54 APPOINTED GUARDIAN OF "GODBOUT" 



any others that I could lay my hands on. I was 

 very fond of reading, and this practice I con- 

 tinued on my trapping trips, always having a 

 book or two with me. My father had a good sup- 

 ply of books, and from these I selected whatever 

 I fancied, to which he never made any objec- 

 tion. Books on travel, natural history and medi- 

 cine were my favorites. It was during these 

 months of my guardianship that I learned how 

 to swim and dive. The water was much warmer 

 than at any place I had hitherto been living at, 

 excepting Three Eivers, and I therefore took ad- 

 vantage of it, so much so that the natives used to 

 say that I was half seal. Some ridiculous stories 

 were told of my aquatic f^ats, such as being able 

 to remain under water for half an hour or more 

 without breathing. There are many fishermen 

 who still believe this story, which I, of course, 

 never contradicted, and the origin of which was 

 as follows: "Godbout Bay" was then a great re- 

 sort for cod, especially for what was designated 

 as the fall cod fishing. This would begin about 

 the 15th of August, and continue in some years 

 to October and November. Boats from Matane, 

 Green Island and other parts would congregate 

 here, and sometimes an occasional fishing schoon- 

 er from the States. One day a young fellow, 

 while washing his hands over the side of his boat, 

 dropped what was to him a valuable gold ring. 

 It was one of those old-fashioned flat rings, en- 



