is used to a considerable extent by trappers
throughout the country. Like the brick trap, it secures its victims
without harm and furnishes the additional advantage of good ventilation
for the encaged unfortunate. Any ordinary coop may be used in the
construction of this trap, although the homely one we illustrate
is most commonly employed on account of its simplicity and easy
manufacture. It also does away with the troublesome necessity of
carrying a coop to the trapping ground, as it can be made in a
very few minutes with common rough hewn twigs by the clever use
of the jack knife. The only remaining requisites consist of a few
yards of very stout Indian twine, several small squares of brown
pasteboard, a dozen tacks and a number of pieces of board five
inches square, each one having a hole through its centre, as our
engraving (_b_) indicates. Having these, the young trapper starts
out with material sufficient for several coops, and if he is smart
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will find no difficulty in making and setting a dozen traps in a
forenoon.

[Illustration]

In constructing the coop, the first thing to be done is to cut
four stout twigs about an inch in thickness and fifteen inches
in length and tie them together at the corners, letting the knot
come on the inside as our illustration (_a_) explains and leaving
a loose length of about two feet of string from each corner. This
forms the base of the coop. Next collect from a number of twigs of
about the same thickness, and from them select two more corresponding
in length to the bottom pieces. Having placed the base of the coop
on the ground, and collected the strings inside proceed to lay
the two selected sticks across the ends of the
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uppermost two of the square, and directly above the lower two.
Another pair of twigs exactly similar in size should then be cut
and laid across the ends of the last two, and directly above the
second set of the bottom portion, thus forming two squares of equal
size, one directly over the other. The next pair of sticks should
be a trifle shorter than the previous ones and should be placed a
little inside the square. Let the next two be of the same size as
the last and also rest a little inside of those beneath them, thus
forming the commencement of the conical shape which our engraving
presents. By thus continuing alternate layers of the two sticks
cob-house fashion, each layer being closer than the one previous,
the pyramid will be e