54 NEWFOUNDLAND 



Jack looked shy and utterly uninterested as the old man 

 continued. 



"Stephen was married to the daughter of old Jim 

 Baxter, himself half an Indian, and a man that had spent 

 all his days reevin' through de woods, so o' course he 

 warn't o' much account. People was mighty civil to Stephe 

 as they was afraid of him, and thet's the way o' most. Yet 

 he was a merry cuss, singin' and laughin' all de time and 

 nothin' to scare a body till ye caught his eyes, and then folk 

 was apt to feel cold. He tried to knife one young chap fer 

 spillin' some coffee on his toes, an' he used to say straight 

 that if he found any white man trappin' bear or huntin' deer 

 too far from de Bay he'd shoot 'un dead. So most folk stop 

 at home. 



" He'd a great name as a hunter, and whiles used to take 

 town's fellers to de woods, that is, them as didn't know 'un 

 and was fools enough to go with 'un. Course those days they 

 got nothin' cos Stephe 'ud tramp 'em all through de meshes 

 and scare every mother's son o' deer so long as de grub 

 lasted. One time he go out wi' a young 'un from St. John's, 

 named Molony, for a fortnight, and when they come back 

 that feller ain't seen so much as a deer's scut. So I ask 

 Stephe, who liked me somehow, how 'twas. 



"'What, 7ne show Molony deer?' ses he sarcastic, 'while 

 there's sugar and coffee and bacon. Oh no, no, no, that 

 ain't Stephe." And the old man and Jack indulged in an 

 amused chuckle. 



I was interested in this queer character, so in response 

 to my request for more " Stephe," Saunders continued. 



" There was a loud blowin', bully in' feller that kept a 

 merchant store down Bonava' Bay, and made lots o' money 

 by cheatin' us poor folk. His name was Stanley, an' he 



