employment conditions in industry. 
the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, the 
lower Kaskaskia River, the Glacial Lakes 
Region, and the larger streams and marsh- 
es throughout the state. The calculated 
average annual income per fur-taker over 
the 2-year period was $42.58. 
The number of fur-takers operating ~ 
illegally in the years of the survey was 
Table 3—Number and density of Illinois fur-takers by regions, 1938-39 and 1939-40. 
TRAPPERS Fur-Hunters Fur-Takers* 
Average Cal Average Calcus Average Calcu- 
Fur SurvEY aie Number es Number lated Number lated 
REGION of N q fF of Fur- Number of Fur- Number 
Trappers ae “Tr | Hunters of Takers of 
Per Square T - Per Square} Fur-  |Per Square}  Fur- 
Mile rappers |’ -Mile Hunters Mile Takers 
1938-39 0.40 328 0.15 123 0.50 410 
Northwest Hills...} 1939-40 0.41 429) Ox12 98 0.49 402 
1938-39 0.29 941 0.20 649 0.41 1,330 
Western Prairie. ..| 1939-40 0.36 1,168 0.26 843 0.47 L525 
River Bluffs and 1938-39 0.40 4,500 0.42 4,725 0:72 8,101 
Bottoms........} 1939-40 0.33 Silo 0.40 4,500 0.63 7,088 
Northwestern 1938-39 0.49 27218 0.11 498 0.56 2,535 
Sand Prairie....} 1939-40 0.46 2,082 0.10 453 0.51 2,308 
1938-39 0.82 1,343 0.02 33 0.83 1,360 
Glacial Lakes..... 1939-40 Omit bb3 0.03 49 0.73 1,196 
1938-39 ORS? 8, 560 0.05 823 0.54 8,889 
Black Prairie.....| 1939-40 0.46 515 0.02 329 0.47 Tetot 
Central 1938-39 0.39 2222 0712 684 0.44 2,008 
Sand Prairie....| 1939-40 0.39 Dig) OFl1 627 0.41 2336 
1938-39 a3 2,996 0.17 2,214 0.33 4,299 
Gray brairtenss oe 1939-40 0.22 2, 866 0.19 2,475 0.34 4,429 
1938-39 0.408 23e-LO8 ORTZ 9,749 0.52 29,431 
Ihnoisz ese 1939-40 0.373 21,124 0.165 9,374 0.48 2Ie021 
*The total number of fur-takers is lower than the sum of trappers 
listed as both trappers and fur-hunters. 
The survey brought out the surprising 
fact that most of the fur-takers in Illinois 
are men, who trap a very large proportion 
of the annual fur crop; schoolboy trappers 
are distinctly in the minority. The average 
age of fur-takers contacted was 33 years; 
the oldest was 74 and the youngest 11. 
The main reason for the relatively small 
number of boy trappers is the highly 
developed Illinois school system, which has 
enrolled almost all rural youths. Hours 
which schoolboys formerly spent on trap- 
lines are now spent in riding to and from 
town or in participating in high school 
activities. Professional trappers, averaging 
at least middle age, dominate all of the 
best trapping grounds, such as those along 
and fur-hunters because some individuals were 
dificult to determine. In some localities 
probably as high as 10 per cent of them 
were serious violators of the game code, 
while in other places practically all oper- 
ated within the law. 
Pertinent data on the calculated num- 
ber of trappers and the number of trap- 
pers’ licenses sold in Illinois are summar- 
ized for the period covered by the survey 
in table 4. 
Study of table 4 discloses for 1938-39 
an obvious discrepancy between the num- 
ber of licenses sold by the State Depart- 
ment of Conservation and the number of 
licensed fur-takers, as calculated from fig- 
ures derived from the survey. Since the 
Illinois law in both seasons covered by this 
