A YOUNG TRAPPER'S EXPERIENCE. 139 



tion. In the first place, we must have enough to eat, and the 

 means wherewith to cook our food ; and at the same time we 

 must not overload ourselves with luggage, as every pound 

 of our personal effects must be carried on our backs for long 

 days, through a pathless wilderness. The object then was to 

 secure the greatest amount of nutriment with the least possi- 

 ble weight. 



And then, not only food, but other absolute necessaries 

 must be provided. We must have the means for procuring 

 fire, for securing game and fish, for taking and disposing of 

 our furs, for keeping warm on a cold night, &c. ; all of which 

 weigh down seriously, but can by no means be overlooked or 

 omitted. 



I may as well here remark, that about one fifth of the lug- 

 gage generally recommended by writers and book-makers who 

 treat of life in the woods, as suitable for the hunter's or trap- 

 per's outfit, will cover all his absolute wants. The remaining 

 four fifths the old woodsman will consider as luxuries, if not 

 superfluities. I suppose that, as a general thing, writers are 

 not practical hunters or trappers, and this may account for the 

 discrepancy I have mentioned. 



A trapper makes great account of his fire. Aside from its 

 primary use in cooking his food, it oftentimes supplies the 

 place of house and bedding. Some carry with them a light 

 woolen blanket, but oftener the woodsman has only the earth 

 for his resting-place, and the heavens for his counterpane, a 

 sheltered nook, where the wind cannot blow too rudely, a few 

 hemlock boughs for his bed, and a fire just in proportion to 

 the temperature of the season. 



Aside from the necessary supply of traps, the trapper's outfit 

 can be reduced to about the following items : 



First. A basket or knapsack, to carry on his back, and 

 large enough to hold provisions and other necessaries for the 

 journey. 



Second. Eatables, consisting principally, or wholly, of pork 

 and flour ; or, what is better on some accounts, a mixture of 

 flour and Indian meal, in the proportion of two parts flour to 

 one of meal. Add to this a little saleratus and a small bag 



