50 THE TRAPPER'S ART. 



minutes and swam half a mile after receiving ten balls in his 

 body, four of which passed through his lungs and two through 

 his heart ! Records of Bear -hunting are full of perilous ad- 

 ventures, and those who engage in open battle with the great 

 Grizzly Bear of the Rocky Mountains, rarely escape without 

 loss of life or limb. But steel-traps of the right size, and 

 properly managed, subdue these monsters with greater cer- 

 tainty than fire-arms, and without danger to the hunter. 



In trapping for Bears, a place should be selected where 

 three sides of an inclosure can be secured against the entrance 

 of the animal, and one side left open. The experienced 

 hunter usually chooses a spot where one log has fallen across 

 another, making a pen in this shape >. The bait is placed 

 at the inner angle, and the trap at the entrance in such a sit- 

 uation that the Bear has to pass over it to get at the bait. 

 The trap should be covered with moss or leaves. Some think 

 it best to put a small stick under the pan, strong enough to 

 prevent the smaller animals, such as the raccoon and skunk, 

 from springing the trap, but not so stiff* as to support the 

 heavy foot of the Bear. The chain of the trap should be fast- 

 ened to a clog. (See page 18.) The weight of the clog for 

 a Black Bear should be thirty pounds ; for a Grizzly Bear, 

 eighty pounds. The chain should not be more than eighteen 

 inches in length, as the habit of the Bear, when caught, is to 

 attempt to dash the trap in pieces against trees, logs, or rocks ; 

 and with a short chain, fastened to a heavy clog, he is unable 

 to do this. The bait should be meat, and the Bear should be 

 invited to the feast by the smell of honey or honey-cornb, burnt 

 on heated stones, near the trap. Bears seem to entertain no 

 suspicion of a trap, and enter it as readily as a hog or an ox. 



THE EACCOON. 



The Raccoon is allied to the Bear family. It is found only 

 on the Western Continent, where it is represented by two 

 species : the Common Raccoon of the United States, and the 

 Crab-eating Raccoon of the tropics. The former is spread 

 over the greater part of North America from Texas to Hud- 

 son's Bay. On the Pacific coast it has been seen as far north 



