152 PIONEER LIFE J OE, 



with the horses and sleigh, and was to come back 

 with but one of the horses. That morning Morrison 

 and Whitcomb set forty sable traps, called dead-falls ; 

 they were so constructed that when the sable came to 

 eat the bait a small log would fall and kill him. 

 Seaman, Campbell and myself, with two dogs, went 

 forth on a hunt. We crossed the Kenzua, and going 

 south about twelve miles, found the fresh tracks of a 

 large sized elk, which we followed one mile and 

 found its bed of the night previous* We remained 

 y/ith the dogs, and Campbell went ahead about a 

 hundred rods, when he saw a fine buck elk. He 

 called to us to let the dogs go ; we did so, and the 

 elk ran north toward Smethport, about nine miles, 

 and stopped on a rock. A deer pursued by two 

 wolves, passing near the rock, so frightened our dogs 

 that they left the elk and made for the camp. When 

 we arrived and saw the wolves tracks we mistook 

 them for those of our dogs, thinking they had gone 

 after the deer. We followed down the creek eleven 

 miles to a settlement, and inquiring for the dogs, were 

 told that two wolves had brought in a deer,, but that 

 they had not seen any dogs. We could not credit 

 this story, and searched until three o'clock, think- 

 ing that the inhabitants had concealed them. Sea- 

 man and Campbell returned to the camp, leaving 

 me to keep up the search for the dogs. The next 

 day I went up Potato creek, where a man said he 

 had seen a handsome black hound, which I thought 

 must be ours. All day I searched for the dogs up 

 ihe creek, and passed the night twelve miles from 





