110 TRAPPING IN NEBARASKA 1866-7 
After pitching our tent and making some sort of order 
for the camp,the bright new traps were brought from the 
boxes and three enthusiastic fur catchers started out to 
sign up and put out a line for beaver. 
The early season made sign hunting difficult. But little 
work was being done oa the dams,the beaver wisely wait- 
ing for the passing of the summer freshets. But sufficient 
sign was found to set out a three mile line. 
The traps were mostly set on the regular runways lead- 
ing over the breasts of the dams, or where the slide of 
the wood workers led out to recently cut trees. 
At dawn next morning Buffalo and the Gopher started 
out to attend the traps, while I remained in camp. In a 
few hours they returned in bad humor. They had a musk- 
rat or two and said somebody had stolen half of the traps 
and ‘‘monkeyed’’ with the balance. 
After breakfast was over I returned with my part- 
ners on a visit to the trap line. After a little observation I 
was soon convinced where the trouble lay. It was simply 
a case of beaver ‘‘up to trap. ’’ We were now located on 
the trapping grounds of the Omaha Indians, who were 
rated experts in that art. 
The few beaver that had survived through this constant 
waylaying,came out often with the loss of one or beth fore- 
feet, and a full knowledge of what asteeltrap was, and 
became wary and suspicious intheir evening peregrina- 
tions. 
In this instance Castor Fiber had made a demoralized 
looking trap line. The new traps shining like silver throug: 
the water, so that even the dull eyed beaver could di- 
scern them without much effort. Some of the traps were 
found sprung, with pealed sticks in the their jaws. 
Some were found bottom side up but unsprung while 
