rabbit slips

• Format: Manuscript
• Language: English
• Subjects: English language > Dialects > Newfoundland and Labrador; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/elrcdne/id/70757

rabbit n Most of the wild rabbits used for food are caught by hunters using wire snares. However, when I was growing up wire was never used, but instead we made "_rabbit slips_" with twine used by fishermen and known as "sail twine". This is how it was done: First we bought a "_ran_" of sail twine, and rolled it up into balls such as women do when knitting. When we went to the woods and found a rabbit "path" we would cut off a piece of twine about eighteen inches long to make a slip. Next we would put the twine around a small fir tree and draw it back and forth until the twine was covered with turpentine. This served two purposes; to stiffen the twine so as to form a"_bight_"; and to remove the scent of our hands. (over) [reverse] The twine was then fashioned into a bight while the other end was tied to a slender sapling. A "crossbar" was then placed across the rabbit "path" and the sapling bent over so the the "bender" could be attached to the crossbar with a slip knot. An entrance was made to the path by using "door boughs" so that the rabbit would put its head precisely into the noose. When it did so,the tugging released the slip knot and the bender swung the rabbit into the air and thus strangled. Of course some times the rabbit pushed the noose aside and avoided being caught, or at other times it chewed off the twine. The use of wire snares destroys thousands of rabbits every year. If hunters do not remove the wire snares there is every likelihood that rabbits will be caught during the closed season because the wire retains its shape, whereas the twine would eventually be displaced by the snow or wind. crossbar noose or 'slip' bender rabbit path Used I and Sup Used I and Sup Not used Reverse side of R_12924 diagram included