Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-06-08
Caught in His Own Trap.

THOMAS WAY is woodchopper in the
Sierra Nevada. His friends hereaway, if
he have any, will be interested in the fol-
lowing adventure of which he is the hero.
A party of hunters from Virginia City
were camping in the mountains about
forty miles from town, and long distance
from any permanent human habitation
whatever. One day, towards evening
and a mile or two from camp one of the
party shot at a deer. The wounded. ami
NAL ran up a deep and gloomy canon
pursued by the hunters. They gave up
the chase, concluding it was not much of
a deer anyhow, and not worth the labori-
Gus tramp through the deep snow thathad
fallen a few days previously. Stopping
with the intention Of retracing their steps
they heard what sounded like a human
cry of distress. They listened and the
cry was repeated Then they shouted and
received an answering shout. 1t was
human without doubt. But it might be
an Indian decoy and they were not strong
enough to go into an Indian war, and
hesitated what to do. The voice cried
piteOusly for assistance. 1t was weak and
ton. They finally resolved to follow the
sound and shouted again to make sure Of
the direction. Again the distressed voice
came in answer: Don't 60 away and
leave me! Come and get me out, for
Pm caught and starving" This appeal
moved them. They plodded their way
up the canon, and guided by the voice at
intervals they discovered what appeared
to be small cabin built of logs, but with
out windows OF doors. There was a man
that he had built and accidentally got
caught himself His name was Way, as
above stated; he was a woodchopper in
the mountains, and, seeing many bear
tracks around he thought he'd build trap
and catch bear. A bear trap is made of
heavy logs, like a small cabin, with a
door of the heaviest logs-about five feet
high and four feet wide. The door slides
up and down in groove. tits raised and
sustained by rope which is attached to a
trigger on the inside. A sheep is killed
and hung to the trigger for bait, and the
trap is ready for bears. Way had COM
pleted his trap, and was about to go and
get his bait, but thought he'd try the trap
first. He got inside to do it, and pulled
the trigger just like bear. The trap
worked splendidly, the heavy log door
fell, and there the trapper was caught in
his own trap. He tried jim vain to lift the
door again from the inside. He could not
bulge it. His ak and gun were on the
outside out of reach. He beloved
himself hoarse and hollow to make
somebody hear, but he was deep in the
canon and nobody heard. He had moth
ing to eat and could get nothing. A
caught bear with his mutton would not
have been in so bad box. He put his
hand through the openings between the
logs and gathered handfuls of snow to
quench his thirst He had been in the
bear-trap five days and nights, he said,
and had fully made up his mind to be-
come a skeleton in that mountain closet
when he heard the report of the gun atore-
said, and this awakened in him a new
hope OF life. He did the very best hal
lowing he had in him, and fortunately
succeeded in making himself heard. He
was almost gone, but the hunters had a
black bottle with them which acted as
life-restorer. They had great difficulty
in raising the door from the outside even,
as it was wedged in the grooves and frozen
up with snow. They took Thomas Way
| to their camp, and thawed him out, and