I remember going down the creek
I was in the back and Dad was in the front of the 12 ft boat
He would set the traps for the muscrats and I would write down the location
R for right side of creek, L for left side of creek
Sometimes I would write something else to identify the special location
75 traps took about eight hours
The next day we would get the muscrats and occasional mink or raccoons
Some would have to be killed with a wooden club
Most were drowned by the trap pulling the animal down and drowning it
Then it was up to 34 muscrats to dry off which I did and Dad would skin
Then we took them to sell in a big white truck and Dad would give me 200 dollars
I used this fur money to buy Christmas presents
This lasted from 1982 to 1986
Each year was about the same amount