Reminiscences of Newcastle, Iowa, 1848; a history of the founding of Webster City, Iowa . om fifteen to twenty-five miles a day. K catches were heavy the animals wereskinned at once to relieve the trapper of the weight; other-wise they were hauled to camp on a hand-sled and takencare of after supper. Trapping camps were located in thefall and changed as often as fur-bearers thinned out. Trap-pers often remained from home several weeks, but I donot remember that we felt alarm at their extended absence. Muskrats, Mink, Otter, Beaver. Muskrats, like house-rats, seemed to follow we
Reminiscences of Newcastle, Iowa, 1848; a history of the founding of Webster City, Iowa . om fifteen to twenty-five miles a day. K catches were heavy the animals wereskinned at once to relieve the trapper of the weight; other-wise they were hauled to camp on a hand-sled and takencare of after supper. Trapping camps were located in thefall and changed as often as fur-bearers thinned out. Trap-pers often remained from home several weeks, but I donot remember that we felt alarm at their extended absence. Muskrats, Mink, Otter, Beaver. Muskrats, like house-rats, seemed to follow were not numerous when we arrived but within a fewyears a hundred muskrats a day were brought in fromtrapping and spearing. The first muskrat house seen by us was a burrow ofgrass and dirt at a point near the Edwards Hole on thesouth bend of the river. Gradually thereafter their num-bers increased. Later when beaver, otter and mink hadbeen trapped off, muskrats were sought quite as industri-ouslv as the more aristocratic members of the fur-bearingfamily had been. HUNTING AND TRAPPING 81. 82 REMINISCENSES OF NEWCASTLE, IOWA Full grown muskrat hides, during die early years,brought but five cents apiece. The skins of kittens weresold for two or three cents and they had to be in prime con-dition to bring that price. It was four or five years before the first house-ratappeared. He was tracked across the prairie for milesbefore he was caught and his identity revealed. The num-bers of this branch of the rodent family increased almostwith phenominal rapidity, for they were not a commercialasset and were not trapped. Our trappers made the mistake, the first season, ofcarelessly stepping in the runs of the fur-bearers along thebanks of the creeks and through the grass, thereby delay-ing their success in trapping. Experience soon taught themthat scrupulous care was necessary to mask trap-settingwork and reduce to a minimum the man-smell about bea-ver, otter or mink haunts by wading in the w
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