TJie Home of the Wolverene and Beaver. 145 



feet from the ground ; it needs to be firmly fixed, 

 and must be tapered to a point, and polished as 

 smooth as an ebony ruler. The length of this sup- 

 port has to be regulated by the depth of the side 

 walls ; its pointed end ought to be just six inches 

 within the entrance walls, against the ends of which 

 the tree or 'fall' traverses. A tempting bit of 

 rabbit or grouse, carefully skinned, for the marten is 

 most fastidious in its tastes — if the meat is at all 

 tainted or dirtied in the preparation it is useless as 

 a lure — is securely fastened to a loop of cord made 

 from the inner bark of the cedar tree (Thnjii 

 gigantea) ; this loop is slid upon the supporting 

 stick, and pushed on until it reaches the hindermost 

 part of the wall. Now, we make the figure of four, 

 which rests upon the horizontal bar, and at the 

 same time bearsup the tree or 'fall.' The figure 

 of four is easily made ; the vertical piece has two 

 notches cut in it, one in the centre for the horizontal 

 piece to rest and fit in, and a second in the top to 

 receive the end of the oblique piece, which is cut to 

 a wedge-shape at both ends. The horizontal piece 

 has one notch to take the end of the oblique ; on 

 the other rests the fall. We have set our trap, and 

 now, as a final process, we walk backwards from it 

 for some distance, and carefully brush away every 

 trace of our foot-prints with a pine branch; and here 



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