Jan. 39, 1891.J 



FOREST ANr> STREAM, 



repetition he used when effective, but never the aimless 

 retrogressions of the ignorant and unskilled; when he 

 digressed it was to express some quaint, original thought 

 or call up some philosophical question. He never dotibted 

 that bis stories were wortb hearing and he never 

 apologized for their length. He was a master of the use 

 of details and had to tell long stories. He never quarreled 

 with his genius nor cropped the tail of his Pegasus. If 

 his audience got to sleep under a double number he re- 

 proachfully asked, '-What for you gone sleep? Why you 

 Son' gone wake?" and began again at the point where he 

 .iudged the thread had been broken. Hunting stories, his 

 trials as governor, old legends, stories of porpoise shooting 

 at Quoddy and tales of the sea were in his repertory: and 

 all began alike with, "Never we told it you that time 

 when — " as if all had been many times rehearsed to dif- 

 ferent audiences. Ahwassus, the Bear, the other Indians 

 tiave nicknamed him. He says that bears can talk, but 

 ivon't. He always talks to them when he meets them, 

 jails them cowards, says they understand Indian because 

 ihey look ashamed. Brother to brother it must be when 

 they meet — ihe Indians were right in calling him 

 4-hwaBgua, the Bear; each big, and fat, and strong, with 

 m-own faces and little eyes, strong sense and sagacity. It 

 ivas Gassobeeis that revealed thee, O Sebattis Wassns. 

 We got two ducks and some berries while at (laasobeeis 

 Tjs time, but nothing else except a box. Ducks were 

 ot abundant here this year. Toward evening we heard 

 1 the west a strange, rumbling noise, not thunder— the 

 uy was clear — a distant, low-pitched sound that seemed 

 as much in the earth as in the air. The others said it 

 sounded like rolling logs from a brow landing, Lut I could 

 liken it to nothing except the noise in Lorna Doone, 

 which rose from the moors at eventide and died away in 

 wailing. In the morning, after the fog cleared, we made 

 ready to go to Machias. True to his principles, never to 

 lug an exti'a pound. Father began his preparations by 

 sorting out all that we could leave behind. Even fi*om 

 our load there was a considerable pile laid aside to be 

 hidden — all our spare clothes, except boots and stockings, 

 for one thing, and our best hats, which were stored under 

 the box found the day before. We took with us only the 

 necessaries of life, and as few of them as po.^sible, only a 

 week's rations of flour, pork and potatoes, and no lux- 

 uries except a gallon can. which was used indifferently 

 for spring water, berries and to keep small game from 

 flies, and two grape baskets, which are convenient for 

 such small stores as tea, salt and pepper— in all two turns 

 apiece including the canoe. When we set out the wind 

 was east and the sky but half clear. Loons were flying. 

 We made our way to the head of the lake and foimd the 

 carry without difficulty by steering just to the left of the 

 last island. With this direction in mind the carry is not 

 hard to find, for it is a winter road leading straight down 

 to the lake across the bog. 



GASSOBEEIS CARRT. 



There is a story, now water-logged and condemned but 

 4ill afloat, of the notoriously profane man who was so 

 aken aback on discovering that the tailboard of his cart 

 was out and his load of ashes was distributed the whole 

 length of the hill, that all he could say was, "Swearing 

 won't do it justice." More might be said of Gassobeeis 

 Carry — nothing more apposite. I have seen all sorts, but 

 though there may be worse carries, I have yet to see that 

 kind. Ifc isn't as blind to follow as some, nor as rocky as 

 some, nor as long as others, and possibly not quite as wet; 

 but in its palmiest days its water privileges very nearly 

 equal those of the famous Mud Pond Carry, and in its 

 variety, which age does not wither nor custom stale, it 

 completely distances that much condemned place. Yet 

 in the encouraging guide book phrase, "Even ladies have 

 been known to undertake it." But an unincumbered 

 man or even a woman ought not to complain of anything 

 short of impassability. The tune changes when a man 

 must stagger along over rocks, roots and swamps beneath 

 all the load he can rise under, or still worse with a canoe 

 on his head, than which no Eastern despot was ever more 

 prompt to make one's neck the price of a misstep. From 

 Gassobeeis to Fourth Lake is not only a hard road but a 

 ong carry, not less than two miles — two good Maine 

 liles at that, says Father, who has lugged on it these 

 aany times. We have several kinds of miles here— the 

 hort mile, the mile, the long mile, and "the good long 

 laine mile," which is the Scotch mile and a bittock. 



At the beginning of the carry the load was bound up 

 nto packs and lugging bands adjusted. I had secured 

 wo coats and buckled them to my bag— which by a long 

 and persistent course of obstinacy I have secured the 

 right to carry myself— and had just tied a pair of shoes 

 beneath, when the fraud was discovered and the shoes 

 seized as contraband. However, being rear guard, it was 

 possible to secure something else, the can and a hatchet per- 

 haps, after the advance was already on the march. Off 

 we started one foot before the other, at a pace very like a 

 trot for one no taller than myself, Father at the head of 

 the train, Jot next under a hump like a camel's, my mack- 

 intosh and rubber boots in the rear; through lambkill and 

 rhodora waist high and wetter than ordinary water; over 

 a footing of sphagnum so thick and yielding that it was 

 like walking on a feather bed laid on springs. There was 

 a quarter of a mile of that carry, and, in spite of predilec- 

 tions for bogs alreadv expressed, I think there are better 

 places for carries. Up hiU we posted as if on the king's 

 business, over stones and fallen trees, nor stopped until 

 we reached the height <jf land; fairly long stages, made 

 as quickly as possible, and short stops, is Father's rule for 

 carries; rest in walking back for the next load. 



"V/hat will you have for refreshments?" I asked, as 

 they went back' for their second turn. "Ice cream," said 

 Father. In their absence I provided them the best sub- 

 stitute which the woods afford— a heaped handful of 

 jnowberries (Chiogenes Mspidula). The tiny vines were 

 iiatted over the old crumbling logs and all bore pearly 

 jerries. I had never before seen it fruiting so abund- 

 intly. This is the nonesuch of our berries, a little too 

 ;ood and rare for common use, but unequalled when en- 

 ioyed separately, when the gust is allowed to linger on 

 ;he palate until the full savor of its spiciness is dissolved, 

 [t is the crowning achievement of the heaths— the most 

 'eminine of them all, pure in blossom and fruit as the 

 3now from which it gets its name, dehcate in all its 

 itructure, shy in its habit, and although hardy and ever- 

 green wherever it is, reaching its full perfection only 

 when it finds root and support, yea, and its Hfe in that on 

 •which it lavishes all its graces and beauties and excellen- 

 eies. 



The second stage was short, extending only to the fork 



in the road where the index on the dead pine points to 

 the left and the Machias Lakes. On the left before you 

 reach this is a "bear- biting tree," a pine, I believe, which 

 Father pointed out to me. I should not have noticed it 

 myself; and, indeed, it was not until I had seen half a 

 dozen such, that I was able to distinguish them from 

 trees which had been shot at, scored with a pick-hand- 

 spike or otherwise accidentally injured. The marks, 

 which are from 3 to 8ffc. from the ground, are often over- 

 grown and pitchy, and would not be taken by any one 

 but an expert for the work of an animal. They are 

 found in firs, pines and spruces, most frequently in the 

 former, and invariably, Father says, in trees that have a 

 conspicuous place along some road or carry, at the fork 

 of logging roads or the edge of a landing— never in the 

 deep woods. The marks are made by the great canine 

 teeth which are set in so deeply that they rend the tree 

 as if a rifle ball had been shot through the side. Usually 

 the same tree will be bitten many times by bears of 

 different sizes or else several trees not very far apart will 

 be marked. "Tell the man who made that," said the old 

 Greek painter, pointing from his friend's drawing to his 

 own more perfect one, "that the man who made this 

 would like to see him.'' Because these trees stand in 

 prominent places and the bears always rise to their full 

 height in biting them, it has been supposed that they in- 

 dicated, like the old Greek's line, the identity of the 

 author. The tree on this carry has proved the correct- 

 ness of the supposition. Several years ago Avhen carry- 

 ing across to Maichias, Father examined the tree carefully; 

 returning a few days later, he was surprised to see a new 

 bite so far above all the others that its height astonished 

 him. Closer investigation of a mossy log at the foot of 

 the tree revealed the tracks of a very large bear, who, 

 shrewder than the rest, had stood on the log while mak- 

 ing his mark. It was a plain challenge to the world of 

 bears to bring forward some one taller than that. I 

 wonder whether he ever saw it afterward and remem- 

 bered his own cunning with an inward chuckle, for no 

 doubt they do rememlier. 



The third stage was long, very long it seemed, extend- 

 ing even to the cross-road to Unknown and the Hemen- 

 way farm. It is this that gives the carry its bad name- 

 rocky, mossy, slippery, the holes between the rocks filled 

 with moss and water. Then there are slippery skids in the 

 way just frequently enoughalways to catch you unawares, 

 fallen trees here and there, and a good bit of swamp em- 

 bellished with sawgrass, tall brakes, moss, rotting and 

 slimy skids, hussocks which isromise good footing till you 

 land on them and water which may be mid-leg deep 

 and may be a good deal deeper. By the time the swamp 

 is reached, the lugging bands have slackened and the pack 

 has begun to sag; you would raise your hands to relieve 

 your throat of the band which is choking you, but both 

 are full, every cramped and aching finger" hung with a 

 separate article which cannot be set down, and on you go 

 splashing doggedly through the water or jumping from 

 hussock to hussock, while the pack sinks lower and 

 bounces harder and chokes more with every jump, and 

 the mosquitoes which sit on the alders here fi-om March 

 to December rub their bills on their slee ves and pitch into 

 you, seeing that you can't help yourself. A mosquito 

 has no regard for the rules of the game. It may be your 

 luck when you cross this carry in the dry season of 1891 

 to be able to call it pleasure. I admit that I could smile 

 at it while experiencing it in wet 1890; but not even my 

 wildest dreams of pleasure include Gassobeeis Carry until 

 it has been averaged in with so much else £laat the pro- 

 portion of Gassobeeis is infinitely small. 



We took dinner at the cross-roads — less dinner than 

 table decorations, for while the men had been lugging 

 their second turn the woods around had paid tribute to 

 me. Although it was well along in September the "ivory- 

 leaf plums {GaiiUheria x>roeumbens) of the year before 

 were still hanging beneath their glossy leaves. 



The fourth stage was short, memorable only because 

 the cold which had been following all the way across the 

 carry now overtook me and proved a misfit several sizes 

 too large. It was the old story of taking too good care 

 of one's self. To avoid getting wet I had worn my 

 mackintosh and this was the result: The long skirt 

 clinging to the wet rubber boots at every step doubled 

 the exertions of walking, the rain on the bushes wet it 

 from the bottom nearly to the w^aist on the inside and the 

 perspiration condensing on the shoulders wet it from the 

 top downward nearly as far. It was, in fact, a drip- 

 ping rubber sheet. Constant exercise while waiting and 

 careful wiping did not avert the mischief. Henceforward 

 I eschew rubber garments unless it is actually pouring. 

 Better by far be wet and stay wet, cold and miserable 

 than be forced to cool off too suddenly. It is a poor con- 

 stitution that can't stand considerable of the former, and 

 the strongest should not be expected to undergo the 

 latter. 



The Machias end of the carry is even less cheering than 

 the Gassobeeis terminus. The journal calls it "an unwhole- 

 some-looking place." and in my own mind it is associated 

 with the Ancient Mariner and "a million million slimy 

 things." When you get here you will wish you hadn't 

 come. Marshes half a mile wide extend back to the "dry 

 kyle" which fences the woods with dead trees, standing 

 or fallen, grim, gaunt and gray. Loose-strife tangles the 

 wet marsh and lily-pads and "moose-ear" half cover the 

 stagnant stream which twists about without rule or direc- 

 tion, too lifeless to run straight. The place is given over 

 to pickerel, mud turtles and "slimy things that crawl 

 with legs." Penobscot people call it Penobscot Brook, 

 but Machias folk seem to know it best by the name of Cy's 

 Gulch, an appropriately outlandish name, for g-ulch is a 

 term seldom heard here and this is anything but a gulch, 



Fannib p. Hardy. 



"That reminds me." 



" TTTHY, Jim, you don't seem to kiU anything, what's 

 VV the matter?" 



"The birds are wild as the wind and rise clear out of 

 range." 



"But you haven't shot at one over SOyds. to-day." 

 "Well, that's a long distance." 



"But you told me your gun would kill about every time 

 at 80yds." 



"WeU, the fact is, I've got such a tarnal headache that 

 I can't shoot worth a cent." 



THE PORCUPINE, 



YOUR clever correspondent, L. T. Flower, asks, "Can 

 any one tell ua of any good this animal does or 

 state any sufficient reason w^hy it should not be killed 



on sight?" 



I propose therefore to accept the challenge and give a 

 few reasons, appealing in the first place to history, by 

 which it will be seen that as great Kome was once saved 

 by the cackling of geese so the life of a distinguished 

 niissionary, who was traveling through the forests of 

 New Bruns wick in the winter of the year 1677, was saved 

 by means of a pair of porcupines. This missionary was 

 Father Christian Le Olerc and he was on a pastoral visit 

 from Nepisiguit to the Miramichi, called then the Saint 

 Croix. The party consisted of himself, a French gentle- 

 man and an Indian and his squaw. They were lost in 

 the woods. 



The party, the members of which were absolutely with- 

 out food and nearly starved to death, had fallen in with 

 another Indian who had dreamed of having killed a 

 moose, and who had assured Father Le Glere that this 

 dream would bring them on a moose's track, and that 

 they soon would have plenty of food. But here is the 

 continixation of the story in Father Le Clerc's own words, 

 which I have translated into English: "In order to con- 

 found his extravagant credulity and to convince him (the 

 Indian) of the care which God takes of his servants, prov- 

 idence permitted us when we were thinking least of it to 

 find two large porcupines abotit 4 o'clock in the after- 

 noon. These animals, which resemble the hedge-hog 

 very much that one sees in France, were denned in the 

 hollow of a tree, vt^hose bark, as it served for their food, 

 they had eaten. Each commonly has his own den, and 

 our Indian was as much surprised as we were to see them 

 denning together. The first one which was taken they 

 loaded upon my shoulders to take to the squaw who bad 

 already lighted the fire, in order to do the cooking in the 

 kettle. We made a good meal of it; the soup seemed as 

 savory to us as a good consomme, and we in reality ex- 

 perienced the truth of the proverb which says that there 

 is no better sauce than a good appetite. 



"We carried the other porciq^ine to the camp of our 

 Indian, where he found eight persons in whose attenuated 

 and fleshless countenances could be plainly seen the little 

 nourishment which they had taken, and the hunger 

 which these poor unfortunates had suffered for the month 

 that they had been camped on the bank of a river (N.W. 

 Miramichi), where they had fished trout in very small 

 quantity. They had but five of these for their whole 

 provision when we arrived where they were. These were 

 placed in the pot with our porcupine, which we ate 

 together." 



The Micmac or shore Indians are very partial to the 

 porcupine as an article of food, the Abenakis not esteem- 

 ing it so highly, much preferring the flesh of the musk- 

 rat, which the former Indians do not care about, indeed 

 the Micmacs call the Abenakis (of St. John River at any 

 rate) muskrat or musqttash Indians. 



The Indians make use of the quills of the porcupine, 

 which they dye to ornament their bhch bark boxes with. 

 Some of this work is very pretty. When the white 

 hunters of our forests find a porcupine they very often 

 make use of his flesh for food. The black cat or fisher is 

 very partial to the flesh of the porcupine, and will dare 

 all the dangers of his quills to secure one; and the hunter 

 often finds that the fisher which he has captured carries 

 some of these quills in his hide. 



The porcupine is very fond of fat or grease of any kind. 

 It frequents old camiis, and one almost always sees some 

 part of the deacon-seat on which grease has been spilled 

 gnawed away by the sharj) teeth of this animal. 



I admit that the porcupine does eat the bark of trees. 

 I do not think, howeve]-, that he girdles them so that they 

 die. His chief food in winter seems to be the leaves and 

 small boughs of the sapling hemlock. He is a good 

 climber, but slow; in fact, he is a very slow walker and 

 his movements are far from graceful. As Mr. Flower 

 says, the porcupine can strike quick and dextrous blows 

 with his tail. I have cut a piece of beech and stirred up 

 a porcupine in his den by means of it. and on withdraw- 

 ing the stick found the hard wood filled with quills which 

 had been driven into it by the animal's tail, 



With Mr. Flower I admit the damage which one of 

 these animals can do to a field of buckwheat, but I do not 

 think that they are specially notorious for trespassing 

 on man's domain, chiefly confining themselves to the for- 

 est. They are very fond of making their dens among 

 loose rocks. The interior of Nova Scotia, which is very 

 rocky and has little soil, is the best ground which I have 

 ever seen for porcupines, Edward Jack, 



Fredericton, Canada. 



Wild Geese.— San Luis Potosi, Mexico. — In California 

 I often heard the Hutchinson goose, that is the small one 

 marked like the Canada "honker," called brant. I occa- 

 sionally saw white ones there, but they were not so abun- 

 dant as the white-fronted or laughing goose. This is the 

 variety we have here in Mexico. I saw in a flock of 

 them not long since one that showed white, but I could 

 not tell whether it was a different kind or not. I have 

 never seen either the Canada goose or the Hutchinson 

 here, though I remember that in the National Museum at 

 the City of Mexico there is a Canada goose labeled 

 "Toluca Valley," a point near that city. This museum 

 has quite an interesting natural history exhibit, by the 

 way, though the specimens are wretchedly mounted, and 

 visitors usually take more interest in the antiquities. — 

 Aztec. 



Bm Horns.— St. John, N. B.— In your paper of Jan. 15 



I see that Dr. C. B. Parker mentions, in an account of a 

 moose hunt in Kibby Valley, that they killed a moose 

 whose antlers spread a little over 4ft. Sin., blades of the 

 horns wide, evenly balanced and each containing 



II prongs, and pronounced by good authority as large as 

 any on record. I would like to mention one that was in 

 this city last fall, which tops the list in this country. A 

 Mr. Smith, of Bear Rive*, Nova Scotia, in last September 

 shot two moose inside of twenty minutes, which were 

 mounted by J. H. Carnell, of this city. The largest horns 

 measured 5ft. 4in. spread, blades of the horns 15in. and 

 34 points. The other one was but a little smaller. Can 

 any one beat this.— R. O'S. 



