Interviewer
Edd Nentwig
Files
Description
Tex Baker discusses his 70 years of experience trapping and selling furs. He recalls that he began trapping at age six on his father’s homestead in Wyoming and later moved to New Mexico to trap coyote, fox, and lynx. Baker notes that when he wasn’t working his lines, he worked on local ranches breaking horses, or riding in the rodeo circuit. He describes moving to Montana around 1930 and becoming interested in the more heavily regulated beaver industry. Baker talks about Kid Young, one of the better known beaver trappers in the Seeley Lake region, and Harry Morgan and Bill Eckerson, the game wardens at the time. Baker mentions the changing government regulations regarding fur-bearers since he started trapping, and states that one can tell a lot about a person by the care they demonstrate in preparing their furs. He discusses selling furs to F. C. Taylor Fur Company in St. Louis, Sears and Roebuck, and L. M. Goldberg Fur Company [Leo M. Goldberg Fur and Wool House, Inc.] in Helena, Montana.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Trapping, Wyoming; Trapping, New Mexico; Trapping, Montana; Trappers, Montana; Seeley Lake, Montana; Trapping equipment; Snares; Trapping lures; F. C. Taylor Fur Company, St. Louis; Sears and Roebuck Company; Leo M. Goldberg Fur and Wool House, Inc., Helena, Montana; Kid Young, Montana; Harry Morgan, Montana; Bill Eckerson, Montana
Original Date
5-18-1981
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Fur Trappers Oral History Project, OH 099, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula
Digital Publisher
University of Montana--Missoula. Mansfield Library
Rights
Copyright to this collection is held by the interview participants and by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Permission may be required for use. For further information please contact Archives and Special Collections: (406) 243-2053 / library.archives@umontana.edu
Oral History Number
OH 099-008
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (01:00:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (26 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:55:48 minutes
Local Filename
OH_099_008.mp3; OH_099_008.pdf
Citation
Baker, Clarence "Tex", "Tex Baker Interview, May 18, 1981" (1981). Fur Trappers Oral History Project. 7.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/montanafurtrappers/7