nOY>' TO HUNT AXD CATCH THE BEATER. 2o 



old dam of long standing ydtli a large pond of water 

 above it. Yon may naturally conclude tliat tliere is a 

 large family of beavers, say eight or ten in number. Of 

 course you want to catch them all in your trap, so hunt 

 carefully around the pond and you will find their feeding 

 place, where they have eaten the bark oS" from their feed 

 wood. Here set your trap in four inches of water, with a 

 twelve-pound stone fastened to the end of the chain. 

 Fasten to it also a piece of bark twelve or fourteen feet 

 long, the other end being fastened to the shore. When 

 the bearer is caught he will make for deep water, and the 

 stone will sink him and drown him. The bark will let 

 him go far enough, and will enable yon to trace the trap 

 and pull him out. The bark should be fastened to a stake 

 under water, and the slack should be coiled up and put 

 under the stone. The whole apparatus, except the trap, 

 should be nicely covered with mud. K you find the place 

 where they haul in tbeir timber, set a trap there in the 

 same way. Also just at the mouths of their holes, under 

 water. Always have the trap sufiiciently weighted, or the 

 beaver will come ashore and amputate his leg. AYhen you 

 set the trap at the feeding place, smear the wood around 

 it with the castor scent before described. 



Xow I must tell you of one of my beaver hunts. When 

 I was a boy I went with one of my comrades, loaded 

 with our guns, traps, blankets, and provisions, to the 

 liead of a small stream in the middle of a great cedar 

 swamp. We foUovred the stream through swamps and 

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