Gramps stories

[backwoodsman]

Hope I put this in the right spot? This was told to me by my paternal grandfather who was born in 1887. Ive got tons of his stories. I found some more about two months ago and I'll post them here and another forum I visit sometime in the near future if anyone likes them. Disclaimer I feel obligated to add. They did things alot different back then, few if any game laws, food was food, just about anything was acceptable for survival, etc. I cant swear these stories are 100% true and are related just as Gramps told them or wrote the mdown in his journals and some were told by or finished by the family. Gramps was born on May 8th, 1887. He would of been about 18 when this took place. He went west for about 4 or 5 years in 1906. About a week after the new year of 1906 Gramps father wanted/needed supplies from "town". Town at that time was Jacksonville and it was 30 miles east. Gramps and his dad had 7 wolf scalps that were bountied at $5 ea. Plus a "fair" collection of other hides. It was decided that a saturday was the best day to head out. A neighbor's boy was going to make the trip too in a sleigh of his own since there was 1 1/2' of snow on the ground. The neighbor was more well to do and had two harness horses, gramps set out with one. They had a few spare blankets, 2 days of "viddles", a knife each and of course their trade goods. Guns werent taken due to the snow and weight of sleighs etc. They came to regret that! They set out near as Ive been able to figure the first Saturday of 1906 at sun up? It was a 3 hour trip to town, very slow going. The trail was drifted in and they had to stop and break trail, check for bad spots etc. By the time they hit town and got business done and headed home it was 3pmish. They got to about where the interstate over Mauvastaire creek is today and gramps heard something, he turned around and there was a pack of wolves following them. He counted to 8 and quit, he hollared to his companion and soon as the boy seen them he whipped his horses into a lather and left gramps in the rear. Gramps had 2 bundles of bacon that were about 4lbs each. He threw one out and hurried his horse along. About 3 miles later he seen that at least 4 or 5 were back on the trail. He tossed the last bundle out, he was 15 miles from home. Not 2 minutes had past and they were back after him. He stopped the sleigh and cut his horse loose and turned the sleigh over on himself and the supplies. The wolves tried to dig under the edge and gramps slashed at their paws everytime they stuck one under it. He said it felt like it lasted for hours but he imagined it was only 10 minutes or so. He waited 2 hours or so and climbed out. He set out for home and followed the trail. He could see the wolf tracks in it, they had took off after his horse. He went about 2 miles and found his horse where they had drug it down. About an hour later he seen a lamp up ahead, it was the neighbor and gramps dad looking for him in the neighbors sleigh, slow going for them too in the dark with a coal oil lamp lookin for wolves and gramps. He never cared for wolves after that. He went west later that year and was a wolfer for 4-5 years. I always wondered but never asked if he went west for revenge too? From his memory and journals we figured he killed 50-100+ wolves a year out west for fur and bounty. Thats another story in itself.

ve.

[fuzz269]

I have read it befor and I still had to read it again, thanks BWM, I love readin of the good old days and how they did things back then. Keep them commin please.

[Cam]

Very interesting a good read.

[backwoodsman]

They certainly did things alot different. Glad they're enjoyed.

[white316]

I like it BWM thanks for sharing it.

[backwoodsman]

Thank you guys. I love rereading gramps stories.

[chieftain]

great story Back..

[mohawk]

Great story Back, for a minute there I thought he might follow the bloody foot prints to get a little revenge and an extra scalp or 2. It is good to see these showing up again, with my memory it is like reading them for the first time.

[backwoodsman]

I feel like I need to put a disclaimer on this story. Things were done different "back then". These stories gramps loved to sit around and tell. A few I had to go back and have family fill in a few missing pieces or parts I had forgot. This would have been around 1909 in the early spring. Gramps had a good winter and sold a nice collection of fur and wolf scalps. He was riding back thru an area he had been in about two years before. He stopped at several of the ranch's/homes to see friends he had made. At one ranch they had mentioned they had a big cat that all the "cowboys" and neighbors had been trying to catch. The local cattle association offered a $50 bounty for it (how anyone could prove it was "the" one is beyond me). Gramps set out after a couple of days of asking around to see where it had been seen etc. There was one ridge it seemed to like so gramps headed to it. He set up a small camp and started scouting around. At this time he had about 30 wolf size traps, no.4's and bigger and kept about 30 or so smaller traps for fox etc. They usualy trapped in any month that had an R in it. He set out most of the traps and started checking the line. One morning he found where a fox had been caught but literaly ripped out of the trap and torn to shreds. He searched the area but couldnt tell for sure what had done it but he suspected the cat. He put what was left of the fox up under some brush and set several toggled traps by it. At this time he carried a Winchester .32 special(according to him). About a week later the catch for the smaller critters had dropped off to almost nothing and he was thinking about moving on. The morning came that he had decided if there wasnt a big change he was pulling stakes. He came up on the fox carcass set and it looked like a bull had went thru it. Brush/limbs tossed everywhere. It looked like the critter had drug off 3 of the traps and tossed a 4th aside. He had each trap toggled to a limb about 5 feet long and 8" thick. The critter was pulling the whole mess along with him. Gramps was following the trail by horse when the horse started getting skittish. Gramps went to looking around and seen some brush moving just over the rise of a little hill. Gramps went up to see what it was and had the Winchester pointed out in front just in case. He poked his nose over the ridge and almost fainted, he had a big black critter looking right at him in the face about 5 feet away. Gramps went to blazin away with the rifle. After he finaly got calmed down and realized it wasnt going to eat him he started skinning a big boar black bear. The bear was only in one trap but had tangled up with the drags and chains of the other two. He did eventualy catch the mountain lion, or one anyhow, but it wasnt a big story. Caught in a baited set and gramps dispatched him from 40 or so yards. Gramps took the few weeks catch in and went to see about the bounty. They had a fresh mountain lion hide tacked up on the side of the building. They told gramps a "cowboy" had come in two days earlier and claimed the bounty. They did give gramps $25 for the lion hide. He said the lion meat reminded him of pork. Gramps also said those mountain lion's were shy and secretive and he only seen a few in 5 or so years that werent in a trap. Killed a young male one winter that was after his horse and mules, it had got into the corral and the horse and mules ruckus woke him up. He could just make it out in the snow and took a shot with his 12ga. It was loaded with buckshot and he tracked it a few hundred yards the next day and found it. He salvaged the meat from the big cats he trapped and shot. He said the meat was best sliced thin, floured and pan fried?

_________________

[backwoodsman]

I found this bait recipe and most of the story in a box of Gramps that one of my uncles gave me. My uncle filled in some of the questions about the story but its still not complete. We believe it would have taken place around spring 1909 and probably in North Dakota as Gramps had sent a letter home the summer of '08 and he was in that area. The recipe first and I do believe it would be a good bait for yotes still and as will be seen it was 30 years ago too. Im planning on making a batch for later this year with some adjustments of course. I added a few comments of my own also. Take a red fox, glands and all except the majority of the gut(of course we wouldnt waste a hide but Gramps had a few wolves had ruined). Debone most of the meat and chop the meat and hide into small chunks the size of the end of your thumb(Gramps measurement, golfball size I think?). Add 2 cups of fox (rabbit etc should work?). Pack it into fruit jars and after 3 day taint add salt enough to coat all the meat (I believe Sodium Benzoate would work better now days)use 2 pieces per set and pour some pot liquor(juice?) away from your trap high on brush. The line(story) he was on when he "discovered"/was told(?) of this recipe follows. Gramps had been trapping a few wolves on his travels and had heard word of mouth that a rancher had a wolf problem. Winter thaw was about over so it would have been late March? He arrived at the ranch with the troubles and spoke with the owner. The owner wished him his best in killing all the wolves and told him where they thought the wolves were running at. They had lost 20 calves they knew of in the last month. The wolves had killed off the last of the bigger game that was left from the unrestricted hunting of the previous 50 years. Only food left was the cows/calves and little small game that was left. The rancher agreed to keep Gramps on for about a month and gramps headed out the next day. He wrote that he set 30 wolf traps with parts of a calf the wolves had pulled down. He set 6 spots with 5 traps each. After a week of 2 day checks he hadnt caught anything in them but had caught a few red fox and lost a few to wolves in some smaller traps he had out. Up to this time he hadnt seen a wolf around there in the daylight so he figured the hands kept them leery. He had returned to the ranch for a few supplies and the foreman told him the wolves never returned to a calf kill and had pulled down 9 a few nights before and only ate 2. Upon checking the small traps the next day he once again had a red fox tore to pieces. He tied a rope to its leg and drug it behind him and the horse. About every 1/2 mile he made 5 sets, 2 with wolf urine(scent post type, trap 1' from the "post") he had collected from previous hunts and 3 with a chunk of fox. The fox was the ticket as 2 days later he took 3 wolves from the 30. All 3 were in foxbaited sets. He ended up with a total of 7 adult wolves and 2 pups after another week. He tracked down and denned the 1 adult and the 2 pups. They thought he had got them all as the traps set for almost two weeks with nothing. Of the 6 trapped wolves 5 were taken on foxbait and one in a urine set. He made up the fox recipe after experimenting a little and carried it the rest of his time out west and it accounted for many wolves according to his stories and records. Several times he took the only 2 or 3 wolves running a ranch or area on it? He wrote that the majority of his trapped wolves came from this one recipe? During the late 70's my uncle and his son were my direct competition on several farms and areas around here. I struggled along on yotes with one or two here and there and they piled up 30 or 40 a season with this being in the late 70's and coyotes pushing the $75+ mark at times. My uncle confessed awhile back that this fox recipe was what they were using. They had told Gramps I had it and was probably using dirty traps. Aint family nice I never heard Gramps mention this bait so I dont know if it was meant to be a "secret" or he had just forgot as he was well into his 80's then. Im planning on adding Asofedita or Tonquin to some batch's of mine. Ive wondered how bleu cheese would work too in it? Good Luck if you try it.

[catmando1]

very nice

[backwoodsman]

Heres another one of Gramps stories if anyone bored and needing something to do. First off I dont agree with all the methods used but never the less they were used by many. This is how Gramps related it to me. Some details have been lost to time as Gramps has been gone 22 years now. Grandpa headed out west in 1906(ish). This would have taken place after he was there about two years. As far as I could figure out this took place in late August/early September. He had visited a farm/ranch looking for a little work and to check to see if they might have a critter problem. They didnt have work at that time but a neighboring ranch had some predation problems. Gramps headed over to the neighboring ranch and spoke with the owner. They'd had a few wolves pulling down calves for about a month as far as they could tell. They agreed to put gramps up for a week or two while he chased the wolves. He sat out about 2 dozen wolftraps but didnt have any luck. One of the "cowboys" seen some fresh sign around a fresh killed calf. Gramps checked the area and again set some traps and only caught a yearling. Gramps finaly came up with a plan but needed a big bait. By this time bigger game was getting scarce in some parts so anything along those lines was out of the question. The rancher had an old horse that was past its usefulness to him. About 2 days before the next full moon Gramps had the cowboys put it down on a spot he had picked. It was a rather steep valley that had steep hills on both sides. The afternoon of the full moon Gramps climbed a tree on the opposite slope downwind and about 12 feet up so he could see over the brush etc down on the carcass. He tied himself in a Y, at that time he was carrying a Winchester .32 special(approx.30-30). He'd brought a canteen and 2 biscuits with him. He guessed it was a bout 2am when he seen several "things" near the carcass. He finaly decided it was at least 2 or 3 wolves and he emptied his rifle, as it was a full moon that helped some. He waited until sunrise and climbed down and went over to check. He could see there was 2 down before he left the tree. He found a bloodtrail and went about 100 yards and found the 3rd wolf. He scalped and skinned the 3 and waited for the ranchhands. He sent the "hands" back with the scalps and hides and asked them to bring a dog or two back and a heavy pistol or two. They returned with a heinz 57 mutt and 3 revolvers which only 2 gramps would trust. After some time they got the mutt to pick up the trail and eventualy found a den, they hoped a wolf den. Gramps kept a carbide light in his "kit". He climbed in the den with a horse blanket in front of him and the light and 2 revolvers. He came to a bend and wished for a mirror but finaly got up the nerve to poke around the bend. He found 3 pups and dispatched 2 and wrapped the 3rd up in the blanket somehow. Gramps hogtied the pup and set it down near the den entrance. Of course it went to yelping and gramps was set up about 100 yards away. About 30 minutes went by and 2 wolves were on the ridge above the pup. Gramps bagged one but missed the 2nd as it went over the ridge. He took the scalps, hides and live pup back to the ranch. He didnt want to dispatch the pup, the ranchers kids and one of the "old hands" asked to keep it as a pet. He stayed on about a week but couldnt get the last one caught or shot and finaly moved on. He got the bounty on 8 wolves plus the hides and the rancher paid him $25 for the pup and the wolves also. Gramps was thru that area little over a year later and the wolf pup was running and playing with the other dogs and was tame as could be.

[white316]

Never bored with you stories bwm.

[Cam]

backwoodsman i created this board for you,to put all your stories in.

[backwoodsman]

Thank you. Ive got more if anyone wants to read them? I like going back thru them myself. Some are trapping but theres some hunting, fishing etc too. He was a WW1 vet too and his stories from then are really interesting too.