Pennsylvania Game News - August 2010 - 5

on adult wolves and a $15 bounty on each pup. This money lured more settlers in and wolf populations were quickly reduced. Some of the last counties to pay bounties on wolves were Huntingdon, 1882; Warren, 1886; McKean, 1868; Elk, 1877; Clearfield, 1881; Forest, 1884; Tioga, 1886; and Potter, 1890. Destruction of pups in the den, indiscriminate poisoning and the payment of generous bounties combined to hasten the eventual extermination of wolves here. Considering that bounties were, at various times, paid for nearly 200 years before the populations were eliminated, is testimony to the wild nature of those predatory canines. In 1749, bounties played an important part of the livelihood of Pennsylvania’s early settlers. That year red and gray squirrels became classified as predators, and a bounty of three pence for evidence of each squirrel killed was paid. This bounty proved so enticing that many settlers deserted their farms and took to the woods, “collecting” squirrel tails. In one year in what is now a 5-county area in southeastern Pennsylvania, 640,000 squirrel tails were submitted for payment. In 1750, in an attempt to reduce the large sums of money being paid out in squirrel bounties, the bounty was halved. Nevertheless, this squirrel carnage drained the Pennsylvania treasury of nearly 8,000 pounds sterling. The squirrel bounty was soon discontinued. With settlers moving farther into the wilds of Pennsylvania, by the early 1800s the elusive eastern puma, also called mountain lion and panther, became a major predator on livestock. The legislators agreed to pay a bounty of $8 on each mountain lion head. The bounty was effective in reducing the population of these large predatory cats, and it has been reported that in 1886 the last mountain lion bounty was paid, in Centre County. Several mountain lions were killed after the bounty was discontinued, and wildlife historians suggest the last Pennsylvania native cat was killed in Berks County in 1868.
AUGUST 2010

P ENNSYLVANIA TRAPPERS S ETTLE THE WEST Many early day Pennsylvania trappers, history tells us, helped to settle the West. In 1806, John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Cark expedition, decided to not return to the settlements with the rest of the party, but instead returned to the Rocky Mountains to trap. Others soon followed, and for the next 37 years, the adventures of these mountain men became part of the legends of the West. Historians suggest some of these made their way West from the original 13 colonies. Pennsylvanian Nicholas Biddle was one of the adventurers who headed West. He accompanied Lewis and Cark and wrote extensive accounts of this legendary expedition. Biddle later chronicled many adventures of the early mountain men. It’s interesting to note that his namesake, Brigadier General Nicholas Biddle, became a PGC commissioner in 1935. During his long tenure, Biddle was instrumental in making many sweeping changes involving bounties and trapping. He served until 1969, after more than 34 years on the board — an all-time record that will never be duplicated. For many early day sportsmen, trapping predators for bounty was more than a profession; it was a way of life. One such hunter was John P. “Trapper” Swoope. This adventurous outdoorsman began his full-time trapping career in 1860, and for the next 57 years roamed the wilds of Huntingdon County and other areas in southcentral Pennsylvania. A lifelong bachelor, Trapper devoted his entire life to roaming the wilderness. Testimony to his expertise, he trapped more than 550 bobcats, more than 5,000 foxes and 6 bears. John also captured thousand of small furbearing
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Pennsylvania Game News - August 2010

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