344 THE TRAPPEB. 



deal upon those of its prey, viz. the cariboo and the Vir- 

 ginian deer. It is seldom seen by the hunter, though its 

 tracks in the snow when in pursuit of deer are frequently 

 met with. In my trapping experiences I only killed one 

 of these animals, which I found in a deadfall set for bear, 

 and baited with beaver meat. I am told that in summer 

 they frequently prowl around the dams and lodges, on the 

 chance of picking up a stray beaver. Their howl is most 

 dismal, even more so than that of a chained-up dog. On 

 one occasion, when moose calling on a lake in New Bruns- 

 wick, just as darkness set in, a wolf, in response to the 

 melancholy note of our birch-bark trumpet, commenced a 

 dismal howl on one end of the lake; he was presently 

 answered by another in an opposite direction, and the 

 howl or wail was taken up by two or three other animals 

 in different directions all around us. Hearing the same 

 identical howl repeated at intervals through the even- 

 ing, and echoing throughout the forest from every point 

 of the compass, had a weird and supernatural effect. My 

 Indian, who had never heard a wolf before, was seized 

 with a panic. He thought it was "the great snake," 

 refused his supper, said his prayers, and wanted to make 

 tracks, and I had the greatest difficulty in preventing him 

 from leaving me alone in the woods. 



The ground-hog or wood-chuck (Arctomys monax). 

 This little animal seems to be more often met with on the 

 outskirts of the clearings than in the heart of the forest, 

 and has no objection to cultivated land ; in fact, it is very 

 partial to potatoes and other vegetables. I saw a great many 

 of them in burnt woods. The fur is of no value to the 

 trapper, but the skin makes excellent pouches for tobacco, 



