Show V L 11 f 1 w k 72 n 1 i v I 1 1 Z I 1 0 mk 46 0 r libian I 1 I 1 bear 1 I 1 V aa Z r MARTIN MUNTE I 1 Y L EDGER I 1 I 1 I 1 it in describing the manner of taking some come of the fur bearing animals of the aadson bay territory the bear comes first fir st by its coat being earliest earlie 5 t prime of all other animals of the north country the indians who since the finishing of their last years hunt in june have become tired of a fish diet are anxiously looking forward to the of september on and after this date the bear b ear skins have a market value with the company and the indians go into th the e berry patches and swamps in quest of bruin who has forthe for the past six weeks been fattening undisturbed considerable bravery Is shown by the indian in hunting these strong and ferocious animals at this time of year few of them have other than a single barrel muzzle mule loading gun and if they miss a fatal spot when firing the he result is to them serious it if not death I 1 cannot do better in these series of hunting stories than to follow the footsteps of wa sa cejic who was one of our dur most successful allaround all around hunters he had a liking for or the whites in general and from his kindness for me in particular at any time when it was convenient for me to leave the post he be welcomed my company on his shooting and trapping tou tours still hunting the bear in a flat and dry bery patch requires the greatest care and precaution to make it a day of profit wasa wa sa cejic lands from his canoe on the leeward side of the patch he is going to reconnoitre and ascends a large mountain whose who wooded southern side runs down to the river shore from the top of this he scans the burned lands beneath him with great minuteness tor for several seconds at last his face lights up with satisfaction for his eye rests on a large black bear feeding to the windward of a clump of alders before starting to stalk the game he notes the direction of the wind the lay of the country and the number of points of conceal ments between him and his hia quarry all these essentials mentally impressed on his memory he loads his gun carefully and descends the mountain wa sa kekic makes his way swiftly from the base for about a quarter of a mile after that he goes with greater care at last there is only one intervening stack of willows between him and the bear from my vantage point of view I 1 notice all his movements and also that of the bear which is lazily feeding on the ripe full berries at the extreme lefthand left hand point of the clump stands an immense rock brought there no doubt at the glacier period toward this the indian is sometimes crawling at others crouching at last he Is safe in its she shelter iter with heart beating with excitement when he mft left the mountain top the bear was feeding toward this very roe docte and had so continued with gun on the full cock wa sa kejick carefully advances ills his head around the base in an instant it Is brought back to cover for he has caught sight eight of bruin brain not thirty t teet ee t aw away ay and busy ea eating t ing the th el luscious us c tons trait still toward the rock wa sa ga kejla waits five fire minutes longer ift fit appears hours hourd to me as I 1 watch and then with belt aze axe wen in trout aront and gun seized firmly in his bands steps boldly out from his hiding biding place As usual with bears when nih eh at dose quarters teri the animal assumes I 1 ki an ereal ami position and at take the flame ti moment the bunji gun belches el ched forth its death dealing bullet and the mont monter n I 1 thi through the heart th th i indians sali squaw aw and 1 chile children feast ia an berry j ab it acm oril I 1 i us I 1 1 bereft breathless im aw 1 I 1 lr I 1 b ath to r lathar i rj lp f h cv w W W 1 1 9 X khac I 1 iliae E 1 7 r I 1 I 1 V 1 b caf i 1 I I 1 ill sai 1 le j 1 0 rw 2711 ra VP V P JIM 1 ww nt trapa pw S im a t V i kw avra II ax p 06 WY koft 1 I 1 bilks ia t beird W W L A j i ji vf v f a din i A i w ai e rd tam ku i I 1 N ani V E IW ti koput f arn I 1 I 1 1 I I 1 stand on the low banks and a dash of his fore paw land out one or two fish at a stroke the indian hunter knows these creeks and rivers and it is on their banks he sets his traps with some tempting bait such as musquash meat or corn with maple syrup mixed neither of which is it possible for mr bear to pass without making IL a t try ry for wooden traps or dead falls are made in the same shape as the well known figure of four trap for marten and other small animals only many times I 1 larger a and the crushing weight or load as much as two strong men could col uld lift the bait Is tied on to a loop of twisted roots and the latter is baui caught over the wooden trigger that supports lorts the loaded crossbar cross bar and then on the peg at back of the trap the bear after drawing in strong whiffs of the tempting morsel from the entrance ventures boldly in the depth of the trap is almost equal to the length of his body so when he tugs at the bati bait the middle of his body is directly under the crossbar the loop slips off the peg and the weight of the logs and stones crash down on poor old mus kwa the indian prefers using the steel trap as it is more certain and the bear keeping alive tor for several days the hunter is not required to visit his traps so often during the hot spring days a bear in a deadfall very soon becomes flyblown fly blown bloam and rotten and the meat useless and very frequently the skin also it is in the spring of the year wa sa cejic takes his twenty pound new house trap and makes his way to a small connecting stream between two lakes it is the spawning ground of carp here along the bank is a well trodden bear path fishing bears have frequented this trail tor for years here he builds an obstruction in an two sides out from the trunk of a large spruce tor for a distance of tour four feet the opening in front is about twenty inches wide A tempting bait is placed on a forked stick at the back of the inclosure near the base of the tree he next cuts a sound young birch seven or eight feet long diameter at small end five inches and six or seven at the thickest end the weight of such a stick in the sap is about seventy five pounds about one third up this drag the ring of the chain is firmly wedged and the immense jaws of the trap is opened A hollow in the entrance of the house Is made so that when the trap is placed the hole is nearly on a level with the ground aground abent A bent root of small tree or ja I 1 0 o V ZI 1 I 1 Z I 1 I 1 aaa mi 14 1 y r I 1 I 1 I 1 II 1 A 1 4 I 1 it k t J I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 it 9 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 Z 1 I I 1 Y f k N I 1 4 I 1 I 1 I 1 N I 1 I 1 OF 10 THE MONSTER FALLS PIERCED THROUGH THE HEART I 1 shrub about as thick as the little finger is placed under u the palate to make the trap harder to set off this Is done don BO that small animals such as marten fox or fisher cannot spring the trap should they be drawn to the bait A layer of white moss or that from about a decayed stump I 1 is a then placed in one sheet carefully over the whole trap and pulverized rotten wood or earth Is then sprinkled over the moss mosa to take away the newness and the trap is ready pour four or five days have passed during which time wa sa kepe has been busy setting other traps at different points anoints J and now im according to the sigus it la a time US he visits the traps we e saw him set sel ibe emerges from the th a forest foresi on an a small hill hai overlooking the trap I 1 one look he nesi cees the drag torn up grounds and allten awl twigs rod M id I 1 mark dearly the ajla iva way 1 y Jho W a beast hai hassone hs sone 1 l I 1 W a sa ei il iii a 6 jia ann jia 1 I 1 jon I 1 aw t ift wi atif A t ty 1 j r I 1 1 I 1 I 1 U dr low W 1 can car T ri it 72 i i I 1 ara I 1 I 1 V m W 1 dr 1 taug h 1 11 bin 1 al f arr 31 tt eab X N 0 N bri I 1 iii acl aiji r m i gm vaugh V I 1 uld 41 I 1 1 i axim W W t nam ca t el 1 A 9 aw 44 V I 1 kd 62 a u t arow lim I 1 N atea wm 4 iw 4 L eare dana Z c n ae I 1 7 W 1 e I 1 t akuba L i V ul f ga ff kutlin C ta taa v 5 L m syi 1 4 t sf V ap pp alv ac 1 1 V 1 tt anibe on the great I 1 fieast ora raol ment or two before biting h btesh jr quietus indians indiana cabb can carry immense weights suspended ty br a leather thong from rom the bears weigh lne up to hundred undrea tt p pounds s they can ca carry rry in ibis way across a portage of f half a mi j without resting but wa sa kejla had one now even heavier than that so h he er opened hirn him up rg and removed rena ov the paunch and entrails lo 10 lighten his load tha trap was res rest reset t and the cie successful hunter made his hie way wa to the canoe and then to his camp tc bring smiles and ana laug nier w uia waif and family some of the poorer indi indians ne who dc not possess steel traps and are too la in to make dead falls sometimes set 4 na i in the bear roads but this mode mod ol of hunting is not successful as a rule |