Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper: Autobiography, experiences and observations of Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock during his fifty years of hunting and trapping. — John Shaqi
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
At the time I am writing of, it had been a noted place for many
hunters to stop from all parts of the country. There were almost too
many hunters stopping at Cherry Spring to suit Uncle as he was
getting pretty well along in years and did not like so much company.
I had been camping a greater part of the time for several seasons
about five miles north of Cherry Springs and one day Uncle said, if I
cared to, he would go on to Crossfork and build a cabin and we would
hunt and trap, more particularly trap. This was satisfactory to me
although I had a good camp where I was trapping and in a fairly good
locality for game, but the Crossfork country was a little farther in
the tall timber so I thought that the change might be a good thing.
About the first of October we took a team, went into the woods and
cut out a sort of a turkey trail from the wagon road down to Boon
Road Hollow to the Hog's Back branch of the Crossfork, where we
selected a sight for the camp. We felled a large hemlock tree and cut
off four logs of suitable length to make the body of the camp about
ten by twelve feet inside. We worked them around in shape fitting the
two shorter logs in between the ends of the two longer logs; then
placing rafters at about half pitch, put on the covering, chinked and
calked all the cracks and built a chimney of stones, sticks and clay
and put in a door.
We were now ready for the trap line. We set the bear traps on
different ridges where we thought would be the most likely places for
bears to travel. Then we put out two lines of deadfalls for marten.
We then took the different branches and spring runs, building more
deadfalls for mink and coons, setting the greater part of our steel
traps for foxes. After all the steel traps but three or four were
set, Uncle said that if I would go down the creek and set the balance
of the steel traps, he would go and look after the first of the bear
traps that we had set. I set the steel traps for foxes and built one
or two more deadfalls farther down the creek. I think that I found a
mink and one coon in the deadfalls that we had set in that section.
I got to camp about dark but Uncle had not come yet. I hustled supper
to have it ready when he came, but when supper was ready I could
neither see nor hear anything of him. After waiting some time I
concluded to eat and then if he did not come I would go in the
direction he had taken as I now suspected that he had gotten a bear
and was bringing in what he could carry and that I would meet him and
help him in with his load. Before I started out to see if I could
find him I gave several long and loud "coohoopes," but got no answer.
I concluded I would fire a couple of gunshots and see if I could get
an answer, but got no reply save the hoot of an owl.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account