Thus in a few hours young Carson would erect him a home, so cosey and
cheerful in its aspect as to be attractive to every eye. Reclining upon
mattresses really luxurious in their softness, he could bask in the beams
of the sun, circling low in its winter revolutions, or gaze at night upon
the brilliant stars, and not unfrequently have spread out before him an
extended prospect of as rich natural scenery as ever cheered the eye. He
had no anxiety about food. His hook or his rifle supplied him abundantly
with what he deemed the richest viands. He knew where were the tender
cuts. He knew how to cook them deliciously. And he had an appetite to
relish them.

Having thus provided himself with a habitation, he took his traps and,
either on foot or on horseback, as the character of the region or the
distance to be traversed might render best, followed along the windings of
the stream till he came to a beaver dam. He would examine the water
carefully to find some shallow which the beavers must pass in crossing
from shoal to deep water. Here he would plant his trap, always under
water, and carefully adjust the bait. He would then follow on to another
dam, and thus proceed till six traps were set, which was the usual number
taken on such an expedition.

Early every morning he would mount his horse or mule and take the round of
his traps, which generally required a journey of several miles. The
captured animals were skinned on the spot, and the skins only, with the
tails which the hunters deemed a great luxury as an article of food, were
taken to the camp. Then the skin was stretched over a framework to dry.
When dry it was folded into a square sheet, the fur turned inward and a
bundle made containing from ten to twenty skins tightly pressed and
corded, which was ready for transportation. These skins were then worth