ANTOINE GARDAPEE. 



IN THREE CANTOS. 

 CANTO I. TRAPPING FUR KILLING A WOLVERINE. 



IT is possible that there may be another way to spell 

 this name. Antoine never spelled it, but then he 

 couldn't spell any other word; so we just take it as 

 it sounded. After the time when he killed the doe that 

 was with my buck we often met. Early in October I 

 dropped into his cabin, and found him overhauling a lot 

 of steel traps, putting in a rivet here and there, filing the 

 catch to hold the pan stiffer, or to make it go off easier, 

 as seemed best. His back was to the open door, and I 

 watched him a few minutes before announcing my pres- 

 ence by knocking on the door frame of his little log 

 shanty. He whirled around on the box which served 

 as a bench and said: "Come in! You jess a man I want 

 for see. Whar you be'n so long tarn? I was go for look 

 you up." 



"I've been working hard for the past week, and have 



not been up the river until to-day, when my partner, 



Guyon, wanted a day off ; so I thought I'd drift over your 



way and see if I couldn't get a deer, but haven't seen any 



fresh sign this morning. About a mile down the river a 



big flock of geese got up and came over my head very 



low, and if I had had a shotgun I might have got three 



or four, they were so thick; but here's one that dropped." 



"You don' eat heem, he's a t'ousan' year ol'; look a 



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