LIFTING thp: traps. 219 



meeting at night at their common residence. Al- 

 most half the season had thus passed away, wlien the 

 trapper who had returned for the night became se- 

 riously alarmed at the continued absence of his friend. 

 At length the little cur dog who constantly accom- 

 panied the missing man came home alone. There is 

 an end to every thing, and so there is to a long winter 

 night ; and with the earliest indications of day he 

 sallied forth to find the missing trapper, whom he 

 found- dreadfully mangled and partially eaten. The 

 assassin had been a painter. The tracks on the 

 tell-tale snow spoke correctly. About thirty feet 

 above where the corpse lay, an immense limb ran out 

 at i-ight angles from the parent tree. From this 

 the skulking coward had doubtless sprung u])on the 

 unsuspecting trapper. 



That the puma has attacked and killed human be- 

 ings is well corroborated ; but fortunately he is such 

 a cowardly, skulking scoundrel, that he seldom makes 

 the attempt. 



