traps

I think "traps" refers to animal traps-- the way a man catches his own food, or a hunter earns a living. The sentence says the other man had "sold his traps" and was "out of work" "just as I was." This means that they were in such a bad financial hole that they had to sell even the traps they use to catch food. This helps me understand the position these two men were in, both very poor and without a choice to go to war, and that they have turned to savage and drastic measures. It suggests something about what they thought of their lives and why they did not care who died at the moment or the consequence of the murder.
 * http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=hOt&defl=en&q=define:trapping&ei=RmQmS87ZIMyMlAf1j_X3CQ&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAcQkAE **