Answer to Figure Four Sticks Question

Figure four sticks are used for trapping animals. When I was a kid in Thorn, I used to whittle them for trapping chipmunks. When the trap was set, the sticks were put together in the shape of the number four. The horizontal line of the sticks was the longest and the end of it held the bait deep inside the trap. The top of the figure four held up the door of the trap. When a chipmunk went into the trap and started to eat the bait it caused the sticks to fly out of the trap and the door would crash down closing the trap. The trick was to carve the sticks (3 sticks in all) in an exact manner or the sticks would not fly far enough and one of the sticks would remain lodged in the door and the chipmunk could squeeze out of the trap. Many kids in Thorn trapped chipmunks. As far as I know I was the only girl who trapped them. Once the little critter was caught, we to kept it for a day or so, tied a string around its neck and wore it on our shoulder. Later, we freed the chipmunk back to the woods. In my book True Tales of Whitethorn, I tell the story of two chipmunks having a fight in my already tangled hair.

Copyright 2008 Sharon Porter Moxley