tail _rummage_

• Format: Manuscript
• Language: English
• Subjects: English language > Dialects > Newfoundland and Labrador; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/elrcdne/id/68865

rummage v Another sort of trap or snare used chiefly for catching deer, bear, or other large animals, is the _slip_, which is composed of different materials, according to the circumstances of the hunter, but mostly of iron. Here the _tongue_ is a small bar of iron, placed on one side of the bed of the trap and turning upon a pin; it passes over one of the _jaws_, and the end is fixed under the heel of the bridge which it supports until pressed upon, when, being set at liberty, the jaws _fly up_, and kill the animal. The common expression for fixing properly this engine of destruction is, _to tail a trap_. Fire-arms are likewise used by hunters, but seldom when rummaging, as the fur might be injured by the shot or ball. DC GMS/WK Nov 76 Used I Used I Not used there is a blue arrow drawn next to "rummaging" in the last line of the quote.