THE TRAPPING SEASON.
TIHE past winter was not a very I good one for the trappers of northwestern Montana, and most of the catches have been small, although there are a few who made fairly good wages during the trapping season. One of the largest catches in this part of the state during the winter was made by C. E. Ordish, who secured twenty mountain
now and then a fox, a badger, an otter or a skunk.
The marten is still one of the main animals sought after by the trappers of northwestern Montana, but they are becoming scarcer and are going to lie practically exterminated within a few years unless protected. A few years ago it was not uncommon for a trapper here to catch fifty or more of
TWO NATIVES OF NORTHWESTERN MONTANA.
lions and three lynx. He did not trap, however, but hunted with dogs.
This hunter had several trained hunting dogs that would tree the animals, after which he would shoot them or take them alive. By climbing up the tree and, with the aid of a pole, placing a noose about the lion’s neck, Ordish took several of the big cats alive, selling them to dealers in wild animals for a much higher price than he would otherwise have received.
The catches of those who operated with steel traps this year consisted principally of marten, weasels, wolves, bears, mink, muskrats and lynx, with
these little furbearers during a season, but today the man who gets eight or ten of them during the winter is doing well. They have been trapped incessantly, and as they are easily caught, it is not surprising that their numbers are decreasing.
The wolf seems to be an animal that can hold its own against the encroachments of civilization in the heavily timbered mountain regions, and they are not only plentiful but seem to be increasing in numbers. But they are difficult to trap. Although their tracks may be seen almost anywhere in the timber in the winter, trappers do not seem to get many of the animals. They seem to be more difficult to trap in the timbered sections than on the prairies, and so the outlook is that there will be wolves in western Montana for many years to come.
The beaver is probably increasing in numbers faster than any other animal in this state, but this is because they are permanently protected by state law. Colonies of beavers may now be found on many of the streams, whereas three years ago they had been trapped until almost exterminated. At the rate that they are increasing they will soon be very plentiful.
The otter, formerly quite plentiful in Montana, is now rarely taken, for they could not hold out against the war that was made on them.
The fisher has gone. A few years ago nearly every trapper’s yearly catch would include a few fisher pelts, but today they are almost unheard of. The trappers have exterminated them. The wolverines are also gone.
Bear are still plentiful, especially the black variety, and it is nothing unusual to catch a brown one or a grizzly. They are trapped almost exclusively in the spring, after the quest for other animals has stopped, and a trapper who understands the business frequently gets from ten to twenty of them. It may be that they are decreasing in numbers, but if so the decrease has been slight.
Weasels are everywhere, although of course are more plentiful in some localities than others. Every trapper always gets a bunch of weasel skins during the season, although the number taken by any one man is not usually large. Those that are caught by the professional trappers are, as a rule, taken in traps set for other animals, such as the marten and mink. They do not seem to be decreasing much in numbers.
Lynx are scarce. The high price for this fur has caused trappers to pay particular attention to them, and as a result they have been thinned out greatly.
Mink are also decreasing in numbers, although they are holding out better than the lynx and marten, and in some localities a fair catch may be made. The same is true of muskrats.
Skunk are probably as plentiful as ever, for they have never been extensively trapped in this country.
Montana, like many other states, is badly in need of legislation that will give the furbearers that are being exterminated a chance to increase. Especially is this true in the case of the marten, the otter and the fisher, which should be given full protection for several years, while in the case of some of the other animals the season in which they could be killed should be restricted.
By EARNEST A. SOUTHWICK.