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THE LOST TRAPS
Taught by Grandfather to Tom Brown
By Dan Stanchfield
The lost traps are three variations on the paiute trap that you
learned in the standard class. Why would you need to use them? Well,
each one is increasingly harder to set, which means that each one is
increasingly more sensitive, which means that each one is faster.
This logic comes from a quote from Tom Brown, "The harder to set a
trap is, the more sensitive it is."
So why is faster more preferred? It's not, if you want to miss
the animal or just catch it by the leg and let it suffer. If you
need food and you are dealing with fast and tricky animals then you
have to use faster traps.
I eat very little because my ancestors were supposedly agrarian
based, and since animals store more of the toxins from the ever
increasing pollution than plants. But if I did have a need for meat,
I'd want to be able to provide for myself, family, and friends.
Also, I am fascinated by traps or any primitive skill that may soon
become "lost."
I learned these all from Tom Brown, Jr. in January of 1998. I am
writing this article for two reasons. One is to give credit and
appreciation to Tom for passing on this knowledge to me and thus, me
to you.
The second reason is so you can all have fun experiencing the
frustration of setting these meat traps. Please work with these
traps instead of just talking about them. I do enough talking for
all of us. Knowing and doing are two different things. Trap mice or
use boxes instead of deadfalls on your pets; just do it one way or
another. And have fun.
The next article will include a stringless paiute trap that
Grandfather invented and some tips on why you want your diagonal at
45 degrees.
Keep Tracking, Daniel S. |
