DISAPPOINTMENT. 163 



in the river's bank, and as he will not have left any track in 

 the running water, both trap and beaver will most probably 

 be lost. Should, however, your stake hold fast, until day- 

 light, you must, to secure the captive, be on the spot by 

 that time ; otherwise he will infallibly, unless quite young, 

 amputate his leg and escape. 



The beaver is the only animal that I am acquainted with 

 who does this, and once I had most mortifying proofs of such 

 trait of determined resolution. 



I had discovered a new pool. It was a very large one, 

 and full of beavers ; but very shallow, and about five miles 

 from camp. Taking my eight traps thereto, and setting 

 them with great care, I hoped to catch eight beavers in one 

 night, an achievement which neither of us had, that season, 

 accomplished. 



It was only possible to set two traps near deep water, 

 so I determined to be at the side of the pool before light 

 the next morning. When I arose to prepare for starting, 

 it was snowing and freezing hard. My companion a 

 better trapper than I was certain that no beaver had 

 stirred in such weather, and gave it as his private opinion, 

 then made public, that only an imbecile or lunatic would 

 start off without a hot breakfast inside him, to go five 

 miles before day, and wade about in the ice-cold water for 

 an hour ; so I put off going until after I had cooked and 

 eaten a hasty meal. 



When I arrived at the pool it was broad daylight. In one 

 of the traps set near to deep water there was a fine dead 

 beaver the other was unsprung, being frozen over in each 

 of the remaining six traps was a beaver's foot ! 



M 2 



