Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 November 1908 — A “TRAPPING” STORY. [ARTICLE]

A “TRAPPING” STORY.

One evening last week, armed with a writ of replevin, Constable Ropp and Sherman Erwin went down the Iroquois to a point near where Carpenter’s creek enters the river, and seized about a dozen muskrat traps that were "set?* along the river at that point. They were brought to town and turned over to Squire Irwin, who on Monday heard the ■ evidence as to the ownership of the aforesaid traps. It seems that both Mr. Erwin and Landy Magee are engaged in the strapping of "rats” as a side line, and the former had bought some 36 traps of John Richards. These traps were all marked with a private mark of Richards’, and when they came up missing from the place where Erwin had "set” them, and he found several traps bearing the same mark- "set” in another place, he concluded they were his traps, and proceeded to get possession of them via the writ method. Landy Mhgw clstasd. the traps and said he kaA- used the “mark” found on them for the past eighteen years, bnt Richards, the original owner of the trope Erwin had bought, testified as to the mark he bad placed on them and to some repairs he had personally made on a few of than. There were 10 traps replevined, and the court thought the identification of seven of the number was sufficient to give Erwin title to them, which was done. Mr. Erwin has located the balance of hie traps, he says, and has wanted the State of Indiana to get busy, but the latter is somewhat dilatory and nothing further has been dene at this writing. These traps are in possession of Lewis M. Stover, he states, who lives west of town on the Monnett land. Stover bought a lot of traps recently of Landy Magee, and these were among |he number. There is likely to be more to follow.