American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 22 Tender Twig Trap

On the morning of the thirtieth day, Lin Yu'an ate a simple breakfast, put on his rain pants and equipment, and went to the beaver area he had observed the day before.

This is a river embankment made of mud and branches near the riverbank, with some branches that have been gnawed by beavers faintly visible on the water.

He crouched down, lowering his upper body as much as possible, and carefully observed the underwater area. In the murky stream, he could vaguely see a dark opening about thirty or forty centimeters in diameter at the base of the riverbank.

"This is it," Lin Yu'an said softly.

He took out several hardwood stakes with one end pre-sharpened from his spatial storage, as well as a slightly thicker steel wire made of multiple strands of fishing line twisted together, which would have superior toughness and strength.

They cut a piece of steel wire about two meters long and began making the first lasso.

First, bend one end of the steel wire about five centimeters, then use the other end of the steel wire to tightly wrap around this bend, one loop after another, to form an extremely strong small steel ring.

Next, pass the other end of the steel wire through this small steel ring, and an adjustable loop is formed!
He repeatedly pulled and tested to ensure that the loop could tighten smoothly under force and that the small steel ring would not deform or loosen due to excessive tension. He adjusted the diameter of the loop to be slightly larger than the opening, about forty or fifty centimeters.

Next came securing the lasso and setting the trigger. He picked up a wooden stake about a meter long, which he used as an "anchor stake."

Then, at about one-third of the way from the non-slip end of the wire rope to the anchor pile, use a steel wire and a tough, thin vine to secure it with a fisherman's knot that can withstand great tension.

“This anchor must be sturdy. Beavers are quite strong, and if it’s not secure, it can easily drag the trap away.”

After completing the anchor connection, he first carefully observed the shore to make sure there were no beavers nearby before putting on his rain pants and choosing a relatively calm spot to go into the water.

They began setting up traps at the entrance to the underwater nest, gently inserting hardwood stakes at an angle into the underwater mud on both sides of the entrance.

He then used flexible aquatic plants, whose color matched the underwater environment, to loosely suspend the slipknot part of the steel wire rope between the two support posts.

In this way, the opening of the lasso can face the entrance to the nest and remain naturally open, so that slight disturbances from the water flow will not easily cause it to shift.

He adjusted the suspension point and tightness several times to ensure that once the beaver's head or most of its body was inside the lasso, a slight touch would cause the lasso to slip off the weed suspension point and quickly tighten under the pull of the anchor stake!
Most importantly, several tender branches are placed as bait at key points of the lasso; no beaver can resist the temptation of tender branches.

Just as no normal man can resist the temptation of clicking on content that is prohibited for minors.

Lin Yu'an, holding the camera, explained, "The key to this trap is its naturalness and sensitivity. There can't be any trace that would make the beavers uncomfortable or alert, otherwise those clever guys won't fall for it."

He carefully checked the lasso's opening angle, its distance from the opening, and its trigger sensitivity to ensure everything was in perfect working order.

After setting up the first lasso, he used the same meticulous method to set up a second wire lasso in another narrow underwater passage not far away, which was suspected to be used by beavers.

The whole process took Lin Yu'an more than half an hour.

"Alright, the two underwater wire rope traps have been deployed."

"Hopefully, this highly concealed trap will tempt beavers that have never been in contact with humans to the tender branches while they are underwater!"

"The strength of the steel wire and the anchor piles we designed should be sufficient to withstand their struggles. Let's look forward to it!"

"However, always remember this: 'No one can escape the curse of the beaver.' Avoid provoking beavers in the wild unless absolutely necessary!"

Lin Yu'an did not linger on the spot. He quickly cleaned up all the traces left on the shore and then quietly retreated into the depths of the forest.

The only thing he could do now was to wait patiently. Beavers are usually active at dusk and night, so he decided to come back the next morning to check on the trap's success.

In the afternoon and evening, Lin Yu'an mainly collected and stored firewood for the winter, and also did some simple weeding around the shelter.

He also prepared a sturdy wooden door for the shelter, woven a frame from willow branches, continued experimenting with fishing, and firing a ceramic barbecue grill, among other things. There were always endless chores to do in the wild. After eating some stored food in the evening, he dragged his tired body into his sleeping bag.

As dawn broke the next day.

Lin Yu'an put on his rain pants again and headed to the stream. This time, he felt even more nervous and expectant than when he was setting the trap!
He observed from his hidden spot on the shore for a while, the water appearing even more deep in the early morning light! But there were churning splashes in the seemingly calm water!
Lin Yu'an carefully stepped into the water and reached towards the first trap that was splashing.

As he approached the entrance to the first nest, his heart skipped a beat—he felt his probing stick touch something!
Immediately afterwards, he touched the top of the wooden stake that served as the anchor mark, and the steel wire attached to it was taut in an unnatural posture, and he could feel the vibrations of an underwater object struggling!

"In stock!"

Lin Yu'an was overjoyed; he never expected to catch a live beaver!
He bent down, immersing his arm completely in the icy water, and groped his way into the murky water along the taut steel wire.

Soon, the fingertips of his waterproof gloves touched a furry object that was violently writhing and struggling underwater!

The steel wire lasso was tightly wrapped around the middle of a beaver's body, near its forelimbs!

The beaver had clearly been caught in the snare recently. Due to the toughness of the wire rope, the more it struggled, the tighter the rope tightened, and the anchor stakes connecting the ropes were even displaced by its enormous strength! But the wooden stakes still effectively prevented the beaver from escaping.

The wild beaver was clearly terrified and angry at the sudden restraint.

It thrashed and kicked wildly in the water, trying to bite through the damned steel wire, but its sharp teeth were useless against the hard wire, and instead the lasso tightened further.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yu'an swiftly drew the multi-functional knife from his waist.

With one hand he gripped the steel wire tightly, stabilizing the thrashing beaver, while with the other, relying on his understanding of the beaver's anatomy, he decisively and accurately stabbed the sharp multi-tool into its carotid artery!

"Hoo! Whoosh!"

The beaver let out a low, complex growl, seemingly warning its companions to flee!

A warm, red liquid instantly spread through the cold stream, the beaver's struggles suddenly weakened, and after a few twitches, it became completely still.

Lin Yu'an breathed a sigh of relief and freed the dead beaver from the tight noose.

This was an unusually large adult beaver, even bigger than he had expected. It was heavy in his hand, and he estimated it weighed at least twenty pounds.

Lin Yu'an dragged the beaver ashore, his face beaming with excitement as he showed off his hard-won prey to the camera.

"Guys, look at that physique! The first one hit the big one!"

As the adrenaline subsided, Lin Yu'an thought of the beaver's dying cry and felt a pang of sadness.

But he quickly composed himself. This was the wilderness, this was nature, and killing was all for survival! It perfectly aligned with the principle of survival of the fittest.

All he could do was thank the beaver in front of the camera.

"I'm sorry, brother, I was just trying to survive! Thank you for your sacrifice! Thank you, nature!"

Brothers, if you encounter groundhogs, beavers, or tigers in the wild, stay as far away as possible! Those three could easily take on a hundred or more people!

Thank you to my electronic shareholders for your support! We already have 80 investors! I'm looking forward to seeing how much you all can cash out on the day it goes live!

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(End of this chapter)