ANTOINE’S CARIBOU. 
E. W. PARKER, 
Mos’ de beeg bug got de craze for catch 
a deer. T’ree, 4, 5, mebbe, go on Megantic 
2, t’ree week an’ have bully tam shoot de 
pheasant and de duck an’ hunt de caribou. 
Ah’m lak dat mahse’f, an’ w’en Ah got 
finis’ dig mah pettetto Ah’m decide in mah 
min’ dat Ah’ll go tak’ some caribou for 
mah fambly, ’nough lass all winter. So 
Ah gon over cross ’bout 4 acres were 2 
feller Ah know, Jo Garceau an’ Pete Go- 
neau, was mak’ slash. Ah ax heem come 
wit me lass week an’ hunt caribou. Pete 
ax me, 
“W’ere you gon’, Antoine?” 
Ah say we gon on Brompton lak, or Lak’ 
Scratch-roun’-to-meet-us. Jo say Bromp- 
ton bes’ plas an’ he go in for dat wit’ all 
hees heart an’ hees new gaun, too; so we 
’gree for dat an’ Ah gon rat home for feex 
mah gaun. 
Mah fadder give me dat gaun mos’ 30 
year ago, an’ hees fadder give it to heem 
more as 40 year fore dat; mah gre’t gran’- 
fadder tak’ heem from Capen Bung w’en 
he fight de Injuns below Quebec on Mont- 
morenci. Bah gosh, Ah’ll smash de target 
evertam wit’ dat gaun, he’s bes’ Ah never 
see. 
Nex’ mornin’ Ah’m got up hearly for 
ron down an’ buy hammunition an’ gon to 
butcher’s for piece meat las’ mah fambly 
wile Ah’m huntin’. Ah see dere 2, t’ree 
pooty leetle deer wat come down Megantic 
for sell it. One have awful pooty tail, an’ 
Ah’m tol’ de butcher will he give me dat 
tail; Ah want heem for mah leetle gran’son. 
He mak’ remark he ant see w’at mah gran- 
chil’ mak’ wid a tail. Ah tol’ heem Ah go 
ver’ of’en see dat leetle feller an’ we have 
bully tam play de sojer, an’ Ah’ll pin de 
tail on hees cap an’ mak’ heem feel beeg. 
So Ah’m gon home an’ load mah fusee. 
He tak’ t’ree finger paouder an’ han’ful buck 
shot an’ he’s ready for bus’ness. He mak’ 
some hexecution w’en he’s gon off, hem? 
We jomp on woggin an’ ’way we gon to 
Brompton. We mak’ joke an’ have good 
tam, an’ bimeby Jo ax me: 
“Antoine, were you gat dat ole gaun?” 
Ah’m tol’ heem de whole historee, an’ 
he offle bet hees dog Ah ant able hit de 
lak’. He show me hees rafle an’ brag gre’t 
deal. He say it repeataire an’ shoot 15 tam 
an’ load heem o’ny fust tam. 
We ’rive on de lak’ and Jo tie tree on 
hees ole hoss, an’ we plonge in de fores’, 
heverybody for heemse’f go hunt w’are he 
min’ to. 
Ah’m put on mah mogasin an’ go ver 
slow. Pooty soon de fores’ all close in an’ 
Ah ant see Jo an Pete. Bimeby Ah ’rive 
on one slash an’ Ah peek t’rough de bush. 
Rat dere, not 4 rod ’way, stan’ my caribou! 
He look lak he 8 foot high an’ on’y want 
for heat me. I turn roun’ an’ lay mah 
gaun on log an’ look for steek to hit heem. 
Bah gosh, Ah’m ’fraid he bite me. De col’ 
cheel ron up mah back an’ Ah tak’ mah 
cap an t’rough at heem an’ yell lak’ a 
dev’? Mah soul! he jomp more as 40 foot; 
jomp, jomp, an’ hees gon’! 
W’en Ah compose mahse’f de firs’ t’ing 
Ah’ll see is mah gaun an’ Ah say, 
- “Antoine, you condemn ole fool, you ant 
know not’in’.” Ah grab de gaun an’ tak’ 
good aim at de bush w’ere de caribou ron 
t’rough. Ah let heem go an’, sacree cochon, 
how he roar! 
Pooty soon Jo an’ Pete come ron on de 
slash an’ ax me, “W’at you kill, Antoine, 
w’at you kill?” 
“Ah’m shoot beeg caribou,” Ah say. 
“Ron, ron, los’ no tam an’ we’ll gat heem.” 
Dey laugh an’ ax w’ich way he’s gon’. 
Ah show de trail, sure ’nough, an’ Ah tak 
out de leetle deer’s tail ver’ sly and mak’ 
b’lieve Ah’ll foun’ it. “Here’s hees tail,” 
Ah say. “Ron, Jo; ron Pete, you’ll catch 
heem ’fore he’s gon’ 2 acre.” 
Dat las Ah’m see of Jo an’ Pete, an’ de 
caribou, too. 
MEN OF THE SUN AND RAIN. 
R. B,. NATTRASS. 
Men of the sun and rain for me, 
Men with the cheeks of tan, 
Who love all good things ardently 
But most, an honest man; 
Whose grip of comradeship is strong, 
Whose simple words are true, 
Men, if a multitude were wrong, 
Would battle for the few! 
Such are the men for me indeed, 
Men of the fresh turned soil, 
Whose rough hands preach the noblest 
creed, 
The creed of manly toil. 
They may be poor, as riches stand, 
Their manners crude and plain, 
But they’re the kings of any land; 
Men of the sun and rain. 
