gg FIFTY YEARS A HUNTER AND TRAPPER. 



and started down the stream to the railroad and we shipped it, 

 without removing the skin, to New York, where we got either 

 $26 or $28 for it. 



We took the train to Kane where we stayed over night. The 

 next morning we went to camp and found all well with one ex- 

 ception, that being, that the shanty was swarming with "deer 

 mice" and a porcupine had tried hard to gnaw his way through 

 the door. The following day we stayed in camp and rested be- 

 fore starting out to see what would turn up the next day. 



We first looked at the bear traps, tending what small traps 

 came in on the way. On going the rounds of the bear traps, we 

 found them all undisturbed except one, which might better have 

 been as it only had a porcupine in it and we did not -see any 

 signs of bear. We began to think of taking up the bear traps as 

 we thought that bruin had gone into winter quarters. We did 

 not get around to take them up for several days, being busy tend- 

 ing the smaller traps. 



It was now getting along into December and the snow was 

 quite deep. We concluded to put in the time hunting deer as we 

 wished to get all we could, to send out with the team, when we 

 had it come in, as it did not cost any more to take out a full load 

 than half a load. The law closed on deer the first of January, 

 although allowing the hunters .15 days to dispose of his venison 

 after it was unlawful to kill deer. We hustled from early morn- 

 ing until long after dark, when we would get to camp and there 

 was hardly a day that we did not kill at least one deer and some 

 days two or three between us. 



I will tell, of a little scrape I had one day with a yearling 

 buck that I thought to be dead. I was following the trail of 

 three or four deer along the side of a ridge, expecting every 

 moment to catch them feeding, when I heard a noise behind me 

 and looking back, I saw this little buck coming full tilt right 

 towards me. The deer saw me about as soon as I did him and 

 wheeled to run back when I fired and he went down. I set my 

 gun against a tree and started to cut the deer's throat. I took the 

 deer by the ear and straightened his back. About this time that 

 dead deer began to get pretty lively and was trying to get on his 



