“You run to the camp and tell Mr. Hunter what has occurred,” he said, when he had concluded his story. “I’ll stay and watch the bear.”
Mr. Hunter and several of the men arrived soon. He complimented Will on his capture, and pronounced the bear a fine specimen of his species.
Will watched the men interestedly as, with the aid of poles and hooks, they secured bruin so that he could not injure them, when they conveyed him to a cage wagon which was sent for.
Some chloroform on a sponge robbed bruin of his natural fierceness, and he was finally safely caged.
The ensuing morning a fox and a wolf were found, with other smaller animals, in the traps, set in various places around the camp.
The history of one day was that of all the week spent at the camp. One wagon was ready to send back, and then Mr. Hunter announced that they would push on still further into the wilderness.
It was an exciting and interesting tramp for the two boys. The ensuing three weeks were the busiest ones they had ever known.
They learned how the moose, the deer, the otter, the catamount and other animals were captured, and many a thrilling experience was theirs in a quest for rare birds amid the lonely forests.
When the snow became compact, rude runners were substituted for wheels on the wagons, and several of the vehicles left the expedition filled with captured animals and birds.
When they were traveling it would sometimes be entire days ere they would come across a settlement, or even a house.