ANTOINE GARDAPEE. 219 



a little more after the long tramp on snowshoes; but if 

 you'll only let our friend the Raccoon have a fair whack 

 at that bear the load will be lighter to carry. He's had 

 one big breakfast about five times as much as I could 

 ea t but just let him fill up on bear meat, and our load 

 home will be light." 



Antoine thought a minute and replied: 'Til tole you. 

 I'll doan lak bear leever, but a Injun he lak him bes' of 

 all. I'll cook-a heem dat leever, an' you'll heat my col' 

 pa'tridge w'at I roas' las' night w'en da bear was warm. 

 I'll tole you I'll have long chase for Afum, an' I t'ink I'll 

 loss him in a dark, but he stop to look roun' an' I get 

 him. He good an' fat, an' w'en he freeze I lak heem jess 

 so good as de pork, an' he make some good fat for fry 

 de feesh an' roas' de pa'tridge." 



For years the name "Afum" bothered me. The 

 Ojibway name for the bear is muckwo, and, as the word 

 was neither French nor Indian, it was a puzzle until in 

 later years I learned that Western hunters call the griz- 

 zly bear "Ephraim," and this must have been the name 

 which the trapper tried to use. 



Antoine rigged a couple of light, flexible poles to a 

 piece of bark, on which we placed the hindquarters of the 

 animal, wrapped in its skin. A short, light rope was 

 attached to the poles, and with the rope as a collar and a 

 pole under each arm a man could haul quite a load over 

 the snow where a sled would have cut in. The front 

 edge of the bark was rolled up sled fashion, and by fol- 

 lowing the stream and trail it was mainly a down-hill 

 haul, with the exception of a few knolls. When all was 

 loaded Antoine went his way over his line, and I pointed 

 to each load and then to Ah-se-bun to take his choice, the 

 hindquarters and skin being the heaviest. Which do 

 you think he took? 



