This is Part 3 of “The Trapper” series. Please read The Trapper Part 1 and continue to part 2 first for best enjoyment. I have placed a link to part 2 at the end of part 1.
The Trapper rose one more time to the chilling bite of winter and stoked his fire. The truth was that he spent more time keeping his fire hot throughout the the night than he did sleeping. The thick mat of evergreen boughs was just barely enough to keep him off the ground and he had to continually roll over to warm both sides of his body throughout the night. He was thankful that the Good Lord had seen fit to preserve his life in this ordeal but he also felt like a pig being roasted on a spit from rotating all night. As soon as he got the fire going he warmed himself over the fire once again and checked his clothes. Finally they were dry enough to put on. He held them over the fire a bit to get inside good and warm. It was good to be able to go more than a few feet from the campfire. He would now be able to search the edges of the creek for his lost equipment and set up more of a proper camp. The first thing he found was his boat that had come to rest on bank not far from where he’d spent the night shivering. The bore of his swivle gun was full of mud but otherwise undamaged. It was solid brass and once he was back at his cabin he could clean it out and it would be good as new. The powder on the other hand was nowhere to be found. He cut down a small maple tree with his axe and fashioned a lever to help him right the small watercraft and to steady himself on the uneven ground. A little farther downstream he found his tin pot for cooking and the stash of jerky which was also in a small tin with a scewtop lid. The lid kept most of the water out but the jerky had already begun to swell a little. Most of the smaller items were missing but he did manage to find his Kentucky long rifle that had been custom made for him. He swung open the brass plate on the side of stock and found that his patches and .36 caliber balls were still there. The plate on the other side held rendered fat that he used to maintain and lubricate the mechanisms that made the gun work. Most fortunately he found the the but plate was also intact and that’s where his spare flints were carried. If not for the loss of his powder he would have been able to fire his gun within a few minutes of cleaning it. He placed all these items in his boat and drug them up near the fire. He gathered a few cattail rootstocks from the edge of the creek as well as some wild mushrooms and with his recovered jerky he made a thin soup for breakfast. He then began to make a more proper camp. With his axe he dug a pit and placed the evergreen boughs in the bottom. The pit was long enough to lay down in and he covered it with his boat propped up like a leanto. The pit was 3 feet deep and 3 feet wide. It wouldn’t be really comfortable but it would get him below the frost and with a few stones warmed by the fire it would keep him from freezing to death while he slept. In case of any rain he would simply lower his boat over the hole and stay dry. The next thing he needed was a way to catch some food. He found a shallow place in the creek and with some stones he set up a weir to trap some fish. He made a gig by using the axe to split the maple staff into 4 prongs at one end held them in place with pegs and lashings of willow bark. Then he returned to his fire and waited. He was so busy that he didn’t notice the little feet that swiftly moved through the bushes away from his camp. Feet that would carry the story of a red haired giant to his family.
Continue to part 4
Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.
Announcement:
I am adding additional social media to my network. Eventually, I’ll be leaving Facebook behind for a multitude of reasons. Even though the Lloyd’s Lens Photography page is strictly non-political I have been restricted from interacting with followers with no explanation for why. But it’s not just that. For years now Facebook has throttled content providers in general. They encourage us to grow our audience and then want to sell us back the access to them. In addition, they collect and sell the data from our interaction. So Facebook has become an entanglement of thorns. In response I have created the Lloyd’s Lens Photography Discussion Group on MeWe. We can still interact directly on the blog but starting today I’ll be looking for more platforms that respect the privacy of my followers and don’t limit who gets to see the post.
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Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!
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