March it, issi.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



125 



and three buckshot on top of half bis palnrful Of RpWder ; 



then bearing the gun and his axe to the edge of the corn- 

 field, been; I v, n <\,,;u, sL-ikcs three feet long, which he drove 

 boo the groui ii aba u Con r& I apart, and then split, the Kips 

 jtewp-ward fat enough lo allow the gripe of ibe guitto be 

 rarcodinXo the cleft of the first and the barrel into tMt of 

 the second, so that the line of fire should be acGordjug in es- 

 tablished rule— "hi, the hay Lb ol' the oittsldebone nf n feller's 

 knee." OIqsc to nod opposite the lock he drove another 

 etake, on top of which he fixed 11 Bhori lever will i one end 

 resting against the front of the trigger. To the other end. 

 When the work was completed, was attached a line of elm 

 park, r itlbcd with eajth to dull its too conspicuous whiteness 

 and stretching out sixty or seventy feet beyond the gun 

 muzzle, running at iutemds through" cleft stakes, wedged to 

 keep them from pinch ng it. 



When Uncie 'Lisha's task was done, and he straightened 

 his long-bent back with his palms and gaVe a last critical 

 look at his infernal machine, he could sec no reason why it 

 should not do its deadly work if the bear would do his part.. 

 So toward sundown he primed iho gun and, setting it at full 

 cock, left it to guard the cornfield. Hoping to get a booming 

 dispatch that should tell the death of the operator of his tele- 

 graph, he hardly got into his accustomed heavy sleep till 

 midnight, but was not awakened front it by any sound till 

 cockcrow. 



Then, when the rayless sun was rising like a red moon 

 above the ridge of the mountain, he went to the cornfield and 

 found everything undisturbed, no more corn destroyed, and 

 the old gnu asleep with heads of dew on its rusty barrel. He 

 made it harmless foi the day by brushing the priming outof 

 the pah and setting it at half-cock. 



"Las' night warnt bis night," he said, "but he'll come to- 

 night, see 'f he don't ! " and went home. 



Toward nightfall he put the spring-gun on guard again. As 

 in the gloaming he leaned over " do' yard " fence, smoking a 

 meditative pipe, with his eastern ear unconsciously cocked 

 toward the cornfield, he became aware of an inle'rinittent 

 glow a furlong down' the lonely road that outshone the flash- 

 ing of the fireflies. It was somebody's pipe, and as it drew 

 nearer its dim light revealed the featuresof AntoineBassette, 

 a self-exiled Canadian " patriot," who had fought and fled 

 with Papineau and had taken shelter here, safe from the 

 lion's paw eveu in the edge of the eagle's nest, wheie he was 

 hatching out into an American citizen, chipping the shell 

 with brave pecks at the speech and customs of Yankee land. 

 Thus far in bis life's pilgrimage he had shuffled along in moc- 

 casins, but as he drew near To naturalization he aspired to 

 hoots, which, having been bespoken and duly measured for, 

 were the cause of his visit to Uncle 'Lisha. 



" Bushoo, mushcer," said 'Lisha, airing his French in the 

 twilight. 



"Bon soir, monsieur," politely responded Bassette, and 

 then, with more faith in his own English, poor as it was, 

 than in'Lisha's French, good as its owner thought it : 



"Prob'ly you ^ot dem boot done, Oncle 'Lisha, don't it? 

 Wal, prob'ly it ain't. Wal, ah don' care, you gat hcem doue 

 fore soon, prob'ly. One man tole me bear heat mos' all up 

 you corn, Oncle 'Lisha, an' you gain.' catch heem wid gawn. 

 Bat so, Oncle 'Lisha, hein I You tink it bear, Oncle 'Lisha'/ 

 Wal, ah guess it Beers' hole saow, me Sacrc eoohon ! heal 

 all ma pataek. Daam hole pig like dat! You gat good gawn, 

 Oncle 'Lisha ? Ah spose so, prob'ly, good gawn keel bear ? 

 Da a no bear you co'nfeel. Beers' hole saow. Ah hope you 

 gawn ketch heem, me. You gat dat boots did, Oncle 'Lisha ?" 



And not till now did 'Lisha find a chance to answer that 

 they were not done and that he was sure it was not neighbor 

 Beers' hogl hat had done the mischief in the cornfield, for he 

 had seen plainly the tracks of a bear and had found fur such 

 as never grew on swine. 



The boots were so near completion that a Half hour's woik 

 ■would make them ready for the torture of the poor Canuck. 



"Come in, Ann Twine, come in. an' I'll finish 'em up to 

 rights." So saying, Uncle 'Lisha led the way info his little 

 shop and;iighledthecandle which, stuck in theendof a joint- 

 ed wooden sconce, illumined his nightly labors. Then he de- 

 liberately donned his leather apron," lowered himself into the 

 polished leathern seat of his shoe bench, set his iron-rimmed, 

 owl-eyed spectacles astride his nose, fished out the boots from 

 a clutter of clumsy lasts, broad slabs of sole leather, rolls of 

 cowhide and sheepskin, gave his long shoe knife a rasping on 

 the peculiar coarse, gritty stone used only by shoemakers, 

 and was ready for work, or would have, been if I he sharp 

 knife bad not reminded hint of a storv which he began to 

 tell, the edge of the knife and the boot, held between his 

 knees, sharing, by turns, bis admiring glances. 



"Ann Twine, when my father lived in Connecticut be 

 knowed a man that had a shoe knife jtillnek that 'at was the 

 cutest thingto cut biead with anybody ever see, so't they use 

 to send for the shoemaker to go to taverns when the' was 

 trainin's and to housen when the' was gret weddiu's, an' such 

 cmintmuxes, jest a puppus to cut the bread. Onct the' was 

 a great shearin' to Colonel Leaven worth's 'at kop a thousand 

 sheep an' had twenty shearers an' big doin's genally, an' they 

 sent for him to" — 



But he did not finish his story thit night, for ju-t then 

 the heavy air was torn by a loud report, so startling iu the 

 midst of the outer stillness that had been broken only by the 

 steady creak of the crickets, that it might remind one of the 

 signal gun of some savagely-beleagured block-house of the 

 olden time, and 'Tater Hill buried back an echo like an an- 

 swering gun from another fort and Hog's Back another, and 

 mingling with the swelling and dying reverberations was air 

 angry yell as of attacking Indians. 



"Good airth an' seas!" cried Uncle 'Lisha, scattering his 

 exclamations, his spectacles and the boot from the shoe bench 

 to the do'yard gate, as he rushed out, brandishing his knife. 



" Dome on, Ann Twine, come on, I've got him !" 



He was half way across the pasture before Autoiue decided 

 to follow him, and the Canadian barely kept the valorous old 

 Yankee in sight in the hazy moonlight as he stumbled across 

 the stony field and splashed through the brook and quite lost 

 him among the shadows of the maples, but found him again in 

 the cornfield just iu time to see him charge upon a writhing 

 black object, the bear, sorely hit with the ounce ball and 

 buckshot. The fray was short, the. bear sank out of it iu a 

 limp heap and his conqueror crept out of it, groaning. 



"Oh! Ann Twine, be you here?" lie gasped. "The 

 dummed etarnal critter's tore all my insides out, but I've 

 gathered up the best on 'em an' I'm goin' to try to git home 

 with 'em." 



As he became more clearly revealed to the terrified French- 

 man in the hazy light of the harvest moon, he was seen to be 

 stoopingpainfully along, bearing some ,burden iu his gath- 

 ered apron. 



"Oh, sacre.' sacre! sacre! Da's too bad, LYicle 'Lisha, 

 too bad, too bad 1 Oh, sacre 1 By gosh, sacre!" He had 



uld, 



pasture to 



illicient sign 

 otteu to put on 

 Lisha beeai 



>, fathei 

 i can't 



, his 



seen nothing so terrible iu the Papineau war. "Oh! what 

 ah do, Uncle 'Lisha, what ah do?" 



" You can't (dp me here none, Ann Twine, but you cut 

 fu' the house an' git outer the boss an' put fur (he <l>'etei. 

 Mabby he c'ji stuff 'em back so they'll answer for a spell." 



Autoiue sped across fields with a face whiter than the 

 moon that shone above him at a pace which had distin- 

 guished I he.CtoBe of his military CttKfiW. He shpt himself 

 into the kitchen of the little farmhouse anil gave placid Aunt 

 Jernsha a dreadful shock with the. dire tidings that "Oncle 

 •Lislra keel bear an' bear keel heem! Hole man dead an" 

 bringen' hissif home in bees aprum ! Ah go for doctor rat 

 off ! " 



The next minute he was in the barn, saddling the old 

 horse, and five minutes later went clattering down the 

 road at a . lumbering gallop toward the doctor's, five miles 

 away. 



Poor Aim t Jerusba went hurrying aci 

 give her wouuded lord such succor as she 

 wonted sickness at her stout heart. It i 

 of her trepidation and alarm that she had 

 her sun-bonnet. Halfway across the fit , 

 discernible against the dull whiteness of the mouse-ear and 

 everlasting of the sterile hillside. As they approached each 

 other, he s.emed indeed to be bringing himself home in his 

 apron, as the Frenchman had said, stooping over a burden in 

 that garment which was gathered in both his hands. 



"O, father, be you dead?" sobbed Aunt Jerusba, in a voice 

 strangely mixed of shrill and deep tones. 



"No, mother, I ain't dead; but I guess I'm goin' to be. 

 The 'tamal critler has tore me all to pieces! My heart an' 

 lights an' slummeck is inside yet, but I guess he's scooped 

 out all the rest on 'em." 



"O, what kin 1 do for ye, father; what kin I do?" cried 

 the wife. "Antoine's gone lickaty split artcr the doctor, 

 an' 't can't he long 'fore he'll come. I do' know as 1 could 

 git 'em back right if I tried, but I'll try 'f ye say 



"No, mother," 'Lisha answered, weakly; "j 

 nothin', only keep along with me, jist as ye alh 

 rusha," he added, with a tremulous tenderness 

 i hat reminded her of its tones when she was young and fair 

 Jerusba Chase, of Sunday nights, left forty years behind iu 

 their plodding journey. 



So they went slowdy homeward, she, when they came to 

 the fences, making a way for him to pass through. When 

 at last, they got home, the good old wife put hTm and his 

 burden tenderly to bed in ciothes and apron, tipped him ft 

 stiff dose of cherry rum into oneness, and then with the 

 housewifely instinct strong upon her even in the midst of 

 trouble, put things "to rights" for the doctor's visit, and as 

 quietly as possible awaited lhat, event. 



Some nighbors to whom Antoine had scattered out crumbs 

 of the burden of news as he journeyed toward the doctor's, 

 came dropping in to offer their help with the ready kindness 

 of our primitive communities. But there was nothing for 

 them to do. Two or three of the oldest women sat in the 

 little bed-room where Aunt Jerusha watched beside her hus- 

 band, whom she dared not doubt was soon to leave her alone 

 in this end of the world, for their only son had settled in 

 "the 'Hio," then almost at the other end of the world. The 

 other women sat primly against the walls of the "square 

 room," some telescoping their sun-bonnets together and mag- 

 nifying in whispers the latest neighborhood gossip. 



The men lounged in the doorways or against the side of 

 the house and dooryard fence, and" told iii low r voices their 

 experience with bears and discussed this most recent and 

 tragic one. 



"Uncle 'Lisha hedn't fit bears much," said one gaunt far- 

 mer who loved hunting more than farming; "'f he bed he 

 wouldn't a tackled one with a shoeknife." 



"It don't somehow seem noways fair t' set; spring guns 

 and traps and such for varmints, 'thoul it's skunks an' mink 

 an' mush-rats. I'd rather shuto one bear n' f trap ten. They 

 ha' no more iustinc' about a trap 'n a skunk lies!" 



"Wall," drawled an untimely- jester, "skunks lies out- 

 stink !" 



"But then," apologized another, less a sportsman than the 

 first two speakers, "he was a eatin' all Uncle 'Lisha's corn, 

 'u the'd got to be suthin' did. Gol darned ef I wouldn't kill 

 a bear any way I could if I hed to pizen him." 



"That would spile the skin," objected one, with an eye to 

 the main chance, "'n I d' know but 'twould the ile; sartain- 

 ly 'twould the meat." 



" Dot rot bear's meat,'' cried the despiser of bears, "I'd jes' 

 's soon eat snake's meat !" 



" Wall," remarked the joker, "I've beam o' folks 'at liked 

 snake's meat. I'd a leetle druther hev bear. It all depends 

 on how a feller was brung up, 'n we never hed no snakes 

 cooked 't our bouse." 



"Wonder 'f Uncle 'Lisha's bear's fat? " queried the thrifty 

 man. " 'f he is 't 'ill be quite a help to the widder. Bear's 

 ile is wuth suthin' cousid'able." 



" Wall, there I " exclaimed the gaunt hunter, unlooping 

 himself from the fence, "why haint we thought to go an' 

 fetch him hum 'stead a-loalin' round here doin' nothin ? 

 Come on, men, git a axe to cut a pole an' a rope to tie his 

 legs together, no, the line of the gun '11 do for that." 



And so, the axe found, a half dozen of them started across 

 the field and faded out of sight long before their voices were 

 drawn beyond hearing. 



The doctor had been aroused from his s'umbers by An- 

 toine's loud summons to "Come up to Oncle 'Lisha. Boar 

 tore his eenside all off, an' he don' gat ma boot done, mos.' " 



The first of the small hours found the. rough but kindly old 

 mediciner at 'Lisha's door before the bearers had returned 

 with the. dear-bought spoil. 



"Now, come inhere with me, you two chaps," he said, 

 selecting a couple of stout hearts, " and bring each on ye a 

 candle Well, 'Lisha," looking at his patient intently and 

 examining his pulse, "you don't 'pear so very bad off. Guess 

 we can fix you up for another bear fight yet! Now, men, 

 hold the lights,". and he put on his spectacles, rolled back his 

 cuffs and turned down the folds of the leather apron. He 

 carefully touched and closely inspected for a moment what 

 was disclosed, then his face flushed angrily and the candle 

 bearers were horrified to see him gather up the trailing mass 

 in both hands and hurl it across the room, roaring; 



" You confounded old fool ! these all belong to the bear !" 



Though 'Lisha had received some ugly scratches, he had 

 suffered no serious injury and was able next day to finish 

 Antoine's boots. And in consideration of his services iu the 

 old man's hour of sore trial he was nude happy, until he had 

 worn them a day, by having them given him outright. 



Awahsoosk. 



Keep the kidneys healthy and unobstructed with Hop Bitters and 

 you need not fear sickness, 



'A TRIP THKOUGH THE PROVINCES.' 



B -sioN, March 4 

 hhtiior JSiijvxt find Strm W 



When I hurriedly snatched off the letter which you were 

 kind though to print in your issue of tire 2-Rh utt. I had no 

 idea of entering into a controversy. T simply wanted to cor- 

 rect some slnleiuenis made as to the chances of getting good 

 shooting in the provinces during a short trip and at a slight 

 expense, which statements I knew from my own personal ex- 

 perience to be such as would give an erroneous idea of the 

 capabilities of that oountryin that respect. 



I endeavored to do somas genllemanly a manner as was 

 consistent with having to conliadii". certain statements made. 

 1 was especially induced to do so as I remembered an arlicle 

 on the subject of salmon fishing by the same author which 

 was exactly Of Lire same, nature. To the latter, however, 1 

 merely referred, as having been (it seemed lo me) very thor- 

 oughly and properly refuted by "Manhattan." 'I should be 

 p rfeetly willing to let the matter rest Ihere, and leave it to 

 the intelligence . of your readers lo decide whether I had or 

 not shown that misstatements had been made, were it not (hat 

 in his answer to me, the author of "A Trip Though the 

 Provinces" demands from me an answer to several questions, 

 and takes it upon himself to state that he does not believe 

 that I ever took a salmon, and thai personally 1 know little 

 of certain rivers in New Brunswick. As far as my article 

 goes it would not be of any importance if such were the ease, 

 as I merely spoke of his advice wuth regard to shooting. 

 However, as he has made the statement, I will say that in 

 1S78 a friend and myself were in camp fourteen days on the 

 Nepisiquit River, part of the time on the rough waters, where 

 we paid the government license of $1 a rod per diem, and 

 part of the time at the Fabitieah Falls and at Lanegan's camp 

 at the Chain of Reeks, where we were enabled to go by the. 

 invitation of one of die gentlemen who leased the river from 

 the Canadian Government, to whom we had letters of intro- 

 duction, and who was kind enough to extend this hospitality 

 tons. During this time we fished every pool iu the river 

 from the Chain of Rocks flown, that is every pool except 

 those at the camp at the Great. Falls. These we did not fish 

 as there was another party there, but we did go up in our ca- 

 noes to see the Great. Falls. During this trip we (two rods) 

 killed thirty-two fish, salmon and grf'se. 



The following year we went into camp again on the rough 

 waters, and iu two days killed one grilse apiece. As the 

 prospect was not very encouraging we broke camp, put our- 

 selves in light marching order, went up to the Great Falls, 

 portaged over litem, poled up the Nepisiquit as far as Por- 

 tage Brook, between seventy and eighty miles from our start- 

 ing point, Bathurst ; portaged over into Upslaquita Lake and 

 down the Upslaquita River into the Restigouche, and down 

 the Restigouche to Cambetltowu, from where we took the 

 railroad back to Bathurst, the round trip in canoes being not 

 less than 200 miles. As we had no permit to fish for saimon, 

 we did not take our salmon tackle with ns on this trip, nor 

 did we endeavor to do what could very easily have been done 

 at, the Great Kails of the Nepisiquit, try to get hold of salmon 

 on our trout rods. Both there and paddling down the Up- 

 slaquita and Restigouche rivers we could undoubtedly have 

 taken a few salmon, and ceitainlyno questions would bave 

 been asked, but that is not our idea of the way of doing 

 things. Lust season we were fortunate enough to" be able to 

 under-lease one of the rivers that empty into Gaspe Basin, 

 and we spent ten days in camp there. We killed eight sal- 

 mon that averaged nearly nineteen pounds (18J). 



By-lhe-bye, during our first trip, /'. <?., in 1878, after we 

 broke camp on the Nepisiquit, my friend wanted to profit of 

 the last days before the season closed, and as 1 had enough 

 fishing for that season I went down to Pokemouche for a few 

 days plover shooting, and he taking one of our men with 

 him went up the little, southwest branch of the Mirimacbi, 

 haying to hire two canoes and three Indians to make up his ■ 

 crew. He killed six or seven fish and joined me on the 2d 

 of September. 



I am aware that all this is not a matter of interest to any- 

 body ; but it does show that I have taken a salmon and that 

 I do know something of the Nepisiquit, Upslaquita ltesti- 

 gouche, and, through my companion, of the Miriuiachi, iu 

 spite of Mr. Fay's belief to the contrary. These scores are 

 not very large ones, but still they show that he did have a 

 certain amount of salmon fishing. But how did w T e get it ? 

 The first year through the fact of having friends who were 

 kind enough to give us letters lo gentlemen who invited us 

 to fish on their river ; Ihe second year we got, no fishing to 

 speak of; the third we were lucky enough to be able to sub- 

 lease a river from a. friend. In addition to this personal ex- 

 perience we bad wilh us as canoetneu ami guides men who. 

 know and have been about every salmon river in the Domin- 

 ion— certainly all that empty in to the Bay of Chaleur-aud 

 all the important ones on the St- Lawrence, going down to 

 the north shore— almost to (he Straits of Belle Isle. These 

 men arc very anxious to have us get fishing and have given 

 us all the information on the subject that experts could give, 

 and arc on Ihe watch for any possible chance; and yet we 

 have about come to the conclusion that the only way to get 

 salmon fishing is to hire a river which, unfortunately, is" beyond 

 the limits of our purses. I have never said or implied or 

 thought that there was no salmon fishing in the Provinces ,- 

 but 1 do say and know that if is not to lie got by anybody 

 who happens to get two or three weeks spare ti die and has a 

 bandied dollars in his pocket ; and anybody who starts oft 

 with any such idea will come back sold. The only open 

 fishing in New Brunswick at. present is on parts of the MM. 

 nioelii and on the rough waters of the Nepisiquit; to fish 

 the latter of which one dollar a day per rod must be 

 paid. Anybody who fishes elsewhere in that Province for 

 salmon without either hiring or being invited by somebody 

 who docs hire, simply poaches. I have no doubt that often 

 pity has been taken on parties win have dropped down there 

 without any definite plans or ideas on Ihe subjeel, and that 

 the right to fish for a day or two has ben granted them ; but 

 I do not suppose that any gentlemen would want lo start, off 

 deliberately with the idea of sponging on somebody. I am 

 accused of lacking careful observation and beiug more stupid 

 than a schoolboy because I said that from Mr. Fay's account 

 of the expenses one was rather in doubt as to whether he 

 meant one hundred dollars apiece or for the three. I showed, 

 however, that the latter was impossible; but mv reason for 

 expressing the possibility of a doubt was lhat "in his list of 

 expenses among the items, "Fares from Boston to Bangor, 

 Bangor to so-and-so, etc., which from the amount must be 

 individual fares, he enters $12.00 for team from Windsor to 

 Chester, which is the amount lie states Ihny paid for their con- 

 veyance. Now, they cither paid #3(i.0l) for that team or the 

 amount entered ought to have been $4.00 instead of $13.00, 



