Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper: Autobiography, experiences and observations of Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock during his fifty years of hunting and trapping.Woodcock, E. N. (Eldred Nathaniel)
General
Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper: Autobiography, experiences and observations of Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock during his fifty years of hunting and trapping.
Woodcock, E. N. (Eldred Nathaniel)
Hunting; Trapping
When my neighbor came to look at the traps he found his own private
mark on the traps, so he said to the warden that they were his traps,
for there was his own private mark. The warden replied that he
couldn't help that, and that there were three more over at the house
that he could get if he wanted to. When my neighbor went to get the
other traps he found that they were not his traps, but he knew by the
mark on them the traps belonged to his neighbor, so he told the
warden about it.
Now the intention of the true sportsman is to kill two birds with one
stone through the Bounty Law; destroy the fur bearer, and by so
doing, do away with what I have heard many a true sportsman call a
nuisance--the trapper and his traps. Apparently this state or its
lawmakers, look upon the game business and the fur industry in a very
different light from what many do.
Many states throughout the Union are enacting laws to protect the fur
bearing animals of their respective states, and are only placing
bounties on such animals as are of little use as fur bearers, and are
destructive to stock. No doubt but that these states look upon the
hundreds of thousands of dollars put into the pockets of their
citizens through the trapper and his products, the same as they would
upon equal amount of money brought into their respective
commonwealths through any other industry. I believe it would have
been well to have had a bounty of $2.00 on a wild cat, and 50 cents
or $1.00 on a weasel, and the same on hawks.
I would like to have a little private talk with the trappers of
Pennsylvania. I do not wish to go away from home to give advice, for
usually unsought-for advice will reach about the same distance that
the giver's hat rim does. Boys, remember that this is private--just
between you and I. When we get ready to set our traps about the first
of November, let's try to--Oh, well, you kick, do you? You say that
the bounty trapper will have everything caught before the first of
November. That is true to a certain extent, but we can't help that,
for you know we are not true sportsmen, so all we can do is to stick
to common sense.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account