g2 FIFTY YEARS A HUNTER AND TRAPPER. 



There had been several coon tracks both out and into the 

 tree. We circled around some distance from the tree and found 

 no tracks leading away from the tree farther than a small spring 

 a few rods away. As it was getting w-ell on towards night we 

 did not fell the tree but went back to the old basswood where we 

 had left the coons and took them and went to camp. Bill said 

 that he had a dash-dang sight rather chop wood than to tote those 

 three coons. I carried two and told Bill not to complain and I 

 would let him skin all of them when we got to camp. He said, 

 "Oh, you are a clever jade, aint you?" We skinned the coon that 

 evening but did not stretch the skin until the next afternoon after 

 we had gone out and cut the hemlock and got three more. 



We kept up this coon hunt as long as we could find any tracks. 

 It was now getting along into March and we had written home 

 for a team to come in and take our camp outfit and furs out. 

 As we had not been out over the road through the woods, the 

 way we came in, we made a trip out to the main wagon road so 

 that the man who came after us would have no trouble in fol- 

 lowing the trail to the camp. We now began to spring all the 

 deadfalls that we had set for marten, mink and coon and take 

 up all of the steel traps as we had written to the man to be there 

 about the fifteenth of the month. I think it was a day or two 

 later when the team came and our hunt on the Kinzua was ended. 



We got some thirty odd deer and either five or six bear and 

 I think four otter. I do not' remember the number of fox, mink, 

 marten and coon, but we did well for there had been but very 

 little trapping done in that locality at that time and furbearing 

 animals were quite plentiful. I have never been back to that 

 camp since. I gave the camp to a man by the name of Ball. 



