CHAPTER XIV.

NORTHERN BAIT METHODS FOR COYOTES.

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."

This set is good for both grey wolves and coyotes:

"One day I went to the slaughter house, got a fresh cow head and took it about three miles away, placing it in the center of a small flat. I set several traps around it and the next morning I had a nice grey wolf, caught by two feet."

"When my father had his cattle down on our lower ranch, the coyotes killed a young calf one morning, so I took four Victor traps and set around it, and by 4 o'clock, I had two coyotes. I reset the traps and the next morning I had another one."

The trapping methods given in the following pages are from expert trappers of all parts of the central and northern portions of the coyote range.

"We have a $1.00 bounty on coyotes and $5.00 on wolves in this state (Wyoming) besides a stockmen's bounty in certain districts, ranging from $1.00 to $2.50 on coyotes, and $15.00 to $35.00 on wolves. I find the best way to find coyotes here is to go out in the open country where the sheep men run their sheep in winter, and when I can find a camp that has just been vacated by a band of sheep, I always figure on getting from one to five coyotes on that ground, as there is most always some dead carcasses left behind, and a good, dry place to set in."

"My method of setting is this, I have all my traps with the chains cut off to about six inches and a swivel on the end, and use a long iron pin about 5/8 inches in diameter. Usually, I take a part of a sheep with the hide on, and so place it as to leave but one natural way into it, where two traps put about ten inches apart will make it impossible for a coyote to get at it without being pinched. One can always find natural runways thru the sage brush, to make such sets."

"I also use the trail set a good deal, and always drag a piece of sheep pelt along from the pack horse. I use a pack horse most all the time, besides a saddle horse, and have two twenty-five mile circles out, with about thirty-five traps to each circle. In this way, I get from 75 to 150 coyotes every winter. The ground is too dry to freeze here, so I bury traps, pins, and use paper over and under jaws."

"A dead sure way to get a coyote every time is this, I can kill sage hens most any time, and always carry some on the pack horse. When it comes time to eat, first dig a hole to bury trap in and build a sage brush fire in it and singe a few of the feathers and some of the flesh in it, and set in the ashes. Who ever saw a camp fire that didn't have coyote tracks around it?"

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"My way of trapping coyotes is to go to some prairie dog town and find an unused hole or one that has been filled up. Chop out a small hole two or three inches deep, then dig three trenches for the chains, then three holes for the traps, which must not be too deep nor too shallow. This requires practice and good judgment. They must be deep enough to allow the trap to be covered half an inch with dirt or sand, and still be even with the surrounding surface. Any deeper is too deep."

"Put a large piece of wool under the pan, and cover jaws, pan and all with a piece of heavy paper or light cloth, to keep the dirt from getting under the trap pan. Drive the stake with three traps attached until the top is two inches or more below the top of the ground; put the chains in their trenches and the trap in the holes dug for them. Cover all over with fine dirt the same as it was before being disturbed. Then take a brush made from stiff tough grass, a small brush or the wing of a chicken or sage-hen and brush out all finger marks, etc., then drop the last bait on top of stake and go away."

"The coyote or wolf will not come close enough to get caught the first three or four nights, but don't get uneasy, they will get bold after awhile, if you don't go too close to your trap when looking at it. When one gets caught in a trap set this way, he pulls to the end of the chain and swings around so as to step into another trap, then there is not much danger of him breaking a chain or pulling up a stake."

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"In trapping the coyote or wolf, I make a bed some three or four feet each way, or nearly round. I set the traps after I swing the spring to the "dog" side. Then place the trap, say, about ten inches from the outside of the bed. Cover them with about three-fourths inch of soil. I cover the pan with a piece of gunny sack so the sack will be inside of the jaws. I place the pin in the middle of the bed,--everything is covered."

"I use bacon for my bait. After I have the bed all smooth and fine, I cut the bacon in very small pieces, then scatter them all over the bed, say some four inches apart. Coyotes like the bacon. They commence to pick up the small pieces and the first thing they know they are in trouble. I caught in two nights with the eight sets six coyotes."

"I make my beds near the cow trails. I have had better success making my beds near a dead carcass than to set the traps by the carcass. Last October we had an old coyote and five puppies that were killing sheep for one of our neighbors. I set one trap where the herder generally saw them. I caught the five young ones the first five nights. The sixth morning I went to the traps and they were dug up and the bait gone. I reset them and they were in the same shape the next morning. I said to myself, "Old girl, I will fool you." I made another bed some thirty feet from the old one. I set four traps in the new bed and fixed up the old one just the same as I had it before, only minus the traps. The next morning she was caught and had three feet in the traps. She ate all the bait on the old place and had pawed up the ground."

"I do not use scent. I have tried several kinds and consider them no good. I have trailed coyotes where they have been trailing my tracks and found them caught in the traps. I have set traps in the evening and found coyotes in them the next morning. I have been trapping coyotes and wolves for some five years in my county (Billings Co.) I am located on the Little Missouri River a short distance south of the old ranch that President Roosevelt used to own, what is called Bad Land Country."

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"First boil your traps, and from the time you take them from the hot water, use gloves till set, gloves to be smeared with blood. Take a pair of old shoes and nail on some blocks of wood cut from 2 x 4 stuff, the length of your shoes; nail them on from the inside of shoes with small nails, use gloves to do this. Now you are ready to start to where your coyotes are, so take four No. 3 or 4 traps and stake 3 feet long, with something to drive it with. Don't let traps touch your clothes while carrying them."

"When you get to your place that you have in mind, put stake thru all four rings of traps and drive down to the level of the ground; put your traps out each way so as to form a square, and bury each trap, chain and all. Make everything look as natural as possible. Put a small piece of wool or cotton under pan of trap and cover all well with dirt; take what dirt you have left from digging to set trap and carry away. Now leave your traps set till next evening, and then take a piece of beef liver or fresh hog lungs, put on your same shoes with blocks on and go put your bait in center of trap, (keeping gloves on), and don't expect to catch your coyote the first night, as he will likely come up close and take a look at things and go away again, but the third or fourth night, he will try to sample your bait, and when you catch your first one, the next one will walk in a lot quicker."

"I have caught as many as eight at one setting. Now mind you, in going to trap and resetting them, wear your shoes and gloves. I always bury my gloves and shoes in dirt to keep off human scent. I have caught lots of them this way, although, I have other methods. The main thing is to keep human scent off of trap and the ground where your traps are set."

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"I saw a coyote jump over a sage brush about 6 rods from me one day, and shot at him as he struck the ground with No. 6 fine shot and killed him. As I went to pick him up, I found his hind foot in a No. 2 Newhouse trap. I took him out of the trap, took the trap, and followed his track for about one-half mile toward the top of the Butte, and found a dead horse. I left the trap, went back and skinned the coyote, took his hide over to Mr. Muma."

"About a week after killing the coyote, I went over the Butte, and found a man at the horse covering up some traps. I told him of killing the coyote and where to find the hide. He caught 11 coyotes at this horse up to February 1st. They set their traps from 10 to 30 feet away from the horse, between sage brush, where coyotes would be likely to walk in approaching the horse. They had eight traps set at this place, fastened each one to a limb about 3 feet long. I think they put some scent on the horse to keep the coyotes from eating him, as I did not see as they had eaten any of it during the time they had their traps set."

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"I will give some good coyote sets, altho the season is about over now, March 8th, but some coyote trappers will trap most all summer in order to get bounty. I find that this thing in handling your traps with gloves on is all foolishness. Well, to begin with, take some lard cracklings, say a half dozen. Go to some brush where there is a trail going through, take your cracklings to the trail and scatter cracklings along trail, and set traps one at each end of brush in trail. This is a set hard to beat, boys. Another way is to find some old cow path, and if you see coyote tracks in this set a few traps along in it, cover traps, first spreading some brown paper over trap then some dirt. Take an old coyote foot, make tracks all around your trap, and you will have another good set."

"Here we have the coyote in larger numbers than any of the furry tribe, and he is here to stay, for his cunning is a match for the best of trappers, but many a one gets his toes pinched every season and his coat is worn the next."

"The best method that I know of to fool the cute chap is to find a carcass, and if they are feeding off it, then take about six or eight No. 3 or 4 Newhouse traps and set well back from bait. Set in trails leading to and from the carcass, but be very careful and leave no signs, for Mr. Coyote is very careful to look all around before partaking of his meal, and while making this tour of inspection (if you have your traps rightly and neatly set) he will get his foot caught."

"Never fasten the trap solid but to a drag so that he can drag it off and not prevent all the others from coming to the bait, and also he makes his hardest fight immediately after being caught, and if your trap is staked solid and happens to have a weak place, or your coyote is not securely caught, you are very apt to lose him."

"Find an old badger hole with a large pile of dirt in front of it. Take your traps, and everything needed to make the set with, walk straight up to the place and don't move out of your tracks while you set the traps. Put the bait, fresh meat of almost any kind, in the hole, so that the coyote can just see it. Set one trap about six inches from the mouth of the hole, a little to one side and another on top of the mound of dirt. Bury the toggles carefully the length of the chains from the traps and dig a hollow for the traps to set in. Be sure they rest solidly in their beds, so that they will not tip over if the coyote steps on the jaw. Cover neatly, with, first a piece of paper, and then fine dirt. After the set is completed, use a skunk's tail for a brush and smooth out all signs except your tracks. Have it appear that you have walked by there without stopping. The No. 4 Newhouse trap is the one to use, and the more coyotes you catch in one place, the better the set will be."

[187 Traps Set at Badger Den.]

"Around most ranches are hollows, ditches, or strips of brush, along which the coyote approaches the ranch to catch chickens. Along one of these places, about a quarter of a mile from the house is the place to catch a coyote."

"Take the entrails of a hog or other animal and go up the gulch until you find a place where the ground is loose and there is no grass. Set two traps about four feet apart and place the bait between, and about one foot from one of the traps. If the animal tries to eat the bait, it will be caught in this trap, and if it is suspicious and walks around the bait, the other one will catch it. Take a piece of the bait and erase all signs that you have made in setting the traps, so that it will appear that you have only come there to dispose of the bait."

"Look at the traps every other day, not oftener, and never go close to a set if it can be avoided. These may not be the best methods, but they are good ones, and I have caught many coyotes with them. When you get thirty or forty skins, you will think that they are well worth the trouble necessary to secure them, just to look at."