Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 November 1908 — Trapper's Troubles in the Court. [ARTICLE]

Trapper's Troubles in the Court.

Trappers seem to have troubles just the same as ordinary people, and even such docile dispositibned gentlemen as Landy McGee and Sherman Irwin, are not free from having their tilts and each declaring that the other is a thief, liar and a few other things. ..-r-* ;

Landy has been regarded as the real scout of the Iroquois ever s’nee he entered the business. He can scent a mink track quicker than any long eared hound that ever responded to the beck of a proud owner and aa- for musk rats and skunks, why, Landy McGee, just has a native tact for getting them into his traps when others who have tried the game can’t coax them to come near. Various others In years passed have undertaken the trapping game, but Landy is the only trapper to keep the business up, and he has seen many a trapper pull up stakes and quit the business.

This year, Sherman Irwin, the photographer, entered the business of river trapping, and the trouble began. Either Sherman or Landy was color blind, couldn’t tell which traps belonged to which and as is usual in a case of that kind each accused tte other of first being mistaken, then of being wilfully wrong, and finally of being thieves and liars and finally one day when Irwin was up tbe river taking some of the. traps that he claimed to be his, Landy came along and leveled his double barrel shot gun and commanded that Irwin bring the traps up and lay tbem down at his feet Irwin could see by the light in Landy’s eyes that he meant business, and he came to the front with the traps and deposited them at Landy’s boot soles and said plaintively: “Excuse me, Mr. McGee.” And Landv said, “Just you go on now, I don’t want no trouble.” And She’.m he went.

Then Sherm thought he might recover what he claimed to be bis’n and he instituted a replevin suit and the case was heard by Squire Irwin Monday and there was a deal of explaining and some m'ghty lively swearing; Irwin swearing one w y and Landy tother. John Richards w s the onlv disinte.e ted w.’tnss and bis testimony suppor.ed Irwin’s and seven traps were turned over to him, that being all of tte 42 that Irwin had that he could locate. It is s id that since then Irwin has l.catel the remainder of tte traps and that he will again try to g t legal possession of them.

This makes us think of a story of Hank Granger, the f rmer Thay r saloon keeper and Kankakee river trapper, who was asked one time if he had begun trapping yet, and he answered, “No, I can’t very well begin Until the other fellows do.” On another occasion Hank was tel'ing about what splendid sue ess he was having trapping, and te said the other trapers did not sc em to 1 e doing very much. “How do you account for the fact that you a e geting lots of game and the oti er fellows are not getting any?” he was asked.

Hank didn’t have to study a minute, but replied, "I guess the other fellows don’t stay up Ute enough.” Evidently tie trapping troubles have just begun, and the public is apt sto be treated to a lot -of—funbefore the season closes. Fire started by hallowe’en royst rers totally destroyed the Belton (Texas) compress and 10,000 ba’es cf cotton. The loss will exceed $250,000.