122 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETH.ANN.18 



mouth of each of these openings a rawhide loop was so arranged that 

 the lynx could not reach the bait without getting its head or legs 

 entangled, and as the animal drew back the snare would close and hold 

 it fast. 



Another common style of snare was made by setting a noose over a 

 path used by animals and digging a deep hole in the ground below it. 

 To the lower end of the snare a heavy stone was attached, hanging in 

 the mouth of the pit; the upper part of the snare was held open by 

 attaching it by strings to surrounding objects, and a trigger was so 

 arranged that at a touch from a passing animal the stone would be 

 freed and drop into the hole, causing the snare to close and draw the 

 animal s neck down to the ground and hold it fast. 



Sometimes a noose was set at the entrance to a tunnel made in the 

 fro/en snow, with a bait of meat at the rear end, and in endeavoring 

 to reach this the animals were snared. I was informed that animals as 

 large as reindeer, and even bears, were formerly caught by means of 



snares, and that 

 they were in gen 

 eral use for tak 

 ing red and white 

 foxes. 



South of the 

 mouth of the Yu 

 kon the Eskimo 

 formerly made 

 pits for c-atching 

 wolves by dig 

 ging in summer 



FIG. 37 Fox or wolf trap with sinew spring. Square hOlCS 



down to the per 

 manently frozen earth, and then making a wall about the sides and 

 grading the earth in a gentle slope up to the outside edge, thus making 

 a pit so deep that no animal could jump out; it was then covered with 

 a frail roof concealed by straw and weeds, with the bait laid on the 

 center. In winter the roof was covered with snow. According to the 

 old men this was the commonest style of trap used in ancient times, 

 and with it many animals were caught. 



One of the most -ingenious traps found among the Eskimo was one 

 by means of which the tension of a set of strong, twisted sinew cords 

 was used to throw a lever and brain the animal that sprung it. These 

 traps were known to the people from the northern shore of Norton 

 sound to Kotzebue sound; they are not now used on the American 

 coast, as they have been superseded by steel traps, but I was informed 

 that formerly they were in common use. 



On St Lawrence island were found many pieces of such traps that 

 were large enough to kill foxes, and from this I conclude that they are 

 still in use in that district. The accompanying sketch (figure 37) from 



