164 THe Aroostook Woops. 

catchem trouts, too ;” and lively she chatted on for an Indian 
girl, doing all the talking for herself and quiet sister, who 
hardly said a word to us, but always had a pleasant smile for 
her cheery, laughing sister. 
One part of the make-up of this quiet camping scene has 

often come to mind when cooking musqua — beg pardon, 
when speaking of cooking the musquash. Half-way from 
the tent to the river, in a hollow place that Nature had 
formed, just perfect for the purpose, was driven three beech 
stakes, about five feet long, their ends withed together at the 
top, each slanting well out at the bottom. To these was 
hanging from a stout beech hook, withed on above, a small 
old-fashioned cooking pot, three-legged and round bottom. 
This, the lively girl remarked, had belonged to -her two 
> 
‘¢orand fadders, and no breakum, long time velly.” Beneath 
the fire was built in the true Indian style, the wood laid up to 
a peak, the small blaze immediately under the pot; the tin 
plate for a cover was raising and falling with the steam, emit- 
ting a savory smell on the air, and we asked: 
‘What are you cooking, brother?” 
‘*Oh, he musquash stew.” 
‘“*How do you make it?” 
“Oh, plently musquash, piece poke, onion, potato, 
cookum altogedder, velly long time, velly slow. No havum 
onion, go dig um down shore,” (meaning the small wild 
onion). ‘Sometime findum ‘sheepnoc’ putum him in 
too, he good.” (Sheepnoc is the bulb of one of the wild 
lilies). ** Say boys, spose you likum musquash stew, good ; 
you stay eatum some?” 
We thanked him kindly and after examining his spruce 
bark smoke-house, nearly filled with partly cured saddles of 
