Trapping

thescratchylens · Oct 17, 2023

hovlandhomestead said: ↑

We have a lot of martin most years. When I lived and worked on the Indian Reservation I got to help with a few lines and learned the ropes. Fisher, Otter, beaver were the other fairly common catches.

A friend of mine from Grand Portage, MN grew up on Kawnippi lake in what is now Quetico Provincial Park, later the reserve was moved to Lac La Croix on the Canadian side of the sprawling border lake. He and his father spend the fall before freeze-up to spring break-up on a 100 mile trap line in the bush serviced with dog teams and small simple log cabins built along the route by his father. His stories are incredible. The Canadian government made him to to school at age 13.

A physician from Minneapolis that he guided for summer fishing on Lac La Croix, recognized his character, ambition, and intelligence, and offered to pay for his college tuition and all other expenses at the University of Minnesota. While he was attending his father came to his apartment to visit once. One night he was looking out the window at the highway below about 10:30 at night; seeing all the traffic, turned to Gilbert, and asked in Ojibwa: “What is going on tonight?” Of course Gilbert let him know thee traffic is going all the time in the big city.
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Great story. Thank you.

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Trapping

thescratchylens