150 NARRATIVES. 



place, I had still better success. As the ice had now become 

 too thick to be easily penetrated by my spear, I adopted, in 

 part, a different mode of taking the game. This time I car- 

 ried with me, in addition to my spear, two dozen steel-traps, 

 and a bundle of willow sticks (cut on the way) about three 

 feet long. On arriving at the hunting grounds I prepared my- 

 self for the day's sport by putting on my mufflers, and with 

 traps and willow sticks slung upon my back, began the work 

 by driving my spear into the first house I came to. I could 

 not now see the rats as they fled from the house, on account 

 of the thickness of the ice and a slight snow that lay upon it. 

 Consequently the sport of spearing them through the ice was 

 cut off. But as often as I had occasion to cut through the 

 walls of the house to take out my game, I set a steel-trap in 

 the nest, slipped a willow stick through the ring of the chain, 

 laid it across the hole, slightly stopped it up, and then passed 

 on to the next house ; and so on, until my traps were all gone. 

 I then started back to the place of beginning, driving my 

 spear into every feeding-hut in my course, and killing many 

 rats. Finally, I began going over the ground again, first 

 driving my spear into a house, then examining the trap, taking 

 out the game, and re-setting the trap. In this course I was 

 quite successful. I found by setting the trap in the right 

 place, near the edge, and a little under the water, I was al- 

 most certain to take the first rat that returned. In making 

 two or three rounds in this way, I found the rats became some- 

 what disturbed, and sought temporary shelter elsewhere ; 

 when I would move to a new place, giving them time to re- 

 cover from their fright. 



I think this a very profitable method of trapping the musk- 

 rat, especially in an open winter. It very much lengthens 

 the season of trapping, which is quite an important considera- 

 tion with the trapper. Another consideration is, the trapper 

 may set his traps and allow them to remain many days, if not 

 convenient to go to them, and be sure his fur will take no 

 harm ; as the rat on being caught in the trap dives into the 

 water, and is soon drowned, and will not spoil for a long time 

 at this season of the year, and is also secure from frost. 



