490 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept. 29, 1906. 
otter bin using. He had leetle leanto camp over 
on Lac Tortue; he go there an’ fix him up tor 
trapping. He cut wood 'nough last him five, six 
nights, den he go find birch windfall, blow down 
in spring time, an’ get bark to fix him roof. 
’Long near sundown he come back wit’ big back- 
load of bark. First t’ing he see was Louis Corn- 
mean sit smoke him pipe in camp. 
“‘Hollo Louis! W’at you do here? How long 
you bin back’? he say. Louis say he come back 
two day since. Father look at him an’ see heem 
hair all turn gray, heem face ten year older dan 
las’ time he see heem. He lose feefteen, twenty 
pound since he gone ’way! ‘Why you not got 
your gun, Demingues? You no ’fraid you meet 
bear? Mebee you see wolf. W’at you do' if you 
meet heem an’ have no gun mit you?’ 
“Father say he trade him old gun, an’ send 
to Quebec buy new one. He say him no scared 
to meet bear; bear more scared if he meet heem. 
Mebee one, two wolves left in whole country. 
Wolf no more harm dan ole sheep, until he near 
starving. All time he talking he busy fixing shanty 
roof. Just as it begin get dark Louis put him 
pipe in him pocket an’ say ‘bon soir.’ He say 
lie have some fren’- expectin’ heem, an’ he go 
way. Father t'ink he have some officer mans or 
some ’Merican hunter. Nearest house our own 
and it near twenty mile ’way. 
“Night come on cold, white frost all over 
everything, woods so still you hear every maple 
leaf fall. Father make on two fire. ’Long ’bout 
middle of night he wake up, an’ go to make on 
fire ’gain. He hear som’thing breathe close to 
him. He see two eyes shine. He t’row han’full 
dry chips an’ shavin’ on fire, an’ when it blaze 
up he see great gray wolf lie watching him not 
t’ree steps ’way. He put out him hand for him 
ax. Wolf’s back go up like cross dog. He show 
all him teeth. Father keep still an’ pray. He 
tell he never pray at mass like he pray den. Fire 
burn lower ’n lower. He see two 'more eyes, 
all same as hot coals, look at him. Den he see 
more an’ more. He hear feet go pad-pad, wish- 
wish over dead leaves. He see five, six great 
wolf, all close to him. He see dere breath steam, 
he feel it on heem hand an’ face. He see one 
wolf mit broken tush, ’noder one mit white mark 
on him shoulder. Big gray fellow look him 
straight in heem eyes. Bimebye oder wolves slip 
’way from fire. He hear em leaves rustle. He 
see no more eyes looking at him. Grey fellow 
get up an’ yawn. He run heem tongue out same 
as one dog. Next minute he gone. 
“Father make on beeg, beeg fire. He sit heem 
all night. He keep ax an’ knife handy. He 
pray all time. Soon as it come daylight he start 
for home. He go j"st so quick he can. He find 
Louis Commeau talking wit’ my brodder Pierre. 
He ask Louis how he get here so soon. Louis 
say he came all same way he come hisself. Father 
go inside, get key of Louis Commeau’s shanty 
an’ give it to him. He say, ‘Louis, you bin meet 
Bruno. You talk mit him. you sell your soul 
for revenge on Mathis Desjardin. You man no 
more; you Loup Garou. Never you come near 
my house again. Never you speak mit me.’ 
“You never hear tell of Bruno? He w’at you 
call bad spirit, devil, revenant. Some day man 
get in trouble, lose all he have. P'haps some 
fellow take him wife, mebee take heem girl. He 
t’ink ’bout dis all time. He never go near 
church. He never talk to priest. He swear he 
get even mit him en’my if it cost him soul. Some 
day he all 'lone in woods. He keep Linking same 
t’ing all ‘er time. He meet strange man, taller’n 
most men, black hair, black eyes, all dress in 
black. Strange man say, ‘I know you. You not 
know me. I know w’at you want. You give me 
ht’ bit of you’ hair, few drops of you’ blood, 
lit bit off you’ fingernail. You go home, mak’ 
leetle cross an’ break him in two, burn him up 
?nd’ bring him ashes to me just ’fore moonrise 
to-night. I tell you how you get w’at you want. 
If you want see me you come here an’ call, 
“Bruno, Bruno, Bruno!” t’ree times.’ 
“Mebee he not willing to do dis, but if he no 
get scart he come bring ashes long wit’ him. 
He fall t’ree time, same as he fold to do. He 
see fall man stannin’ rieht in front of him. Tall 
man say, ‘Take off you’ clothes, kneel down an’ 
say prayer I shall teach you.’ Den he take leetle 
box of ointment, touch him head, him body, him 
feet, an’ say, ‘God make dis a man’s body, I 
mak’ heem Loup Garou. So long he live he 
lead de wolves; so soon he die he follow me.’ 
“Just so soon he say dis, man’s body come all 
over hair, him face grow long, heem feet an’ 
hands change to paws, he feel tail grow out. He 
try to speak, heem voice all gone, heem only 
growl, same as one dog. Just so long he live, 
he man all day; soon as night come, he wolf if 
he want to be. He talk to odder wolves all 
same as one man talk to ’noder man. Heem 
look like wolf at night, heem act like wolf, but 
all ’er time heem t’ink like man t’ink. No use 
set trap for him; no use you lay poison. Heem 
no scare of fire—mak’ fire heemself. He know 
how far you’ gun shoot, know how many barrel 
she have, know how you shoot yourself. You 
go out in morning, pass heem on road, he say 
‘Bon jour.’ He see you have no gun. You 
come home at night, you meet beeg wolf in road, 
mebee t’ree, four odder wolf mit him. Nex’ 
morning someone come ’long, find so much of 
you left as do for hold funeral over. 
“But ’bout Louis Commeau. Fader say he no 
speek of heem no more. Louis look heem in 
eye, he feel cold all down heem back. Louis 
say, ‘You bin good fren’ to me, Demingues. Now 
listen w’at I tell you. You tell no one w’at you 
see las’ night. No one b’lieve you if you do. 
Say you drunk, or dream bad dream. So long 
you keep you mout’ shut, so long you not try 
to hurt wolf, jus’ so long no wolf hurt you. 
You bes’ trapper in St. Hillaire. You bes’ man 
mit gun from St. Llillaire to Grand Saguenay. 
When you fin’ wolf rob you’ cache, steal you’ 
sable out of trap, hurt you anyway, you kill him. 
Some lime you want to see me, you know where 
fin’ me. Any time I want to fin’ you. I know 
where to look for you. Till den, good-bye.’ 
“Father was mighty scared man. Next time 
he make confession, he tell priest all he see an’ 
hear. Priest, laugh at him, say no such t’ing as 
Loup Garou, tell him keep clear of Louis Com¬ 
meau, say he bad man, never come to mass, bad 
t’ing for contri, heem come back. 
“Leetle time after, first snow come. Ole man 
Thibideau come to my father one day an’ ask 
him for lend of some wolf trap. He say he kill 
one caribou an’ hang most of meat up, tak’ rest 
home. When he come back, he fin’ meat all 
gone. Wolf track all round everywhere. Leetle 
tree he hang meat on all gnawed down; same 
one beaver bin cutting him down. Father say 
he sot all him wolf trap over to La Racquette; 
tell him try an’ borrow trap from Louis Com¬ 
meau. Louis lend him two traps. While he 
gone settin’ ’em, wolves come to him house one 
night, tak’ heem pig. Few night after, Mathis 
Desjardin lose ten sheep, all killed close roun’ 
him house. Mathis say he pay ten dollar bounty 
beside government bounty for fresh wolf 
hide. 
“Soon as December come in an’ lake freeze 
up, most everyone you meet have some word to 
say ’bout wolves. Adrian Terrio say all heem 
traps robbed. Francois Beaulieu cache lot of 
moose meat. Meat all gone when he come back 
for it. Wolf tak’ Isidore le Blanc’s dog right 
off heem door step. 
“Mathis Desjardin send for my father. He 
tell him he pay him dollar a day an’ find him 
grub, so long he catch dem wolves. Every wolf 
he catch, he pay ten dollar bounty on. Father 
go home, an’ see Louis Commeau cutting wood 
in front of heem shanty. He tell ’bout what 
Mathis say to heem. Louis laugh an’ say, ‘Set 
all traps you like, wolf know you’ smell week 
after you set ’em. You come in an’ have leetle 
whiski blanc wit’ me.’ 
“Father go home, an' nex’ day he go to woods 
an’ set up all wolf trap he got. Week after, he 
go roun’ heem traps, an’ find all traps sprung an’ 
bait all gone. Soon’s he come out, he hear Mathis 
lose best horse he got. Wolves drive him into 
deep snow, tear heem so bad Mathis have to 
shoot him. Most every day some man lose pig, 
or sheep, or dog. Man carry gun under him 
arm w’en he go to woods chopping; tak’ gun 
wit’ heem in sleigh w’en he go see heem girl, 
even when heem go to mass early in morning. 
Mathis lose more’n all rest of people in St. 
Hillaire. New year come, he lost all heem sheep, 
no dog left, one horse killed, noder one so hurt 
he no good in woods. Men ’fraid to stop in 
shanty on Lac des Orrignals—you tak’ you’ team 
to. water mit you’ gun in one hand an’ you’ 
reins in odder. You carry you’ gun same you 
carry you’ ax or you’ peevy. 
"One day father meet priest from St. Hillaire. 
Him name Father Robichau. Priest say he hear 
wolf know too much to go in trap. He give 
heem leetle bottle brown powder, w’at we call 
coqueluchon (aconite). He say, ‘You put leetle 
bit dis powder on you’ bait, wolf spring you’ trap, 
steal you’ bait, but he never come back. Mebee 
you find heem not far off.’ Father too scart put 
poison out 'till he tell Louis Commeau. Louis 
laugh. Few days after, Pere Robichau go to 
mass one morning, see wolf track right to heem 
docm Four dog lie dead in snow, some poison 
bait lie on heem step. Dog come soon dey let 
heem out of house, eat bait an’ die right dere. 
All trap father set sprung, all bait carried ’way. 
He send for father, ask heem if it heem bait. 
He say yes, he know for sure it same bait he 
use to heem traps. 
“It seem like wolves get scart after dis. No 
one hear or see dem for near a month. Folks 
begin say dey all gone ’way. Men go tend traps, 
see no fresh tracks, hear no wolf howl at night. 
Long some time m February, man in Mathis 
Desjardin’s new camp on La Racquette fall tree 
on heemself. He bleed at mout’, bleed at nose, 
heem die for sure. Mathis say he go for priest. 
He hitch up an’ leave camp leetle while after 
dinner. He drive lak hell, road bad, horse tired, 
it near sundown w’en heem come past Louis 
Commeau shanty. Louis stan’ing on road. 
Horse see him an' jump sideways into beeg drift; 
most turn sleigh over. Louis catch heem head, 
turn heem on road again. Mathis say he much 
’bliged, Louis say n'importe pas, ask Mathis 
w’at he hurry. Mathis he tell heem. Pere Robi¬ 
chau ’way near to Grand Saguenay. It near 
sundown w’en he come back. He jump in sleigh 
wit Mathis, dey put for La Racquette so fast 
as horse able ft) go. Dey tak’ leetle boy b’long 
to seek man, so he see heem ’fore , he die. Boy 
sit on priest knee, horse go down tote-road so 
fast you t'ink he fly. It get darker ’n darker. 
Moon come up, beeg, beeg full moon. Woods 
light as day, see steam rise from horse, see white 
frost on heem back. 
“All to once horse stop, stop so short he almost 
overturn ’em sleigh. Brace heem fore feet on 
snow, snort like ’em bull moose w’en heem cornin’ 
to call. Mathis look ahead. He see beeg gray 
wolf stan' in middle of road. See wolf behin’ 
heem, wolf on bot’ side heem. Mathis shout for 
all heem wort’, lay whip on horse all he can, 
horse break an’ run like one caribou. Pere 
Robichau tak' leetle boy, push heem tinner seat, 
put buff’lo robe in front of him. He say, ‘I have 
stick here wit' knife blade in heem handle, ’Meri¬ 
can man gave me. You have you’ knife. S’pose 
worse come to de worse we trow reins on horse’s 
back, we jump, horse run for camp. Mebee he 
get dere, mebee he save dis boy.’ Mathis say, 
I wit you, father. So soon dey stop us, we 
jump. You put your back ’gin my back. If we 
get kill ourselves, we keel two, t’ree wolf ’fore 
we go.’ 
“Horse go ’long while dey talk, wolf run in 
front of him all same as one dog. Pere Robichau 
strip off heem fur coat, wrap heem soutanne roun’ 
heem arm, say some prayer, an’ onscrew knife, 
lick heem han’ for have more sure grip on heem— 
no let himself be keel for nottings. 
“All dis time dey go so quiet as if nottings 
was wrong, not one wolf howl, only noise you 
hear, bells go ting, ting, ting, snow go weesh, 
weesh, under ’em runners. Camp come in sight, 
Mathis see light in shanty window, an’ call out, 
‘Help! help!’ ’Fore door have time to open, 
whole pack of wolves turn, go^ right for sleigh, 
go right for Mathis. He strike one blow, drive 
heem knife clean to handle. Pere Robichau see 
largest w r olf crouch an’ spring like one loup 
cervier. He strike wit’ all strength in heem arm, 
he feel leetle knife snap like one pipestem, hear 
man shout, gun fire, know not'ing more until he 
wake up in shanty. Mathis Desjardin dead, heem 
head tore near off heem body. Leetle boy all 
safe, horse not much hurt, one wolf dead. Mathis 
knife gone t'ro’ him heart. Noder one dead, 
Jerome Sattlnier shoot him. Pere Robichau not 
