see the clog there all right. Yes,
there is something in it; it is a coon and it is dead. Look, there is
a fox in a trap."

"Where was the trap set, I do not see any bait pen?"

"Fred, you take this stick and walk up slowly to him; go up close and
give him a sharp blow across the back of the neck--that will fix him.
You see that big mossy log laying on the bank over there? That was
where he was caught. We will now set the trap again. See this little
sink in the log? That is where the trap was set; this limb is what
the trap was fastened to, one end on the ground and the other comes
just up to the log where the trap is set and we will staple the trap
to it. We will now cover it with moss, just like on this log, but we
will get it from another log. No one could tell that there was a trap
there."

"Will not the fox smell it?"

"He might if it was not for this fox carcass. We will skin the fox,
just as we did the mink. Look out there Fred, do not disturb the moss
or anything on that log where the trap is. Keep away from that. We
will put this carcass in the little hollow and will drive a crotched
stake straddle of its neck; drive it well down; now take this stick
and rake some leaves over it, cover the neck where the stake is quite
well, the rest of the carcass only slightly. You have done it very
well and the fox will not notice what scent there is on the trap as
long as that carcass is there."

"But you had no carcass there when you caught this one and I have
heard that a fox was afraid of the scent of iron?"

"That is all bosh. Keep your traps free from all foreign scent and
you need not be afraid of the scent of the iron, but if you catch
some animal in the trap, then you should have some of the scent of
that animal around near the trap, this will overcome what scent there
is on the trap. This, however, is only necessary with shy animals
like the fox. Coon and skunk are not afraid of what they smell."

"Do you ever wear gloves when setting your traps?"

[Illustration: LOG SET FOR FOX.]

"No, that is all nonsense. Get the clamps out of the knapsack and we
will set the bear trap. We set the trap this way so that the bear
goes in lengthways of the jaws, not crosswise of them. We will now
place the trap in this hole that we have dug out, so that the water
will be deep enough to cover the trap and be sure that the jaws rest
firmly on the ground, so that if the bear should step on the jaws,
the trap would not ti