eleven o’clock
At one of the traps a fine sable had been caught , and as if for very mischief the marauder had torn the beautiful skin , which was worth ten or a dozen dollars , to shreds . Surely , if there is a business in the world that demands patience and perseverance , it is trapping . At least it took about all I could summon to go resignedly to work , make new spindles , catch fresh bait , and set the traps again , especially with the prospect of having the same task to perform the next morning . I went at it , however , and by eleven o'clock had them all reset save one , the upper one , where the sable had been caught , when , on approaching it through the thick spruces , I saw a large raccoon gnawing the sable 's head . Seeing me at the same instant , he caught up the head , and before I could unsling my gun scuttled away out of sight . Was it possible that a ' coon had been doing all this mischief ? I knew them to be adepts at a variety of woods tricks , but had never heard of their robbing traps before .