The springs ought to be strong, tempered, and proportioned. The strength of a perfectly tempered spring will always remain the same, whether in winter or summer, never losing its elasticity.

The jaws should be curved so as to give the bow of the spring a proper sweep to work on. The jaws should lie flat when open, and should work easily on their hinges. Each trap should have a strong chain with ring and swivel attached, and the swivel should turn easily.

The true object of the steel trap is to take the animal by the leg, thus injuring the skin only in a part where it is valueless.

Never bait a steel trap on the pan. The pan is intended for the foot of the game. The bait should be placed as that attention will be drawn away from the trap; it being in such a position as will cause the animal to step on it when reaching for the bait. Following each use, the trap should be thoroughly boiled out, well oiled, and smoked out over a fire.

Transportation of Steel Traps

Beaver traps were conveyed west on the rivers and streams, and packaged in pine boxes and barrels, but for ease of conveyance when individual trappers took them into the field they were folded, wrapped in their chains and carried leather bags in canoes and on horse or mule back.

The Spring Pole

This is nearly always used in connection with the steel trap, in the capture of smaller animals. It not only lifts the creature into the air, preventing it from becoming prey to other animals, but it also guards against the escape by the amputation of its leg. This is a very common mode of release with many kinds of game, notably the mink, marten, and muskrat. It is a simple contrivance, i.e. a pole inserted in the ground near the trap. The pole is then bent down, and the trap chain secured to its end. A small, notched peg is next driven into the ground and the top of the pole caught in it, and is thus held in a bent position. When the animal is caught, its struggles release the pole, and the latter, flying up with a jerk, lifts the trap and its occupant into the air, out of the reach of marauders, and beyond the power of escape by self-amputation. Even in the capture of large game, the spring pole often serves a good purpose. A heavy animal’s struggles are often so violent as to break even a stout trap or chain; but the force of the spring pole, although insufficient to raise the animal from its feet, often succeeds in easing the strain and saves a trap from being broken to pieces. The power of the pole must of course be proportionate to the weight of the game.

THE SLIDING POLE

The first impulse with almost every aquatic animal when caught in a trap is to plunge headlong into deep water. With the smaller animals, such as the mink and muskrat, this is all that is desired by the trapper, as the weight of the trap with the chain is sufficient to drown its victim. But with larger animals, the beaver and otter for instance, an additional precaution, in the shape of the “sliding pole” is necessary. This consists of a pole about ten feet long, smoothly trimmed of its branches, except at the tip where a few stubs should be left. Insert this end obliquely into the bed of the stream, where the water is deep, and secure the large end to the bank by means of a hooked stick. The ring of the chain should be large enough to slide easily down the entire length of the pole. When the trap is set, the ring should be slipped on the large end of the pole and held in place by resting a stick against it. The animal, when caught, plunges off into deep water and, guided by the pole, is led to the bottom of the river. The ring slides down to the bed of the stream and there holds its catch until drowned.

A trap set for heavy game should never be secured to a stake. Many of the larger and more powerful animals, when caught in a trap secured like this, are apt either to pull or twist their legs off, or break both trap and chain to pieces. To guard against this, the chain should be weighted with a pole or small log of a size proportionate to the dimensions of the game, its weight being merely sufficient to offer a serious encumbrance to the animal without positively checking its movements. This impediment is called the “clog,” and is usually attached to the ring of the trap chain by its larger end, the ring being slipped over the latter and secured in place by a wedge.

A grappling iron serves the same purpose, and is often used instead. It is attached to the chain by a swivel joint and it offers a serious resistance to the victim who endeavors to run away with it.

The balance pole is very effective. It is simply a long, slender pole fastened in a crotch or tied to the side of a sapling; the trap being secured to the small end. It is balanced so that the weight of the butt will not only lift the trap but the captured animal as well. It is fastened down in the same way as the spring pole and is released by the struggles of the animal.

FUR-BEARING ANIMALS

N ote: The foregoing pages of this chapter are largely adapted from the writings of Elmer Harry Kreps, trapper and mountain man.

Beaver

The beaver is an amphibious animal, resembling the muskrat in appearance but much larger. It has the same thick, heavy body, short neck, and scaly tail. The hind feet are large and strong and the toes are webbed; the front feet are small, the tail “paddle shaped,” four or five inches wide and about ten inches long. When full grown, the beaver will weigh forty to fifty pounds, although occasionally much larger ones can be found. The under fur is very fine and soft, and is mixed with longer and coarser hairs called “guard hairs.” The prevailing color is a rich, reddish brown on the back and sides, and ashy beneath.

The food of the beaver consists mostly of bark, of such woods as poplar, birch, willow, and cottonwood, as well as the roots of the water lily. In the South they also eat corn.

Beavers build houses of sticks, stones, and mud, locating usually in the edge of a pond or lake, but often making a large pond to suit their requirements by building a dam across the stream. Even when their houses are built on a lake or pond, they always build a dam across the outlet, so as to raise the water by two or three feet.

The dams are built of the same material as the houses. Often there are one or two small dams found below the main dam. They are so well made that they will last for many years, and are so tight that the water usually drips evenly over the top.

The houses are also very well made, with walls being several feet in thickness. There are usually two entrances, both being under water. The size and general shape of the house depends on the number of beavers inhabiting it. The house of a full family of beavers will usually measure about twelve feet in diameter at the water line, but will sometimes be even larger. When there are only two or three beavers, the house is much smaller and pointed on the top.

A full family can consist of six to eight members. There are usually two old beavers, two or three two year olds, and two or three young. The reason for this is that the young beavers remain two years with the parents, and as it takes several years for them to grow to their full size, there are always three sizes in a family. When they have reached the age of two years, they start out and make a house of their own, the beavers born the spring before, becoming the medium size, and a new litter taking their place. By autumn, the beavers that have left the main family have their house and dam completed and a store of food laid up for winter.