Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper

By Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock

Subjects: Camping, Chasse, Survival, Piégeage, Hunting, Trapping

Description: "Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper" is a collection of real-life hunting and trapping stories, written over a period of ten years, by E. N. (Eldred Nathaniel) Woodcock (1846-1917) of Potter County, Pennsylvania. These articles were first published in the Hunter-Trader-Trapper Magazine, published by A. R. Harding, from 1903 to 1913. In the first few chapters, Mr. Woodcock tells of his family background, his father's milling business in Lymansville, their neighbors and friends, and his experiences of learning to hunt and trap at a very early age. In later chapters, he relates his outdoor experiences, as an adult, in the wilderness areas of Pennsylvania and other states, and gives detailed accounts of many hunting and trapping expeditions, along with instructions, advise, and his own personal opinion. Most of the stories include an interesting partner, who he refers to as "Pard", and the events that happened to them on certain outings. Bear trapping and deer hunting are two of the main subjects, and the author relates many incidents that he experienced, good and bad, while attempting to catch "Bruin" and still-hunting whitetail deer. Camp life and how wilderness camps were built and maintained, is also explained in many of the stories. The book is written in a plain, no-nonsense style, describing many events in great detail. Since the articles were written over a ten-year period, some stories, or parts of stories, are repeated, but the author's observations remain basically the same.