The Black Bear. 



61 



winter den, and either smoke or dig him out, when he may be dis- 

 patched by a blow on the head with the poll of an ax as he struggles 

 out. Various kinds of traps, set-guns, and dead-falls are also em- 

 ployed against him. A very efficient means of capture is a steel trap, 

 with double springs so powerful that a lever is necessary in setting it. 



A DEAD-FALL TRAP. 



The trap is placed in runs or pathways known to be frequented by 

 bears, and concealed, care being taken not to handle the trap. A 

 stout chain, with a grapnel or a large block of wood attached, is fast- 

 ened to the trap. Even with this an old bear often manages to 

 escape altogether, his sagacity teaching him to return and liberate the 

 grapnel or block whenever it catches upon anything and checks him. 

 He dies eventually, of course, if unable to free himself from the trap, 

 but in some cases he has been known to gnaw off a part of his paw 

 and leave it in the trap. This mode of capture is open to the charge 

 of cruelty, as the bear is usually caught by a paw, and sometimes by 

 the snout, and the injury not being immediately fatal, the animal 

 may die a lingering death of great agony. The set-gun, if properly 

 arranged, kills the bear instantly. The gun is placed in a horizontal 

 position, about on a level with a bear's height ; one end of a cord is 

 fastened to the trigger and brought forward in such a way that when 



