Raccoons, Unappreciated Hero of the Fur Trade

The Idle hunter....contemplating the necronomicon

Raccoon trapping stuff...1 axe is easier to carry then 100 traps

Grease lamp and cane filled with grease and wick wrapped around it

Bark tanned shot pouch oiled with raccoon grease

Trying to stay active in this time of plague and weirdness isn't really that hard for me. I was able to stay in the woods a lot this winter and spring and downtime at work has been a great way to catch up reading and tracking down new rabbit holes to follow. It doesn’t help that I’ve been in constant contact with the evil creation of Ray Lohr known as Tony Bertalino. This crazy weirdo has been a voice in the back of my skull for months now pointing me towards bad ideas and beaver traps.

                 I’d also like to apologize, this whole planet wide pandemic might be my fault. In the middle of reading everything I could find on moccasins I may have gone off on a bender of reading 18^th century Grimoires and got lost in 18^th century Folk magic and demonology. I’m not saying it was me but one thing I’ve learned is I shouldn’t read stuff out loud and well, oops.

So Since Jed Wray (aka Jed The black smith) asked I figured I’d knock this out so folks stuck at home have something to read.

Any of my friends know that I have an unhealthy love for hunting and trapping. This was instilled in me and my brothers from an early age by My father and Grandfather.  They each taught us different skills and guided us towards our particular interests in the sport. My youngest brother Christopher (an amazing hunter in my opinion) has an obsession for Turkey hunting that borders on crazy and skill in archery I envy. I became obsessed with trapping and hunting with flintlocks. It wasn’t until much later did I realise that scheme of father/grandfather was to always have someone to hunt with in any given season.

                I think however my love went to far on certain aspects, I love trapping and hunting but my main focus is not on the usual big trophy game but more focused on Trapping raccoons and hunting squirrels. Yes I love trapping Garbage Pandas and shooting tree rats. I said it and I don’t care.

                Don’t get me wrong I love all aspects of hunting but my love of squirrel hunting is easy to explain.  It takes skill with a flintlock, you can get out to hunt (a lot) and it’s a mix of stealth and sometimes just flat out running. After hitting a squirrel in the head a number of times the area for a clean shot of a deer at 50 yards is pretty dang big.

                The raccoon trapping is a bit stranger. I personally feel that the lowly raccoon is the unsung hero of the fur trade. So much has been written about the Beaver ad Deer skin trade that the poor gabage panda was overlooked. Therefore it’s my duty as an American to try trapping these creatures as much as possible and sing their praises.

                The castor hat was undoubtedly a fashion statement during the 18^th/19^th century. The shean of the fur makes these hats an amazing item to behold. However much like any other High Fashion item there needed to be less expensive items for the rest of us.

 Hats are made in several parts of America but especialy at Philadelphia of an excelltent quality and from nothing but beaver skins and in the country these are preferred to any of European make. The best are sold for 6-8 spanish dollars their fault is they are too thick and heavy and do not hold the color so well as the European. They make commoner sorts of Raccoon,mink and hareskin” Johan Schopf1783-84  

You can also find hat makers in the period buying hides:

December 26, 1752

This is to give notice, that the subscriber, living in Kentcounty, Maryland, near George Town, Makes and sells, for readymoney, mens and womens white and black hats; likewise willgive the Philadelphia price for furr, such as beaver, raccoonand muskrats. THOMAS BROWNING.

Or advertising their Raccoon hats:

November 27, 1766 JAMES IRVINE, TAKES this Method to inform the Public, that he hath lately set up the Hat making Business, in Third street, at the Sign of the White Hat, a few Doors above Church Alley; where he has for Sale, an Assortment of Beaver, Castor and Raccoon HATS, &c. As he intends constantly to employ the best Workmen he can procure, those Gentlemen who favour him with their Custom, may depend on being well served.

                These common raccoon hats show up in a number of runaway ads in the period:

THREE POUNDS Reward.

RUN AWAY from the subscriber, living near Salem, an indented servant man, named DANIEL McANIRA: Had on, and took with him, one pair fustian breeches, and coatee of the same, an under jacket of green half-thicks, half-worn raccoon hat, and a new beaver ditto, a new brown saggathy coat, striped Bengal jacket, and one pair of new buckskin breeches; he is about 5 feet 8 inches high, pretty well set, light hair, fresh coloured, remarkably bald, and prone to strong liquor. Whoever takes up and secures the said servant, in any of his Majestygoals, so that his Master may have him again, or brings him home, shall receive the above reward, and all reasonable charges, paid by Sept. 20, 1773.RICHARD SMITH.

                Trapping raccoons was so common that it was even seen as important enough for Mr. Scouwa himself to go into detail about how it was done:

“As the raccoon is a kind of water animal that frequents the runs or small water courses almost the whole night we made our traps on these runs, by laying one small sapling on another, and driving in posts to keep them from rolling. The upper sapling we raised about 18 inches and set so that on the raccoon touching a string or small piece of bark, the sapling would fall and kill it, and lest the raccoon should pass by, we laid brush on both sides of the run, only leaving the channel open.” James Smith

Johnathan Alder mentions similar technique for trapping raccoons but goes into a little more detail:

“Their traps were of the dead fall construction and a good hunter could set about 100 traps a day. These traps were expected to average about one coon each, sometimes more, owing to the location, the luck and experience of the hunter setting and attending them. The deadfall was placed on a log leading into a pond and supported by a figure 4 treadle, upon which a piece of frog or other meat was fastened as bait, in such a manner that when the animal attempted to pass or remove it, the trap would fall upon, wound, kill or hold it until the hunter came up.” Johnathan Alder

Alder and smith both give great descriptions with info that can used by modern trappers. Location, using natural funnels to push game towards the set and the fact trapping is always a numbers game. They also show the use of deadfalls over the use of steel traps.  This answers a question I get a lot about the lack of steel traps in period trade ledgers.  You will see folks buying a lot more brass wire and axes then you will steel traps. And the answer is simple Steel traps were expensive, Gravity is free. For example Nathan Boone mentions his father only took 6 steel beaver traps with him on his long hunts.

Ohio country natives often brought in raccoon hides with the deer and beaver skins to trade at Fort Pitt’s many trade stores. For example on July 26 1765 a group of Delaware brought in:

33 deer skins 2 dressed deer skins, 7 Raccoons 1 beaver 1 fox 1 cat 1 fisher 4 muskrats

Entries similar to this are all through the fort Pitt info alot of deer, some beaver, some raccoons and an assortment of other pelts. Meanwhile on the other end of the Forbes’s road you’d see similar advertisments:

By Order of the Commissioners for Indian Affairs,

WILL be sold, by publick Vendue, under the Court House, on
Wednesday, the 13th of August next, to begin precisely at Two
o'Clock in the Afternoon, A Quantity of Deer Skins, some
choice Beaver and Raccoons , belonging to the Province.
July 31, 1760. J.F. DAVENPORT.

  On the non-trade side of things raccoon bones show up in the archeology of a number of sites. For example 2.3% of the bones recovered at Bledsoe’s station were Raccoon (11% are squirrel bones!) This shows that they were a source of food for many backcountry folks. Though Daniel Trabue did have something to say about that on a particularly cold hunting trip:

                When I returned I had killed a large fat rackoon . the men had killed nohing. The negro had a large good fire. The koon was soon prepaired for cooking. The men begain again with their woefull tail. Said they, “we are in a wilderness without any path, nothing to eat but a koon for 6 or 7 men without bread or salt, liable every moment to be masscreed by the Indians. If we can only be spared until morning we will return to Logan’s fort.” One of them said he would return to old Virginia as quick as he could and them that liked Kentucky might enjoy it but he would not stay in such a country.

                This was a very pretty moon light night. After we got things prity well settled I said “ we have 2 good dogs. I know mine is an exception for game. Let us go out a hunting.” All of the men refused. I told negro Jo to take his ax. I took my gun and off we went, and in going only about 200 yards wheare some of these men had been out a hunting I saw 5 turkeys on one sycomere tree over the creek. I moved to a place where I got the turkey between between me and the moon, drawed my sight and killed one and loaded and fired until I killed 5 of the largest fatest turkeys that I had ever seen. When I got to shooting I made shore the men would come to us, but they stayd where they was at the camp looking at their koon a roasting.”

                The high amount of fat on the raccoon is also useful. I save the fat from the raccoons I catch and render it down each spring. This I use for leather dressing, greasing my gun/patches and for burning in a grease lamp. Grease lamps were a cheap source of light for early settlers and raccoons are full of the stuff. I carry the oil in a small corked piece of cane with the wicking wrapped around it. 

                So I hope I have shown you that our friend the Trash Panda, The common Raccoon should not be overlooked in his role in the fur trade and in this time of weirdness should also be applauded for the fact he always washes his hands and wears a mask. The Raccoon…American Hero.