The moon was still up, and the sky less overcast, when our amateur
trappers quitted the encampment, and descending to the mouth of the
little brook, took their way over North River in the direction of the
accountant's traps. Being somewhat fatigued both in mind and body by
the unusual exertions of the night, neither of them spoke for some time,
but continued to walk in silence, contemplatively gazing at their long
shadows.
"Did you ever trap a fox, Harry?" said the accountant at length.
"Yes; I used to set traps at Red River. But the foxes there are not
numerous, and are so closely watched by the dogs that they have become
suspicious. I caught but few."
"Then you know how to _set_ a trap?"
"Oh yes; I've set both steel and snow traps often. You've heard of old
Labonte, who used to carry one of the winter packets from Red River
until within a few years back?"
"Yes, I've heard of him; his name is in my ledger--at least if you mean
Pierre Labonte, who came down last fall with the brigade."
"The same. Well, he was a great friend of mine. His little cabin lay
about two miles from Fort Garry, and after work was over in the office I
used to go down to sit and chat with him by the fire; and many a time I
have sat up half the night listening to him as he recounted his
adventures. The old man never tired of relating them, and of smoking
twist tobacco. Among other things, he set my mind upon trapping, by
giving me an account of an expedition he made, when quite a youth, to
the Rocky Mountains; so I got him to go into the woods and teach me how
to set traps and snares, and I flatter myself he found me an apt pupil."
"Humph!" ejaculated the accountant; "I have no doubt you do _flatter_
yourself. But here we are. The traps are just beyond that mound; so
look out, and don't stick your feet into them."
"Hist!" exclaimed Harry, laying his hand suddenly on his companion's
arm. "Do you see _that_?" pointing towards the place where the traps
were said to be.
"You have sharp eyes, younker. I _do_ see it, now that you point it
out. It's a fox, and caught, too, as I'm a scrivener."
"You're in luck to-night," exclaimed Harry eagerly. "It's a _silver_
fox. I see the white tip on its tail."
"Nonsense," cried the accountant, hastening forward; "but we'll soon
settle the point."
Harry proved to be right. On reaching the spot they found a beautiful
black fox, caught by the fore leg in a steel trap, and gazing at them
with a look of terror.
The skin of the silver fox--so called from a slight sprinkling of pure
white hairs covering its otherwise jet-black body--is the most valuable
fur obtained by the fur-traders, and fetches an enormous price in the
British market, so much as thirty pounds sterling being frequently
obtained for a single skin. The foxes vary in colour from jet black,
which is the most valuable, to a light silvery hue, and are hailed as
great prizes by the Indians and trappers when they are so fortunate as
to catch them. They are not numerous, however, and being exceedingly
wary and suspicious, are difficult to catch. It may be supposed,
therefore, that our friend the accountant ran to secure his prize with
some eagerness.
"Now, then, my beauty, don't shrink," he said, as the poor fox backed at
his approach as far as the chain, which fastened the trap to a log of
wood, would permit, and then, standing at bay, showed a formidable row
of teeth. That grin was its last; another moment, and the handle of the
accountant's axe stretched it lifeless on the snow.
"Isn't it a beauty!" cried he, surveying the animal with a look of
triumphant pleasure; and then feeling as if he had compromised his
dignity a little by betraying so much glee, he added, "But come now,
Harry; we must see to the other traps. It's getting late."
The others were soon visited; but no more foxes were caught. However,
the accountant set them both off to see that all was right; and then
re-adjusting one himself, told Harry to set the other, in order to clear
himself of the charge of boasting.
Harry, nothing loath, went down on his knees to do so.
The steel trap used for catching foxes is of exactly the same form as
the ordinary rat-trap, with this difference, that it has two springs
instead of one, is considerably larger, and has no teeth, as these
latter would only tend to spoil the skin. Owing to the strength of the
springs, a pretty strong effort is required to set the trap, and clumsy
fellows frequently catch the tails of their coats or the ends of their
belts, and not unfrequently the ends of their fingers, in their awkward
attempts. Having set it without any of the above untoward accidents
occurring, Harry placed it gently on a hole which he had previously
scraped--placing it in such a manner that the jaws and plate, or
trigger, were a hairbreadth below the level of the snow. After this he
spread over it a very thin sheet of paper, observing as he did so that
hay or grass was preferable; but as there was none at hand, paper would
do. Over this he sprinkled snow very lightly, until every vestige of
the trap was concealed from view, and the whole was made quite level
with the surrounding plain, so that even the accountant himself, after
he had once removed his eyes from it, could not tell where it lay. Some
chips of a frozen ptarmigan were then scattered around the spot, and a
piece of wood left to mark its whereabouts. The bait is always
scattered _round_ and not _on_ the trap, as the fox, in running from one
piece to another, is almost certain to set his foot on it, and so get
caught by the leg; whereas, were the bait placed _upon_ the trap, the
fox would be apt to get caught, while in the act of eating, by the
snout, which, being wedge-like in form, is easily dragged out of its
gripe.
"Now, then, what say you to going farther out on the river, and making a
snow trap for white foxes?" said the accountant. "We shall still have
time to do so before the moon sets."
"Agreed," cried Harry. "Come along."
Without further parley they left the spot and stretched out towards the
sea.
The snow on the river was quite hard on its surface, so that snow-shoes
being unnecessary, they carried them over their shoulders, and advanced
much more rapidly. It is true that their road was a good deal broken,
and jagged pieces of ice protruded their sharp corners so as to render a
little attention necessary in walking; but one or two severe bumps on
their toes made our friends sensitively alive to these minor dangers of
the way.
"There goes a pack of them!" exclaimed Harry, as a troop of white foxes
scampered past, gambolling as they went, and coming suddenly to a halt
at a short distance, wheeled about and sat down on their haunches,
apparently resolved to have a good look at the strangers who dared to
venture into their wild domain.
"Oh, they are the most stupid brutes alive," said the accountant, as he
regarded the pack with a look of contempt. "I've seen one of them sit
down and look at me while I set a trap right before his eyes; and I had
not got a hundred yards from the spot when a yell informed me that the
gentleman's curiosity had led him to put his foot right into it."
"Indeed!" exclaimed Harry. "I had no idea that they were so tame.
Certainly no other kind of fox would do that."
"No, that's certain. But these fellows have done it to me again and
again. I shouldn't wonder if we got one to-night in the very same way.
I'm sure, by the look of these rascals, that they would do anything of a
reckless, stupid nature just now."
"Had we not better make our trap here, then? There is a point, not
fifty yards off, with trees on it large enough for our purpose."
"Yes; it will do very well here. Now, then, to work. Go to the wood,
Harry, and fetch a log or two, while I cut out the slabs." So saying,
the accountant drew the axe which he always carried in his belt; and
while Harry entered the wood and began to hew off the branch of a tree,
he proceeded, as he had said, to "cut out the slabs." With the point of
his knife he first of all marked out an oblong in the snow, then cut
down three or four inches with the axe, and putting the handle under the
cut, after the manner of a lever, detached a thick, solid slab of about
three inches thick, which, although not so hard as ice, was quite hard
enough for the purpose for which it was intended. He then cut two
similar slabs and a smaller one, the same in thickness and breadth, but
only half the length. Having accomplished this, he raised himself to
rest a little, and observed that Harry approached, staggering under a
load of wood, and that the foxes were still sitting on their haunches,
gazing at him with a look of deep interest.
"If I only had my gun here!" thought he. But not having it, he merely
shook his fist at them, stooped down again, and resumed his work. With
Harry's assistance the slabs were placed in such a way as to form a sort
of box or house, having one end of it open. This was further plastered
with soft snow at the joinings, and banked up in such a way that no
animal could break into it easily--at least such an attempt would be so
difficult as to make an entrance into the interior by the open side much
more probable. When this was finished, they took the logs that Harry
had cut and carried with so much difficulty from the wood, and began to
lop off the smaller branches and twigs. One large log was placed across
the opening of the trap, while the others were piled on one end of it so
as to press it down with their weight. Three small pieces of stick were
now prepared--two of them being about half a foot long, and the other
about a foot. On the long piece of stick the breast of a ptarmigan was
fixed as a bait, and two notches cut, the one at the end of it, the
other about four or five inches further down. All was now ready to set
the trap.
"Raise the log now while I place the trigger," said Harry, kneeling down
in front of the door; while the accountant, as directed, lifted up the
log on which the others lay so as to allow his companion to introduce
the bait-stick, in such a manner as to support it, while the slightest
pull on the bait would set the stick with the notches free, and thus
permit the log to fall on the back of the fox, whose effort to reach the
bait would necessarily place him under it.
While Harry was thus engaged, the accountant stood up and looked towards
the foxes. They had approached so near in their curiosity that he was
induced to throw his axe frantically at the foremost of the pack. This
set them galloping off, but they soon halted, and sat down as before.
"What aggravating brutes they are, to be sure!" said Harry, with a
laugh, as his companion returned with the hatchet.
"Humph! yes, but we'll be upsides with them yet. Come along into the
wood, and I wager that in ten minutes we shall have one."
They immediately hurried towards the wood, but had not walked fifty
paces when they were startled by a loud yell behind them.
"Dear me!" exclaimed the accountant, while he and Harry turned round
with a start. "It cannot surely be possible that they have gone in
already." A loud howl followed the remark, and the whole pack fled over
the plain like snow-drift, and disappeared.
"Ah, that's a pity! something must have scared them to make them take
wing like that. However, we'll get one to-morrow for certain; so come
along, lad, let us make for the camp."
"Not so fast," replied the other: "if you hadn't pored over the big
ledger till you were blind, you would see that there is _one_ prisoner
already."
This proved to be the case. On returning to the spot they found an
arctic fox in his last gasp, lying flat on the snow, with the heavy log
across his back, which seemed to be broken. A slight tap on the snout
with the accountant's deadly axe-handle completed his destruction.
"We're in luck to-night," cried Harry, as he kneeled again to reset the
trap. "But, after all, these white brutes are worth very little; I
fancy a hundred of their skins would not be worth the black one you got
first."
"Be quick, Harry; the moon is almost down, and poor Hamilton will think
that the polar bears have got hold of us."
"All right! Now, then, step out;" and glancing once more at the trap to
see that all was properly arranged, the two friends once more turned
their faces homewards, and travelled over the snow with rapid strides.
The moon had just set, leaving the desolate scene in deep gloom, so that
they could scarcely find their way to the forest; and when they did at
last reach its shelter, the night became so intensely dark that they had
almost to grope their way, and would certainly have lost it altogether
were it not for the accountant's thorough knowledge of the locality. To
add to their discomfort, as they stumbled on snow began to fall, and ere
long a pretty steady breeze of wind drove it sharply in their faces.
However, this mattered but little, as they penetrated deeper in among
the trees, which proved a complete shelter both from wind and snow. An
hour's march brought them to the mouth of the brook, although half that
time would have been sufficient had it been daylight, and a few minutes
later they had the satisfaction of hearing Hamilton's voice hailing them
as they pushed aside the bushes and sprang into the cheerful light of
their encampment.
"Hurrah!" shouted Harry, as he leaped into the space before the fire,
and flung the two foxes at Hamilton's feet. "What do you think of
_that_, old fellow? How are the heels? Rather sore, eh? Now for the
kettle. `Polly, put the kettle on; we'll all have--' My eye! where's
the kettle, Hamilton? have you eaten it?"
"If you compose yourself a little, Harry, and look at the fire, you'll
see it boiling there."
"Man, what a chap you are for making unnecessary speeches! Couldn't you
tell me to look at the fire, without the preliminary piece of advice to
_compose_ myself! Besides, you talk nonsense, for I'm composed already,
of blood, bones, flesh, sinews, fat, and--"
"Humbug!" interrupted the accountant. "Lend a hand to get supper, you
young goose!"
"And so," continued Harry, not noticing the interruption, "I cannot be
expected, nor is it necessary, to _compose_ myself over again. But to
be serious," he added, "it was very kind and considerate of you, Hammy,
to put on the kettle, when your heels were in a manner uppermost."
"Oh, it was nothing at all; my heels are much better, thank you, and it
kept me from wearying."
"Poor fellow!" said the accountant, while he busied himself in preparing
their evening meal, "you must be quite ravenous by this time--at least
_I_ am, which is the same thing."
Supper was soon ready. It consisted of a large kettle of tea, a lump of
pemmican, a handful of broken biscuit, and three ptarmigan,--all of
which were produced from the small wooden box which the accountant was
wont to call his camp-larder. The ptarmigan had been shot two weeks
before, and carefully laid up for future use; the intense frost being a
sufficient guarantee for their preservation for many months, had that
been desired.
It would have done you good, reader (supposing you to be possessed of
sympathetic feelings), to have witnessed those three nor'-westers
enjoying their supper in the snowy camp. The fire had been replenished
with logs, till it roared and crackled again, as if it were endued with
a vicious spirit, and wished to set the very snow in flames. The walls
shone like alabaster studded with diamonds, while the green boughs
overhead and the stems around were of a deep red colour in the light of
the fierce blaze. The tea-kettle hissed, fumed, and boiled over into
the fire. A mass of pemmican simmered in the lid in front of it. Three
pannikins of tea reposed on the green branches, their refreshing
contents sending up little clouds of steam, while the ptarmigan, now
split up, skewered, and roasted, were being heartily devoured by our
three hungry friends.
The pleasures that fall to the lot of man are transient. Doubtless they
are numerous and oft recurring; still they are transient, and so--supper
came to an end.
"Now for a pipe," said the accountant, disposing his limbs at full
length on a green blanket. "O thou precious weed, what should we do
without thee!"
"Smoke _tea_, to be sure," answered Harry.
"Ah! true, it _is_ possible to exist on a pipe of tea-leaves for a time,
but _only_ for a time. I tried it myself once, in desperation, when I
ran short of tobacco on a journey, and found it execrable, but better
than nothing."
"Pity we can't join you in that," remarked Harry.
"True; but perhaps since you cannot pipe, it might prove an agreeable
diversification to dance."
"Thank you, I'd rather not," said Harry; "and as for Hamilton, I'm
convinced that _his_ mind is made up on the subject.--How go the heels
now?"
"Thank you, pretty well," he replied, reclining his head on the pine
branches, and extending his smitten members towards the fire. "I think
they will be quite well in the morning."
"It is a curious thing," remarked the accountant, in a soliloquising
tone, "that _soft_ fellows _never_ smoke!"
"I beg your pardon," said Harry, "I've often seen hot loaves smoke, and
they're soft enough fellows, in all conscience!"
"Ah!" sighed the accountant, "that reminds me of poor Peterkin, who was
_so_ soft that he went by the name of `Butter.' Did you ever hear of
what he did the summer before last with an Indian's head?"
"No, never; what was it?"
"I'll tell you the story," replied the accountant, drawing a few
vigorous whiffs of smoke, to prevent his pipe going out while he spoke.
As the story in question, however, depicts a new phase of society in the
woods, it deserves a chapter to itself.