258 



7he7fyf/offfie 



Cunning One 



into it. We found him near-by with the 

 clog caught fast at the entrance to a den 

 among the rocks. 



Long; after I had left the woods I heard 

 from Newell that he had caught another 

 fisher in the top of the hollow stump. Pe- 

 quam had poked the unset trap about till 

 he knew it was harmless, and then — just as 

 he went to sleep carelessly- after killing the 

 deer — had climbed the stump without any 

 thought, apparently, of another pitfall that 

 might be waiting to receive him. 



But better than the trapping, and without 

 any regrets, was to wander wide through the 

 woods alone, far away from the saple line, to 

 follow Pequam's trail and see what he caught 

 and where he slept; and then at night, be- 

 f" -Lj#$$ f° re tne snl g ni § birch logs, to compare notes 

 M* with Newell and learn from him the reason 

 for things that I could not understand. 



Unlike most wild creatures, Pequam does 

 not seem to keep her little ones with her 

 through the winter. A mother deer usually 

 keeps her fawns until the following spring, 

 breaking a way for them through the heavy 



