when I decided I
would go to the other traps. If I was surprised at seeing the first
cub, I was doubly so, for there was another cub tangled up in the
trap. Do you think I felt gay? Well, that was no name for it.

I shot this cub and without waiting to dress it I took a lively gait
to the other trap to see if there were any more bears but there was
nothing there. The last two bears, I think were the cubs of the old
bear that I had caught the night before. I spent the entire day
getting the bears to camp. I did not get any more bear for some time
although I had an opportunity to learn a whole lot about them.

Some days after I got the old bear and the cubs, I found the bait pen
in one of the traps torn down by a bear, which had taken the bait and
had not sprung the trap. Right here I will say that I learned a great
deal more about the habits of Bruin. After finding the bait gone I
thought that all I would have to do was to make the bait pen a little
stronger so Bruin could not tear it down so readily to get at the
bait. I did not think that a bear knew anything about "trapology,"
for the experience I had so far in bear trapping was that bears knew
but little more about a trap than a hog, though later I found I was
very much mistaken.

[Illustration: SETTING A LARGE STEEL TRAP FOR BEAR.]

The trap was set in a small brook where there were plenty of rocks of
all sizes. I rolled several of these rocks, as large as I could
handle, up about the bait pen to strengthen it to such an extent that
Bruin would not think of tearing it down. I figured the bear by going
over the trap would take the bait from the entrance of the pen as a
good bear should; though in this I was greatly mistaken. The second
day I went to the trap with full expectation of finding Bruin fast in
the trap, but again I was disappointed--Bruin had again gone to the
back of the pen and torn the top of the pen off, rolling away some of
the stones, taking the bait.

Now I saw that if I was to get my friend Bruin, I would have to work
a little strategy. I removed the trap from the clog, leaving the clog
undisturbed and making all appear just the same as it did when the
trap was set. I was very careful to have the covering of the trap
left just the same as when the trap was set. Then I got another clog
and set the trap at the back of the pen at the place where the bear
had torn off the top of the bait pen. Here I concealed the trap and
clog as completely as