DOGS ON THE TRAP LINE. 215 



not persuade yourself to believe that the intelligent dog cannot 

 understand if you go about it right. 



In two weeks Pont had advanced so far in his training that 

 I no longer had to pay any attention to him on account of the 

 traps and the third day that Pont was with me he found a coon 

 that had escaped with a trap nearly two weeks before. My route 

 called me up a little draw from the main stream, and I had not 

 gone far up this when Pont took the trail of some animal and be- 

 gan working it up the side of a hill. I stood and watched him 

 until the. trail took him to an old log, when Pont began to snuff 

 at a hole in the log, and he soon raised his head and gave a long 

 howl, as much as to say "he is here and I want help." After run- 

 ning a stick in the hole I soon discovered that the log was hollow. 

 I took my belt axe and pounded along on the log until I thought 

 I was at the right point and then chopped a hole in the log. As 

 good luck would have it, I made the opening right on the coon, 

 and almost the first thing I saw on tooking into the log was the 

 trap. Pont soon had the coon out, and when I saw that it was the 

 coon that had escaped with our trap, I gave Pont praise for what 

 he had done, petting him and telling him of his good deed, and he 

 seemed to understand it all. 



Not long after this Am came into camp at night and reported 

 that a fox had broken the chain on a certain trap and gone off 

 with the trap, saying that he would take Pont in the morning and 

 see if he could find the fox. In the morning when we were ready 

 to go Am tried to have Pont follow him but it was no go, Pont 

 would not go with him. Then Am put a rope onto him and tried 

 to lead him but Pont would sulk and would not be led. Then 

 Am lost his temper and wanted to break Font's neck again. I said 

 that I did not like to have Pont abused and that I would go along 

 with him. When we came to the place where the fox had escaped 

 with the trap Am at once began to slap his hands and hiss Pont 

 on. Pont only crouched behind me for protection. I persuaded Am 

 to go on down the run and look at the traps down that way while 

 Pont and I would look after the escaped fox. 



As soon as Am was gone I began to look about where the fox 

 had been caught and search for his trail, and soon Pont began to 



