"`When I was a gal,' she commenced, and went on in the pure American dialect, `and even arter I married my man--poor fellow! he's gone long ago--I used to go out in the woods arter the deer that our hunters had killed and hung up, so that they could go on killin' without losin' time; and I used to bring 'em in, skin 'em, and jerk 'em, too. And that warn't all: I allers attended the wolf-traps, and all sitch like. There's but few mortal men livin' now what's seen as much fun a killin' wolves as I have. Whenever we got one fast in a trap, me and the dogs, we was allers good for him in double-quick time; but occasionally we got a little more than we bargained for. I recollect one time, little Josey (that's my oldest boy) and me, we went to a trap, and found the surliest-lookin' old "bar" (bear) in all creation fast in it by one hind-leg. "Turk" and "Rome" (them was our dogs), they mounted him, and began to do their best to kill him, and Josey and me sick't 'em on, and slapped our hands, but they weren't no more than fleas in his ear. He boxed 'em about hither and thither jest as he liked, till at last he got 'em both in his hug, and I seed he was a squeezin' the life out en 'em; so I told Josey to stop by a big tree, and then I took the axe (for I hadn't nothin' else with me), and run up to help the dogs. By the time I got up to him he'd laid one of 'em cold, and had t'other in a purty fair way. I let drive at his head; but he up with one paw and knocked the axe out of my hand about ten steps. This kinder staggered me, so I felt down like; and the next thing I know'd, the "bar" was a top o' me. I tusselled with him as hard as I could, you may be sure; but it warn't of much use. He squeezed me tighter and tighter, and I begun to think it was all over with me, and my little Josey screeching like mad, when up came my ole man, and cut the bar's wozzen from ear to ear. He'd hearn the noise the dogs and little Josey made, and knowin' there must be somethin' more than common, he'd run out. As soon as the "bar" was dead, he bust out into a loud laugh, and, said he, "You're a purty woman to be caught out here in the woods huggin' a bar, ain't you?" But poor old Rome! we couldn't fetch him to life any more. The bar had crushed all the bones in his body. I recollect another shindy I had when attending the traps. It was some time arter the "bar" scrape. Just afore I got in sight of a trap, I hearn Turk, what had trotted ahead of me, a makin' a dreadful queer kind of a whinin' noise. I ses, ses I, to myself, there must be something wrong with Turk; so I hurried up as fast as I could. And, shure enough there was too. The biggest eagle I ever hearn tell on was a standin' with one claw fast in the trap and t'other clamp up around Turk's nose so fast that he couldn't no more open his mouth than he could a whistled if it had been open. There he stood, with all his legs poked for'ard, a yankin' back, and a makin' all the noise he possibly could.