On striking any river, when on the hunt, the trappers are accustomed to keep a bright lookout for signs, often heretofore referred to. The word "signs" conveys but a vague idea of its all-important meaning, as it was received by the trappers. The news of the presence of "signs" sent a thrill of joy through the hunters of the olden time only equalled on board of whale-ships when the man at the lookout cries "_there she blows_". It rarely happens that this cunning, amphibious animal can be seen moving free, either on the river banks, or in the water; for nature has given him no powerful weapons with which to defend himself when surprised and attacked; but, what is better, she has endowed him with exceedingly sensitive eyesight and hearing, which enables him to detect the approach of danger in time to escape. The marks, however, which he leaves behind are, for a time, ineffaceable. These were only to be detected and used for his own purposes, by the superior intellect of man. The unequalled industry of gnawing down trees and cutting twigs, peeling off the tender cuticle of the willow bushes, digging away banks, and carrying on their shovel-shaped tails the earth, together with innumerable foot-prints and sometimes dams, were the items which filled up the catalogue of "signs" on which the trappers' vision was regaled after long and dangerous tramps in search of them. These "signs" were not always found together; but instead, they each could exist separately and thus would arouse the hunter's suspicions of the game near by. The little twig, as it floated down the stream, half denuded of its bark, would go unheeded by the casual observer, but, to the experienced trapper, it was a prize to be obtained; for, by its freshness, it indicated to his mind how near he was to the chance of obtaining and adding another pound or so of valuable fur to his stock on hand. To him, this small event, or one like it, as for instance, a fresh footprint, with its neatly defined claw-tracks, as moulded in the moistened earth or sand, was of a greater importance than the wonderful and striking workmanship exhibited in a dam; for, the latter might be old and deserted, whereas, the former was too recent to cause him to be deceived with such a sign; and in such a vicinity, he hesitated not to set his trap.