THE REFORMATION OF GILKINS 



BY GEO. A. CLEVELAND 



TEPHEN GILKINS 



was jauntily trudging 

 along the " tote road," 

 bound for his favorite 

 fishing stream. Farm, 

 wife, children, resolu- 

 tions, promises, all for- 

 gotten, in the intoxica- 

 tion of the merry life of 

 the spring woods, and 

 the joy he would feel in 

 the thrill of the rod, 

 when the big trout 

 would soon be tugging 

 at his hook. He was just entering anarrow 

 glen with a small clearing in which stood an 

 old "hovel," formerly used for the stabling 

 of horses during lumbering operations. It 

 was a lonesome place, and within the hovel it 

 was dark and musty as a tomb. Stephen 

 had no liking for the place, and always hur- 

 ried by. Just as he was about to step into 

 the clearing this day there was a sudden 

 rustling in the cedars on either side, and to 

 his horror, out waddled two huge black 

 bears, walking upright on their hind feet. 

 They hemmed him in before he could move 

 a step, encircling him with their great paws. 

 He was too terrified at the extraordinary 

 action of the beasts to cry out, and he knew 

 it would do no good if he did. He certainly 

 believed his last moment had come, and 

 that he would shortly be torn to pieces. 

 What was his astonishment, then, when 

 they proceeded to push him, quaking and 

 stumbling, toward the dismal old hovel. 

 Through the door they marched him, across 

 the black interior, and he felt himself 

 thrust into some kind of an enclosure onto a 

 seat. For a moment he saw nothing, then a 

 strange and fearful sight began to reveal 

 itself. The interior of the place was 

 arranged as he had once seen a temporary 

 courtroom, where he had been called as a 

 witness. But what a judge, corps of offi- 

 cials and array of spectators were here. In 

 the judge's seat sat a huge black bear; 

 directly in front of him was another bear, 



sitting at a rude desk, and standing guard at 

 the door was the third of these great beasts. 

 On either side of the judge was a barrier of 

 low cedar trees, and looking out over these 

 he saw the massive head of a moose, the 

 smaller heads of deer, and perched in 

 various positions of vantage the forms of 

 bob-cats, foxes, raccoons, porcupines and 

 other of the lesser animals of the wood, all 

 staring at him with fierce, terrible eyes, and 

 all as silent as the dead. 



Faint, utterly benumbed and bewildered 

 at the unheard of supernatural spectacle, 

 Stephen sat in his pen, staring with dilated 

 eyes. Up to this time no sound other than 

 the movement of the animals had been 

 heard, but now Stephen was more horror- 

 stricken and mystified than ever to hear the 

 great beast in the judge's seat growl out, 

 " Officer, whom have we here ?" 



"Stephen Gilkins, your Honor," said the 

 bear at the door. 



"What is the charge against him?" 



" Slaughter and never-ceasing persecution 

 of the peaceful inhabitants of the land and 

 water, and total neglect of his farm and 

 family, your Honor." 



"Grave charges these," growled the 

 judge. "What do you know as to the truth 

 of them?" 



"I know that he caught my own brother 

 in a steel trap. The poor fellow dragged the 

 terrible trap and a heavy billet of wood all 

 night. His suffering . was awful, until this 

 man came and shot him in the morning. 

 He spends his whole time now in the woods 

 killing, killing either animals or fishes. 

 He had the best farm in town, ten years ago 

 when his father died. Now it is run out and 

 growing up to brush, his buildings are tum- 

 bling down, his fences gone, his tools and 

 farm machinery rusting and abandoned. 

 Out of a fine lot of live stock he has nothing 

 left but an old cow, a runty hog and half a 

 dozen hens." 



There was a terrible commotion in the 

 hall when the bear had concluded this 

 crushing testimony. The moose rattled his 



