Traps may also be set with bait and some scent used to advantage, in fact many of the decoys are to be used in that way. Two brothers who trap in partnership give the following method of trapping with scent and bait:
"This is one way of catching coyotes: We find all the horse meat we can, we even ask people if they know of any dead horses, or sheep or cattle. But the horse flesh is the best bait for them, then comes the sheep, that they like almost as well. Rabbits are also excellent bait for them, by putting a little pucky for scent along the side of the rabbit bait. We also tell how to make this 'pucky.'
"Secure all the small fish you can from three to four inches long. Trout is the best if you can secure them, but other varieties of fish will do; clean but leave the heads on, because you will find more oil in the head than in any other part. Cut them up so they will go into a bottle; stuff them in very tight, up to the neck of the bottle; then put a thin cheese cloth over the top of the bottle and let it stay there for about two weeks. It will begin to work good about that time, then cork it up tight, and in a few days it is ready for use.
"Now, taking the horse meat, sheep or rabbits, you have for bait, find a good place to lay the bait so the coyotes cannot get to it from all sides. Never make your trap stationary but wire the chain to a small log, a stick of wood about four feet long and three inches thick, leave a few knots sticking out on the log, and they will help tire the coyote out, by digging in the ground; wire the chain about in the middle, as it will drag harder for the coyote.
"Now dig a hole the same shape of your trap, where you want it to set, also bury the clog. Put your trap in its place and have it so it will be about one-fourth of an inch below the surface of the ground, not any lower. Put a piece of wool under the pan so birds and rabbits won't spring it; then take a piece of paper big enough to cover the jaws of the trap, take some dirt and put over the paper until level with the surrounding place, if anything a little sunken, just so you can notice it. Now set your trap about the length of the coyote from the bait and one more a little farther out, both in the same way as I said. Be sure and put your bait in such a place as to make them come around in front.
"If you have to set traps at a dead horse out in the open, put one just behind the hips, and one in between his feet where he lays. Set them as I have told you and you will get them. If you find a dead animal, that is, bait, I mean, also set your traps in triangle around him. Put your traps about one foot and a half from bait. Study them carefully and you will soon learn to set right. Try it.
"Some trappers say, don't let the traps touch your clothes, smoke and bury your gloves; and even say bury your shoes after each trip. We think all of this unnecessary for we tie our traps around us, wear warm German socks and overshoes, just as everybody else should do in winter. Set our traps with our gloves on or off, don't matter; when through, brush over with a small brush and leave it. Don't make any more tracks around your traps than possible. We made one freak of a catch, two coyotes at one setting in one night. One had a stub foot having been caught before."
A very good method is to find a large clump of cactus (prickly pear) with even, well defined edges, and set several traps near the edge and at varying distances. Use all possible care in setting, following the instructions given elsewhere. It is best to leave the setting some three or four days before placing the scent; that will give plenty of time for the human and other scents, that have been left there, to pass away and the ground which has been disturbed, will have taken on a smoother appearance by that time. Then go on horseback and saturating a lump of earth with the decoy, drop it in the center of the cactus bed. Do not dismount from the horse when placing the decoy. This is an exceptionally good set for coyotes. While they can not reach the scent, they will walk all around the cactus bed and are almost certain to step in one of the traps.
Another successful mode of setting is to place the trap in a trail where it leads through a clump of sage or greasewood and put some decoy by the side of the trail a rod or two away. The bank set which is described in another chapter may also be used without bait by placing some scent on the edge of the bank.
One of the Montana trappers uses this method: "Take your traps and boil them in lye water. Do not handle them with your bare hands but be sure and use clean buckskin gloves, and handle them as little as possible. Find a place where they run pretty regular, like an old road that is not used or a cow path or trail. Find a place that is sandy if you can, and set your traps lengthwise with the trail. Of course, you must dig out where you put your traps.
"Now cover your traps with a piece of deodorized paper and about one-half inch of sand. Get some water and sprinkle along the trail and over your traps to make it all look alike. You must not leave a lot of loose and lumpy dirt lying near your traps. Leave as little sign as possible. Wait two days before you go there again, and then go with a saddle horse and drop six or eight drops of good scent bait between your traps, and await results. Do not get off your horse when you go to put out the scent bait, for I know of no animal that is any more sly than the old grey wolf.
"Now I don't claim that this will work in all localities, but I have had fairly good luck with this set. I always use two traps at a setting for wolf or coyote."
Many of the sets used for coyotes are equally good for grey wolves, providing that one uses a trap sufficiently strong to hold them and almost any set that will catch the wolf is good also for the coyote, but there are some which are especially good for the grey wolf and we give here some of these methods.
One of the most successful is the following: Somewhere on the wolf's route of travel find an unused trail and selecting a well defined portion, set two traps close together as shown in the diagram. Have the jaws of the traps parallel with the trail so that there will be no possibility of the wolf's foot being thrown out by the rising jaws, and so arrange them that the pans will be about twelve or fourteen inches apart. The traps must be attached to drags of some sort, stones or iron drags, which must be buried, along with the traps. Great care should be used in setting so as to leave everything as nearly like it was before as possible. No loose dirt should be left lying about, and no tracks or signs of human presence should remain about the setting.
Two more traps should be set in a similar manner, somewhere on the trail, and from fifty to one hundred yards from the first two. The traps should be left setting some four or five days before placing the bait. This will allow all foreign odors to pass away from the setting. A large bait should then be placed midway between the two settings, and close beside the trail.
On approaching or leaving the bait the wolves are almost certain to walk on the trail, and while they view all signs of disturbance near the bait with suspicion, they will be less cautious some distance away. In other words they will not be expecting danger so far away from the bait.
When looking at the traps, one should go on horseback and avoid dismounting near the traps or bait. In placing the bait one should, if possible, go on a wagon, or if more convenient, on a horse, and should drop the bait in place without stepping down on to the ground.
If desired a single trap may be used at each setting but as the length of step of the timber wolf is from eighteen to twenty-four inches, it is better to use two traps, for the wolf is likely to miss a single trap. The method will be found to work well in all localities and is as good for coyotes as for wolves.
Another very popular mode of trapping the grey wolf is with what is known as the square setting. This set requires four traps and they are arranged in the form of a square.
On a smooth sandy spot of ground, dig a hole about six inches deep and having attached the chains of all four traps to the stake, drive it in the hole until the top is below the surface of the ground. The traps should have the regular short chains and they should be arranged in the form of a square each about twenty inches from the stake. The traps must be bedded down, or in other words, they should be set in holes dug for the purpose as previously described and should be neatly covered. A narrow trench should be made for each chain and they must be covered also, so as to leave no sign. The bait should be fastened with wire to the top of the trap stake and the hollow beneath it may be filled with sand. The wire must not be visible and if a bird, rabbit or any small creature is used for bait, it must not be skinned or mutilated. When baiting with a piece of beef mutton, horse-flesh or the flesh of any large animal, it is best also to leave the skin on, as a skinned bait is likely to make the animals suspicious.
If the animal's suspicions are not aroused, it will approach the set unsuspectingly and attempt to raise the bait, but when it finds it fast, it will step around some and is almost certain to step into a trap. It will be very likely also to land in another trap after it commences to struggle, and there will be very little danger of it escaping.
Many of the trappers who use this method use only three traps at a setting and arrange them in the form of a triangle. This is good but we believe that the use of four traps will give better results.
One trapper fastened his traps to iron pins, about 10 inches in length, and used this pin as a stake. The captured animal could easily pull up the stake but the entire bunch of traps would act as a drag, and it could not go far through the sage brush without getting fastened up.
One of the best methods for both the timber wolf and the coyote is what is known to trappers as the "cut bank set." All over the western country, along the water courses and wash-outs, will be found straight cut banks, sometimes overhanging. Select such a bank from 5 to 7 feet high, and if you can find two bunches of cactus, about 16 or 18 inches apart, on the top of the bank, this is the place to set the trap. If the cactus can not be found growing this way, place some there, being very careful to give it a natural appearance, so that it will look as if it had grown there.
The trap should be staked the length of the chain from the edge of the bank, and the stake driven out of sight. Set the trap about 20 inches from the bank, if for coyotes, and about 26 inches, if wolves are expected, and directly between the two bunches of cactus. Cover the trap nicely as per instructions on a preceding page, and fasten the bait between the cactus, on the very edge of the bank. When properly set, the animal can not reach the bait without stepping on the trap. When caught it immediately leaps over the bank, and as it can not get back, will be unable to make use of its strength in struggling, and will seldom escape. Another thing that speaks well for this method is the fact that the fur of the captured animal is always clean, which is more than can be said of those which are caught in traps set and staked on level ground, where they can struggle and roll in the dirt for hours, and sometimes days.
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 carcass 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 carcass 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.
"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 Saturday 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 carcass, 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."
"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 carcass 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 carcass, 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 carcass, trusting that the animals will follow these paths when visiting the bait.
Some recommend dragging a large piece of bloody 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 passing 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.
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 coons 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."
"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 coon. 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 carcass 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 carcass of a dead horse. He set three No. 3 Newhouse traps at the carcass, 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 coon."
"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 grass 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 carcass 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 passing 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 grass, 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."
"I make a 'U' shaped enclosure about four feet long with bait wired to bush in the farther end. The pen should be about a foot wide inside of the brush. Dig a hole just inside the entrance of the pen for the trap, which set lengthwise, and cover even with the surface. Also be sure and cover the trap chain. Instead of cotton under the pan, I use a piece of canvas that just fits inside of jaws and put over the pan and cover all with sifted dirt from the hole until level with the surface. Place a stick across the entrance so that when the coyote goes up, if he wants to get the meat, he will have to go over the stick. It should be about eight inches in front of the trap. This keeps him from digging in the trap."
"Now fill in on both sides of the trap between it and the side of the pen with small brush or twigs so as to guide his foot into the trap. Do not put the twigs on the trap where you want him to step. I guide his feet right into my traps that way. Always lay the bait on the ground in the pen, wired to the brush or stake in rear end, as coyotes will not enter pen if bait is hung up. I use horse meat mostly, but sometimes rabbits and beef. Hawks and ravens are bad on rabbit baits, and cattle paw the traps up if set with beef."
"I set my traps from one-fourth to one-half mile apart, and use a fresh rabbit or fresh piece of meat and drag from one trap to the other, when making my rounds. Also spoiled fish scent is good for a trail. I never use gloves to prevent human scent in setting traps, and I consider it nonsense. After the first night a set has been out, almost any coyote will go into the trap. I use No. 14 Newhouse traps, and when they catch they never let go."
"I never set traps at a large carcass of a horse or other animal, for when one does when the coyotes come there to feed and one of their number steps into a trap, that generally settles it for the rest of them, and they will not come back. Set traps from one-eighth to one-fourth of a mile all around the carcass and bait with meat from the carcass is a good plan."
"I visit my coyote traps daily if possible, as they should not be left in the traps to frighten others away that would get caught, if the trap was set, and seeing that coyote in trouble, they will be very shy about coming up to the place afterward. I ride horse-back looking after my traps, and am able to get over a good deal of ground in that way."
Another coyote trapper from Texas gives the same method, and adds: "For bait take cracklings from either lard or tallow. Heat them in a skillet and when hot, cut up some garlic and drop in, but don't let it cook too much. Put the mixture in the pen the same as any other bait and see how it works. It does fine here, but it might be that there are so many coyotes here that they will eat any old thing. The best thing about that kind of bait is the buzzards will not bother it. I have tried it for coyotes, skunk and badger, and it is good for all of them."
This is the mode of trapping employed by a party from Southern California: "Now a word about trapping those cute little coyotes. As every one has his way of trapping for them so do I. The best way to catch anything that walks on four legs is to make a fool of them. Some people may think that is 'hot air', but I know better. The way to fool an old coyote is to take a fresh sheep skin and drag it, you riding, on a horse, for a mile or so in the hills near where your man is in the habit of going, (now be sure you do not touch it with your hands), until you find an open hill not too high. Have a stake there beforehand and have your traps set. The traps should be left lying in the sheep pen for a week before setting. When you get to the stake, hang your pelt on it, so when the wind blows the pelt will move."
"Mr. Coyote will be sure to find the trail you have made and will follow it until he sees the pelt, and then he will walk around it for a night or so, but he will not get too near the first night or for three or four nights, but he will be sure to get there after a while and try to pull the skin down, and he will forget about the traps and everything else, and he will be taken in just like all the other suckers."
Mr. C. B. Peyton, who met such a tragic end, while attempting to arrest a party of game-law violating Indians last fall, wrote the following article on coyote trapping, several years ago. "I herewith submit my method for trapping the coyote, hoping it will be of interest to the readers. My outfit is as follows: Eighty steel traps, various sizes 2 to 4 1/2, two saddle horses, one short handle spade, one hunter's axe, a piece of canvas, some wool; 3 or 4 pounds of sheep or coyote wool is enough for one day's setting, one 30-40, 95 Model Winchester.
"When there is a bounty I do not start trapping until the frost is about all out in the spring. I start some morning with as many traps as I can set that day, four to the setting, five settings is a fair day's work if done right. I never bait until I have my entire line set."
"I have used the following style of setting with fair success, known as the square set. I select a spot where there is sand or no sod, cut a stake about 14 inches long, take four traps, fasten chains to stake, drive stake down until about two inches below surface, pull traps out about two feet from stake, a No. 2 trap chain is about right length, making a square set. Now dig out bed for each trap, placing dirt removed on canvas or blanket. Bed traps so there will be a half inch of dirt over them when covered; place enough wool under pan of trap to keep dirt out and keep rabbits or birds from springing them; leave a mark directly over stake to tell you where to place bait, when making your rounds with bait sack. Carry what dirt is left on canvas some distance, before dropping.
"I prefer a fowl for bait, such as an old dead hen, duck or grouse; place bait in center of setting on its side, lift a wing and drive a slender stake thru into the ground to anchor it and drop the wing down on top of stake to conceal it."
"Now back away a few feet and throw a few handfuls of dry sand or dirt over your tracks. If your work has been well done, it will be difficult to tell exactly where your traps are hidden, if your setting is properly located Mr. Coyote will not be slow to see or smell bait, as he is always on the lookout for handouts. He will take careful note of surroundings, if he sees or smells nothing suspicious, he will attempt to remove bait to some less exposed place and eat it or hide it for a future repast. He is very careful in approaching bait, making numerous circles of setting; if they succeed in reaching bait without stepping in one of the four traps, they soon find one when they attempt to raise the anchored bait, then begins a dance that lands him in two or more traps, there to await the coming of his friend, the trapper."
"Care should be used in killing captured animals, so they will not bleed on ground as that will spoil setting. I choke them with a small rope. Do not skin carcass nearer than 200 yards of setting. I use gloves always in handling bait or traps. I never go nearer than is absolutely necessary to see that they are not sprung. My line this spring, 1902, was 30 miles long. I went over it every other day, catching 43 coyotes in 6 weeks. I have never lost any coyotes by twisting feet off. When using square setting, they most always have two or more feet caught. I lose game and traps frequently by being lifted by human coyotes. I pull my traps up about the middle of May, then go to cruising after their dens."
The following method, submitted by another northwestern trapper is practically the same: "My outfit consists of the following: 60 No. 3 Newhouse single spring otter traps (I find they will hold any wolf and are easier to set than double spring traps), axe, 60 stakes 16 or 18 inches long, 12 or 15 pounds of wool or cotton, wool preferred, 20 stakes 10 or 12 inches long. A piece of oilcloth or canvas about 3 feet square, a light wagon and team, a 30-30 Savage rifle and four stag hounds. The hounds are trained to stay on the wagon until told to go, and will nearly always get a coyote when sent after him."
"In setting traps I choose a high knoll or a bare spot on the range and often the bed of a dry creek, where I see plenty of signs and then proceed as follows: Stick one of the small stakes where I want the bait and from 20 to 24 inches from it, I lay a trap and stretch the chain straight back, drive stake through chain ring and drive down below the surface of the ground an inch or more, then fix two more traps the same way at the opposite points of a triangle, set your traps and place a good wad of wool under the pan so that rabbits and other small game will not spring it, then proceed to bed the traps, and chains, placing all the dirt on the canvas. Now place your bait (I always use live bait if weather is not too cold but have had good success with dead bait). Lay an old dead hen or other fowl in the center and drive small stakes through it into the ground, firmly, cover the end of stake with wing or feathers of bait. Now step back and take dirt from the canvas and cover traps 1/2 to 5/8 inches deep, also cover your own tracks and brush over well with a brush. If traps are well set, it will be hard to tell where they lay. All dirt that is left on canvas should be taken away some distance and dropped."
"In using live bait, proceed the same way with traps, only bait should be tied by the feet with a good, stout cord and place a can of corn and one of water within reach of fowl, both cans to be set into the ground even with surface. Do not go nearer to traps than to see they are not sprung and do not shoot or club game in traps but choke to death with a copper wire on the end of a pole; a good stout cord will answer the same purpose. Wipe all blood off traps before setting again and brush out your tracks as before, and above all don't spit tobacco juice near your traps."
"Never set your trap by your bait; the bait is there to attract the animal," says a Colorado trapper. "When setting traps at your bait you only catch two or three, and by this time all the coyotes in the country have seen their comrades' doom at this particular place, and will stay clear of the place in the future."
"Find where there is a dead horse or cow in a draw, or some place where there are a number of trails leading toward it. Coyotes always travel on trails whenever they have the chance, in order to save their feet. Find where the trail goes thru some brush or high grass. Here is the place to conceal your traps, five in number, in the trail. Set them so they will take in eight feet of the trail, and there is no animal that can pass over these traps without stepping in one or more; fasten each trap with a pin eight inches long if the ground is frozen, and if not, the pin should be longer. If there is snow on the ground, put a piece of cotton under the pan and brush snow over them; if there is no snow, dig the trap down level with the ground, put a piece of paper over them and cover lightly with fine dirt. Use No. 3 Hawley & Norton or Newhouse traps."
"Use the same method for wolf; you need no bait for him. Find where he travels in a trail. He travels this trail every four or five days, take note of this and see if I am not right. Use No. 4 Newhouse or Hawley & Norton trap, with a heavy short chain and a good sized pin. When setting traps, take a piece of hide small enough to tie on the bottom of your shoes, and when within a hundred yards of the place where the traps are to be set, tie the hides on the soles of your shoes. Always use clean buckskin gloves when handling your traps."
"When you catch anything, move your traps a hundred yards or so, and reset. A coyote or wolf tears the ground up so that others get suspicious. If you have the chance to set traps horseback, take a hide and tie a rope on it, take this along, and when setting traps, throw this on the ground and step off on to the hide to set traps. When thru, get on your horse and pull the hide up with the rope. I learned this method from two of the best coyote and wolf trappers in Wyoming."
The following is from Joseph Casper, an Oregon trapper: "We have here, the coyote, wild cat, lynx, mountain lion and bear, but no grey wolves. Coyotes are plentiful, and I have seen as many as 6 or 8 at one time. A good way to trap them is by dragging the carcass of a sheep or pig through shallow ponds and set the traps in the water. The coyotes will follow the trail and will wade around in the water, looking for the bait. Traps may also be set by the side of some dead animal after the coyotes have been eating at it, or small pieces of meat or lard cracklings may be scattered around the trap. When setting traps on dry land, I would advise using some good wolf scent, to smother the human odor. I use the No. 3 Newhouse and No. 4 Hawley & Norton traps."
W. L. Williamson, a Montana trapper, in telling his experiences gives the following:
"Take some rabbits, chickens or other bait and make a drag out of it; dragging the bait from the horn of the saddle, and about every half mile, set two No. 4 Victor or No. 3 Newhouse traps in the trail and about 6 inches apart. Have a sheep skin to stand on when setting the traps, and do not step on the ground. Place all loose dirt on the sheepskin and after the traps are set and covered, get on your horse and lift the skin by cords, attached to the corners. Carry the loose dirt away from the setting."