142 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Feb. 23, 1895. 
EXPERIENCES IN MINNESOTA. 
II.— In a Game Country. 
Game in this section of the Roseau country is seldom 
disturbed by white men. Occasionally you wilL find an 
old half-breed hunter and trapper who ventures in, but 
they are few. Having made camp comfortable, H 
and 1 started out to explore the river to its source. This 
proved an undertaking such as we had not counted on, 
as the country is a frightful one to get through, windfalls 
so thick that "it took us an hour to make a quarter of a 
mile; muskeags that few white men have crossed, cov- 
ered with fallen trees, mostly old and partly rotten, yet 
solid enough to play havoc with moccasined feet; the 
grass grown to the height of three or four feet, complete- 
ly covering holes as well as stumps and fallen trees, so 
that it is as dangerous, as rough. Naturally one must 
carefully pick his way. Once in a while we would strike 
ii ridge where we found walking fairly good and could 
make time, considering the packs we were carrying. 
It was on such a ridge bordering a small muskeag, that 
I sighted my first moose in that country. She did not 
see us, and "fortunately the wind was in our favor; we 
got to within fifty yards of her before she saw us. She 
quickly walked behind a bunch of willows and came out 
about 150 yards in front of us. My guide wanted that 
particular moose badly, as he said "she was young and 
tender and he was tired of bacon and partridge." I never 
knew how stupid a wary beast could be. Every time he 
shot she would walk a step or two and stop to turn around 
and look at us, until several shots had been fired; when 
we did finally convince her that we were that savage 
creature known as man, she bade us good-bye and went. 
Fortunate] v she was not hit, and though I too wanted 
fresh meat' badly, I was very glad she escaped unhurt. 
I never in all my life saw so many partridges as there 
are in that section." Go where we would they were there 
and in great numbers. I believe that in one day we 
must have seen at least five thousand birds. At times 
you could see them in almost every place you would 
look, running in every direction and so tame you could 
almost reach them with your rifle, yet they told me "it 
was an oft' season for birds." We found more in this 
particular section than in any other; perhaps tliey had 
not been disturbed by fire for some time. We followed 
the banks of the river (so-called) as nearly as possible, 
though in many places we could step across the stream. 
I believe that few, if any, white men have ever followed 
this river to the lake it is supposed to start from. My 
old breed friend, Mimi, than whom no better guide or 
companion ever lived, told, me that he "had once been 
there and knew of an old Indian who had hunted and 
trapped there, but never knew a white man to go there." 
Otter and beaver have their homes along the stream, and 
in one place we found the largest clearing I have ever 
seen made by beaver. Many of the cuttings were fresh, 
and they doubtless had been at work the day before. 
Some of the trees cut measured twelve and fourteen 
inches in diameter. Shortly after this Mimi went back 
there and set traps for them. He tells me that beaver 
are becoming very scarce in that country, though otter 
lynx, fisher, martin and mink are still quite plentiful. 
Muskrats are a drug in the market. One day I was out 
on the river after ducks, and fired into a colony of rats 
which were taking a sun bath on a large stone in the 
river; result, three rats. I saw at one look not less than 
twenty. There seemed to me an abundance of small 
game.' There is no doubt that big game is quite plenti- 
ful, too, when not disturbed by fires. 
" In our search for the lake we had miscalculated our 
distance from camp, and after tramping for two days 
were compelled to turn back as our provisions were ex- 
hausted, having taken only a small supply with us. I 
should like to have gone back again with a fresh supply 
but time was limited. None of the small game seems to 
fear the presence of man. Several times I was close 
enough to that beautiful little animal, the mink, almost 
to stroke him. He would enjoy his morning bath, and 
come out and play around me, much to my amusement. 
He seemed to get as much enjoyment out of it as I did. 
All along this river there were tracks of moose, elk, and 
deer in great numbers, and all working toward the head 
waters or lake. There is no doubt in my mind that had 
we reached it we would have found an abundance of big 
game. 
On our return to camp we found a native hunter had 
pitched his tent beside us for the night; that he was on 
his way to the nearest town or settlement; this we 
thought an excellent opportunity to send back to town a 
youth who started out with us "to see what camping out 
was like." He had been through the fire with us, and 
said his only excuse in going in was that he had some 
teeth that needed attention, as he had loosened the fill- 
ings the night of the fire. So he concluded to go in with 
the native. This same native was a walking arsenal, 
and if one did not know him to be all right he certainly 
would never guess it from his appearance. He carried a 
rifle, two revolvers, and an immense hunting-knife. He 
wore a vest and belt filled with cartridges. He was per- 
fectly harmless, in fact a pretty good fellow. Now our 
youth wasn't particularly "stuck on" his face or bis 
make-up, but concluded lie would stay with him until 
the next clay and go along to town. We broke camp at 
noon, and pulled out leaving him a ten-pound gun, 
about twenty pounds of ammunition, one pair of hip ' 
boots, a heavy fur overcoat, and some other necessary 
articles. We drove as rapidly as possibly, and stopped 
only when dark at ss had begun to settle, yet before we 
had finished making camp snug for the night who should 
walk in but the youth, carrying all his possessions and 
barefooted. He had sprinted it all the way. Fortunate- 
ly for him we had been traveling on a well-beaten trail, 
or he would never have found us. 
All through the country we had traveled were drying- 
racks for preparing moose and elk meat for winter use by 
the Indians. Everywhere could be found the bones and 
skulls of moose, elk, and deer. The Red Lake Indians go 
over into Kittson County and slaughter them by the hun- 
dred. In such a country game wardens could not and 
do not exist. It would require a thousand good men to 
properly protect the game there, and then they should 
know the country. Natives and Indians slaughter game 
at all seasons of the year, yet a non-resident or sports- 
man who goes into that country is watched from St. Paul 
to the jumping off place. Perhaps the sportsman would 
be quite satisfied to shoot one moose for the sake of the 
head, that he might have to show to his children's chil- 
dren what grand and noble, beasts used to roam over cer- 
tain parts of the country. There is more game killed by 
tne Indians in one season than by the sportsmen in ten. 
"Stop the sale of game" and you stop much of the 
slaughter by natives and market hunters. Wabash. 
PIONEER LIFE IN MAINE.— III. 
BY GEORGE SMITH, 
In accordance with the suggestion of those who had listened 
many times to these stories of the clangers and privations of the 
pioneer settlers, the following account of the early settlement of 
the town of Freedom, Me., and pioneer life in that region, accom- 
panied with a brief record of the years spent in the West, was 
written by the author at the age of eighty-one. — D. C. Smith. 
Journey to Columbus. 
It was now the first of October, and after looking 
round, my brothers went to work at the carpenter's trade 
as that was most in demand. I worked with them till 
December, and as the weather was so pleasant, I de- 
termined to take a tramp further west, across the State, 
and set out for Newark, the county seat of Licking 
County, arriving there about the 25th of Dec. I found it 
a i leasant location, but of not much enterprise. I con- 
tinued my journey to Columbus, a distance of thirty 
miles, through a desolate wilderness, with the exception 
of one family. There was only a newly surveyed road, 
blazed out through a remarkably heavy-timbered forest. 
The country all the way was a dead level, and at this 
time of year the travel through this region was done on 
horseback. Mud was knee-deep the entire way. As I in- 
quired of the man where I stayed one night, the distance 
to the first house, he said, "Stranger it is twenty-seven 
miles to Kilgore's, as you are afoot you will have a hard 
time getting through to-day, the roads are bad." As I 
felt so smart in those days, I determined to make the at- 
tempt, and started by daylight. The day was dark and 
rainy. I could not set foot upon the road without going 
nearly to the top of my boots. They had felled the trees 
on each side of the road, and I mounted these long trees 
to keep out of the mud. I clambered on, leaping from 
tree to tree, like a squirrel, and I fancied I was making 
good headway, till I perceived it began to grow duskish. 
1 had no way of knowing how far I had gone, but I con- 
tinued to leap from tree to tree, when suddenly 1 heard a 
terrible noise in the woods, as of some one in distress. I 
stopped a moment to listen, when the noise began on the 
other side of the road. Then I understood the music. I 
was sure it was wolves, although I had never heard their 
dismal howl before. What to do, I knew not. I thought 
of climbing a tree, and staying there till morning, but 
still I could not see a good chance for that. Soon the 
howling ceased, and 1 continued to leap as best I could, 
in the dark. At last, I could not see where to step, and 
losing my foothold on the logs, fell into the mud. Think- 
ing this a safer way than on the logs, on account of the 
wolves, I continued in the mud. So having prepared my- 
self with a shillaly, I continued to travel the rest of the 
night. After traveling in this way a long time, I began 
to feel tired, and never did a soul lament an undertaking 
more than I did at times. I had been told in the morn- 
ing, I would see an old log cabin by the way, but no 
signs of it appeared. 
Soon that infernal howl began again- on bot h sides of 
the path, nearer than before. I smote on the logs with 
all my might with my shillaly ; they would stop a mo- 
ment then tune up again. I kept time for them, half an 
hour, till suddenly I thought I saw a light; after a mo- 
ment I saw it again, right straight ahead. Never was a 
soul more rejoiced than I at this sight , and I put on the 
whole head of steam to reach it as quickly as possible; 
yet it seemed to be just as fax off as ever in spite of my 
efforts. 
At last I turned aside to meet it, and found the door, 
upon which I gave many solid raps, before I could wake 
the sleepers. A voice called out: "Who is there?" "A 
traveler," I replied. "We don't keep travelers, here," 
was the answer. "I am tired and faint, and cannot go 
farther," said I. "We have neither room, nor bed for 
one," said he. "Then let me lie on your floor, is all I 
ask," was my answer. I heard another voice say: "Let 
him in," and the door was opened, and I went in, took off 
my knapsack, and sat down on a bench, while the old 
man built a fire , for they had neither candles nor lamps. 
By the time he had a good blazing fire, I had discovered 
they were Irish settlers. The old man began to inquire 
where I was from, and where I was going. When I told 
him to Columbus, he said that was a bad road of three 
miles. Seeing bread and milk on the table, I asked if they 
could let me have a dish of bread and milk. By this time, 
a girl was coming down a ladder from the chamber, "The 
stranger wants some milk and pone," the old man said. 
"No," said I, "bread." "You are a Yankee, I guess," 
said he. "Have you a wife?" he asked. When I told 
him, I had not, "you'll want one soon, I reckon," he 
said. "Thatjnay be, sometime or other, "I replied, and 
the milk and'pone being ready just at this moment, put 
an end to further conversation on this subject. 
I sat up to a table of rare dimensions, being a large 
black walnut log, split in two, and the split side hewed off 
tolerably smooth, on the round side, four large holes were 
bored, and round sticks put in for legs, with the bark all 
on. But this did not hurt; the milk and pone, for I en- 
joyed it that night, as I have ever since. As I turned 
away from the table the old man said: "And may I im- 
agine how old you are, stranger? "Oh, yes, sir!" said I, 
"how old should you think?" Well, and I should think 
you might be twenty or twenty-five,' said he, "I am 
twenty-four," was my answer. "Indeed," said he, "but 
you must have a wife - " Two more girls now appeared, 
coming down the ladder. I asked for a rug that I might 
lie down on the floor- "No, no," they all said, "stranger, 
you must go up chamber," there is a bed for you up 
there." The more I objected, the more they insisted upon 
my going, till I yielded; took off my boots, and up the 
ladder I went, one of the girls holding a roll of paper at 
the top of the ladder till I was in bed, where I was soon 
lost to all the wife introductions I had been hearing. 
Being very tired, and having been up so late, I did not 
wake till I heard the old man coming up the ladder, to in 
quire after my health, as I expected. He shouted, "Have 
you rested well, and have you dreamed about your wife 
"to-night?" I answered, "I have rested well, but have not 
dreamed much yet.,' "You will soon," he replied, "for 
I've got a house full, and you can take your choice. " I 
thanked him, and told him I would think more about it. 
As I came down into the room below, I was surprised to 
see four more girls sitting on the benches beside the 
mother, who was setting the table in the best possible 
manner. I asked if they were all of one family; the old 
man replied "yes, and I have one more, a son, who will 
soon be at home. ' ' 
Breakfast of bacon and eggs being all ready, I was in- 
vited to breakfast with them. I could not well refuse, as 
I had such great offers made me of taking my choice of 
seven of the healthiest and homeliest girls 1 had ever met 
in one family; so I sat down with the old man and his 
wife, the girls arranged in the rear. Said the old man, 
"I reckon you are going to work in Columbus. What is 
your trade?" "Yes, if I can get a chance at the joiners' 
trade," said I. "You'll get a chance there, they are 
building many houses there." When breakfast was over, 
I offered to settle my bill. "Indeed," said he, "there'll 
be no bill if you take one of these girls along." I told 
him I could not maintain a wife, and the old lady said, 
"Let the young man do as he likes." He said the girls 
had never been from home to work, and were not as for- 
ward as other girls, nor should he allow them to go till 
they were married, as they would be spoiled. Finally, 
having heard his arguments through, in favor of taking 
a wife. I handed him two silver quarters, at which 
he was much surprised, as nothing but '"scrip" was in cir- 
culation in those days. 
I arrived at Columbus at noon, and immediately went 
to work at the joiners' trade at $30 a month. Here I re- 
mained two years — 1815, 1816. 
The Celebration of 1815. 
The year 1815 was distinguished by the closing of the 
war of 1812, Jackson having settled the last accounts 
with them for going to Washington, and destroying the 
Navy Yard and President's house, and passed receipts in 
full with them on the 8th of Jan., 1815. On this occasion 
they had a great celebration in Columbus. As there was 
no cannon in Columbus at that early day; they invented 
a torpedo by sewing up a tanned cowhide in the strongest 
manner, into which they put a keg of powder, and then 
closed the aperture. They obtained a large roll of new 
tarred cable, which was wound round the cowskin in the 
most solid manner till it was all used; then another un- 
manned ox-hide was put around the rope, and sewed up, as 
the first had been. Next, another tanned cable of greater 
dimensions than the first, was belayed about it in the best 
sailor style. It was then tarred all over and pronounced 
ready for use. A small tin tube was introduced into the 
keg of powder in the center of this torpedo, placed in a - 
wagon and taken to Mound Hill , in the centre of Broad 
street, which was four rods wide, the mound filling the. 
entire street and being twelve feet high, having three 
large trees growing on its summit. 
The torpedo was hoisted to the top of the mound and 
placed between the stumps of these trees; the tin tube was 
filled with powder, and another fuse was attached to the 
tube. This fuse was a cotton thread, soaked in saltpetre 
and dried, reaching down the mound to the base, and 
buried in a train of powder which was arranged on a long 
strip of board. All things being ready, a lighted torch 
was produced, but no one dared apply it, as it was a 
dangerous undertaking. At ten o'clock, the way being 
clear, I took up the blazing match, swung it, and placing 
it on the train of powder, shot like an arrow down the 
hill to the company. As I turned, I saw a flash of the 
train, in a moment, saw the stream of fire going up like 
a rocket, with a deafening report, and a blaze that lighted 
up the surrounding coimtry for a mile around. 
There being no communication between the two coun- 
tries, except by sailing A^essels, the treaty of peace, signed 
long before this battle of New Orleans, did not reach us 
till months afterwards. 
My brother Joshua, having come to Columbus, joined 
me m the work on the same building, and remained there 
two years. About this time John Smith came to see us, 
and after a short, time went back to Zanesville. On the 
way he stopped in Granville over night. Here he found 
a man who wished to sell out, and John, liking the place, 
as the people were all New England people — bought the 
place and moved his family at once. The next year the 
people determined to build a large meeting house. He 
undertook to build it, and wrote to us to come on to help 
him; accordingly, we all worked on it the first year. 
Stephen — my mate— being single, and having no trade, 
carried on John's farm the first year. Two other young 
men, named Avery, owned the adjoining farm. They 
often changed work with each other, and, besides, the 
Averys had a sister, Polly by name, whose company 
Stephen was keeping, consequently there was much in- 
tercourse between John's family and the Averys'. It hap- 
pened that the Averys were digging a well, with 
Stephen's help, when they had got to a depth of forty 
feet, they reached a ledge and was blasting it. They had 
ladders all the way down and a windlass to hoist out the 
rocks. A charge had been fired off in the well, and they 
waited for the smoke to clear away, that they might con- 
tinue their work. Christopher Avery imprudently thought 
he woidd go down to see what luck in the blast, without 
tying the rope around his body, in case there should be 
need of its use. He descended the ladder backwards to 
the bottom of the well, and soon appeared again coming 
up; as he neared the top they noticed he did not take 
hold of the rounds of the ladder as he ought, and they 
reached down and got hold o4one of his hands, but that 
moment he let go of the ladder with the other hand, and 
fell to the bottom of the well. The alarm was given, and 
all the neighborhood rushed to the scene. As all were 
sure he must be dead, it was proposed one should go 
down and put a rope about the body, and both could be 
drawn up together— Stephen undertook the job. He first 
tied a rope under his own arms, and then descended the 
ladder, and tied one end of another rope to the body, the 
other around himself, and shaking the rope as a signal, 
both were drawn up. Stephen was as dead as the other 
to appearances, the gas in the well had overcome him so, 
he^had fainted, but the doctor being present with restora- 
tives, at last brought him to. Polly being away, hearing 
the sad news, arrived home in time to see her brother 
i 
