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. 



