Auo. 19, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



139 



now. Not too hard. Take your time, old man. Don't 

 hm-rj," and a lot of other things that I did not fully 

 understand. But I tried to do as I had seen Bill do, and 

 'after what seemed half an hour the fish came up to the 

 canoe on his side, the girl slipped the landing net under 

 him and we had him in the boat. Then everybody began 

 to shout and the ladies screamed, waved their handker- 

 chiefs, and set up a general Imlla-buUoo over my first 

 trout. 



The girl paddled to the shore, shouting back and ap- 

 parently as pleased as I was. Bill pulled the bow of the 

 canoe onto the bank and I lauded with my j^rize. "Very 

 weU done, old man," he said, "you'll learn. Don't check 

 him so quickly next time. If your tackle hadn't been 

 first-rate you'd have lost him. He's a nice one. A good 

 pound and a half I should say. You shall eat him for 

 your supper." He tossed the fish to one of the men to be 

 dressed. Every one had to shake hands with me and 

 offer me as much congratulation as if I had just secured a 

 fat office under the new administration. 



The young lady was the most excited of the lot. She and 

 I divided that trout between us at supper. No one else 

 would taste it. They said we deserved it all. 



I found that Bill had had some bushes cut away in 

 front of the tents so that we had a lovely view over the 

 lake at sunset. Bess would have gone into raptures over 

 it. I wish she could have painted that trout when it first 

 came out of the water. 



Afterward we had a big fire and all hands sat round 

 and talked, laughed and told stories. The canoe men 

 sang more songs and one of them told an interminable 

 yarn that caused greatmerriment among those who could 

 understand French. But Bill and I spread out our blankets 

 on the boughs and went to sleep, he because he had heard 

 the story a hundred times before and I because I was not 

 interested in it. 



By and by the ladies retired to their tent and the gen- 

 tlemen coming into ours roused me up. I wa.s kept awake 

 a long time by the shouts and laughter from tlie ladies' 

 tent, which was alongside of om-s. Finally these sub- 

 sided, with the exception of an occasional ci-escendo and 

 diminuendo of giggle that seemed to flow from one side 

 of the apartment to the other. 



I think the stout lady was the cause of a good deal of it. 



I found my new blankets very comfortable, although I 

 did not sleep much more. I seldom do sleep well in 

 strange places, and what with thinking about that trout 

 and wondering whether I should get any more and 

 whether I couldn't get up in time to try and take just one 

 for breakfast, I was rather wakeful. I had agreed with 

 the young lady that we would go out at half past four in 

 the morning, but when I waked up at that hour and found 

 nobody stirring I went to sleep and did not awake till 

 somebody called me to breakfast. 



It wasn't in our progi-amme to stop at that place, so we 

 had to pack up and be off, much to my regret, for I 

 wanted to try for more trout. 



We went up a liiU and then down, along by a little 

 stream — very prettj' it was — and then canoed across an- 

 other lake, and alter still another walk we came to a 

 river, not very big but swift. About noon, after a good 

 many little walks and one longish one around the falls 

 and bad places, we found another and larger stream. 

 Here the tents were set up, as before, and everybody went 

 fishing, some one way and some another. The young 

 lady paddled her father aud myself out to a little island 

 and we fished. I felt fatigued and loaued my rod to the 

 lady, who proved to be quite an expert. I contented my- 

 self with scooping up the trout that the others caught. I 

 asked the girl to paddle me ashore, where Bill gave me a 

 glass of wine and a biscuit, and I had a refreshing nap 

 before supper. Afterward the people sang and told 

 stories again, but went to bed earlier than the other time, 

 and I imagine slept better. 



In the morning we packed up and started to go further 

 up the river, but the water was too high or too low or 

 sometliing, and I was glad of it. I was glad to see the 

 canoes headed down stream. I wanted to get back to 

 Bill's camp, where I could be tolerably comfortable. 



It may be all very well for young and active people to 

 go on camping expeditions and the like, but for a man 

 nearing middle age and of somewhat sedentary habits like 

 myself — well, tliose can go who like it; I have been once. 

 I think the stout lady felt the same way, though her hus- 

 band and daughter were otherwise minded. 



"We went down the stream very smoothly and quietly, 

 and I confess it was pleasant gliding between the shady 

 banks and slipping rapidly over some nice little rapids, 

 where the water was swift but not dangerous. On tlae 

 whole, I enjoyed it very much. 



A little after noon we reached a vUlage, and Bill got 

 some horses and men and had the stout lady and the 

 canoes and baggage carted through the woods across 

 country to one of the lakes we had iirst crossed. All but 

 the lady walked. Bill said the distance was about two 

 miles, but I am sure it was ten. The horses got stuck in 

 the mire, the carts broke down, the harness gave out and 

 the stout lady was bumped about a good deal when the 

 wheels banged over rocks, roots and stumps. The Cana- 

 dians mended the carts with withes and the harnesses 

 with strings, and yelled at their horses, so that they got 

 out of their scrapes somehow, and we eventually arrived 

 at the edge of the lake. 



Much as I hate bark canoes I was glad to get into one 

 this time. As a mode of locomotion they woxild suit me 

 very well if I were not in sucli constant fear of getting 

 capsized. 



I like sitting down; we paddled five or six miles and 

 then had to climb that cliff again. I have nothing more 

 to say about it, except that I reached the top alive. But 

 I am almost ashamed to admit that I shirked and left the 

 stout lady to the care of her husband instead of offering 

 my assistance. Perhaps she was glad of it, for her 

 husband is a very strong man and I am not. 



After that time, when people wanted to go on excur- 

 sions down that cliff we let them go. She and I stayed 

 at the camp and played cribbage. 



I remained at the lake until pretty late in the season, 

 and until I had broken my rod and used up all my flies. 

 There are a good aiany of them in the branches of some 

 trees on the banks of a river where I went to try my 

 wading boots. I only fell down twice. 



My health at present is very good, and if I can get 

 some kind of a canoe made on the life-boat principle, so 

 it will not upset, I am not sure but I shall go up there 

 again. Yours truly, E. Rastus. 



DANVIS FOLKS.-XII. 



Loup Garou. 



"I don't see," Joseph began, as he fortified the unstable 

 chair by setting its back against the wall, ''haow father 

 ever got a holt o' his boots when I'd hid 'em in the paound- 

 in' berril, an' made him b'lieve they was over here a-bein' 

 mended." 



"It was a jedgment on ye fer lyin'," said Uncle Lisha. 

 "It wan't exactly lyin', 'cause I was cal'latin' tu fetch 

 'em over." 



"Proberbly they was revealed tu him in a pro- vision," 

 Solon remarked. 



"However he got 'em, I'm glad he did," said Sam with 

 an emphatic squeak of the roll of sole leather on which he 

 sat. ' 'If he hedn't, we'd lost the wolf. " 



"Wal, he's ticMeder 'an ef he'd hed his pension doubled 

 an' was promisin' Jcsier five dollars o' the baounty fer his 

 sinkers an' fer you knows what bub," says he. "By gee- 

 whitteker," he ejaculated, his mind suddenly illumined, 

 "I'll bet fo'pence ha'penny that aire boy ramshacked 

 raound an' faound 'em for him." 



"I was kinder runnin' things over in mymindarter you 

 was here t'other night," said Uncle Lisha, rolhng a length 

 of shoe thread on his aproned knee and then carefuUy 

 splicing it to a split bristle, "au' I got tu thinkin' 'baout 

 ol' Bart Johnson's scrape wi' the wolves up on Tater Hill. 

 He was a kinder half cracked ol' critter 'at uster come 

 a-wanderin' 'raound here abaout oncte a year when I was 

 a yoimg feUer, an' uster stop tu aour haouse off an' on fer 

 a week or two at a time, an' poke 'raoun' on the maoun- 

 tain days, a-lookin' fer his treasure, as, he called it. He'd 

 ben a soger in the ol' French war, an' durin' which he 

 went on a, expedition agin the Canady Injins under a 

 Major Rodgis, I b'heve his name was. Wal, they s'prised 

 the Injins an' destroyed the village an' fetched away lots 

 o' stuft" 'at they'd got from aour folks, trinkets an' silver 

 an' goold an' money an' a silver idolatry imidge 'at weighed 

 more 'n twenty paounds— jest clean silver. Wal, off they 

 started back, a-luggin' the' booty, wi' a fresh lot o' Injins 

 arter 'em, so 't they headed off" toward the Connect'cut River. 

 Pooty soon they begun tu git short o' provision an' they 

 divided up inter small parties, each one shiftin' fer him- 

 self, an' they come tu terrible straits, grubbin' fer rhuts 

 an' gnawin' bark, an' most on 'em hove away their 

 plunder an' hedn't no thought o' nothin' on'y savin' the' 

 mis'able lives, which was more 'n some on 'em done. 

 But ol' Bart himg tu what he'd got, a lot o' money an' I 

 do' know but the silver imidge, an' he wandered" off by 

 himself till he come tu the top of a high maountain, an' 

 seen the lake an' knowed where Crown Pint was. An' 

 he came daown this side a piece an' bairied his stuff, an' 

 arter a spell he got tu Crown Pint, nigher dead 'an he 

 was alive. When the war was eended he begin tu look 

 for his plunder an' he consaited Tater Hill was the 

 maountain he'd left it on, an' so year arter year, as long 

 as he lived, he'd come an' sarch an' sarch fer the stuff 'at 

 was going tu make a rich man on him. Some cal'lated 

 it wan't but a crazy notion he'd got intu his head when 

 he was a wanderin' in the woods, and some thought he 

 raly hed hed suthin' of vally. One day he'd ben a sarch- 

 in' way up toward the haith o' land till eenamost dark, 

 an' fore he goddaown half way tu a clearin' it was 

 darker 'n a stack o' black cats wi' the' eyes put aout, an' 

 then the wolves begin a-callin', an' a-screamin' oicooo 

 here and owooo there, drawin' in cluster on him, till he 

 begin tu feel his hair a liftin' on him, an' he clawed 

 raound fer a tree he c'd climb, an' he run agin one he c'ld 

 git his arms around, an' he scrabbled an' buckled tu like 

 a good feller, till he was clean aout o' breath an' kinder 

 settled back onter a big hmb 'at ketched him, an' there 

 he sot a-huggin' the tree fer dear life, his toes a ticklui' 

 an' his skelp a crawlin' ev'y yowl the wolves gin. An' 

 so he sot the hrd endurin' night, oncte in a while jest savin' 

 himself fr'm goin' tu sleep an' tumblin' off an' breakin' 

 his neck, tUl bombye, arter abaout a week he thought, 

 it come light, an" the wolves clearn aout an' he started tu 

 climb down, but he couldn't get daown no furder, fer lo 

 an' behol' ! he was a settln" lught on the rhuts o' the tree. 

 Bart uster teU on 't an' laugh jest as hearty as any on us. 

 Poor ol' critter, ho died on the town daown tu Lakefield 

 an' his bairied riches never done him no good, 'thout it 

 was in expectin' on 'em, which is abaout all the sati'fac- 

 tion any on us gets." 



"I should admire tu know if he ever tried the myracu- 

 lous paower of a witch hazel crotch," said Solon. I c'n 

 find veins of water with 'em onfahble, an' the' haint no 

 daoubt 'at they hev jest as paowei-ful distraction tow-ards 

 gold and silver, hid artificial, or growin' nat'ral in the 

 baowels of the eai-th. Mebhy he did find it an' spoke 

 afore he got his hand on't an' it moved. It sartainly will, 

 ef you speak a audible laoud word. The' is aUers a sperit 

 a-guardin' bairied treasm-e, an' ef you speak afore you lay 

 your hand on't, it gives the sperit paower to move it, the's 

 no tellin' haow fur." 



"0, shaw, Solon," Uncle Lisha snorted, "that's jest an' 

 ol' granny notiern. Ef I struck a chest o' money 1 should 

 holler, I know I should, an' I'd resk even my hoUerin' a- 

 startin' on't. I don't make no gret'caount o' sperits guard- 

 in' nothin'. The nighest I ever knowed one come tu duin 

 anythin' good was — " 



'•0, bah gosh, "cried Antoine, who had just entered and 

 was prancing about in a burning fever of impatience, 

 "Ah 'fl ben hoi' d at storeez 'baout de woLfs so long he 

 mos' bust mah inside off. Ah '11 gat for be delliv'r of it 

 'fore Ah '11 died or f regit." 



"It's aither a lie erno'caount, but let's hev it ef it '11 

 save yer life, Ann Twine." 



Antoine dropped to nis favorite seat on the floor and 

 began cutting a charge of tobacco with frequent inter- 

 ruptions of gesticulations, now with his knife, now with 

 his handful of tobacco, and many emphatic jerks of his 

 head. "Wal, seh, boy^ one tarn, mah fader's broder- 

 law — " 



"Must ha' come pooty nigh bein' your uncle," Sam re- 

 marked. 



"Mah fader's broder-law," Antoine repeated. 



"Wal, I s'pose havin' brother-in-laws run in the fam'ly 

 then, as naow." 



"Sam, you shet up you beesinees. You Yankee tink it 

 was be awily beeg, forfeefty mans keel one wolf, but 

 Ah goin' tol' you what mah fader's broder-law was be do 

 one tam. One naght, he'll load off hees gaun wid four, 

 prob'ly tree ball an' han'ful of shot-buck an' he'll took 

 twenty-fav foot rope, an' he'll rrrubby, rrrrubby all wid 

 hawg blood, he jes be keel, an' he'll jomp on hees traine, 

 hees cutters, you know, an' he'll drove off on de hwood. 



wid mah fader for drove, an' drag dat ropes behin' de 

 traine of it. An' bambye de wolfs beegin for feel smeU 

 of it, an' he'll scratter togedder an' f oiler dat traine, more 

 as twenty, t'irty of it an' den he'll touch hoi' dat ropes, 

 one, two, tree, ten, feefteen, so many, de hoss hemoscan 

 pull it. Wal, sah, den mahi fader's broder-law, he pant 

 hees gaim raght long dat ropes an' he'U shot pooom, an, 

 sah, haow many you s'pose he'll keel, ten of it, an' fave, 

 he'll go off flap, flap, guer-a-ouou, wid hees laig broke off 

 an' hees jaw spile up for bit some more. Dat was de way 

 in Canada, two mens keel ten wolfs, not feefty for keel 

 one, an' hoi' mos'-dead-mans do it den." 



"Ef it wan't fer spilin' this last." said Uncle Lisha, 

 breakina: the silence which followed this recital, "I'd 

 knock yer lyin' head off with 't." 



"One' Lasha, dat head can' lied," Antoine protested, 

 between laborious puffs of his pipe. "Noaw wait tiU 

 Ah '11 goin' tol' yon baout de loup garou. Ah dat was so 

 bad ting, it mek me scare for tink of it ever since Ah 'U 

 leetly boy an' de hoi mans an' de hoi whomaus tol of it. 

 Den we'll seet an' squeeze de fire, an' be scare for look 

 behin' of us, for see de shadder creep, creep on de floor 

 an' jomp on de wall, for fred it be de loup garou." 



" What specie of predarious animal is these ere loose 

 garooses. Antwine"? Be they anything of the humaji 

 nater of a or'nary wolf or a loosevee, or a woollyneeg, or 

 what?" 



"Ah, Solem, dey was dev' more as anyting," said the 

 Canadian in an awe-stricken voice. "Dev', dev'. Some- 

 tam dey was mans jes' lak anybodee, an den dey was be 

 wolfs, oh, more wusser as wolfs. Dey ketch dead mans 

 in grave yards an' heat it, dey ketch live mans, an' heat 

 it. Oh, (ley was awfuls. Ah b'heve dey ant gat some 

 more in Canada, neow, but in de hoi tam dey had it. One 

 tam, mah gran' gran' mudder, he'U gat so hoi' he'll mek 

 off hees min's hee'll die an' mah gran'fader he'll was go 

 for pries" in de naght an long, long way trough de hwood, 

 an' he drivin' long on hees traine, can' hear no nowse cep 

 de sno%v scroonch, scroonch under de ranner an' de hoss 

 feet of it. Wal, seh, mah gran'pere was drovin' long, ant 

 tink for much cep for hurry fas'. He'll was goin' on 

 smooze road through de hwood wen hees hoss was beegin 

 for go slow an' he'U can' mek it go fas' all he'U wheep it. 

 De hoss jes" pull hard lak he'll draw more as two ton load 

 an' sweat so he'll smoke lak stimboat an' melt de snow on 

 de road wid de drop of de sweat. 



"Bambye mah gi-an"ppre look behin' of it, an' seh, he'U 

 see great big, big black dawg, mebby wolf, he do' know if 

 it ant probly, wid hees forefoots on de hin' en' of traine, 

 an' he pull laack more harder as de dev'. 



"Mah gran'pere was mad an" scare more as he'U was 

 mad, an' he stroke dat ting wid hees whip, an' dat ting 

 jomp raght on de traine an' put hees before feet on mah 

 gran'pere shoulder of it, so heavy he mos' squeeze him. 

 Mah gran'pere feel of hees knife for cut at it, cause if you 

 drew bleed of de loup garou he'll turn mans raght off an' 

 go way. 



"But he can' fin' hees knife an' he'U ant know what 

 he'll do. De hoss was scare an' run lak hoi hurricanes, 

 'cause de loup garou gat hees behin' foots off de graound 

 an' can' piUl back some more. 



"Mah grandpei'e feel dat heU ting hot bress froze hees 

 neck, an' hees hairs bresh hees face lak needle, an' he'U 

 shut off hees hye, so he can' see dat awfulls yaUer heye 

 clost hees hown, an' he give up for tink he dead jes' as de 

 hoss run in the pries' gate, an' he hoUer an' de pries' run 

 aout an' say some word quick an' laoud an' de loup garou 

 be mans raght off so quicker as you mek some wink an' 

 run off in the hwood. 



' 'Mah- gran'fader was so scare it was took more as mos' 

 half pant of de pries' whiskey-en-esprit to brought it too." 



"1 snum,"' said Joseph, going to the stove hearth to 

 light his pipe, "seem's 'ough I'm most willin' tube skeered 

 by one o' the creeturs, a leetle mite." 



Giving no heed to the interruption, Antoine went on in 

 the same awed voice: "An' seh, dey Avas mans leave neigh- 

 bor of mah gran'fader, was carry mai-k of wheep on hees 

 face of it for good many day." 



"Did it put an end tu his uselessness, so tu speak?" asked 

 Solon. 



"Which o' them stories is true, Antoine, an' which is 

 a lie?" 



Antoine's scared face gave evidence of his implicit faith 

 in the story of the loup garou, but he did not hesitate 

 to testify to the equal truth of the other tale, though it 

 was but just improvised in his fertUe brain. 



"Bose of it. One' Lasha, sem always Ah '11 tol' you." 



"Wal, wal, mebbe so, but wolf himtin' isjiooty strainin' 

 work, an' I guess we'd aU better be a-gettin' tu bed." 



And so desertion and darkness presently pervaded the 

 shop, while the guests went plodding homeward over the 

 snowy fields. R. E. Robinson. 



Fekbisburgh, Vt. 



The Danvis Folks. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I wish to express my thanks to Mr. Eobinson for his very interest- 

 ing description of the sayings and doings of "Danvis Folks." He 

 certainly shows an intimate acquaintance with the manners and 

 customs of the old-time residents of the back to^vns of New England, 

 a class of people who are fast disappearing. 



In this region some of the old residents still cling to the old-fash- 

 ioned ways, and many of theii- sayings are equal to Uncle Lisha or 

 Gran'ther Hill. It is interesting to me to talk with one of these old- 

 timers. 



I sincerely hope Mr. Robinson has many chapters stiU unprinted of 

 the doing of our friends in Danvis. C. M. Stark. 



DuNBARToy, N. H., Aug. 7. 



Forest and Stream's 



f-^j exhibit at the World's Fair will be 

 ♦7^1 ^ound in the Angling Pavilion of 

 the Fisheries Building. You and 

 your friends are invited to visit us. 



