50 A TRAPPING EXPEDITION. 



commercial value. The lynx is by no means uncommon, 

 and is generally caught in snares of hide. When caught, 

 he remains helpless and completely motionless, and is easily 

 killed by the hunter. 



According to Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle, to whom 

 we are indebted for these details, the most numerous of 

 the more valuable fur animals in this region are the marten 

 and the mink ; and to the capture of the former of these 

 two — the so-called " sable" of English furriers — the trapper 

 principally directs his efforts. At the beginning of No- 

 vember, when the animals have assumed their winter coat, 

 he equips himself as follows : — Folding his blanket double, 

 he jDlaces in it a lump of pemmican (or preserved meat), 

 sufficient for five or six days' consumption ; a tin kettle 

 and cup ; and, if he be rich, some steel traps, and a little 

 tea and salt. Tying the blanket at all four corners, he 

 slings it on his back by a band across the chest. Then he 

 takes his gun and a supply of ammunition, his axe, knife, 

 and game-bag, and fastens on his snow-shoes. 



Alone he starts into the gloomy woods ; alone and silent, 

 for he dares not whistle or sing, lest he should disturb his 

 intended victims. With vigilant glance he notices every 

 mark upon the white surface of the snow ; and as soon as 

 he detects the footprints of marten or fisher, unslings his 

 pack, and begins the construction of a "dead fall," or 

 wooden trap. 



Having felled a number of saplings, he divides them 

 into stakes about a yard long, wdiich he drives into the 

 gTOund so as to form a palisade, in the shape of half an 

 oval cut transversely. Across the entrance to this little 



