The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1911-02-18

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a constant stream of treasure for nearly two
and half centuries. Last year, according 70
Canadian export figures this treasure amount
ed to S2,719822 but no credit was given ior
the enormous home consumption Of raw pelts
Tho actual catch was worth at least $5ooo;
O00 The coming season will see $7,Ooo'oov
worth Of furs caught in Canada, in spite o.
the fact that the actual number Of skins Will
be at least a quarter less than year ago.
when the lives Of between thirty ana Iorey
million wild things were taken that Mllady
Of civilization might have her furs
AS recently as eight years ago, Wnen tne
writer first began his journeys into the nortn-
land. one struck the great fur country as soon
as he crossed Lake Superior. From there y
ranged to the Arctic sea. Less than decade
has brought about a tremendous change and
now one travels a hundred miles farther north
before he enters the .last great trapping
ground" From this great trapping ground
comes seventy per cent. of she better class
of furs worn by the American woman and hef
Canadian sister.
In a vast desoIation one-th1rd as large as
the whole of Europe there Is no railroad no
white mans village, and its population - less
than that of the Sahara Desert. In It's cen
ter is Hudson's Bay, the great ice box OF
the north-nine times as large as the state OF
Ohio. Over this vast territory at distances
of from one to three hundred miles apart are
scattered the Hudson's Bay Company's posts
and those of it's French competitors, the Re
yeiIlon Brothers. In most instances post
consists Of nothing more than company
store" the factors house, and two or three
log cabins Except during the months OF the
trapping season these are practically the only
points OF human life In country that runs
two thousand miles east and west and from
two to eight hundred north and south
With the first breath OF winter the fur-gath.
erers begin to bury themselves in the vast
desolation about them, travelling one and
sometimes two hundred miles away from the
post to their old trapping grounds.
From the moment he leaves his door to go
over his Iine,. three days supply OF food ana
a thick blanket In his pack-sack, knife, q
belt-ax and rifle as weapons, every hour Is
filed with excitement for the hunter Of FUR.
On his snowshoes he speeds swiftly from trap
to trap every mile of snowy forests and
swamps revealing the mysteries Of the wild
things to him as plainly as a picture>hook.
In one trap he finds great white owl and
cuts off the beautiful wings for the wife and
children back In the cabin. In the next there
is a huge snow-shoe rabbit, frozen stiff as it
had died. And then, from through the thick
and gloomy balsam ahead, he hears the faint
climbing of a chain. His blood seaps now, for
this ROYAL sport Of the wilderness never grows
old TO the fur-hunter The chain clinks loud
er, and he draws in quick exalted breaths as
he lifts the hammer of his rife and stares
ahead He comes suddenly upon the next
house, and there is a snarling, leaping thing
In the air before him, great silver-gray
furred thing, 1.-the and beautiful as 1t crouches
at bay-a lynx And magnificent specimen,
its sixInch fur, as fine as woman's hair.
erumpled and lying richly upon the blood
stained snow as it waits for the man 70 come
within springing distance. But the hunter
knows better He aims carefully for spot
where he can sew up the bullet hole, and fires.
Only short time from now some gently nur
tured beauty of civilization will press the
warmth and regal loneliness of that thing to
her face, and-is 1t possible that vision OF
this wilderness tragedy will come to her then?
No more than the dark-faced hunter sees a
vision OF that womans loneliness as he skins
his catch and hurries on. To each Is given
but a part of the picture.
The forest man knows only that he has
caught Number One, Extra lynx, and that
the Company vii pay him fifteen dollars for
1t. His mental visions go no farther than
that. He makes no effort to follow it In the
great ship that will carry it to Paris or Lon
don, where 1t will be sold at great profit;
nor to the furriers shop nor to the dainty
girl or the society matron in New York who
will pay $50 for that same fifteend dollar lynx
I'm an imported muf He goes on, keyed
to higher excitement until the end OF the day
comes. and in the first gray gloom OF early
night he stops at one of the three or four
small log shelters which he has built for him
self along the trapline, gets his supper, lights
his pipe, and reviews the happenings Of the
day until slumber closes his eyes.
It will take him three days to cover forty
mile trap-line, and when he returns to his
cabin at the close OF the third he Is welcome
by the glad cries OF his children and the
laughter and Joy Of his wife, who has d ten
der roast porcupine venison stew waiting
for him. For two days after that he rests
smokes his pipe, and tells Of his adventures
while his wife scrapes the fat from his pelts
and stretches them on sticks Then. once
more, he shoulders his pack, and goes again
upon bis round Of excitement, adventure and
profit