190 THE TRAPPER 



At one point in the forest Gullfoot had a cache 

 of Caribou meat, and below this he had set two 

 powerful traps on the chance of the store attract- 

 ing a 'Wolverine. The cache was constructed 

 with three triangularly placed upright poles of 

 length a little more than man-height ; the tops 

 of those uprights carried horizontal poles, which 

 formed a V, and across this was laid a platform 

 of branches, upon which the frozen meat was 

 stored. The three upright poles were dressed 

 free of bark, and thus smoothed to prevent 

 Wolverine from securing claw-hold, if any 

 should endeavour to climb to the platform over- 

 head ; and there, on the snow below the cache, 

 the traps were placed, so as to ensnare any such 

 thief at his foul work two traps required to 

 hold this gluttonous animal, which has a tremen- 

 dous reputation among the Indians for strength 

 and capacity to break free after being caught. 



By late afternoon we had reached the far end 

 of Gullfoot's trap-line, and there encamped for a 

 few hours to rest the dogs before resuming on 

 our way back to the cabin on a wide detour so 

 as not to further disturb the neighbourhood. 



About 6 p.m. we started back through the 

 bleak silent land of snow, lit on the way by the 

 whiteness underfoot and a clear sky overhead, 

 sparkling, in the crystal-clear atmosphere, with 

 more stars than one will see anywhere else in 

 the world, unless it be at the North Pole. Gull- 

 foot and his dogs leading, with unerring intui- 

 tion finding their way through this land of awful 

 greatness and sameness without apparent trouble, 

 as I might at home travel a road familiar to me. 



