the
trap is reset and again covered over with snow, so that it is almost
impossible to tell that anything is there; and the Indian pursues his
way.

The steel-trap used by the Indians is almost similar to the ordinary
rat-trap of England, with this difference, that it is a little larger,
is destitute of teeth, and has two springs in place of one. A chain is
attached to one spring 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 was set. The track in the snow enables the hunter to find his
trap again. It is generally set so 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 spread on 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, lynx, and other animals are caught in this way, sometimes by a
fore leg, sometimes by a hind leg, and 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 after being caught, 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 now described the way of using this machine, we will rejoin
Stemaw, whom we left on his way to the 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. Towards 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