Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper is an autobiography

Autobiography

An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

that contains many experiences and observations of Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock during his fifty years of hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

and trapping.

Summary

One of Harding's Pleasure & Profit Books. A collection of real life outdoor stories based on the experiences of the author, Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock

Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock

Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock was a famous hunter and trapper of Potter County, Pennsylvania. He wrote stories about his life and experiences which were published in the Hunter-Trader-Trapper Magazine between 1903 and 1913. His stories were compiled into a book titled Fifty Years a Hunter and...

. Writing from memory, Mr. Woodcock tells of incidents that happened during the fifty years (1855–1905) he spent camping, hunting, trapping and fishing in the wilderness of Northern Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

and several other states.

Most of E. N. Woodcock's

Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock

stories feature an interesting partner (who he sometimes refers to as "Pard"), and other local people who lived in the Potter County, Pennsylvania

Potter County, Pennsylvania

Potter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is in the Allegheny Plateau region. As of 2010, the population was 17,457. Its county seat is Coudersport. Potter County was named after James Potter, who was a general from Pennsylvania in the Continental Army during the...

area. Many of the wild places where he made his camps are now State Parks and Forests.

E. N. Woodcock

Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock

tells his stories in plain language, about deer and bear hunting; trapping bear, wild cat, fox, marten, mink and muskrat; run-ins with porcupines and skunks; mishaps that happened to himself and his partners; and the everyday occurrences of camp life. He gives his opinion of state game laws and bounties, and his views on the need for conservation.

The book also includes practical information on building cabins, camp fires and cooking, staying warm, finding bee hives, trap sets, building deadfalls, using baits, skinning, stretching and drying fur, tracking game, and types of guns and ammunition.

Excerpts and Illustrations

Chapter 15, Hits and Misses on the Trail, page 176

We next crossed a narrow ridge where we had another trap. The trap was set in a spring run and the banks on either side of the run were quite thickly grown up with low brush. Smoky was in advance a few steps so that when he came to the edge of the thick brush that grew on the bank of the run, parted the brush and looked through at the trap, he caught a glimpse of some black object moving in the run. He quickly stepped back and held up his hand, his eyes sparkling with excitement and he whispered to me, "By Moses, we have got him." Smoky being given to much joking, I asked, "What have we got?" for I had not heard any noise of any kind. Smoky said, "A bear, by long horn spoonhandle." I stepped past Smoky and looked through the brush and there was a large black porcupine moving about a little in the trap.

I stepped back and said to Smoky, "Well, shoot him." Smoky said, "No, I will miss him. You shoot him," at the same time handing me the gun. I now saw that Smoky was in earnest and surely thought we had a bear and I burst out with laughter. Smoky was amazed and said, "You blooming simpleton, what is the matter with you?" The look of anxiety and the manner in which Smoky spoke still caused me to laugh the harder.

When I could cease laughing long enough to tell Smoky what was in the trap, Smoky's change of looks of excitement and anxiety to one of disgust was pitiful. Smoky began to condemn the country and tell how foolish we were to come to such a forsaken place as that was to trap where there was nothing but porcupines.

Chapters

1. Autobiography of E. N. Woodcock
2. Early Experiences
3. My First Real Trapping Experience
4. Some Early Experiences
5. Some Early Experiences (Concluded)
6. A Hunt on the Kinzua
7. My Last Hunt on the Kinzua
8. Fred and the Old Trapper
9. Bears in 1870, Today - Other Notes
10. Incidents Connected with Bear Trapping
11. Pacific Coast Trip
12. Some Michigan Trips
13. Hunting and Trapping in Cameron Co., Pa., in 1869
14. Hunting and Trapping in Cameron Co.
15. Trapping and Bee Hunting
16. Hits and Misses on the Trail
17. Lost in the Woods
18. Traps and Other Hints for Trappers
19. Camps and Camping
20. Deer Hunt Turned Into a Bear Hunt
21. Dog on the Trap Line
22. Two Cases of Buck Fever
23. Partner a Necessity
24. A Few Words on Deadfalls
25. Advice from a Veteran
26. The Screech of the Panther
27. Handling Raw Furs and Other Notes
28. The Passing of the Fur bearer
29. Destruction of Game and Game Birds
30. Southern Experiences on the Trap Line
31. On the Trap and Trot Line in the South
32. Trapping in Alabama
33. Some Early Experiences
34. The White Deer
35. A Day of Luck
36. A Mixed Bag

People and Places

Publication

The stories were first published from 1903 to 1913 in Hunter-Trader-Trapper Magazine, and the collection was compiled into book form in 1913, and published by A. R. Harding Publishing Company

Arthur Robert Harding

Arthur Robert Harding , better known as A. R. Harding, was an American outdoorsman and founder of Hunter-Trader-Trapper and Fur-Fish-Game Magazine, and publisher, editor and author of many popular outdoor how-to books of the early 1900s. His company was known as the A. R. Harding Publishing...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Summary

Excerpts and Illustrations

Chapter 15, Hits and Misses on the Trail, page 176

Chapters

People and Places

Publication

See also

External links