DCHP-1 Online
falling pole 
n. in a deadfall n. (def.1), the log which falls on the animal taking the bait. See deadfall 1853 quote.
See also: deadfall ((n.)) (def. 1) drop-log
- 1853 . . . a kind of trap, called a dead fall which is constructed thus. . . . A piece of wood two or three feet long is bedded into the ground, or snow, as the case may be. The falling pole is supported immediately over this by three pieces of stick notched together in the form of a figure of four. . . . The marten or fisher, allured by the bait, reaches into snatch it, which springs the trap, and causes the pole to fall across the neck of the animal, which is instantly killed by the blow.
- 1853 . . . a kind of trap, called a dead fall which is constructed thus. . . . A piece of wood two or three feet long is bedded into the ground, or snow, as the case may be. The falling pole is supported immediately over this by three pieces of stick notched together in the form of a figure of four. . . . The marten or fisher, allured by the bait, reaches into snatch it, which springs the trap, and causes the pole to fall across the neck of the animal, which is instantly killed by the blow.