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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.