Raymond S. Spears

“ When a white weasel added the cabin to his runway, when mice rained squeaking out of the roof, or the weasel darted its evil little head into the room, its beady eyes shining in the red lights from the stove, French Louie would swear and quiver and exclaim—but not loud enough really to alarm the little visitor. ”

“ The owl took turns in cursing French Louie for the uprising stream of hot air, eating the rabbit, and walking sidewise on its perch to find the place of least disturbance.
At the camp where Two Toes tore down the game-pole an which French Louie had hung bait and meat, the old trapper cursed wolves up and down for hours. He declared that he would poison all the meat in the woods.. He affirmed that he would never, never leave a camp without a double line of traps and double doses of poison in every morsel of meat ”

“ Snow-storms alternated with bright, sunny days, but the winter grew steadily colder. The animals that French Louie found in his traps had less and less fat on them. The grouse tasted of balsam and were no longer good to eat. The rabbits grew rapidly scarcer, for their kind now furnished almost the only food for many birds and beasts—owls and foxes, wolves, fisher, marten, and lynx. The snow displayed a thousand tragedies. ”