now TO nUXT AXD CATCH THE BEAVER. 27 



fire, that looked a rod long in the j^itch darkness, and the 

 whole pack set u]) a howl that made the woods roar agam. 

 A few discharges of our guns, one at a time, made them 

 change their minds, and we started up our fire, which drove 

 them off to the distance of about half a mile, where they 

 kept up their howling until daybreak. The muss upset 

 our beaver catching for that night, and finally, when we 

 did get a couple in the traps, as they were not weighted, 

 one of tlicm ran away with the trap after cutting a dry 

 ash j^ole nearly in two in several places, and the other 

 drew himself ashore and cut off his leg, leaving that in 

 the trap to tell the story. 



Wlien you cut a beaver dam, don't make a hole more 

 than six inches deep. Wade in the water while you are 

 doing it; don't step on the land, and don't spit on it; 

 neither handle it with dirty hands. Set the trap as before 

 directed in about four inches of water where they v»^ould 

 naturally svrim up to the gap in the dam, and you will be 

 sure to catch them. 



Another mode is to take a poplar or alder stick or pole, 

 and stick it in the water in a slanting direction near the 

 feeding place. Set the traj) near the bottom of the stick, 

 and as they work down in gnawing off the bark for food, 

 they will get into the trajx This plan works well aftei* 

 the water is frozen over. 



