Trappers Prophesy a Long, Hard Winter

Michigan, 1919--

TRAPPERS PROPHESY LONG, HARD WINTER

THEY SAY NATURE HAS GIVEN ANIMALS ESPECIAL PROTECTION AGAINST COLD

Old heads in the trapping game go, each year, to the woods during the fall, to return before Thanksgiving time to tell the populace the character of the approaching weather. Their prophecy is based upon observation of nature's devices to protect her four footed charges from weather. No one doubts these prophets whose testimony is given below:

For weeks the beaver dams have been winter proof with the food supplies in. The dams this year are larger than formerly.

Bruin's coat is as glossy now as in mid-January. This means a cold winter sure, trappers say.

Immense flocks of geese have gone south. The north was deserted by them weeks ago.

Tree "cooties" are scarce and are nearer the ground than usual. Moss is heavier, bark is thicker, buds of trees are warmly encased.

Deer are herding early and all fur-bearing animals are a month nearer "prime."

--Ironwood Daily Globe, Ironwood, Michigan, November 20, 1919, page 13.