586 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Nov. 9, 1912 
surprise, as it was the first good catch of the 
season. But I found out by accident that the 
pool where I got the large fish and where Eph 
watched from the woods, because as he said he 
was afraid some other guide would learn of his 
good places, was forbidden fishing, and was il¬ 
legal. I was very angry and expressed myself 
very decidedly to Ephraim, who said: “The' 
ain’t no sense closing the fishin' there, anyway,” 
but I told him that any other such guiding on 
his part would end our relations, etc. When he 
really appreciated the fact that I would not have 
any illicit fishing and was really on what seemed 
to him such a low level of technical morality, he 
yielded to it, and was, so far as fishing was con¬ 
cerned, a very satisfactory guide, and he was full 
of entertaining woods companionship. 
His interest in the whiskey, as to which his 
prescription was very liberal, and which he found 
so very beneficial as a medicine, rather developed 
as we went on. It rather “devil-upped” on the 
night after the first day’s fishing, and this is the 
story of it: 
I had a room over the “office,” which was 
the sitting room of the guides and others, and 
the stove pipe from the stove there came up 
through my floor and made audible every sound 
in the room below. The guides were laughing 
and talking down there after I was in bed, and 
I was amused to hear Ephraim say to the others: 
“Say, fellers, my old man’s got some of the best 
whiskey you ever smelt. His flask’s in his coat 
pocket, and he hung it right up here ’n the 
office. Won’t you hev some?” And I heard him 
get my flask and they had their drinks. It was 
all I had, and I laughed as I thought Ephraim 
would have to ride on the ‘ water wagon” for 
the rest of the way. 
Tn the morning, after breakfast, as he and 
I went down to the canoe to start off on our 
morning's fishing, I waited for him to bring my 
DICK BIRCH NOW AT INDIAN LAKE, 
A famous Adirondack guide in late forties and up 
to ten years ago. Still does a little trapping. Born 
about 1828. 
overcoat and—perhaps, say something. As he 
came down toward the canoe he appeared to sud¬ 
denly think of something, and said in a kind of 
reflective way: “Why, what ju do ’th your 
coat last night? You didn’t leave it ’n the office, 
did ye?” “Did I, Eph?” “Why, you did; but 
you didn’t leave your whiskey in it, did ye?” 
Pulling out the flask, he said: “Waal, you did 
sure, and it's all gone. Now, I tell yer what 'tis, 
you can trust us guides with money or anythin’ 
like that, jes’ as well as you kin any bank, ’n 
better, too, ’n some of ’em, but if you kin' o’ 
leave whiskey around or a few flies, why we 
sort of think you mean for us to help ourselves. 
We wouldn’t do nothing bad, anyway.” I said: 
“Well, Eph, of course we can’t get any more in 
this State, can we? So we are in for ‘total absti¬ 
nence’ after this. His face lighted up a little 
as he said: “Waal, no, of course it’s hard to 
git it—but I'll tell ye, if you go down to Barnes’s 
and say you ain’t very well and need some 
whiskey.” “Oh, I’m well enough, Eph. I don’t 
need any.” “Waal, you say somethin’ kin’ o’ 
like that, anyway, ’n then he’ll look ’round a 
little ’n say it’s again’ the law ’n he can’t sell 
none to nobody, ’n then ’s lie’s lookin’ around 
he’ll see suthin up’n the cubberd ’n say, ‘What’s 
this! I d’know! Why, here’s a couple o' bot¬ 
tles ! Must be on the way up to Si Smith’s camp, 
but I guess they ain’t in any hurry -for it. You 
can take this, and I can kin’ o’ fix it up with 
’em some way when they come down.’ ” 
So I went to Barnes and the scene worked 
out exactly as rehearsed, and I recalled Barnes’ 
look at the distant sky when he took me down 
to the village to get Ephraim as guide and some¬ 
thing was said about the difficulty of getting 
more whiskey in the “Prohibition State” of 
Maine. 
Ephraim didn't ride on any “water wagon” 
that season. There was always a package of 
something in that “cubberd” which proved to be 
bottles of “suthin' or ’notlier” on the way in to 
Si Smith's camp, which they weren’t in any 
hurry to have sent in to them. 
Well, Ephraim was a good guide, a keen¬ 
eyed fisherman, and he took a natural pride in 
his judgment as to places where a trout would 
be and where he would not be, and he always 
watched with interest to see how and just where 
the fly dropped on the water. 
I remember once his paddling me through 
a fine winding stream and my seeing an inviting 
deep and dark looking pool by a big rock and 
my saying: “Slow up a bit, Ephraim, there’s 
a place for a big one.” He did slow up slightly, 
but said: “ ’Tain’t no use o’ tryin’ there. No 
fish in it this time o’ year.” As he spoke a fine 
big fish came up with a splash and took the fly, 
and Eph finished his remark by adding, “Unless 
’tis now and then a scatterin’ one.” I had much 
enjoyment in getting a “now and then scatterin’ 
one” in the pools he didn’t believe in. He used 
to let himself down by saying: “Waal, this 
weather ’s darn queer that the trout git into 
places where gen’ally you can’t get ’em in Sep¬ 
tember, but you kin get ’em in May well enough.” 
“All right, Eph. I like the scatterin’ ones best. 
I don’t care so much to fish in schools. I am 
willing to get the only one. The scatterin’ ones 
are often the largest ones.” 
Eph was a good guide for the fishing. There 
is a great difference between having a guide who 
has a “natural” love of fishing and enjoys it 
UNCLE TOM SOLOMON, 
The “Grand Old Man” of Dun Brook, Eagle River, 
Rock River and Beaver River. Famous as an Adiron¬ 
dack guide in late forties and up to 1895. Born 1825; 
died 1911. 
and appreciates any skill in the angler, and one 
who works only for his pay, and is always will¬ 
ing to get away from the midst of a good fishing 
to dinner or supper. He was eager as to the 
fishing and an excellent canoe paddler and poler, 
and knew with a fisherman’s instinct all the 
waters of the region. I was very glad to have 
him for several seasons, and liked him better the 
longer I had him. tie was a good cook, and 
when we found it necessary to have our meals 
off in the woods, his coffee, his fried trout and 
his potatoes roasted in the ground under the 
fire, and his cakes (or flapjacks) were all fine 
and memorable. He always displayed also a fine 
zest in partaking of all the repasts. 
I remember when once he was coming to 
the end of an eager and industrious performance 
in breakfast eating, he said in a sort of self- 
excusing way: “Waal, breakfast is my principal 
meal.” Feeling my eyes upon him, he added 
after a second or so: “Waal, unless it is din¬ 
ner, sometimes when I’ve done a good deal.” 
He still felt my eyes fixed on him and so he 
further added: “Waal, supper tastes kind er 
good, and don’t seem to do me no harm.” Then 
he felt that my eyes were being taken off, and 
he laughed and said as he patted the neighbor¬ 
hood of his stomach: “Waal, there is suthin’ 
real kin’ o’ ree-storin’ about vittles, anyway, ain’t 
there ?” 
Eph was a good guide and a good woods 
companion, as I have said. When I go down 
there again, expecting to have Eph join me there, 
I shall take with me a liberal prescription of his 
medicine dose, and I shall go prepared also to 
hear some more of his interesting accounts of 
his experiences and to stretch my mind to the 
extent of his narrations. 
I think Ephraim’s stories did not all task 
credulity to the limit more than others I have 
