The Desert Home: The Adventures of a Lost Family in the Wilderness

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.

  THE PIT-TRAP.

  "Cudjo had already completed our deer-park, which consisted of severalacres, partly woodland and part of it being in the glade immediatelyadjoining the house. It was enclosed on all sides by a ten-rail fence,with stakes and riders, so that no animal of the deer species couldpossibly leap out of it. One of its sides lay along the lake; and atrench had been cut, so as to admit a small pond of water within theenclosure. Into this our bucks were put, and left to enjoy themselvesas they best might.

  "The next anxiety of Harry and myself was to procure a doe or two tokeep them company. There was no likelihood that we should capture apair of does as we had just done the bucks--since the does or thisspecies of deer are without the great antlers. How then should we gethold of one? That was what puzzled us, and set all our wits to work.

  "As we sat around the log-fire in the evenings we talked the matter overand over again. We might shoot one that had the fawns following at herheels; and we knew we could then easily take them--as these affectionatelittle creatures always remain by their mother, even after she hasfallen by the bullet of the hunter's rifle. But this was a cruelexpedient; and mamma, who of course overheard us planning the thing, atonce entered her protest against it. So, too, did Frank, for he was ofa very gentle nature; and, as you might say, could not endure to see afly killed, except when strict necessity required it. Yet, withal, thissame Frank, and mamma, who were entomologists, as well as ornithologistsand botanists, had killed many a fly--as might be seen by looking at alarge frame hung against the wall, where all sorts of flies, and moths,and great bright butterflies, were impaled upon the sharp thorns of thelocust. I am afraid that neither mamma nor Frank could have defendedthe point very gracefully with so contradictory an argument hangingagainst the wall. Harry and I, however, did not contemplate theadoption of this plan--as we knew that the fawns would be a long time ingrowing up, and we wanted an old doe or two at once.

  "`Can we not trap them?' asked Harry. `Why not take them in a trap, asFrank did the turkeys?'

  "`I am afraid you would not easily get deer into such a trap as thatwhere the turkeys were caught.'

  "`But, papa,' continued Harry, `I have read of other kinds of traps.One I remember well. It is made by building a large enclosure just likeour park, only leaving a gap; and then having two fences that run outfrom this gap far into the woods, and opening like the legs of a pair ofcompasses. The deer are driven between these two fences, and into thegap, when the hunters follow and close them in. I think that looks veryeasy to be done. How if we try it?'

  "`It would not do at all. In the first place, it would take us severalweeks to split rails enough to make the fences sufficiently long; and,secondly, we should require men, and dogs, and horses more than we have,to run the deer in the right direction. All this we might manage, it istrue, by undergoing a great deal of trouble; but I think I know a sortof trap that will serve our purpose better.'

  "`Oh, you do. I am glad. What kind, papa?'

  "`You remember where we noticed so many deer tracks running between twolarge trees?'

  "`Yes, yes, near the salt spring. You said it was a path used by thedeer and other animals, when they went to lick the salt from the rocksbelow.'

  "`Well--between those two trees let us dig a pit, and cover it over withbranches, and grass, and leaves. Then we shall see. What think you?'

  "`Oh, a pit-trap! that's the very thing!'

  "Next morning, with our spade and axe, Cudjo, Pompo, and the cart, weset forth. We were soon upon the ground, and commenced operations. Wefirst marked out the size of the pit--which was to be eight feet long,and to extend in width from tree to tree, as near to both as we couldconveniently get for the great roots. Cudjo then set to work with hisspade, while I handled the axe and cut off the spreading roots as theywere laid bare. Harry, meanwhile, employed himself with the hatchet ingetting long slender saplings and canes to cover in the pit. We threwthe earth into the cart, and hauled it off some distance into thewoods--taking care not to spill much of it around the place.Fortunately the ground was very soft and easily dug up, so that in aboutfive hours' time we had excavated a square hole, at least seven feetdeep. This would do, thought we. No deer could leap out of that hole,we were certain.

  "We now placed the saplings across the top, and over these a thinstratum of cane-reeds, and above all this a quantity of long grass andwithered leaves--so as to make it look as like as possible to the restof the surface around it. We then removed the clods, and other marks ofour work, put our implements into the cart, and started off home again.Of course we could do nothing more than wait, until some unlucky deershould drop into the pit.

  "By sunrise on the following morning, we paid a visit to our trap. Aswe drew near, we saw to our great joy that the top was broken in.

  "`We have caught something, papa,' said Harry as we ran eagerly up tothe ground. What was our astonishment, on looking into the pit, to seelying along the bottom the naked skeleton of an animal, which we knew atonce was that of a deer! We knew this by the horns, as well as piecesof the torn skin that were strewed all over the ground. All around theinside of the trap there were evidences of some terrible struggle thathad taken place during the night; and the reeds and grass that hadfallen in along with the animal were sprinkled with blood, and trampleddown upon the bottom of the pit.

  "`What can it be?' inquired Harry, as we stood gazing at this unexpectedpicture. `Ha! papa, I'll wager it was the wolves!'

  "`No doubt,' replied I; `it must have been they. The buck has fallen induring the night; and they have just leaped down upon, and made a mealof him.'

  "`Isn't it too bad,' said Harry, in a tone of vexation, `that we shouldhave constructed so fine a trap just to accommodate those rascallywolves? Isn't it too bad?'

  "`Have a little patience,' said I, `we shall see what can be done topunish the ravenous brutes. Run back to the house, and bring Cudjo,with his cart and tools--be sure you tell him to bring the largebasket.'

  "In a short time Cudjo came with his spade and cart, and we get freshlyto work upon the pit. It was now so deep that we had to use the largewillow-basket which Cudjo had made some time before. This we slung upona thong of deer's hide; and lowering it into the pit, we filled it withthe earth, drew it up again, and emptied it into the cart. It wassomewhat laborious work; and Cudjo and I took turns about with thebasket and spade. After a couple of hours or so, we had added four feetto the depth of our pit, which made it twelve in all. Of course we cutthe sides as nearly perpendicular as we could--if anything a littlehanging over. We covered it as before, putting fresh leaves and grasson the top of all.

  "`Now,' said we to one another, as we marched off, `let us see the wolfthat will leap out of that, should he be only fool enough to drop intoit. He may kill the deer while he is in, but we shall do the same forhim in the morning.'

  "Next morning we started forth again, big with expectation. Our wholeparty went,--Frank, Mary, and the little ones,--as they were all eagerto see the trap, and whether we had taken anything. Cudjo brought withhim his long spear, while Harry and I carried our rifles. Frank armedhimself with his bow. We were prepared for the wolves every way.

  "As we drew near the trap, Harry, who had gone a few paces in advance ofthe rest, came running back to announce that the top was broken in, andthat there was some animal inside. This was great news; and we allhurried forward, filled with the excitement of expectation. We weresoon upon the spot, and looking down into the pit. The hole that hadbeen made through the grass covering was not a very large one, and itappeared quite dark inside; but in the midst of the darkness we coulddistinguish the shining eyes of animals. There were more than onepair--there were several--all looking up at us and glittering like coalsof fire! `What sort could they be?' asked we of one another. `Werethey wolves? Yes, they must be wolves.'

  "Putting the rest to one side, I knelt down, and stretching my neck overthe hole, looked s
teadily in. I was not long in this position until Icounted no less than six pairs of eyes; and, to my great surprise, theseeyes were of various shapes and colours. The trap appeared to be fullof animals of all sorts!

  "At this moment the thought entered my head that there might be apanther among the rest; and as I knew that he could easily spring out, Ibecame somewhat alarmed, and hastily rose to my feet. I directed Maryto get into the cart along with the children; and we then led them offto some distance out of the way, until we should assure ourselves as towhat sort of creatures were our captives. We returned to the trap, andcautiously removing a quantity of the grass so as to admit the light, weagain looked down. To our great delight the first animal we coulddistinguish was the very one for which we had made the pit--a red doe--and still better, among her legs we saw two beautiful spotted creaturesof a light cinnamon colour, which we at once recognised as fawns. Wethen looked around the pit for the others whose eyes I had seen; andthere, crouching in the darkest corners, we saw three bodies of areddish-brown colour, closely squatted like so many foxes. But theywere not foxes--they were wolves, as we knew well--three wolves of thebarking or prairie species. They were not likely to bark much more,although they howled a bit, as Cudjo reached them with his long spear,and finished them in a trice.

  "Mary was now brought back; and Cudjo, descending into the pit, securedthe doe and fawns which were soon hoisted up, and put into the cart.The wolves were also flung out and dragged off to some distance; and thetrap was again put in order for farther captures after which we allreturned to our house, pleased with the valuable addition we had made toour stock. We were not much less pleased at having destroyed the threewolves--for these animals were very plenty in the valley, and ever sinceour arrival had caused us much annoyance. A piece of meat could not beleft outside without being carried off by them; and even since thecapture of our two bucks, they had several times chased them through thepark, until the noise made by the snorting of the latter had brought ourdogs, and some of us along with them, to their rescue.

  "But the most curious circumstance connected with this affair was, whythese wolves had left the doe and her fawns unmolested. They could havekilled the three in a moment's time, yet not a hair was ruffled upon anyof them! This strange conduct on the part of the wolves puzzled us allat the time; and we could not offer even a probable conjecture as to itscause. We found it out afterwards, however, when we became betteracquainted with the nature of these animals. We found that of the wildcreatures that inhabited our valley, the prairie wolf was by far themost sagacious of all. Even sly Reynard himself, who has been so longfamous for his craft and cunning, is but a stupid when compared to hisown cousin, the barking wolf. This we proved satisfactorily, when weendeavoured afterwards to trap these animals. We first tried them witha `cage-trap,' similar to that which Frank had used in taking histurkeys. We baited it inside with a nice piece of venison; but althoughwe saw tracks all around, and particularly on that side nearest to thebait, not one of the wolves had cared to venture up the funnel-shapedentrance. We next laid a bait with snares around it, made out of thesinews of the deer. We found the bait gone, and the snares gnawed topieces, as though the rats had done it; but we knew by the tracks thatit was no other animals than the prairie wolves. Our next attempt waswith a `figure-of-four' trap. It was constructed with a large shallowcrate, made of split rails, and set leaning diagonally with its mouthdownwards. It was held in that position with a regular staying andtriggers--just as Frank and Harry used to set their traps to catch smallbirds. The bait was placed underneath upon the staying, in the mosttempting manner we could think of. On returning to examine our trap inthe morning, we saw as we came near that it was down. We have caughtone of them at last, thought we. What was our astonishment to find, onthe contrary, that there was no wolf under the trap, and, moreover, thatthe bait was gone! This was easily explained. A large hole had beenscraped under the trap, which, running for some distance underground,came out upon the outside. But the most singular part of the businesswas, that this hole had evidently been burrowed before the trigger hadbeen touched, or the trap had fallen! We could tell this, because thehole was made from the outside, and through it the animal had mostlikely entered. Of course, in laying hold of the bait, the trigger wassprung, and the trap fell; but it was of no use then, as the wolf hadonly to crawl out through the subterranean road he had made, draggingthe meat along with him!

  "We again tried the `pit-trap'--although we still had the one which wehad made near the salt springs, and in which we afterwards from time totime caught deer and other animals, but no wolves. We made another,however, at a different part of the valley, near some caves where weknew the wolves were in great plenty. We baited this, first placingsome venison upon the covering of leaves, and afterwards putting one ofour live bucks into the pit; but in both cases the bait remaineduntouched, although we had sufficient evidence that wolves had beenaround it all the night.

  "We were very much chagrined by these numerous disappointments, as wewanted to thin off the wolves as much as possible. We occasionally shotan odd one or two; but we as often missed them; and we could not affordto waste our powder and lead upon them. Cudjo, however, did thebusiness at last, by constructing a trap such as he said he had oftencaught raccoons with in `old Vaginny.' This was arranged something onthe principle of the wire mouse-trap; and the spring consisted in ayoung tree or sapling bent down and held in a state of tension until thetrigger was touched, when it instantly flew up, and a heavy logdescended upon whatever animal was at the bait, crushing or killing itinstantly. By means of Cudjo's invention we succeeded in taking nearlya dozen of our skulking enemies in the course of a few nights, afterwhich time they grew so shy, that they would not approach anything atall that looked like a `fixture,' and for a long while we could trap nomore of them.

  "Of course all these incidents occurred afterwards, but they convincedus that it was owing to their great sagacity, why the three we hadkilled in the pit had left undisturbed the doe and her fawns. They wereno doubt the same that had eaten the buck on the night before. They hadfound him in a shallow pit, out of which, after making their supper uponhim, they had easily escaped. Returning again next night, they hadwatched until the doe and her fawns came along and dropped into the pit;and then, without dreaming of any change in the circumstances of thecase, the wolves had leaped in after. But the increased descent downwhich they had pitched, convinced these wary animals that they had`leaped without looking,' and were `in the trap' themselves; and,guessing that whoever had made that trap would soon be alongside, theywere as much frightened as the poor doe. In this state we had actuallyfound them--cowering and crouching, and more scared-like than the fawnsthemselves. You will think this a very improbable relation, yet it isquite true. An equally improbable event occurred not long after. Frankcaught a large fox and a turkey in his trap; and although they had beentogether for some hours, not a feather of the turkey was plucked by itsaffrighted neighbour!

  "I have also heard of a panther, who, by the sudden rising of a flood,had found himself upon a small islet in company with a deer; andalthough at any other time his first instinct would have led him topounce upon the deer, yet the poor thing was allowed to run aboutwithout its fierce companion making any attempt to molest it. Thepanther saw that he and the deer were equally in peril; and a commondanger among the wild animals--as among men--frequently changes foesinto friends."