t the coons
and took them and went to camp. Bill said that he had a dash-dang
sight rather chop wood than to tote those three coons. I carried two
and told Bill not to complain and I would let him skin all of them
when we got to camp. He said, "Oh, you are a clever jade, aint you?"
We skinned the coon that evening but did not stretch the skin until
the next afternoon after we had gone out and cut the hemlock and got
three more.

We kept up this coon hunt as long as we could find any tracks. It was
now getting along into March and we had written home for a team to
come in and take our camp outfit and furs out. As we had not been out
over the road through the woods, the way we came in, we made a trip
out to the main wagon road so that the man who came after us would
have no trouble in following the trail to the camp. We now began to
spring all the deadfalls that we had set for marten, mink and coon
and take up all of the steel traps as we had written to the man to be
there about the fifteenth of the month. I think it was a day or two
later when the team came and our hunt on the Kinzua was ended.

We got some thirty odd deer and either five or six bear and I think
four otter. I do not remember the number of fox, mink, marten and
coon, but we did well for there had been but very little trapping
done in that locality at that time and furbearing animals were quite
plentiful. I have never been back to that camp since. I gave the camp
to a man by the name of Ball.

CHAPTER VIII.

Fred and the Old Trapper.

Yes, Fred, you can go with me to attend my traps, come down early as
I wish to start at 5 o'clock." Fred was on hand next morning at the
appointed hour. We leave the road here and go up this stream; this
will take us to several traps and also to camp.

"Are these woods very large?"

"Yes, Fred. It is about fourteen miles either way through them."

"Does any one live in them?"

"No one only the lumberman. Well, Fred, here is the first trap."

"I don't see any trap."

"No, but it is there, just in front of that little stone pen; the
bait is in the pen."

"Why don't you take that bush away?"

"Oh! that is part of the knack in trapping; see that is just far
enough from the pen to let the animal pass through."

"Oh! I see, and it will step in the trap in going through!"

"That is it, exactly."

"Won't the water take the brush away?"

"Yes, if it gets too high, but you will see that I have put some
heavy