BEAR STORIES 91 



was dreaming and could hardly believe what he 

 saw. There was something uncanny about that 

 trap. Never in his life had any such thing hap- 

 pened. It was unheard of in the tribe. It was 

 too much luck and he could not stand it. He 

 raised the trap and would not set it again; but 

 going back to Bersimis with it he sold it to the 

 first comer for three dollars! What eventually 

 became of it I do not know, but I trust the good 

 luck continued. I have trapped for a good many 

 years myself, and have questioned old trappers, 

 and no one around here ever heard of such a 

 capture. Had it been a female and her cub it 

 would have been less surprising. To show how 

 the least thing out of the ordinary affects the 

 superstitious minds of these Indians, I will re- 

 late what occurred to another Indian, "Kask- 

 nian." .He was originally a Lake St. John In- 

 dian, but had finally settled on the Bersimis reser- 

 vation, where he owned a good house. He was 

 very fond of "fire water," and as he was a good 

 hunter he generally managed to secure more than 

 was good for him, so that it seriously affected 

 his health. One winter, while he was on his 

 trapping ground, he noticed same fox tracks, and 

 placing a bait and steel trap on them, he found 

 on his return trip a nice black fox in it. Need- 

 less to say he was pleased with his capture. Here 

 was enough to pay for all his winter's outfit. He 

 reset his trap carefully, and next morning as he 



