SUPPOSE yourself, gentle reader, standing at the gate of one of the forts in Hudson Bay, watching aSNOW-SHONsavage arranging his snow-shoes, preparatory to entering the gloomy forest. Let us walk with this Indian on a visit to his traps.
The night is very dark, as the moon is hid by thick clouds; yet it occasionally breaks out sufficiently to illumine our path to the Indian"s wigwam, and to throw the shadows of the neighbouring trees upon the pale snow, which, owing to the intense cold, crunches under our feet as we advance. The tent, at which we soon arrive, is pitched at the foot of an immense tree, which stands in a little hollow where the willows and pines are luxuriant enough to afford a shelter from the north wind. Suddenly the deer-skin robe that coversthe entrance to the wigwam is raised, and abright stream of warm light gushes out, tipping the dark green points of the opposite trees, and mingling strangely with the paler light of the moon-and the Indian stands erect in frontof his solitary home.
He is in his usual hunting costume. A large leathern coat, very muchoverlapped in front, and fastenedMOCCASINround his waist with a scarlet belt, protects his body from the cold. A small rat-skin cap covers his head, and his legs arecased in the ordinary blue cloth leggins. Large moccasins, with two or three pairs of blanket socks, clothe his feet; and fingerless mittens, made of deer-skin, complete his costume.
After a few minutes passed in contemplation of the heavens,the Indian prepares himself for the walk. First he sticks a small axe in his belt, serving as a counterpoise to a large hunting-knife and fire-bagwhich depend from the other side. He thenslips his feet through the cords of his snow-shoes, and throws the line of a small hand-sledge over his shoulder. Having attached the sledge to his back, he stoops to receive his gun from his faithful squaw, who has been watching his operations through a hole in the tent; and throwing it on his shoulder, strides off, without uttering a word, across the moonlit space in front of the tent, turns into a narrow track that leads down the dark ravine, and disappears in the shades of the forest.
The forest is now almost dark, the foliage overhead having become so dense that the moon penetrates through it only in a few places, rendering the surrounding masses darker by contrast. The outline of an old snow-shoe track, at first faintly seen, is soon no longer visible; but still the Indian moves forward with rapid, noiseless step, as sure of his way as if a broad beaten track lay before him. In this manner he moves on for nearly two miles, sometimes stooping to examine closely the newly-made track of some wild animal, and occasionally giving a glance at the sky through the openings in the leafycanopyabove him. Suddenly a faint sound in the bushesahead brings him to a full stop.
He listens attentively, and a noise, like the rattling of a chain, is heard proceeding from the recesses of a dark, wild-looking hollow, a few paces in front. Another moment, and the rattle is again distinctly heard. A slight smile of satisfaction crosses the Indian"s dark visage; for one of his traps is set in that place, and he knows that something has been caught. Quickly descending the slope, he enters the bushes whence the sound proceeds, and pauses when within a yard or two of his trap, to peer through the gloom.
A cloud passes off the moon, and a faint ray reveals, it may be, a beautiful black fox caught in the snare. A slight blow on the snout from the Indian"s axe-shaft kills the unfortunate animal; in ten minutes more it is tied on his sledge, the trap is re-set and again covered over with snow, so that it is almost impossible to tell that anything is there; and the Indian pursues his way.
A TRAP
The st ee l - tr ap used by the Indians is very similar to the ordinary rat-trap of England, with this difference, that it is a little larger, is destitute of teeth, and has two springsin place of one. A chain is attached to one of the springs, for the purpose of fixing a weight to the trap, so that the animal caught may not be able to drag it far from the place where it has been set. The track in the snow enables the hunter to find his trap again. It is generally so set that the jaws, when spread out flat, are exactly on a level with the snow.
The chain and weight are both hid, and a thin layer of snow is spread on the top of the trap. The bait (which generally consists of chips of a frozen partridge, rabbit, or fish) is then scattered around in every direction; and, with the exception of this, nothing distinguishes the spot.
Foxes, beavers, wolves, lynxes, and other animals, are caught in this way, sometimes by a fore-leg, sometimes by a hind-leg, sometimes by two legs at once, and occasionally by the nose. Of all these ways the Indians prefer catching by two legs, as there is then not the slightest possibility of the animal escaping.
When foxes are caught by one leg, they often eat it off close to the trap, and escape on the other three! I have frequently seen this happen; and I once saw a fox caught which had evidently escaped in this way, as one of its legs was gone and the stump healed up and covered again with hair. When they are caught by the nose they are almost sure to escape, unless taken out of the trap very soon,as their snouts are so sharp or wedge-like that they can pull them from between the jaws of the trap without much difficulty.
Having described this machine, we shall now rejoin the Indian, whom we left on his way to his next trap. There he goes, moving swiftly over the snow, mile after mile, as if he could not feel fatigue; turning aside now and then to visit a trap, and giving a short grunt when nothing is in it; or killing the animal when caught, and tying it on the sledge.
Toward midnight, however, he begins to walk more cautiously, examines the priming of his gun, and moves the axe in his belt, as if he expected to meet some enemy suddenly. The fact is, that close to where he now stands are two traps which he set in the morning close to each other, for the purpose of catching one of the formidable coast wolves.
These animals are so sagacious that they will scrape all round a trap, let it be ever so well set, and, after eating all the bait, walk away unhurt. Indians, consequently, endeavour in every possible way to catch them, and, among others, bysetting two traps close together; so that while the wolf scrapes at one, he may perhaps put his foot in the other. It is in this way that our Indian friend"s traps are set, and he now proceeds cautiously towards them, his gun in the hollow of his left arm.
Slowly he advances, peering through the bushes; but nothing is visible. Suddenly a branch crashes under his snow- shoe, and with a savage growl a large wolf bounds toward him, landing almost at his feet! A single glance, however, shows the Indian that both traps are on its legs, and that the chains prevent its further advance. He places his gun against a tree, draws the axe from his belt, and advances to kill the animal.
It is, however, an undertaking of some difficulty. The fierce brute, which is larger than a Newfoundland dog, strains every nerve and sinew to break its chains, while its eyes glisten in the uncertain light, and foam curls from its blood-red mouth. Now it retreats as the Indian advances, grinning horribly the while;and anon,as the chains check its further retreat, it springswith fearful growl toward the Indian, who slightly wounds it with his axe, as he jumps backward just in time to save himself from the infuriated animal, which catches in its fangs the flap of his leggin, and tears it from his limb. Again the Indian advances, and the wolf retreats and again springs on him, but with out success.
At last, as the wolf glances for a moment to one side- apparently to see if there is any way of escape-quick as lightning the axe flashes in the air, and descends with stunning violence on its head; another blow follows, and in five minutes more the animal is bound to the sledge.
- R. M. BALLANTYNE
QUESTIONS
Where had the Indian pitched his tent? why there? What covered the entrance to the hut? How was the Indian dressed? How was he armed? What brought him to a full stop in his round? What did the sound resemble? What did it tell the Indian? How did he kill the animal? What difference is there between the Indian"s steel-trap and an English rat- trap? With what is it baited? What do foxes often do, when caught by one leg? Why had the Indian set two traps close together in one place? What was the result? What risk did he run, in attempting to kill the wolf? What moment did he seise for striking it with his axe?