On Tue Line or Traps. oe) 

And this sets him blinking, when he madly growls ‘‘ Rats!” 
Diverting all his thinking from the hunter or his traps. 
And the next moment he steps in the trap, and is circum- 
vented. 
Bruin is most exceedingly fond of beech nuts and when he 
ean find them over the ridges, he can scarcely be induced to 
take a bait, for he will be cruising about the hills, nosing over 
the leaves until the deep snow drives him to his den. At the 
rips is a good chance often to trap him, as well as at old 
camps and older camp grounds, very secluded old wood roads 
beside the big swamps, and as he sneaks through the rocky 
ravine. And at the rips is when his tracks may be looked 
for, often not in vain. Although he swims the dead waters 
as easily as a deer, yet he dislikes to wet his fur, if a little 
cool in the fall or spring, so often his regular crossing is at 
these shoal places. Here finding his tracks, the toes pointing 
for or from the rips, induces us to make a try for him, expect- 
ing him to cross again. The steel trap set for him does not 
require a lot of logs heaped up, but simply a few evergreens 
pushed down beside a good sized tree each side of the trap, 
the bait fastened upon the tree, well beyond, not too low 
down, and a log laid crosswise for him to step over imme- 
diately into the trap. 
A young friend kindly furnishes us with an account of his 
first bear trapping. Said he, ‘‘ It was in the spring of ninety- 
one, that I made my first attempt at trapping the bear. The 
snow went off early in April and I immediately set to work 
building the traps or deadfalls. I set up twelve, placing 
them about a half mile apart, making the distance to the last 
one six miles. It took the better part of the day to attend to 
