Twernt that long back I recall that Sydnie decided I wusn’t catchin  enough plews an I might be wastin too much time in the wilds.  It wuz gittin mighty close ta time fer rondeevoo with Ashley an the boys an I wuz gonna hafta kitch as many as I cud.  So, one day she said, Bears Butt, I think I need to show you how to trap more plews.  I’m always up fer catchin more plews and so I agreed.

Next morn she dun woked  up  an met me by the horses.  I dun already had em loaded with the gear what we wuz gonna need fer that day of trappin including lots of traps an stakes.  I dun loaded up a bunch cuz I weren’t real sure how many it wuz gonna take fer her to show me how it wuz dun.

We saddled up and skeedaddled out o camp and headed down the trail to the deep waters.  I dun had sum traps already set out there an there aint no sence not settin more near the same place.  There wuz plenty sign of plews out there and she knowed it.  Perty soon we wuz checkin my already set traps an we wuz doin perty good at kitchin sum.   I told her I dun set these here traps all by myself with no help frum her an lookee at how many plews we dun ketched already.  She said Bears Butt, I kin see you dun ketched sum, but it’s the traps what didn’t kitch no plews that you need ta knowed how to set next time.  This is what I’m here to show you.

Whenst we wuz all dun chickin all the traps what I had dun set afor, she said, hey let’s go over there a piece, cuz I dun think there is sum deep water what has sum plews in.  I looked over where she wuz lookin, but I cudn’t  see no deep water, heck I cudn’t see no water atol.  Where does she git this that there wuz sum deep water over there?  Well we rode on over there and afor long there it wuz, deep water fer sure.  I never ever wooda gone over there.

We git offn the horses an I goes to pull down sum traps an she says we only gonna need two traps Bears Butt, cuz there is only but two er maybe three plews here in this here deep water.  Corse that gits me wonderin how does she knowed there is only two or three plews in all this here deep water.  Sos I asks her how she dun thinks such sillyness.  Theres gotta be a heap more than just three plews in all this here deep water.  Bears Butt, lookee here at this here sign right down here on this here rock.  That tells me there is one plew right here.  Now look or there by that bush right there.  See that sign right there.  Corse I cudn’t see no sign from this far back, so I goes closer an shore nuff, there wuz sign, right like she said.  An then she said, so that there tells me there is two plews in this here deep water.  I goes ta lookin fer more sign, an I find one what looks sorta old like, but it wuz by sum runnin stream water what wuz leadin into the deep water an I tell her, here is sum sign what needs a trap by.

She cummed over an looks at the sign I wuz pointin at an sayz, Bears Butt, no wonder you don’t kitch more plews, you dun waste yer time an traps trappin where there wuz a plew, but that plew dun gone on an wont be back til next year this time.  Go ahead an set yer trap there, I got my two ta set.  Now listen up Bears Butt, when I git dun settin these here traps I’m gonna show you zacktly how I dun it soes you kin repeated it in future trap settins.

Well she dun did set them traps whilst I set mine an she cummed over to where I just got dun an says, Bears Butt, ya got the jaw up too high on that there trap, even if a plew dun commed by there he wood see it an git outa there real fast like.  So I dun turned the springs sum an the trap jaw dun lowered till she was happy with that set.  Seppen course she insisted there weren’t no plews gonna cum by that there trap.  Then she said fer me ta go look at the sets she dun set.  I looked at the first one an said, you kint kitch no plews with the trap sittin like that.  It’s clear outa the water an there aint no plew gonna climb up on no trap an git kitched.  No way.  She said, look at it close like, cuz tomorrow when you chick it there will be a plew in it, an when you bring that plew back ta camp it is gonna be put in my kitch pile cuz I dun kitched it.  And then we goes to the other set an agin I tell her there aint no way a plew is gonna git itself kitched in that there trap.  The trap is completely under water an in way too deep fer a plew ta put a foot in AND it aint even near the sign what a plew dun put  clear over there.  Again she restated what tomorrow wuz gonna bring an the plew wood be put in her kitched pile.  I just smiled.  I knowed my trap would have a plew and her two would have nutin.

After the lesson we dun rode on back ta camp.  She dun told the whole camp what I wuz doin wrong in lots o trappin spots an that wuz why I wuzzn’t bringin in many plews.  I wuz readin the sign all wrong an settin traps where no plews wuz gonna be fer a whole year ta cum.

Next day I ride out an go ta chicken the traps.  The ones I dun set afor wuz kitchin sum plews just like the day afor an I felt perty good about that.  Then I amember what she dun said about the empty traps not kitchin no plews.  Well how cud I change my traps what wuzznt kitchin nuttin cuz I knowed her two sets wuzzn’t gonna kitch nuttin, so I aint gonna change my wayz a settin traps.

I goes over to the hidden deep water what she dun figgered wuz there yesterday, an check my trap.  Nuttin.  Then I go to her first trap an low an behold there is a plew right in that there trap fer sure.  How in tarnation cud that plew git in that there trap?  I goes to the other trap an bingo, there is another plew in that trap too.  Two traps, two plews in one night!  By golly, maybe I need ta change up sum of my traps what wuz empty.

I learned a good bit of lesson on that there day an she dun got her two plews put in her kitched pile.  Thanks for the lesson Sydnie!

Bears Butt

June 11, 2011