144 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



little cloud of powdery snow rose above the dragging heels of his 

 snowshoes, and, whirUng about, covered the back of his leg- 

 gings with a coating of white. Onward he strode, twisting 

 through the tangled scrub, stooping under a fallen tree, stepping 

 over a snow-capped log, or pacing along a winter-locked stream. 



When Oo-koo-hoo came to a district overgrown with willows 

 interspersed with poplars, he stopped to examine a snare set for 

 lynx. It had not been disturbed, but a httle farther on we saw 

 the form of a dead lynx hanging from a tossing-pole above the 

 trail. The carcass was frozen stiff, and the face still showed 

 the ghastly expression it had worn in its death struggle. The 

 rigid body was taken down and lashed to the sled. Resetting 

 the snare, we continued our way. Farther on, in a hilly 

 country timbered with spruce, where there was not much under- 

 growth, we came to marten traps. In swampy places, or 

 where there were creeks and small lakes, we examined traps 

 and deadfalls set for mink, muskrat, beaver, fisher, and otter. 

 Where the country was fairly open and marked with rabbit 

 runways we came upon traps set for foxes and wolves. 



The gray, or timber, wolf is trapped in the same way as the 

 coloured fox, save only that the trap is larger. Though the 

 steel trap is much in vogue among white men and half-breeds, 

 the deadfall, even to this day, is much preferred by the Indian. 

 Though, in the first place, it requires more labour to build, yet 

 it requires less for transportation since the materials are all 

 at hand; and, besides, when once built it lasts for years. Then, 

 again, it is not only cheaper, but it is more deadly than the 

 steel trap, for once the animal is caught, it seldom escapes. 

 With the steel trap it is different, as animals often pull away 

 from the steel jaws or even gnaw off a foot in order to get free. 

 If, however, the hunter's deadfalls and traps have been set in 

 vain, and if the wolf has been causing trouble and the hunter is 

 determined to secure him, he will sit up for him at night in the 

 hope of getting a shot at him. Years ago many wolves were 



