Size matters...

In the midst of all the recent trap modifying , it was noticed that most of our historical traps had various sizes of pans, although they remain much larger in history. Some nearly fill the entire space in the jaws, some are round, oval and most are square. Often the pans will have clipped off corners, obviously to clear the movement of the springs and jaws, but the pans over all the size suits the demands, and the mechanical limits.
   Turning to the book , "A Trappers Guide" , Samuel Newhouse (1865), in his first chapter he notes:
 2. The pan should not be too large. A large pan, filling nearly the whole space of the open jaws, may seem to increase the chances of an animal's being caught, by giving him more surface to tread upon in springing the trap. But there is a mistake in this. When an animals springs a trap by treading on the outer part of a large pan, his foot is near the jaw, and instead of being caught, is liable to be thrown out by the stroke of the jaw.-- Whereas, when he treads on a small pan, his foot in nearly in the centre of the sweep of the jaws, and he is very sure to be seized far enough up on the leg to be well secured.

     Some trappers would argue here. I would agree with Newhouse, except that now we are entering a change in traps. Before Newhouse and Oneida, traps were animal specific, meaning that a trap was built for an intended animal. This change to a smaller pan is seen about the same time that more traps became more universal, one trap is now good for several animals. A small pan would be good for some animals, but a poor change for others. Steel traps had largely been used for beaver, and the large pan worked well for many years on these older traps. Could it be that Newhouse was pushing the small pan just to same metal? I don't know if I would go that far, Newhouse was no slouch at trapping, and he made the finest trap in my opinion, possibly he was just stubborn and set in his ways.
    Pan size has gone back and forth some over the course of history. Today many trappers use an after market pan extension, or modify the existing pan to a larger one , I'm a fan of those guys! However, most traps went to this small round pan and it's remained the standard for well over a century now.
    Newhouse set the pace for other trap makers, if he is the one to change to this smaller size, it's likely that all others followed suit, and it probably showed up in the company piggy bank as they followed along.

An older tranverse pan trap, a pan made to fill the entire area inside the jaws.

A double leaf spring, the pan fits the jaws, it's a bit more narrow on the sides to clear the springs.

Montreal maker "Isaac Veal" , a single leaf spring with a pan large enough to fill the jaw area. Just enough room to clear the spring.

From the Museum of the Fur Trade, a Watkins , this is the average pan size of a common beaver trap. These measure about 3 1/2 to 4 inches square.

Three Newhouse traps, #2, 3 and the top is a #4. The round pan is just under 2 inches.

 

I might add that most traps that we find today all have the same size round pan. Victors and Triumph will have slightly different styles, but will interchange for most years. The number 2 traps will fit the #4's. Bridgers, Sleepy Creek, and Duke traps have differences, but remain about the same size. If you are a die hard fan of large pans, it's not difficult at all to modify these.

New Trick!

  Not really new, it's actually Eastern 18th century but it's new to many of us interested in historical trapping.

   "About two feet above the trap, a stick, three or four inches in length, was stuck in the bank. In the upper end of this, the trapper excavated a small hole with his knife, into which he dropped a small quantity of the essence, or perfume, used to attract the beaver to the spot. This stick was attached by a string of horse hair to the trap, and with it was pulled into the water by the beaver. The reason for this was, that it might not remain after the trap was sprung, and attract the other beavers to the spot , and thus prevent their going to where there was another trap set for them." -- Mode of Beaver Trapping , Isaac Williams. ( Original Contributions to the American Pioneer , Samuel P. Hildreth).

  I had wanted to keep this blog at the early western 19th century, but this was too good to pass up. This is one of  Nathan Kobucks area of study, and he posted it recently first on his blog ,The Buffalo Trace. What is mentioned here is one of those lost pieces of art in trapping. I was glad to see this and began to search for more about Isaac Williams.
   The whole chapter in this book is a must read, but the thing that stands out is the horse hair string. It would seem like this is used as something a beaver wouldn't chew on , however it is mentioned a little further in the book:

    "The trap was connected by a chain of iron, six feet in length, to a stout line made of the bark of the leatherwood, twisted into a neat cord, of fifteen or twenty feet. These were usually fabricated at home or at their camps; cords of hemp or flax were scarce in the days of beaver hunting."

  If hemp or flax cord was scarce, maybe this is a reason for using the horse hair? or the chewing both? I think if we had the opportunity to trap as often as these guys did some of these little details would make a lot of sense. The many things that show up in this chapter on Isaac Williams are real interesting. The leatherwood "stout line", and the reason it is being used here, either because there was nothing else and it was strong enough, or the chewing?
Another interesting thing to note is that most often there is a lot of preparation before a beaver hunt. As in the quote, "usually fabricated at home or camp" , getting ready for a hunt reveals skills that we could consider learning. You can see this in the western fur trade as well , trappers would spend time cutting drowning poles , making bait bottles, working over traps, and basically being ready to hit a beaver hole hard and fast , the name of the game is get in there and get them all before they scatter. So preparation is a smart thing, not just convenient.
 
Here is more of the chapter on Isaac Williams:

Biographical Sketch of Isaac Williams-------Mode of beaver trapping

….. The untrodden wilderness was to him full of charms, and before the close of the revolutionary war he had hunted over all parts of the valley of Ohio, sometimes with a companion, but oftener alone. From his sedate manners, and quiet habits, the trapping of the beaver was his most favorite pursuit. This was a great art amongst the early pioneers and hunters of the west, and he who was the most successful and adroit in this mystery, was accounted a fortunate man; it was many times quite lucrative, the proceeds of a few months hunt often realizing three or four hundred dollars to the trapper. Mr. Williams stood high in this branch of the hunter’s occupations; and few men could entrap more beavers than himself. To be a successful trapper required great caution as well as a perfect knowledge of the habits of the animal. The residence of the beaver was often discovered by seeing bits of green wood, gnawed branches of the bass-wood, slippery elm, and sycamore, their favorite food, floating on the water, or lodged on the shores of the stream below, as well as by their tracks or foot marks. They were also discovered by their dams, thrown across creeks and small sluggish streams, forming a pond in which were erected their habitations. The hunter, as he proceeded to set his traps, generally approached by water in his canoe. He selected a steep, abrupt spot in the bank of the creek, in which a hole was excavated with his paddle, as he sat in the canoe, sufficiently large enough to hold the trap, and so deep as to be about three or four inches below the surface of the water, when the jaws of the trap were expanded. About two feet above the trap, a stick, three or four inches in length, was stuck in the bank. In the upper end of this, the trapper excavated a small hole with his knife, into which he dropped a small quantity of the essence, or perfume, used to attract the beaver to the spot. This stick was attached by a string of horse hair to the trap, and with it was pulled into the water by the beaver. The reason for this was, that it might not remain after the trap was sprung, and attract the other beavers to the spot , and thus prevent their going to where there was another trap set for them. The scent, or essence, was made by mingling the fresh castor of the beaver, with an extract of the bark of the roots of the spice-bush, and kept in a bottle for use. The making of this essence was held a profound secret, and often sold for a considerable sum to the younger trappers, by the older proficient in the mystery of beaver hunting. Where they had no proper bait, they sometimes made use of the fresh roots of sassafras, or spice bush; of both these the beaver was very fond. It is said by old trappers that they will smell the well prepared essence the distance of a mile. Their sense of smell is very acute, or they would not so readily detect the vicinity of man by the smell of his trail. The aroma of the essence having attracted the animal into the vicinity of the trap, in his attempt to reach it, he has to climb up on to the bank where it is sticking. This effort leads him directly over the trap, and he is usually taken by one of the fore legs. The trap was connected by a chain of iron, six feet in length, to a stout line made of the bark of the leatherwood, twisted into a neat cord, of fifteen or twenty feet. These were usually fabricated at home or at their camps; cords of hemp or flax were scarce in the days of beaver hunting. The end of the line was secured to a stake drove into the bed of the creek underwater. In his struggles to escape , the beaver was usually drowned before the arrival of the trapper. Sometimes however, he freed himself by gnawing off his own leg, though this was rarely the case. If there was a prospect of rain, or it was raining at the time of setting the trap, a leaf , generally of sycamore, was placed over the essence stick to protect it from the rain. The beaver being a very sagacious and cautious animal, it required great care in the trapper, in his approach to it’s haunts to set his traps, that no scent of his feet or hands was left on the earth, or bushes that he touched. For this reason he generally approached in a canoe. If he had no canoe, it was necessary to enter the stream thirty or forty yards below, and walk into the water to the place, taking care to return in the same manner, or the beaver would take alarm and not come near the bait, as his fear of the vicinity of man was greater than his sense of appetite for the essence. It also required caution in kindling a fire near their haunts, as the smell of smoke alarmed them. The firing of a gun, also often marred the sport of the trapper. Thus it will be seen that to make a successful beaver hunter, required more qualities, or natural gifts, than fall to the share of most men. Mr. Williams was eminently qualified for the calling of a hunter, both by disposition and by practice. He was a close observer of nature; taciturn in his manners, and slow and cautious in his movements; never in a hurry or flurried by an unexpected occurrence. In many respects he was an exact portrait of Cooper’s “Beau Ideal” of a master hunter, so finely portrayed in the “pioneer” and other back woods legends.

  

   

 

I wouldn't hold my breath..

  That's about as corny as I could think of for a title, but it will have to do.
Something talked about around the campfire a few times is the topic of drowning beaver. It's been mentioned on occasions that beaver , technically, do not drown. Although for hundreds of years trappers have always used the word, it is true that a beaver doesn't technically drown, instead he suffocates. For those who want to really be scientific you can enroll in med school and take this as far as you like, but a basic understanding of the beaver's anatomy should be enough.
 One book I've been reading on is The American Beaver and His Works , by Lewis Henry Morgan.
 Morgan goes into detail on the anatomy, and might be somewhat boring to most of us, but it does explain well what is happening when a beaver "drowns".
    A beaver we all know holds his breath under water, he is equipped with valve like organs that shut off his nose, and also his ears. His eyes also have a transparent lens that comes down when he makes a dive. Surprisingly a beaver actually has a small set of lungs, proportional to his body size, but it should make sense that because his metabolism is slow he does not need rapid oxygen replacement. Muskrat and otter have a larger set of lungs, in proportion, but they are more active and need larger volumes of oxygen.
  When a beaver is trapped, instinct drives him to deeper water below the surface, those valves shut and he takes in no oxygen, and of course no water to fill his lungs. The more he thrashes about, the more stored oxygen he uses up, and soon he asphyxiates.
   Technically it's not drowning, but technically it's all the same , lack of oxygen.
 So it's not exactly a misnomer when the trappers say "drown a beaver", and it would be strange to hear our trappers say something like "asphyxiation" and of course we are looking for the trappers word over a doctor of medicine for our endeavor.
  It might be good to note that few people are in agreement on how long a beaver can hold his breath, obviously it varies with each individual animal, and ranges from 10 minutes to 30 minutes. Some trappers claim as much as 45 minutes, which surprises the science guys as well as many other trappers.
  

 

Snares

This last weekend I had the pleasure of camping the last of deer season with my good friend and AMM Brother Scott "groundhog" Miranda, among the many accomplishments we made this weekend, he showed me how to make a Paiute snare. This is something I've wanted to touch on for awhile now. With his experience it only took an hour or so to put together and make a functional snare that I can see being very effective.
    First, our trappers in the early west do not seem to be using these, not anything common anyway. Natives are mentioned using snares, and it's only a possibility that our trappers might have. There seems to be various reasons for not seeing the use of snares.
   Our trappers working for a fur company are after beaver mainly, otter and muskrat fall in behind but all other fur is far down the list of demand. None of these animals are mentioned being taken by snares, by company trappers. There may be a slight chance some trappers used snares for beaver, but nothing is known of doing so.
The use of snares is going to be for a food source more than anything else, real beneficial to natives during different times of the year. Snaring a rabbit or other small game wouldn't do our parties much good , Osborne Russell sums this up:
  

"And now as I have finished my description of the Buffaloe and the manner of killing them I will put a simple question for the reader's solution - If Kings Princes Nobles and Gentlemen can derive so much sport and Pleasure as they boast of in chasing a fox or simple hare all day? which when they have caught is of little or no benefit to them what pleasure can the Rocky Mountain hunter be expected to derive in running with a well trained horse such a noble and stately animal as the Bison? which when killed is of some service to him."

From what Osborne Russell is saying, there's not much benefit in spending time with small game, and likely to be our situation with large parties of trappers.

 Even though snares would be rare, I'm keeping an open mind to the use of them as our trappers would likely be familiar with them. There is a hint of survivalism here, and we don't want to run rampant with paleo caveman ideals , lets just stick with the idea we are working for a large fur company and will have hard times to deal with and possibly have to snare a rabbit one day, so pay attention to our Native freinds and see how it's done. 

   The set up that Scott showed me is amazingly simple, but effective and strong. Choose a good sapling that will lift a small animal off the ground, and keep the twine tight. The one we chose in the picture should lift a small rabbit , possibly a heavier animal. 

    An ax, and a knife is necessary , and the twine should be something strong enough. I made the twine in the picture from small hemp and twisted with a home made walton engine. I finally found a good reason to add this twine in my bag.

 

You can make these pieces before you go out. In the picture I did not hide the twine just for the sake of pictures, it would probably be best to cover the twine so it would not be so obvious.

  This is something worth trying some time, it's cheap , effective and interesting.

 Another common set is the deadfall , which goes by several names. When I was a kid I was taught a "figure 4" , which had a trigger and a wooden crate set to fall and catch the animal alive, many use a large log or rock made to fall and kill the intended animal. This deadfall might prove to work well on birds or maybe squirrels, but would have to be of a large size for something like rabbits, at this point I'm inclined to like the sapling much better.

 

 

 

 

 

Rudolph Friedrech Kurz

 

 

Christmas came a little early this year, this was sent to me by email by Isaac Walters and I felt like a kid on Christmas morning.

 

 Kurz made his sketches and wrote his journal in the years 1846 and 1852. Some might not consider this solid documentation for the rendezvous period, but there is so much evidence that these guys are just remnants of the decade before I believe it can be really useful in research.

   It is not often trappers out west this early were trapping anything but aquatic animals, this is rare sketch of the earliest dirt sets known out west.

   Kurz jumps around in his journal, from topic to topic , I only copied from two pages what is pertinent to this sketch topic :

   

October 25. With the remains of a lap dog we entrapped our first

wolf. In laying the smare they dig a hole 3 inches deep so that

the trap lies even with the ground, and then they cover it with earth,

grass, buffalo chips, etc.

A wolf or a fox, attracted by carrion, steps unawares upon the

springs and his leg is caught. To prevent his running off with the

trap the latter is fastened by means of an attached chain to a

heavy log or trunk of a tree. For fear of unnecessarily piercing

his pelt, an animal caught thus is never shot, but killed by a blow

on the head with a bludgeon…. 

I was here interrupted by Morgan, who wished me to accompany

him to his traps. We found, this time, a gray fox that I struck

dead and brought home to paint for Morgan. These animals are

full of fleas…..

When we went again to look after our traps we found that the

carcass had been dragged quite a distance away by wolves. Our

Spanish horse guard told us in his Spanish-French-English jargon:

"Jamme wolf dragge de carcasse way from de trappe. No seen una

pareilla chose. Ni now putte horse's snoute on de pickette, de wolf

no more carry awaye."

Night scenes here are decidedly picturesque. Armed with guns

and hunting knives and provided with lanterns, we moved across the

dusky prairie that seems to have neither beginning nor end but to

melt into the wide heaven from which it can be distinguished only

by scattered stars. About us are the captured animals struggling

and gnashing their teeth, the dead just removed from the traps. The

concentrated glow of lanterns, while the traps are being set once

more, the hunters' original attire, the dark background, all combine

to form a picture at once suggestive of animated life and awe.

October 26. At daybreak we found two gray foxes in the traps.

Painted a picture of one of them. In the study of hairy beasts

water colors are of little advantage, pointed brushes of still less.

For reproducing the curl of hair, broad oil brushes are best. By

adroit manipulation of the latter the effect is achieved,

There is actually many things happening here, in the journal and the sketch both, but together it's really great research material for the land set I've wanted to document.  A really good trapping method can be established here,

   I don't think I would use a lapdog for bait, or a horses head, but what they did either means they had only this to work with, or no preferred gland/scent type of bait.

  A hole is dug just big enough for the trap, and covered with dirt, grass or buffalo chips. I'd hazard a guess and say they used the grass under the pan to keep dirt from getting under it , and the dirt and buffalo chips covered the rest of the trap.

    Apparently no metal staking is used here, like we do in modern trapping, even though the trap is buried , the chain is still tied to a heavy log. In modern methods, long metal stakes 3 and even 4 foot long are used and the stake is driven right under the trap. This method isn't seen in history until much later, perhaps metal stakes are too hard to come by, too expensive, just attaching the chain to a heavy log appears to just be efficient enough, not something to improve upon in this decade.

   Kurz then mentions that the animal is never shot , obviously here it is dispatched with a club. We can probably assume it's for the sake of not ruining fur. It might be good to remember, this 'bludgeoning" with a club would be rare for beaver since they were always drowned in ideal situations, you would have to walk up on a beaver set just a few minutes after he is caught to find a live one. Never say never here however, a lot of trappers with years of experience have pulled in live beaver. Our trappers probably did, but most likely they would not be as prepared as for a wolf.

     Next, Kurz mentions the lapdog carcass was carried off, and then the trapper "pickets" a horses head for bait a second time. This is something a lot of trappers would be surprised about, a second chance is sometimes hard to get, but then again, who would ever get to gain this much experience with a wolf anymore. So the second time around he finally catches his wolf , with the horse bait.

   One really interesting part of this comes from the "picturesque" night scenes Kurz is writing about. "We moved across the dusky prairie" , I'm assuming he means late evening, as opposed to the "dawn" of morning. As Kurz seems to describes they keep working with no beginning or end , it would appear they are non stop working trap sets, obviously day and night. Other trapping parties would be leaving beaver sets undisturbed at night, but Kurz may not be describing beaver sets in this particular situation.

   Finally on the Oct. 26 entry he mentions painting a fox. This oil painting , where ever it is , would be an amazing find , especially if there is a trap scene associated with it.

    

The Quest Continues

 Perhaps I should say the obsession continues, the obsession with the fur trade. I was fortunate this weekend to spend some time with a great new friend Joey Shackleford and his 8 year old son Elijah. The intention was to spend time working on our historical trapping skills, which in such a short time we experienced a few challenges and obstacles to overcome next time. Being the month of May, and fur isn't in season it was just an opportunity to fine tune our gear and face the challenges we know we will have next season.
   We had hopes of finding beaver, but it appeared that our modern weather problems had run the beaver out. The creek which ran through the place should have been promising to hold beaver, but the past droughts and floods and real estate land management proved to be a problem for a beavers home. Oklahoma's weather constantly changes, I don't think in the 8 years that I have lived here I have seen the same weather twice. The rivers are up, then they are soon down. It can flood one month and develop a drought the next month. We found signs of beaver in our area, but most of it was over a year old. Joey spotted one good chew mark that might have been a month old maybe , no tracks , no castor mounds to be found. We did accomplish a goal however, since this is out of season we gained ground on our knowledge of finding beaver sign and we learned what is happening in our areas with the beaver.
    We worked on period land sets, the possibility of trapping coyotes was good. I've had a big interest in landsets , which again is something our 1830's trappers didn't do much of, however the art of trapping in our times may have begun with landsets.
  We discovered many challenges soon. With all the intention of doing this the way our ancestors did, our first hill to climb was the weight of all the traps and gear. We discovered that carrying 6 traps is just meant for a horse. All together I don't think they weigh over 35 pounds, giving the idea that a good beaver trap is a 5 lb trap, several of mine only weigh 3 lbs each. For landsets we carry even more, stakes and a hammer, now we are getting closer to 50 lbs of carry.
   Using stakes is probably not a historical thing to do for our trappers, and we wanted to use drags instead. We are limited in our modern times and often won't get a chance to trap a large area. Had we used drags the problem of a trap getting carried off onto someone else's property exists, so we leaned toward metal trap stakes , more a modern idea, but in our case it's called for.
     We felt like a horse is a must here, with large traps and an intention of making six sets or more , there is a huge burden of carrying everything on your back. If the horse is not a must have item, it's certainly a desired item for a working trapper of our times.
 The long metal traps stakes have to go , we encountered too many problems with them. They were of a modern idea used today, each stake is about 32 inches long. They work great for modern trapping, an animal cannot dig them up enough to become loose , but they almost always require a stake puller when your ready to pull traps out. They require a large hammer to drive them down deep enough. The weight and bulk of our gear is already a burden before we add the pullers and a hammer.
     It's not likely our ancestors would use stakes of this nature, the cost alone wouldn't justify them to be a common item. In the future we may choose a method of tying a trap to a small tree with brass wire , or cutting off a good sapling and place the trap ring over it.
  Everything points to selecting a perfect trap spot , it's becoming obvious that our trappers did this. Let the bait do the work for you, and give it time, but be selective on the trap location so it won't need a non period stake. This will mean less load for us to carry in the future.
   As mentioned in Sewell Newhouse's book, the clogs would be the best, perhaps using a large clog/drag such as a tree limb will do just fine. In our limited land area it could be a large enough clog to keep animals from moving into the neighbors space.

   Another challenge with landsets is making a trap bed. Without a shovel like we use in modern trapping, this is a small challenge. A hatchet or small axe works well here, however it does add to the weight we are trying to shed. A hatchet, or tomahawk however is useful, this is one thing we may not be able to do without. It works really good for cutting roots and making a better trap bed. I think I'll carry a small one each time, with beaver sets it's almost mandatory for cutting the drowning stick.

 One thing mentioned several times in journals is how the trappers avoided leaving their scent on a set. Today many trappers use treated gloves, however that's not an option for us. We noticed an obvious sign at one of our sets, and I know this happens a lot. A coyote came for the bait but sniffed something on the trap that alerted him. He carefully dug one edge of the trap jaw up and exposed the canvas ducking used over the pan. After he found the trap he managed to go around it and get the bait and leave behind a half exposed trap.
  This is real common when you leave scent behind , the trap should have been boiled better and I should not have left any of my own scent behind. I simply got sloppy with my method. The coyote has a keen instinct as well, if something just don't feel right he is going to be on his toes. Looks and smell both together will tell him that something is in the ground. In the real trapping season I'm going to have to be more careful. It's probably best to go in and make your set, leaving no scent, and get out without disturbing anything.

back to the book

On page 17 of Newhouse's book, The Trappers Guide, he writes a short paragraph about a "clog". It's basically a trap drag of the times.

The clog: Some powerful and violent animals, if caught in a trap
that is staked fast, will pull their legs off, or beat the trap in pieces; but
if allowed to drag the trap about with a moderate weight attached, will behave
more gently, or at least will not be able to get loose for want of purchase. The
weight used in such cases is called a "clog". It is usually a pole or stick of
wood, of a size suited to the ring of the trap-chain, and to the size of the
game. As the object of it is to encumber the animal, but not to hold it fast,
the chain should be attached to it near one of it's ends, so that it will not
likely to get fast among the rocks and bushes for a considerable time. The usual
way is to slip the ring over the large end of the pole and fasten it with a
wedge.

Since studying and using period traps for a few years now I have not seen a grapling hook style of drag as our modern trappers use at all. I don't prefer staking a trap , especially with no swivels. The animal can roll the trap and pull out so easy without swivels, and if one is staked it's easier for him to roll the trap and tighten it up given him the advantage of pulling out. With a drag, or "clog" I think I can keep the animal from rolling or pulling himself free. Finding this evidence of a drag being used in 1865 is as close as I've seen yet, even if it's a primitive wooden limb. Perhaps the iron grapling hook style of drag is yet to come?

As Newhouse mentions the wedge being used on the ring and pole the idea of an attached metal wedge that is seen on more modern traps comes to mind. The little wedge is so common, and yet some trappers do not even know what it was for. Victor traps and many others applied this wedge to the chain ring , like a standard option for several years. You can see in the above picture the wedge on the trap ring.

It's hard to determine if Newhouse is referring to one of these, or if it's a primitive manufacture such as a piece of wood , it's possible his wedge could be a seperate metal wedge and later the wedge became the standard feature that we seen in the Victors so often.

On traps known to be dated before 1850 you don't see the attached wedge, but it's hard to know since most old trap chains had been modified, many of them using a much later made chain. It could be , and just another guess, that a wedge was just simply a piece of wood gathered up at the time of the set. In my opinion this would be the case for the older methods of making a set, but at least a wedge is being used at the time of this book and offers a clue for a method of trap setting real close to my time period.

In determining the methods of trap setting , for the 1830's , I have one thing in my favor and that is trapping is a traditional art. Hopefully Newhouse collected his thoughts and ideas from his earlier days and put them into this book... if so I'm gaining good ground.