When man acts the part of housebreaker, however, he
cunningly shuts the back-door _first_, by driving stakes through the
ice, and thus stopping the passage. Then he enters, and, we almost
regret to say, finds the family at home. We regret it, because the
beaver is a gentle, peaceable, affectionate, hairy little creature,
towards which one feels an irresistible tenderness. But to return from
this long digression.
Our trappers, having selected their several localities, set their
traps in the water, so that when the beavers roamed about at night
they put their feet into them, and were caught and drowned; for
although they can swim and dive admirably, they cannot live altogether
under water.
Thus the different parties proceeded; and in the mornings the camp was
a busy scene indeed, for then the whole were engaged in skinning the
animals. The skins were always stretched, dried, folded up with the
hair in the inside, and laid by; and the flesh was used for food.
But oftentimes the trappers had to go forth with the gun in one hand
and their traps in the other, while they kept a sharp look-out on the
bushes to guard against surprise.
Pages:
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336