Trapped

The footprints I had made the day before were melted nearly to bare ground. It was the middle of March, one of those days when Spring was overpowering the grip of Winter. I stopped, took off my wool parka, and paused for a moment leaning on my rifle barrel.

It had been a good day, I had six beaver pelts in my pack and an unskinned otter. It took too long to skin an otter; I decided to carry it home and skin it later. I was following the East Branch of the Presque Ise River down from a chain of beaver ponds on Bobcat Creek. The entire loop of my trap-line was about seven miles. I was glad I was getting close to home, my legs were getting tired from breaking through the crust of snow that covered the banks of the river. There was one more trap to check, right by the railroad bridge a half a mile from home.

I didn't like trapping the river this time of year, the water level changed from one hour to the next, making it almost impossible to keep your traps at the right depth to be effective. I took off my back-pack and left it beside the tracks, then walked down to where my last trap was. The water had come up nearly a foot since I made the set. I would have to move it.

Fifty feet down-river was a grassy spot where the sun had melted the snow. I could smell the musk that a transient male beaver had left to mark his territory; a perfect place to make a blind set. I pulled up the old setting and moved everything down to the new spot. With a small hatchet, I widened out the hole the beaver had made in the snow and ice. His tunnel was about four feet deep before entering the water. I used a crotched pole and pushed the forty pound drown rock under the ice. This rock was an anchor for a wire that went through a corner brace on the chain of the trap. When the beaver stepped into the trap, he would turn and head back where he came from. The corner brace would only slide one-way down the wire to the rock and drown the beaver, not allowing him to come up by kinking the wire. More than once I marveled at how simple, yet lethal this system was.

The sun was setting below the tree-line when I got everything in place. The only thing left to do was sweep the area with a balsam bough. This would obliterate any sign or scent I had left behind. I swept the balsam bough back and forth like a broom, backing away from my set. There was very little sign that I had ever been there when I finished. I turned to walk back up to the railroad tracks where I left my back-pack. The sound of snow falling made me turn and look back where I had just set the trap. A large chunk of snow slid off of an overhanging bough and fell right into the hole where I set the trap. I walked back and looked down the tunnel the beaver had made. The hole was plugged with the snow. I got down on my belly, hung onto a root with one hand, and reached down to remove the snow with the other. The root I was hanging onto pulled out of the ground plunging my arm into the water.

"Cluck!" The muffled sound of the trap reached my ears, pain shot up my arm. The number 14 jump trap's teeth pierced my palm from both sides. I desperately grabbed for anything to stop my slide, the corner brace slide down the wire like it was designed to do. I was wedged in the hole, my face and shoulder were in the freezing water. The more I struggled to free myself, the more the trap slide down the wire. I could feel my hand going numb.

A sense of panic overwhelmed me. The tunnel of snow muffled my cries for help, even though there was no one around to hear me. If the water rose even an inch, I would not be able to keep my mouth and nose up high enough to breath. The tiny hole had me pinned down where I could hardly move, like being stuck in a pipe. I had a pair of wire cutters in my back pocket. Unable to let go of the rock that I clung to and unable to reach the wire, they were useless. I was going to die in my own trap! Darkness closed in.

Many things pass through your mind when you know you are going to die; all the things you should have done differently. How stupid you were for being in this situation in the first place. Who will find your body? Where will it end up? I wouldn't be the first person to disappear in the river under the ice.

I must have succumbed to exhaustion, I awoke to the screeching sound of steel on steel. I could hear some one talking up on the tracks. It was Harold and Dennis from the section crew on the railroad. They drove the tracks every night to make sure they were safe for the huge ore trains than ran during the day. They must have seen my back-pack sitting next to the tracks! A surge of hope overcame me.

"Help! Help!" I screamed, hoping my voice would carry outside the hole I was in.

"You okay?" I heard one of the men say.

"I'm caught in my own beaver trap!"

"Harold, go get a shovel out of the truck," Dennis ordered.

Soon both men were digging around me, one with an axe and one with a shovel. Harold laid on top of me and tried to reach the wire.

"I feel it!" he grunted, his face pressed against mine.

"You have to cut the wire below the trap, otherwise it won't do any good." I slide another inch down the wire. Now, one eye was submerged.

Dennis jumped into the freezing water up to his waist and started chopping the ice back toward the bank.

"I can feel the wire with my boots," he shouted. "Get me some cutters."

"In my back pocket, I have some in my back pocket!"

Harold fumbled feverishly to open the buttoned pocket. I could feel the wire moving as Dennis went under the water.

The two men grabbed me by the legs and pulled me out of the hole. He shined his light on my hand. My fingers looked like four purple corn-dogs sticking below the jaws of the trap. Harold placed his feet on the spring, and released me from its hold.

I had cheated the jaws of death.

Well, Tom, this isn't my favorite of your stories. Once you drowned the beaver, I was pretty much hoping your MC would die the same way. Karmic retribution and all.

Still, the writing is, as usual pretty clean and paced well.

The last line kind of bothered me with the "one more time" as we didn't hear about any other times the MC had cheated death.

Technical:
wool parka, and paused: no comma here

and a unskinned : an unskinned

musk a transient : musk of a

"You Okay?": lower case okay. What a dim bulb! Of course, he isn't okay!

it's hold: its

Tomper,

Since this is posted under Non-Fiction, I'm guessing this happened....to you? If so, that's awful, but I'm glad your hand is able to pound out these stories.

I had trouble with some of the technical parts - couldn't quite picture exactly how the wire was holding him down and stuff like that --but that's just because I need pictures for stuff like that! I'm sure your writing was descriptive enough for most people.

I will tell you that even though I knew what was going to happen, I was still drawn in to the actual event. The paragraph starting, "A sense of panic overwhelmed me.", made me catch my breath and hope all would work out.

Yes, I had a problem with the visual of the beaver drowning, too, but those are just my sensibilities in play.

I do agree with Marva about the last line. If this is a series, we need some play in at the beginning about the other times death showed his face.

All in all, well told.

Opal

I thought I might draw some bleeding hearts with this one. Most people believe trapping to be taboo especially in the western states.

I wrote an article for the Record Searchlight a few years back when a man was arrested for trapping problem beaver in the Park Marina Drive area. A lot of people suggested that the beaver be live trapped, and relocated. My article never got in the paper.

Two things happen with this: One the beaver tries to chew his way out of the live trap, and breaks his teeth on the steel. He slowly starves to death.

The other is when he gets relocated, with more of his kind. Beaver are very territorial. The dominate male will kill any beaver from another colony, by chewing him up so badly he will bleed to death.

I have personally witnessed both counts of this.

Most people don't realize that the more expensive cowboy hats are made from beaver fur felt.

Trapping is, for the most part history, because of animal rights activists. No one wants to wear fur in fear of being spray painted. Now beaver are just shot, and left lay. There are fewer beaver now than when we trapped. We only trapped a few months a year. Beaver are now shot year around.

Thanks for the crit Marva, I made the corrections. I don't got no dictionary. I use spell check. ha ha

Opal. The reason the trap would not slide back up is: We use a corner brace on the trap. Just like one that supports a shelf from underneath. The "L" shape causes the brace to only slide in one direction, when pulled the opposite way it kinks the wire, holding it in place. I hope this helps with the visualization.

In regards to cheating death.

skull broke twice
smashed from the waist down (Roses)
bit by a rattlesnake
shot twice
hit by a car
caught in trap (Trapped)
treed by rutting moose (Call of the Wild)
Went down three miles of white-water, without a canoe
survived a helicopter crash

Other than that, my life has been uneventful. I listed some of the stories, will try to dig up the others.

Tom, I can see adding a paragraph near the beginning with a list of some of those death defying things.

As far as bleeding hearts, I think there are valid points of view on both sides of the ecology questions. Controlling game is one thing. Making animals suffer for the sake of it is another. I think both sides could be served. Control done humanely. Just remember that what you were feeling being dragged under the water is the same desparation that the beaver would be feeling.

Tom, I thought this was an interesting story. I, too, had a problem with the trap visuals. I'm not sure how to overcome that for those not familiar with what you are relating.

As an aside, if I can find it on my work computer tomorrow, I'll post the funniest damn beaver story (it's a letter, actually) that I ever read. I'm sure you will get a kick out of it.

Gayla

This was an actual letter from and a reply to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, State of Michigan. It is the second 'reply' letter that is so funny. Wish I had written it. :D


Mr. Ryan De Vries
2088 Dagget
Pierson, MI 49339

Dear Mr. DeVries:

SUBJECT: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023-1 T11N, R10W,
Sec. 20, Montcalm County

It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above-referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity: Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond. A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, annotated.

The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted.

The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all unauthorized activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31,1998.

Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action.

We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter.

Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

David L. Price
District Representative
Land and Water Management Division
------------------------------------------------------------------------

RESPONSE Dear Mr. Price:

Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N, R10W, Sec 20;
Montcalm County

Your certified letter dated 12/17/97 has been handed to me to respond to.

You sent out a great deal of carbon copies to a lot of people, but you neglected to include their addresses. You will, therefore, have to send them a copy of my response.

First of all, Mr. Ryan De Vries is not the legal landowner and/or contractor at 2088 Dagget, Pierson, Michigan - I am the legal owner and a couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized) process of constructing and maintaining two wood "debris" dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervised their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of natural building materials "debris." I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.

As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they first must fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity. My first dam question to you is: (1) are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers or (2) do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request? If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of Information Act I request completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued. Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451of the Public Acts of 1994,being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, annotated.

I have several concerns. My first concern is - aren't the beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation - so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event causing flooding is proof that this is a natural occurrence which the department is required to protect. In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling their dam names.

If you want the stream "restored" to a dam free-flow condition - please contact the beavers - but if you are going to arrest them (they obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter-being unable to read English) -- be sure they are read the Miranda rights first. As for me, I am not going to cause more flooding or dam debris jams by interfering with these dam builders. If you want to hurt these dam beavers-be aware I am sending a copy of your dam letter and this response to PETA. If your dam Department seriously finds all dams of this nature inherently hazardous and truly will not permit their existence in this State-I seriously hope you are not selectively enforcing this dam policy - or once again both I and the Spring Pond Beavers will scream prejudice!

In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam right than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives to its name, it should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams).

So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/98? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then and there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them then.

In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention a real environmental quality (health) problem in the area. It is the bears. Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! (The bears are not careful where they dump!)

Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office via another government organization - the dam USPS. Maybe, someday, it will get there.

Sincerely,

Stephen L. Tvedten

Thanks for sending that to me Gayla. I got a good laugh. Things like this happen all the time. My Uncle worked a Director of the Department of Fish and Game in the state of Michigan. (retired) I will forward this to him. He'll get a hell of a kick out of it.

tomper

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Tom. I knew I was saving it for a reason :D

It's all the funnier because it's most likely true.