INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH BEAR TRAPPING. nc 



tremely cold and I began to feel very much worried about Co for 

 although I knew he was a good woodsman, I imagined all sorts 

 of calamities had befallen him. At every high point I would fire 

 my gun but never an answer could I hear. I kept this up till 

 midnight, and then retraced my steps to camp intending to take 

 an early start in the morning, when I could see to track my 

 wandering partner. 



Judge of my delight, when about half a mile from camp the 

 sharp report of a rifle rang out on the clear night air, and I 

 knew Pard had returned alive. I hastened to the shanty where I 

 found Co all right but as mad as a hornet. As he raved around 

 he exclaimed : "No one but a fool would catch anything in a 

 steel trap. If you must trap things, get them in something that 

 will stay put." When Co cooled off a little, I said : "Come old 

 man, tell us what has happened." "What has happened," said he, 

 "enough has happened, I should think. I went where you set that 

 tarnal old bear trap and some critter has got into it and broken 

 the chain and carried it off, and he makes a track bigger than an 

 elephant. He's making for the big windfall and I followed him 

 more than forty miles, and he was farther ahead of me than 

 when I started, and I hope he will get into the old windfall and 

 stay there till doomsday." Well, Pard felt better when he had 

 eaten the hot supper I had left for him and we turned in for a 

 few hours' sleep. 



The next day we went to town and got a number of men and 

 dogs and the following morning started out early on the track of 

 old bruin. We soon struck the trail and located the beast in a 

 big ravine. Stationing the men around where the bear was likely 

 to break cover, I went in with the dogs to drive him out. 



Now there was one young chap among the crowd called Dan, 

 who proved to be of rather a timid nature. The battle which soon 

 followed proved very short owing to the number of guns opened 

 on the bear the moment he broke cover and he was soon dis- 

 patched and nearly as soon skinned and cut up. But when I 

 looked for Dan he was nowhere to be found. A searching party 

 was organized and after beating the bush for some time, poor, 



