Contents of the Outhouses. 



being illegal, like spring-guns — and the rust has 

 gathered thickly on the metal. But, old though it be, 

 it still acts perfectly, and can be ' set ' as well now as 

 when in bygone days poachers and thieves used to 

 prod the ground and the long grass, before they 

 stepped among it, with a stick, for fear of mutilation. 



The trap is almost precisely similar to the common 

 rat-trap or gin still employed to destroy vermin, but 

 greatly exaggerated in size, so that if stood on end it 

 reaches to the waist, or above. The jaws of this iron 

 wolf are horrible to contemplate — rows of serrated 

 projections, which fit into each other when closed, 

 alternating with spikes a couple of inches long, like 

 tusks. To set the trap you have to stand on the 

 spring — the weight of a man is about sufficient to 

 press it down ; and, to avoid danger to the person 

 preparing this little surprise, a band of iron can be 

 pushed forward to hold the spring while the catch is put 

 into position, and the machine itself is hidden among 

 the bushes or covered with dead leaves. Now touch 

 the pan with a stout walking-stick — the jaws cut it in 

 two in the twinkling of an eye. They seem to snap 

 together with a vicious energy, powerful enough to 

 break the bone of the leg; and assuredly no man 

 ever got free whose foot was once caught by these 

 terrible teeth. 



B 2 



