Wolf and Coyote Trapping Part 8

[Ill.u.s.tration: Coyote Caught at a Bank Set.]

Mr. Ira W. Bull, official hunter for the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and now located on one of the Colorado forest reserves, writes as follows:

"It would be hard to make an estimate of the number of coyotes and wolves in this section, especially coyotes, as there are so many of them and they seem to be getting more numerous every year. There are not so many grey wolves, but still, enough to do a lot of mischief, as they kill stock and move on, hardly ever coming back to the carca.s.s for the second meal.

"My method of trapping varies according to conditions and time of year. When I set with small baits, I first select a smooth open place, and cut a hole in the soil the size and shape of the trap. I set the trap in the hole and cover carefully, fastening to a stake or toggle, concealing by covering with dirt. I cut the bait in small pieces, probably 40 or 50 in number, and scatter around the trap, leaving everything looking as natural as possible. With a large bait, say the whole or half the carca.s.s of a horse or other large animal, I set the trap in the same way, but use 2 or 3 or even 4 traps at the one bait."

An old time trapper writes as follows: "Water-sets are the best for wolves if the animals are cunning. The proper way to make them is to take a boat--don't walk along the bank but simply load your boat with lots of bait, such as beef head, shanks, entrails, or sheep that have died or have been killed by wolves. Start down the stream, looking for small sand or gravel bars lying just above the water and a few feet long. When one of these is found, run your boat up to it and leave a beef head, a quarter of mutton or such like, and then proceed on down to the next bar and bait it in the same way, keeping on in that way until the bait is gone.

"The wolf is very bait shy. It will take bait that it finds along streams more readily than on land. In a few nights after placing your bait, you will find that the wolves are working on it and have made trails down the bank of the stream to the edge of the water. You will observe that they all take the water at the same place.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Wolf Water Set.]

"Now load your boat with plenty of bait as before, but this time take also a good supply of traps, the proper size for wolves, and a supply of clogs similar to fence posts. When you come to the bar, supply it again with bait. Fasten your trap to a clog, set the trap at the edge of the water in the trail and allow the clog to lie the full length of the chain, downstream in the brush. Splash water on the clog to wash it, and also on any brush you touch. Continue thus at the baited places, and you will be surprised at your catch, if you have never trapped that way.

"As for wolves getting scarce in the West, there are some places where the large wolves are decreasing. The coyote is becoming more plentiful every year. They are the worst of the two among sheep and small calves and colts. The sheep men on the desert are paying $40.00 per month to the trappers in eastern Oregon for wolves, besides boarding them and allowing them to keep the pelts. Some trappers are making as much as $150.00 per month. It is almost impossible to poison wolves in this country, but I can trap them successfully several ways."

One of the Minnesota trappers gives the following experience: "In the fall a man brought an old horse to give us for chicken feed, and after butchering it, we hauled the insides, head and feet out into the field along with some manure. After a few days we found that wolves were eating it, so when we butchered the next one, we dragged the insides around and put them in a little gulley and spread manure around; then set two traps, No. 3 Newhouse on both sides of the gulley and three traps down in the gulley near the bait.

"We set these traps on Monday, and on next Thursday father saw a fox running away from the traps, and found it had sprung one without getting caught. I think 4 or 5 wolves came around on Friday night, but they didn't get caught either. I moved one of the No. 3's nearer the bait, and on Friday father bought two No. 2 1/2 Newhouse otter traps. One of these we set where the No. 3 had been, and the other about six rods west of the gulley. We set the two No. 2 1/2 on Sat.u.r.day morning. On Sunday morning on our way to church, we drove by the traps and found a wolf in the new No. 2 1/2 and a red fox in the No. 3 that I had moved up near the bait. These two traps were not over ten feet apart. On skinning the fox we found marks as if he had been bitten. It weighed 8 1/2 pounds and the wolf weighed 34 pounds.

"The wolves kept coming every other day. The next Friday we found another wolf in the same trap that the fox was caught in. On Friday of the next week we had another wolf in the No. 2 trap. On the next Thursday there was a wolf caught in the other No. 2 1/2 otter trap which was set six rods from the gulley, and that was the last one we caught up to February 15th. They don't seem to come around here now."

A Wyoming trapper submits the following: "I send you herewith a photo of a female grey wolf which I trapped in the spring of 1908; this wolf weighed 62 pounds. I caught her in a No. 4 trap, and when I got to within thirty yards of her I shot her with my 33 Special Winchester.

"The grey wolf is a powerful animal, and if a person goes too near them when they are in a trap they are apt to escape, and another thing, their feet are so large that a trap generally catches them by the toes. It is nothing uncommon for a single grey wolf to destroy $1,000 worth of stock in a year. This one that I trapped would have in a few weeks produced 12 cubs; just think of the damage which these thirteen wolves could have done.

"The grey wolf is hard to trap on account of being so powerful; they can kill a large steer or other ranch stock, in the shape of horses or cattle, and they like their meat fresh. I had fifty traps out and trapped 17 or 18 coyotes and several skunk while I was trying to catch this wolf.

"Here is the set I use: Find where the wolves have killed something or an old carca.s.s, or find a trail that they are in the habit of using, for it is the habit of wolves to smell around anything they may find dead, and scratch around the same. Dig holes to fit the jaws and springs of your traps, put a wad of paper or wool under the pan of trap, and cover the entire jaws of traps with a piece of paper; then cover over the trap and chain with fine dry horse or cow manure, so that the covering will be level with the top of the ground, and make everything look as natural as possible."

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Trapped Wolf.]

"The accompanying photograph shows a wolf that I caught a few years ago and this is the way I caught it," writes one of the Wisconsin trappers. "First, I took the insides and stuff from a hog and placed it in a clover field and set three No. 4 Hawley & Norton traps around it, covering nicely with clover leaves, chaff, etc., but I guess I must have been a little careless, as a hungry wolf came along, ate what he wanted and scattered the rest of it around without springing the traps; so I thought I would teach him how to do that trick over again, and I took 4 more traps, making 7 in all, fastened one trap chain to the next trap, and in this way strung them out around the bait, fastening the whole to a logging chain that I had concealed under some clover seed hay.

"Then I covered everything very carefully with clover leaves, chaff, etc., and also some of the food out of the hog's stomach, as this food was smelling very sour by this time. I will also add that some of these traps were brand new, while some of them were very rusty, so I took first a new trap and then a rusty one, and set them alternately around the bait, thinking that this arrangement, together with the sour smell of the food, would confuse his nose a little, and I think it did, at any rate, in about a week he came back and got tangled up. He was caught only in one trap as his first jump would, of course, pull all the other traps out of position.

"He was a sorry looking specimen of a wolf, mixed up in all this hardware (seven big No. 4 Hawley & Norton traps and one logging chain), but we will have to excuse him as he "didn't know it was loaded." The best way is to fasten every trap separately, as in this way he may get caught in several traps, or more than one might happen to get caught at the same time, while if they hang together, he will not be likely to get caught in more than one trap, as in his first desperate struggle to escape he will pull the others out of position.

"I suppose it will make some of the old 'war horses' laugh to see that it takes seven traps at one bait to catch a wolf. This is the only time I have had as many as seven traps handy, so I thought I would fix him plenty. I generally use from one to three traps for each set, depending on surrounding conditions."

In addition to the trapping methods given in the preceding pages, there are many others used in the various sections of the country and all of them have some good points.

All trappers make it a point to set a number of traps about the carca.s.s of any animal that has been killed by wolves, also animals that have met death through other sources. The trouble is that in open ground it requires so many traps to guard a large bait, and also the wolves become very wary and refuse to approach a large bait after one or two have been caught there.

For these reasons some trappers set their traps some distance away from the carca.s.s, using small baits, and so placing the trap among clumps of brush and other natural objects that the wolf can only reach the bait by walking over the trap. Others set their traps without bait on any trails that may be found in the vicinity of the carca.s.s, trusting that the animals will follow these paths when visiting the bait.

Some recommend dragging a large piece of b.l.o.o.d.y meat by tying to the horn of the saddle with a rope and setting traps without bait in the trail. Others set the traps in the same way and scatter small pieces of fresh bait all about.

Another style of setting which is sometimes used is to bury a good sized bait in a trail and set a trap on each side of the buried bait.

All of these methods will give good results at times but one should never confine himself to any one method, as the animal will soon learn his tricks and refuse to have his toes pinched. It is wise also when using baits or scents to locate the set to the windward side of the animals probable course of travel as all animals can scent a bait at a much greater distance when pa.s.sing to the leeward.

No matter what method is used, one must be a hustler and persevering.

One can not possibly make a great success of wolf trapping unless he uses a large number of traps, and keeps them in working order and well baited.

CHAPTER XIII.

SOUTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES.

If there are many methods of trapping the wolf, there are still more for catching the coyote, for it is a far more common animal, and while its range is over a smaller area of country, it is found in far greater numbers than the grey or timber wolf.

If there is any difference between the two, the coyote is more cunning and wary than the wolf, but the fact that wolves do not care for dead bait and the proportionately small number of the animals makes the capture of them more difficult and the catch very much lighter. All of the methods given for the grey wolf are good for the coyote, and in addition we give here the methods of various others, from all parts of the Southwest. The first is from Mr. Vasma Brown a noted coyote trapper of Texas.

"In the season of 1903-04, I commenced trapping about November 25th, and stopped about March 1st. I used seven No. 2 Victor traps, but consider No. 4 a better size. In the ninety-six nights that I trapped, I caught 182 coyotes, 4 skunk, 12 opossum, 3 c.o.o.ns and 12 cats. I only trapped for coyotes, but these other animals came along and got caught. Had I been trapping for skunk, opossum and wild cat, I would have caught about 200 of each, but their pelts were not worth more than 10 cents each."

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Trapped Texas Coyote.]

"I took a piece of fresh meat and dragged it along a trail for about a mile. About every two hundred yards I set a trap. I scratched a hole in the ground just the size of the trap, put it in the hole and covered it up with a piece of paper and sprinkled dirt or sand upon it entirely concealing it. For bait, I cut some little pieces of meat and put about six or eight around the trap and then went on and set my other traps. I never failed to find two or three coyotes in my traps. My biggest catch in one night was six coyotes and one c.o.o.n. I never use any scent. Fresh pork is the best scent that a person can use. I tie my traps to a log or a piece of brush."

"In the spring of the year, I have many calves and some hogs killed and eaten by coyotes. A calf about six months old, is the finest kind of bait for a coyote. A few years ago I saw a coyote kill a calf and as soon as I could, I put a 38 Winchester bullet through him. As many coyotes as I have caught in steel traps, I have never had one dig up my trap. They are very easily caught."

"In the winter of 1903 and 1904, I raced with a friend of mine catching coyotes. Our trapping places were about five miles apart, and there were just as many coyotes on his place as mine. I used seven No. 2 and he used nine No. 3 traps. He also used scent and I used none. When the day came to count and see who had the most hides, I had the most by one hundred and three coyotes, besides twenty-one other hides. He used scent and the animals were not very hungry. The scent they found on a suspicious place, made them shy, because they could not see what it was."

"If you will all think about it, it is plain enough. If an animal is hungry and sees a bait he is going to eat it whether it looks suspicious or not; and if not hungry and he sees a trap with bait, especially if he has ever been caught and gotten away, he will not bother it. The slyest of all animals have been caught in the most simple way a trap could be set, because they were hungry. My brother and I used to, and do now, catch coyotes at the carca.s.s of a dead animal with our traps as unconcealed as you can set them. We always have had good success. We catch about one-third of what comes around."

"In the fall of 1895, my brother found the carca.s.s of a dead horse.

He set three No. 3 Newhouse traps at the carca.s.s, and when it was all consumed, he had thirty-six coyote hides. His traps were set on the ground. A person could see them on the top of the ground at one hundred yards distance. The coyotes were very hungry and they cared for nothing but the flesh of the dead horse. They stepped everywhere, and on and in everything. Hunger makes an animal easy to capture."

The ease with which the coyote of the Southwest may be captured only goes to prove our statement in a previous chapter, that there is a great difference in the nature of the animals found in widely removed localities. It is certain that the coyotes of the Northwest could not be captured in uncovered traps. There is also, as will be noted, a great diversity of opinion regarding the value of scent. In parts of the country where the animals take bait well, scent is seldom used and would not be as successful as in other parts.

"I trap on a small scale, but enjoy it more than any other occupation," writes a New Mexico trapper. "I intend trapping on a large scale next winter. It is mostly skunks, coyotes, badger and occasionally a fox and c.o.o.n."

"Some of the brother trappers complained of wolves being hard to catch. There are very few here, but I can catch a coyote almost as easy as a skunk. I have caught lots of them. The best place to set the traps is on loose plowed ground or a sand bed, or anywhere you can conceal the trap so another person couldn't locate exactly where it is set. A cow trail is good. Setting it in gra.s.s is no good.

"I dig out a place in the ground just the size of the trap, and so the pan will be one-fourth of an inch below level, then set trap, put in place, take a piece of stiff paper (not too stiff), large enough to cover jaws, and place over jaws; then cover one-fourth inch with fine loose dirt. Brush the ground down smooth so it will all look alike. It is best to have two or three traps set at one setting, so you will catch him by more than one foot. When caught by one foot, they will soon sever their leg by jerking and twisting."

"Another pointer, when you catch a coyote at a setting, don't move your traps away, but set back in the same place, for the more you catch at a setting the better chances you have to catch more. I've caught six coyotes in one setting within the last two weeks. That isn't extra good but they are scarce here."

"By all means, don't pile up brush, stones, etc., around your traps when trapping for coyote. It doesn't make any difference how much the coyote scratches up the dirt, others will come back to the same place. I use most any kind of meat, such as rabbit, chicken and sometimes a coyote carca.s.s until I catch one; then I seldom use any bait, for the scent left by the one caught attracts others."

Another trapper from Texas, writes, "In trapping for coyotes, there are three lines to be looked after with the eye of experience, viz: The where and the how of setting, and the bait. Beds should always be located between either hiding or feeding districts. In pa.s.sing from one to another of these districts, coyotes follow in the main, the same route, and the experienced eye can soon locate a good place for a trap bed. These spots may be far apart or they may be near each other. The past season I had two not more than three yards apart.

Failing to get such a location, the trapper traps by chance and catches by accident. After a rain the trap bed should be torn up and sunned awhile. Fresh sign is suspicious. Four traps make a good bed, but I seldom use more than two. Traps and chains must be well hidden and the ground left as level as would seem natural."

"If the traps are so fastened as to hold the animal to the spot, that bed is lost for that season. I prefer small pieces of worn out machinery, rusty iron, weighing ten or fifteen pounds for clogs. Then comes the most important matter of all--bait. In this I have deviated from anything I have ever noticed in guides. I use unrendered beef fat. Leaf fat is good, but I prefer what is commonly called gut fat.

If taken off without too much care, it is best. Hung up and dried it lasts indefinitely. This dried article I cut up in pieces from the size of a pea to the size of the end of my thumb, the smaller the better, and scatter around over the trap bed, say 10 feet square. If the bed is in short gra.s.s, this baiting is better. The bait must be carried in a bag for the purpose, and must not be touched, in any case, until the traps are set. With traps well disinfected this is the slickest cheat I have ever seen worked on a coyote."

Some of the northern trappers will probably smile when they read of the following set, but the fact that it is used extensively in the South, proves that it is a good one for that part. It was contributed by one of the Arizona trappers. "There is plenty of small timber here, so the first thing I do when I find a good brush to wire the bait to, is to cut a drag about three to four feet long and about three or four inches in diameter about the center of the drag. Cut a notch on one side and in the center of the drag. Wire the ring of the trap chain securely to the drag in the notched place with about two lengths of hay baling wire. Lay the drag on the ground on one side of the pen and cover with brush. The pen would be brushed up all around about 18 inches high, except the entrance."