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208
Animal Heroes
·
Ernest Thompson Seton
76
The
wolver,
with
a
load
of
the
strongest
steel
traps,
had
begun
his
autumn
work
on
the
'Cottonwood.'
An
old
Buffalo
trail
crossing
the
river
followed
a
little
draw
that
climbed
the
hills
to
the
level
upland.
All
animals
use
these
trails,
Wolves
and
Foxes
as
well
as
Cattle
and
Deer:
they
are
the
main
thoroughfares.
A
cottonwood
stump
not
far
from
where
it
plunged
to
the
gravelly
stream
was
marked
with
Wolf
signs
that
told
the
wolver
of
its
use.
Here
was
an
excellent
place
for
traps,
not
on
the
trail,
for
Cattle
were
here
in
numbers,
but
twenty
yards
away
on
a
level,
sandy
spot
he
set
four
traps
in
a
twelve-foot
square.
Near
each
he
scattered
two
or
three
scraps
of
meat;
three
or
four
white
feathers
on
a
spear
of
grass
in
the
middle
completed
the
setting.
No
human
eye,
few
animal
noses,
could
have
detected
the
hidden
danger
of
that
sandy
ground,
when
the
sun
and
wind
and
the
sand
itself
had
dissipated
the
man-track
taint.
The
Yellow
Wolf
had
seen
and
passed,
and
taught
her
giant
son
to
pass,
such
traps
a
thousand
times
before.
The
Cattle
came
to
water
in
the
heat
of
the
day.
They
strung
down
the
Buffalo
path
as
once
the
Buffalo
did.
The
little
Vesper-birds
flitted
before
them,
the
Cowbirds
rode
on
them,
and
the
Prairie-dogs
chattered
at
them,
just
as
they
once
did
at
the
Buffalo.
Down
from
the
gray-green
mesa
with
its
green-gray
rocks,
they
marched
with
imposing
solemnity,
importance,
and
directness
of
purpose.
Some
frolicsome
Calves,
playing
along-side
the
trail,
grew
sober
and
walked
behind
their
mothers
as
the
river
flat
was
reached.
The
old
Cow
that
headed
the
procession
sniffed
suspiciously
as
she
passed
the
"trap
set,"
but
it
was
far
away,
otherwise
she
would
have
pawed
and
bellowed
over
the
scraps
of
bloody
beef
till
every
trap
was
sprung
and
harmless.
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