18591 T'he Sense of Fear 



incident long since forgotten, with an antagonist a tragedy 

 older than I, though smaller. The tussle took place °^ P''^' 

 on a pond covered with ice. Both being afflicted 

 with "the tragedy of pride," neither was willing to 

 give up, and the combat ran on unduly. The final 

 result was '* peace without victory." In this, or in 

 any other bout in which I have engaged, I do not 

 remember actually losing my temper. During all 

 my career I have acted upon Senator Benton's 

 motto, "I never quarrel, but I sometimes fight." 



And only once, so far as I recall, have I ever felt Overpower- 

 an overpowering sense of fear. This experience ^^iear 

 occurred when I was nine years old. I was then 

 engaged in carrying a bucket of young pout from 

 our little tarn to plant them in the "Cranberry 

 Pond." The only open space of clear water in that 

 "quaking bog" was very deep, and shadowed on the 

 land side by tall hemlocks; out into it ran a fallen 

 trunk on which one could walk for a certain distance. 

 Under the trees it was dark, and in their tops the 

 winds were moaning loudly. Meanwhile I could see 

 on the shore three weird "deadfall" traps, each 

 baited with a sheep's head to catch predatory foxes. 



As I approached the open water, the noise in the 

 trees, the sight of the skulls, and the loneliness of 

 the whole scene all at once combined to give me a 

 sudden panic. Dumping the fish into the wet moss 

 at my feet, I ran back along the log and scuttled 

 home. For no rational cause at all I felt a cold chill 

 of fear which I still remember, and which enables 

 me to understand similar emotions in other people 

 under great stress. But I myself have never had 

 the same feeling again. The nearest approach to 

 it came at about the same time, when, looking out 



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