wards, while I set the trap. There, that is all
right, we will staple to this limb. Yes, he will be quite likely to
get into the trap if he comes again, for he can't get at the bait
very well from any other way, only over the trap."

"How far is it from where the bear trap was set?"

"About one-half mile. Yes, I suppose he dragged that trap three or
four miles to get that distance. Here we are, it will not be a long
job to set that trap as he has not torn the bait trap down. Fred, you
get the clamps from the knapsack, while I cut that bushy tree for a
clog. Yes, we let those limbs stick out about ten inches so that they
will catch in the brush and on logs, and that bothers, you see. Yes,
those lungs and liver are all right for bait as long as it is fresh.
A bear does not like tainted meat. Well, that is all right now, we
will go to camp and get a bite to eat, and then pull for home and get
the horse and wagon and come out and take the bear meat and the skin
in. Yes, we always ship the saddles to New York, they bring a good
price.

"Yes, it is more of a knack to stretch a bear skin right than any
other skin. Here we are at camp again, we will eat a bite and then
pull for home. Good bye, Fred, yes, you shall go again."

CHAPTER IX.

Bears in 1870, To-Day--Other Notes.

One not familiar with the conditions of a wild woods life would
naturally think that bears would diminish in proportion to deer and
wild animals. However, this does not seem to be the case. Forty years
ago, trappers of bear were not as numerous as at the present time.
People at that time, hunted more for profit than sport and their
forte was the slaughter of deer. In those days it was nothing
uncommon to see sleigh loads of deer pass every day on the way to
market.

After the first tracking snows of the season, the deer killed in this
county (Potter) were hauled by team thirty and forty miles to the
nearest railroad station and shipped to New York and Philadelphia but
this is not what we wish to write of. We only speak of this to show
that the man of forty years ago was of the trail, rather than the
trap line.

Forty years ago, the writer was acquainted with nearly every hunter
and trapper who made a business of hunting or trapping in this and
adjoining counties. Men who made a business of trapping bear as well
as hunting deer could be counted on the fingers of your hands, and
the grounds on which they operated were the counties of Clinton,