When I think ‘mountain man’ and ‘Maine’, it’s tough not to think back to Walter Arnold. Sure, we have a few folks left in northern Maine who spend a significant amount of time living in the woods, but Arnold was considered by most to be the state’s last true mountain man. For two decades, until shortly before his death in 1980, Walt lived alone in a cabin on the shore of Indian Pond, accessed only by airplane. He hunted, fished and trapped, gathered firewood, cooked, cleaned, and lived almost entirely on his own terms. He also did a little writing, which is why I’m bringing him up to you today.
Walter Arnold was born in Willimantic, Maine in 1894. His father was a market hunter, trapper and lumberjack. Walt grew up with the outdoors in his blood, and so it made perfect sense that he’d make his living guiding and trapping. For years, he’d guide fishermen throughout the summer season, and when things cooled off he put the fishing gear away and got ready for trapping season.
Trapping was probably Arnold’s greatest passion. It combined the freedom of being outdoors and working for oneself, and fur prices at the time made it possible to make a good living at it. Often teaming with a partner, Arnold would spend time in the fall preparing several cabins to serve as bases for his winter trapping operations. The trappers would haul in food, gear and supplies, usually on foot, to their main cabins and each of the more remote line cabins that were designed for short stays.
The men scouted large areas for the presence of furbearing animals and cut trails through the country they intended to trap. They prepared traps, cut firewood, made plans and dreamed about a big fur catch. At the start of the season they set their traps out in long lines, targeting bobcat, fox, fisher, beaver, otter, mink, raccoon and weasel. They matched wits with these critters and brought catches back to the cabin to begin the tedious process of preparing pelts for market.
In good years, trappers could make out quite well, but the fur market was never consistent, and Arnold soon learned that one couldn’t rely on income from trapping to get by year in and year out. But he was an enterprising man, always looking for a business opportunity in his outdoor pursuits. Harvesting spruce gum was one such opportunity he took advantage of, but it was very seasonal and demand was spotty.
Arnold began contacting trap manufacturers and wholesalers and soon found himself in the trapping supply business. He began making and selling his own line of scents, or lures, for trappers to purchase. Arnold is credited by many as the first in the industry to offer hard-to-find ingredients used in lure making available to the public through his supply catalog. He advertised in the major national sporting magazines, and soon found himself shipping thousands of bottles of trapping lure all over the country.
Like in any field, it’s tough mixing business and pleasure. Trying to run a wilderness trap line and a lure and supply business at the same time could wear on even the most ambitious and energetic person. He would often spend a few days on the trap line only to rush home and work all hours of the night putting products together and preparing orders for shipment. But with help from his family, he maintained the business for a long while, and grew it to a nationwide name, eventually selling to Oscar Cronk of Wiscasset, Maine, who continued to make and sell Arnold’s lures for decades.
One thing that didn’t seem to conflict with Walter Arnold’s outdoors lifestyle, supported him financially, and turned him into a household name in the trapping community was his writing. Walt wrote articles, mostly on his trapping adventures, for Fur-Fish-Game magazine from 1929-1964. His articles told stories about adventures and misadventures on the trap line, provided insights and observations on different furbearers, and shared helpful instruction and trapping techniques.
With more than 50 articles over the span of several decades, Walter Arnold shared an incredible amount of information with readers at the time. His observations of nature and furbearing species provide a great historical perspective for today’s reader. Thoughts on furbearer management touch on issues that are surprisingly similar today. The enthusiasm of an ambitious trapper who was truly at home in the woods and loved his surroundings and the freedom they allowed was present in most of Arnold’s writings. It’s fun to re-experience that by reading his work.
Walter Arnold’s writings were of great importance to him, and he recognized their potential historical significance. Prior to his death, he spent a great deal of time organizing a collection of his paper records and donated them to the University of Maine’s Fogler Library. With their permission, I began combing through the records to learn as much as I could about the man. I quickly realized that many of the Walter Arnold articles should be shared with a modern audience, within a modern context. So that’s been a project of mine over the past several months.
Walter Arnold, Maine Trapper: Stories from one of the Last Mountain Men is a 300+ page collection of Walt’s articles covering wilderness adventures, animal species and trapping methods. You can find a copy on Amazon (click here) or at www.trappingtodaystore.com.
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