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This is one of those skills that has challenged me for years. I can’t make a stone tool Figure-4 set, but thanks to the adaptations of Barry Keegan and those who mentored him, I can make a functional Figure-4.

A bent lever stick, supported by a forked stick, will hold the weight of the rock. By setting bait on a thin cardboard or birch bark tray and securing that tray to the bait stick makes it easier to position, without prematurely collapsing the entire trap.

This is the illustration from a article Barry Keegan published:

What may not be easy to see is the carved spots where the rounded sticks are set against each other. Also, looking at the tip of the bait stick under the rock, unless the bait is sticky, there would be no way to put nut pieces or dry bait onto the bait stick.

Here is what Barry Keegan taught:

Notice that the upright stick is forked and at an angle holding up the rock. In the illustration the upright stick is holding the lever stick, which is holding the rock.

Also notice that the lever stick is resting in the forked stick, making it easier to balance the configuration. The bait stick is holding a cardboard tray onto which I sprinkled walnut shells and nut fragments. This is a treat, since walnuts are not common to the area where I set this trap.

That said, this trap took me nearly three hours to set and I caught nothing. I would be unlikely to succeed, unless I pulled out the stone underneath the bait stick. I used that stone to keep the configuration from collapsing on me while I set the trap.

Two more details about this trap include the string and Barry’s support pegs to keep rock in place.

After struggling through that experience, Barry insisted I set more traps. This is my second attempt, which took less than an hour to set.

That doesn’t include the time it took me to make a string from dried dogbane.

It took two days and I might not have been successful. Barry noticed this squirrel escaping by digging into the mud, and leaped on the rock.

The squirrel probably suffocated. If you look carefully, you can see Barry’s footprint on the rock.

Needless to say, the idea of taking a life, even for the higher purpose of learning, leaves me conflicted. I did my best to honor this squirrel’s sacrifice. I tanned his hide and cleaned his skull for future study. I shared his flesh and bones by making pie and soup.