aver house, the Indians cut two
channels in the ice about a foot wide, and so converging that they met
about six feet in front of the house. Then the ice was cut out about
ten feet further into the pond directly in front of the house. The
capital letter Y will give a correct idea of the cuttings thus made.
The upper two lines are the ones from the shore on each side of the
beaver house; the lower and wider part of the letter represents the
channel cut in front. This was perhaps ten feet long and about two feet
in width.

The next step was by careful measurement with a long pole to find the
depth of the water in these channels thus free of ice. When this was
done everybody able to handle an axe was soon busily at work cutting
down small trees into poles not less than four inches in diameter, and
so long that when well driven in the mud the tops would still be
considerably above the ice. None but straight, strong ones were of any
use. Then, beginning close to the shore, the Indians, using, of course,
the shorter poles where the water was shallow, began driving them in the
mud through the channels cut in the ice. They worked very carefully,
for the beaver when aroused is a strong as well as a cunning animal, and
the hunter who would not fail must be prepared for every emergency. The
poles were driven in the two upper sides until the approaching columns
of them came within about two feet of each other at the front. From
this point the Indians turned and began driving the poles in the mud in
two lines, parallel to each other, running out into the pond. This left
a channel, allowing for the diameter of the poles, of, say, from twelve
to fifteen inches wide and ten feet long.

Carefully examining and testing over and over again the grip of each
pole which had been driven into the mud at the bottom of the pond, the
men were at length well satisfied with their work and said: "Very good.
Injun have much fine beaver this time. We will have beavers' tails for
supper to-morrow night."

So anxious were those Indian hunters that even during the second night
they slept but little, and several times slipped away from the camp and
walked around from kitchen to kitchen to see that in every place the ice
was firm and unbroken. In the morning, when all were at breakfast, they
reported that as the cold had become so intense they felt confident of
success and anticipated the capture of a large number of beaver. For
days they h