Traplines and Trails: A Book of Master Trapping Methods (5th Edition)

Originally published in 1925, this book describes many practical methods of trapping fur-bearing animals. It is fully illustrated throughout with actual scenes on the trail and trapline. A real trapping book for the experienced and inexperienced trapper!

Book Excerpt:

Fundamentally, this book was written to aid those of the trapping fraternity, yet I trust that no reader will ever try to trap out the last fur-bearing dwellers of his trapping domain, but will cease to pursue, the moment they show scarceness. Do not trap too early or continue late in the season, and protect the animals at all other times. If a wise fur-bearer evades your set, do not be angry, for it is the chance that makes trapping the "sport of the most thrills."

I am confident that with good, enforced game laws, and a general understanding among trappers that seed must always be saved if there is to be a future crop, that trapping and the great fur industry will continue indefinitely.

Catch all the prime skins you can, but play square with the animals.

Contents Covered:

• Introduction
• Trapping Grounds; Fur Prospecting
• The Trapper's Habitation
  • Log Cabins
  • The Lean-To
  • Tents
  • Miscellaneous Habitations
• Equipment and Food
  • Steel Traps
  • Guns
  • Clothing
  • Packs
  • Cooking Utensils
  • Miscellaneous Articles
  • Food
  • Sour Dough Sponge
  • Fried Biscuits
  • Dumplings
  • Meal Flap Jacks
• Things Every Trapper Should Know
  • Injuries -- First Aid
  • Fire Prevention and Fighting
  • Collecting the Meat Supply
  • Getting Lost
  • Selecting a Partner
  • Outdoor Photography
• Adirondack Trapping
• The Auto Trapline
• The Fox
• The Skunk and How to Trap It
• The Mink
• The Sly Otter
• The Bear
• The Busy Beaver
• The Muskrat
• The Raccoon
• "Cats"
• The Marten
• The Weasel
• Fisher and Wolverine
• The Elusive Wolf
• Miscellaneous Fur-Bearers
  • Opossum
  • Badger
  • Moles
  • Rabbits
  • Woodchucks
• Incidents on the Trapline
• Under Ice and Other Trapping
• The Care and Marketing of Furs
  • Care Increases Value
  • Marketing
  • Home Tanning
• Fur Farming
• Outdoor Photography
• Conclusion