MY LAST HUNT ON THE KINZUA. 79 



down. This made it necessary to build a sort of leanto against 

 one side of the shanty to hang up our furs, as we did not like 

 to have them hung up in the shanty where they would get more 

 or less smoked. 



But the first thing we did was to enlarge the door, for it 

 will be remembered that we were obliged to get down on all 

 fours in order to get in or out of the shanty. As we had a good 

 crosscut saw, it did not take long to enlarge the doorway so that 

 one could go in standing up, man fashion. We next cut a window- 

 hole large enough to take a single sash window. Then we replaced 

 the chinkings that the porcupines had gnawed out, calked and 

 mudded all cracks. When this was done, Bill looked it over and 

 said, "By gum, don't it look like living?" 



As it was only about the middle of October we went to work 

 at once on a good supply of wood for the camp. We did not quit 

 until we were sure that we had plenty to last the winter, for we 

 intended to stay as long as it was either profitable or a pleasure. 

 After the wood was cut and piled up near the shanty door, we 

 next set the bear traps, as we had brought bait for the purpose. 



After the bear traps were set we next looked over the dead- 

 falls that I had built for marten the fall before, putting in a new 

 stake where necessary. We also set crotches and laid poles on 

 them, then covering with hemlock boughs to keep the .snow from 

 falling directly on the trap. We fixed up the two deadfalls I had 

 made for bear, as we wished to get all the bear traps out that we 

 could, as we had already seen several signs. 



We also built a number more deadfalls for marten on dif- 

 ferent ridges farther up the stream where I had not set any the 

 fall before. We built a number of deadfalls along the streams for 

 mink and coon. It was now getting well along towards the last 

 days of October, so we put in a couple of days hunting deer, as we 

 had to have bait to set our marten and other traps with. 



The first day's hunting we did not get a deer, though we each 

 got a running shot but missed. The second day I did not see any 

 deer but Bill killed a good sized buck before noon. We now 

 began setting the traps that we had built. Bill baiting and setting 

 the deadfalls, while I commenced on the steel traps. We had not 



