d trap,
being very uncertain, as whiskey-jacks, ermine, mice, or rabbits may
meddle with it, and set it off. It is seldom used except for wolverine.

Frequently the value an Indian places upon a certain pelt is determined
not according to its quality, but according to the trouble the animal
caused him in securing it, and for that reason he will sometimes expect
more for a red fox pelt than for the skin of a beautiful black fox.
Then, in order to retain the Indian's goodwill, the experienced trader
will humour him by giving the price asked, and count on making up his
loss in another way.

In hunting fur-bearers poison should never be used, since it bleaches
the fur and thus reduces its value. Moreover, it is apt to kill in an
almost endless chain many forest creatures besides the animal sought,
as they may feed on the first victim to the deadly drug.

The hunter's last resort in trapping the coloured fox is to set a snare
for him. In setting a snare the Chipewyan and northern Indians always
use a tossing-pole, while most of the southern and eastern Indians use
a spring-pole; the difference being that a tossing-pole is usually made
by bending down a small tree--the size of the tree being determined by
the size of the game--to the top of which is fastened the snare; or the
tossing-pole may be made by cutting a pole for that purpose. The
result, however, being that the moment the snare is sprung the
tossing-pole flies free, and hauling the game into the air, holds it
there out of reach of other animals that might rob the hunter of his
prize. A spring-pole is made by setting a springy pole in such a
position that when the snare is sprung, the tension is released, and
the pole, springing up, hauls the animal against a stationary bar set
horizontally above the loop of the snare, and holds the quarry there.
Many kinds of animals are caught with snares, and in size they run all
the way from rabbits to bears and even to the great bull-moose.

HUNTER CAUGHT IN SNARE

Snares, steel traps, and deadfalls that are set for large game are
dangerous even for man to approach carelessly, and sometimes even the
trapper himself has the misfortune to be caught in the very trap he has
set for some other animal. Early one winter, in fact, just after the
first heavy snowfall, and while some bears were still roaming about,
before turning in for their long winter sleep, an Indian hunter--I have
forgotten his name--assisted by his son,