As deadly as inexplicable, not a few of the states have classed
it with black magic and declared its use a crime.
But no such sentiment prevailed in the high hills of Quonab's
time, and their preparations for a successful trapping season
were nearly perfect. Thirty deadfalls made by Quonab, with the
sixty made on the first trip and a dozen steel traps, were surely
promise of a good haul. It was nearly November now; the fur was
prime; then why not begin? Because the weather was too fine.
You must have frosty weather or the creatures taken in the
deadfalls are spoiled before the trapper can get around.
Already a good, big pile of wood was cut; both shanty and
storeroom were chinked, plugged, and banked for the winter. It
was not safe yet to shoot and store a number of deer, but there
was something they could do. Snowshoes would soon be a necessary
of life; and the more of this finger work they did while the
weather was warm, the better.
Birch and ash are used for frames; the former is less liable to
split, but harder to work. White ash was plentiful on the near
flat, and a small ten-foot log was soon cut and split into a lot
of long laths.
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