70 FIFTY YEARS A HUNTER AND TRAPPER. 



sisted of a line braided from horsehair, out of a horse's tail, and 

 a hook baited with some bits of fat pork. It did the business, for 

 the stream fairly swarmed with trout. Taking three or four trout 

 for bait, I was soon at work building deadfalls. It was not long 

 before I had three or four built close up under the banks and be- 

 hind logs where I thought the boys would not see them. 



I then scampered back to camp and went to cutting wood like 

 a good boy. I had only just got to camp when I heard a gun 

 shot away up the creek, and in about an hour Charley came drag- 

 ging a yearling deer. Will did not show up for some time after 

 dark, but had nothing, though he said that he had a fair standing 

 shot at a large buck, but his gun snapped on him and he lost. 



The next morning we were out at the peep of day, each one 

 going his own way. I went down the creek so that I could take 

 a peep at my traps. None had been disturbed until I came to the 

 last one. There, to my satisfaction, I found a mink. As I had 

 passed a small run that emptied into the main creek I noticed that 

 some animal had gone over a pole that lay across a little run and 

 partly in the water. The animal had brushed the snow off the 

 pole in going over it. I gave it no particular attention, thinking 

 that it was a coon, but when I got the mink I thought I would go 

 back to camp, make a stretching board and stretch the mink skin 

 and get a trap and set at the run for the coon, as I supposed. 



I will mention that furs were bringing about the same prices 

 then as at the present time, 1907, a good No. 1 mink being worth 

 about $10. 



Near the camp was a large elm tree that was hollow, and the 

 fire had burned a hole out on one side up the tree, nearly as high 

 as a man's head. After I had stretched the mink skin I hung it 

 up in this hollow tree, and it was a very good place to dry the 

 pelts that I caught. The boys never mistrusted that I was doing 

 any trapping for small game. 



To get back to my job, I took one out of three steel traps 

 No. 3, and all the traps that we had brought with us. In fact, the 

 other boys did not care to trap. When I got back at the run I 

 gave more attention to the trail of the supposed coon, and dis- 

 covered that it was an otter. With greater caution I waded up 



