Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1849-01-27


water, and always under water. Early in
the morning the hunter mounts his mule
and examines the traps. The captured ami
mails are skinned, and the tails, which are
great dainty, carefully packed into camp.
The skin is then stretched over hoop or
framework of osier-twigs, and is allowed 10
dry, the flesh and fatty substance being
carefully scraped. When dry, it is folded
into a square sheet, the fur turned inward,
and the bundle, containing about ten to
twenty skins, tightly pressed aud corded, is
ready for transportation,
During the hunt, regardless Of Indian vi
cinity, the fearless trapper wanders far and
iitar in search Of ''sign." His nerves must
ever be in a ss!nte of tension, and his mind
ever present at his cal. His eagle eye
sweeps round the country, and in an in
slant detects any foreigh appearance. a
turned leaf, blade of grass pressed t'@.Wh,
the uneasiness Of the wild animals, the flight
Of birds, are all paragraphs to him written
in natures egible hand and plainest Ian
guagc. Al the wits of the subtitle savage
are called into play to gain an advantage
natural instinct of primitive man, the white
hunter has the advantages of a civilized
mind, and. thus provided, seldom fails to
outwit, under equal advantages, the cunning
savage. Pa. 1921 .''-. .-- --' .-'
Sometimes, following on his trail, the
Indian watches him set his traps on shrub
beted stream, and, passing up the bed, like
Bruce of old, so that he may leave no track,
he lies in wait in the bushes until the hum
ter comes TO examine his careiully-set traps.
Then, waiting until he approaches his am
bushment within few feet, whiz flies the
home-drawn arrow, never falling at such
close quarters to bring the victim to the
ground. For one white scalp, however,
that bangles in the smoke of an Indians
lodge, dozen black ones. at the end of the
hunt, ornament the camp-fres of the rem
devious ..-
AT certain time, when the hunt is
over, or they have loaded their pacll-ani-
mails, the trappers proceed to the 'rendez-
vous," the locality of which has been pre-
viously agreed upon and here the traders
and agents of the fur companies await them,
with such assortment Of goods as their hardy
customers may require, including generally
fair supply of alcohol. The trappers
drop in singly and in small bands, bringing
their packs of beaver to this mountain mar
ket, not unirequently TO the value of a
thousand dollars each, the produce of one
hunt. The dissi patton Of the ''rendezvous,'' -
however, soon turns the trapper's pocket
inside ont. The goods brought by the tra-
ders, although of the most inferior quality,
are sold at enormous prices --coff6e, twen-
ty and thirty shllings pint-cup, which is
the usual measure; tobacco fctches ten and
fifteen shillings plug alcohol, from twen-
ty to fifty shtllings pint; gunpowder, six
teen shllings pint cup. and allother arti-
cles at proportionabl y exhorbitart prices.
The ''beaver" is purchased at from two
to eight dollars per pound; the Hudson's
Bay Company alone buying it by pluie, or
"pew," that is, the whole skin, giving a
certain price for skins, whether Of old bea-
yer or "kittens.'' '' +" i"- .s'fsF-
The rendezvous is one continued scene
of drunkenness, gambling, and brawling
and fighting, as long as the money and
credit of the trappers last. Seated, Indian
fashion, round the fires, with a blanket
spread before them, groups are seen with
their ''decks" of cards, playing at ''euker,"
'poker," and ''seven-up," the regular noun
tain games. The stakes are 'beaver,"
which is here current coin and when the
fur is gone, their horses, mules, rifles, and
shirts, hunting-packs, and breecheS, are
staked. Daring gamblers make the rounds
of the camp, challenging each other to play
for the trapper's highest siake-his horse,
his squaw Gf he have onei, and as once
happened, his scalp. There goes ''hcs and
beaver" is the mountain expression when
any great loss is sustained and, sooner OF
later, 'hos and beaver" invariably find dtheil
way into the Unsuitable pockets of the ira.
deFS.. 4 trapper often squanders the pro-
duce OF his hunt, amounting to hundreds o
dollars, in couple Of hours; and, supplied
on credit with another equipment, leave,
the rendezvous for another expedition
which has the same result time after time
although one tolerably successful hum
would enable him to return to the settle.
mentS and civilized life, with an ample sun
to purchase and stock farm, and enjoy
himself in ease and comfort the remainder
ofbiS days. ...-....... -''
An old trapper, French Canadian, as
sured me that he received fifteen thousant
dollars for beaver during soiourn OF TWEEN
ty years in the mountains. Every year h,
resolved in his mind to- return to Canada
and, with this object, always converted hi
fur into cash; but fortnight at the ''ren
devious" always cleaned him out, and a
the end of twenty years, he had not ever
credit sufficient to buy pound of powder
These annual gatherings are often thu
scenes of bloody duels, for over their cup
and cards no men are more quarrelsom,
than your mountaineers. Rifles, at twenty
PAGES, settle all differences, and, as may bC
imagined, the fall of one or the other of th,
combatants is certain, or, as sometimes hap
pens, both fall TO the word 'efire.'
PRAIRIE DOGS AND THEIR CITIES.
No animals in these western regions inter
ested me so much as the prairie-dogs. Thes,
lively little fellows select for the site of thei