The drawing conveys the idea more clearly. The time shown is 8 p.m. and with the hour hand pointed towards the sun; south would be midway between 8 and 12 or in line with the figure 10.

When the sun is invisible and no compass or other ordinary means of locating directions is available it is advisable to stay in camp if possible. But it is well to know means of finding directions under such conditions for one never knows what may happen and a little knowledge along this line can do no harm even if it is never used. We sometimes read or hear from woodsmen of such means and usually they are given as safe and reliable methods. But they should never be taken too seriously. For instance we are told that moss grows only on the north side of trees, while the larger branches are on the south side. This is true in a general way but conditions have their effect and the shelter of the other trees or nearby hills may reverse the order more or less. But the fact that the sun’s rays never directly reach the north side of a tree encourages the growth of moss on that side, while the almost constant sunshine by day, on the south side, causes the sap to flow there more vigorously and thus gives a greater growth to the branches on the south side. In prairie country the prevailing wind, usually from the north, will give a permanent incline to the grass, which may help one to locate directions.

TRACKS, FOR THE TRAPPER

Experienced trappers can read the signs of forest and stream with a degree of accuracy that to the rest of us is surprising. He can make a fair estimate of the number and kinds of fur-bearing animals found in a locality, while the novice would see nothing.

It’s essential for successful hunting and trapping to be able to read the signs accurately. The experienced trapper will know instantly, on seeing a track, just what animal it was that passed that way and—by knowing its habits—will know about when it is likely to return, and how to place a trap for its capture. He can also tell with fair accuracy at what time the animal passed that way, and frequently, will know whether it was a male or female; whether it was looking for food or a place of rest, whether it was on its regular route of travel, and where it was going.

Before the coming of the tell-all snow, and the myriad tracks that then appear, the stream with its muddy or sandy shores is the most promising place to look for signs. In the mud alongside of a pool of water, the tracks of that busy little animal the muskrat can be seen. When it is seen at the water’s edge—and only a few tracks are visible—the trail appears irregular. But if one can see where it has walked for some distance, it will be seen that the animal has a regular step, some five or six inches in length. There is also the trail of the dragging tail, most plainly seen in the soft muddy bottom of the still, shallow water. In the snow the track will appear the same. But only the prints of the hind feet are visible, the front feet being very much smaller, and the print being obliterated by those of the hind feet. When the animal is running the prints of all four feet are readily discernible. The print of the hind foot will measure about two and a fourth inches in length if the full impression of the foot is to be seen.

The trail of the otter is unmistakable, owing to its peculiar, floundering, sliding mode of travel. It is seldom seen except in the near vicinity of the water. In the snow, the track is well defined and resembles the trail made by dragging a small log, the footprints in the bottom of the trail being very distinct. The length of jump is from four to eight feet, depending on the condition of the snow, and the footprints will measure about two inches in diameter.

Another animal that frequents the waterways is the mink. The track of this little animal may be found along the muddy shore, where the steep bank crowds it down to the water’s edge. At other times it will travel some distance from the water, and after the ice forms, will run on the ice, seldom going far from the shore. Its method of travel is an easy lope, and the footprints are nearly always in pairs about three inches apart, one somewhat in advance of the other, and separated by a distance of from one to two feet. The footprints measure from one to one and three-fourths inches in length. They are sometimes found entering the water at spring holes in the ice, and at open places in the rapids.

TRACKS, FOR THE HUNTER

While deer are not classed among the fur-bearing animals, they are interesting to all trappers, Note the drawings of the footprints of the common deer, the moose, the caribou, and the three most common species of rabbits, namely; the common cottontail, the snowshoe rabbit, and the jack rabbit. The tracks shown in one-fifth size are of the cottontail.

As you see in the drawings of the deer tracks, the hind foot is narrower and more pointed than that of the front. The doe also makes a smaller and more slender track. The average track will measure about two and a fourth inches in length.

The moose makes a similar track, but it is much larger and will measure about four and a half to five and a half inches.

The track of the caribou will average somewhat smaller than that of the moose and is of wholly different shape. It is not so pointed, and the hoof is split much higher, and it spreads out more. Also the prints of the two small toes on the back of the foot are to be seen in nearly all cases, while the moose does not always show them.

Almost everybody is familiar with the track of the rabbit, but we have shown three species, mainly to show the difference in their size. The feet being furred heavily, the prints of the toes seldom show, except on hard snow.

One is unlikely to mistake the track of the bear. It is the largest of the furbearing animals. Its tracks may sometimes be seen in the mud and wet moss of the northern swamps, also on the shores of the lakes and along the streams.

The bear has a shuffling gait and turns its toes outward. It is fond of walking on logs and will do so frequently, where fallen timber is plentiful. The track of a large black bear will sometimes measure eight inches in length, and that of the grizzly bear will be much larger.

TODAY’S MOUNTAIN MAN

Even when the beaver market collapsed in the 1840s, and after the last great meet-ups, the mountains still beckoned. Now the trappers of earlier days found work as army scouts, hunters for mining companies (and later for railroads), and as guides for the great wagon train migrations.

And today, because the mountains still beckon—as they have always beckoned—the mountain man works as a Hunting or Mountain Guide, a Game Warden, Mining Engineer, Forest Ranger, Logger, and Smoke Jumper.

RENDEZVOUS

The Rendezvous, as every devotee of the ethos of the mountain man knows, was the yearly meet-up of the trappers and traders, company men and independents, families, friends and hangers-on. It took place in high summer, well after the trapping season had ended.

Perhaps Neihardt in A Splendid Wayfaring described it best:

Ten weeks had elapsed since Ashley’s party had separated into four bands and struck out in as many directions from the camp on the Green River fifteen mile above the Sandy’s mouth; and now all the trappers employed by Ashley in that country, including the parties of Smith and Sublette who had wintered west of the divide, began to arrive at the place of rendezvous, their pack-animal laden with the precious spoils of many a beaver stream. By the 1st of July, 1825, one hundred and twenty men, including the twenty-nine who had deserted from the Hudson Bay Company, were encamped on the Green at the mouth of Henry’s Fork. Beckwourth tells us that many of the Frenchmen had their squaws and children with them, and that the encampment was “quite a little town.”