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THE HEW YORK 

POBLICLlBRAkY 



AST05. LENOX AND 

TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 

ft I 



J 



WJLD GINGER 

Wi^ Sorrel and Sweet Cicely 

STORIES OP MANY TYPBS, NEW TO THB 
PRIMTBR'S TYPBS 

A SPICinC POK COMM IKCIAL M ALAKU, A FRIYINTIVI OF MORAL 

imiGltnOlf. A CURl FOR SOCIAL FARI1IS« THI CATARACT 

tFORTIIflll*S CLUB FRISCRIBIt IN GINTLI DOtBtTHIS 






»» 



RBSTORATIYl. **COIf POUNDID or M AMY UM FLU 

By Matt ^oover «^ 

Pr§fus£fy lllusirmUd 



1— A good story ii a sold nncret 

2-'^Tnith !• stxQiigier thaa fictioii and iBore enter- 

tainiaff. 
3— Pot-Hmiten twap Uct. but Tnie Spoitamca ooiif 

fine thenuelves to the Truth. 
4"- The Groves are aomrthing more than templcr-ao 

protect the Poreate. 
S— -The man who would wantonly deatroy the amaUeat 

fiah, Mrd or beaat can have no fellowship here. 

Sr-Two are company, three a |<^ly crowd, and more, 
the merrier wherever met 

7— IFherever two or more a ssem ble on the American 
continent, there shall be due from each an anec- 
dote of personal experience. 



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"—Thos flhelt csll ■• tloiplM, sni thsU tssch 
Thy friend th« dmm an^ hesllag power d sich, 
From the tall blee-beU to the dvarAih veei, 
What the An Ua'i nd what the ouirthei ttt4 : 
For all their kladi alike to thee are known 
kmA the whole art of Oaleo It thiae own." 



BROADWAY PUBLISHING CO., NEW YORK 






£U lyw 7> 



nc xEw rou 

PCBUC UBJ 




u/rnn. Lomx Aim 

B lf47 1, 



Cqpyhight, 1909 



M. H. HCX)VER 




•^ 




CONTENTS 

I— JANUARY— CaUract Cub and Guests in Winter 

Quarters, Niagara County. Qub flower for 

the month, Violets. — 23. 
II— FEBRUARY— Cataract Club as Guests of a 

Sportsmen's Qub in Toronto. Qub flower, 

lung's Cup (Butter Cups).— 44. 
Ill — MARCH — Duck Hunting on Lake Cayuga in 

Former Days. Qub flower, Hepatica.— 65. 
IV— APRIL—Trout Fishing in the Berkshires. Qub 

flower, Trailing Arbutus. — 8& 
V — MAY — Trouting in the Adirondacks. Qub flower, 

Dandelion. — 112. 
Vj^ VI — ^JUNE— Joint Tournaments of two New York 
^^^' State Qubs at the Opening of the Black Bass 

N.^ Season on the Niagara River and in Rensselaer 

County. Qub flower, Water Lily. — IJ9. 
VII — ^JULY — ^In Camp in British Columbia. Qub 

flower. Pacific Fern. — 165. 
VIII— AUGUST— In Camp on the French River, 

Canada. Qub flower. Cardinal Flower. — 195. 
IX— SEPTEMBER— Prairie Chicken Shooting in 

North Dakota. Qub flower. Golden Rod. — 227. 
X— OCTOBER— Small Game Shooting in the Reus- 
«^ selaer Hills. Qub flower, Fnnged Gentian. — 

XI— NOA^MBER— Deer Hunting in the Adirondacks. 

Qub flower, Witch-hazel.— 289. 
XII— DECEMBER— Convention of the New York State 

Fish, Game ft Forest League: The Round 

Table at the Yates. Qub flower, Wintergreen. 

—314. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

A— Inlay for G)vcr, '^Thc Inner Hopper" — ^Berkshires. 

PAGE 

The Little Chaudiere Frontispiece 

Lockport 23 

Remnant of Niagara's Original Forests ... 27 

Eighteen Mile Creek 34 

Attract the Children to Nature 47 

Sunny Memories of Winter 52 

The "Blissful" Out-of-Doors §5 

The Boat that Always Waits 73 

The Trapper's Last Shot 79 

Greylock and the Hopper 88 

Williamstown Valley 93 

Green River 102 

The Inner Hopper 109 

Spring Cottage 122 

Trouting on the St Regis 132 

Safe From Ontario's Waves 142 

Nature and Art United— The Pines, Olcott . . 153 

Oicott Beach Hotel 158 

Mt Baker 170 

Staeder Thulin's Stronghold, Lund . .181 

No Time for Stories i8p 

Lake Nipissing 195 

Portage Around Big Chaudiere .... 201 

Sunrise on the Portage 206 

The Sheriffs First Encounter with a Muscallonge . 210 

In Camp on the French River 215 

The Fire Ranger 217 

Up the Masog-Masing 227 

Last of the Prairie Grouse of the Season . 247 

Tsatsawassa Lake 258 

The Rain and Shine Gub 273 

Sterling Lodge 291 

A Wild Carnival of Waters 297 

The Xunge that Dined on Black Bass . . . 319 

Where the 'Lunge Saved the Sheriff . . . 333 

The Spray of Five-Mile Rapid 345 



INTRODUCTION 

FOUR HUNDRED BLAZES ALONG THE TRAIL 

CHAPTER L 
wnrax QUAxiEis in niagaxa^ januaxy. 

I — ^Tke Hunter with Pipe-organ Body and a Flute-like 
Voice. 

a— Aunty Andrews' "Faceable Falsehood." 

3 — ^The Battle of Shakespeare Quotations. 

4 — Patsey Hooley's Promotion. 

5 — Hogan's Recipe for Peace. 

6— The Apple Picker's Threat 

7 — ^How Stories Run. 

8 — A Cure for Laziness. 

9 — ^A Talkative Woman. 
10— The Witness Who Knew. 
XI — ^A Northern Race War. 

12 — ^A Cause C61ebr6. A dialect story of a court scene 
in Lower Canada in the old days. 

CHAPTER 11. 

GUSSTS OF A TORONTO SFQRTSMSK's CLUB^ rBBRUAXY. 

I — ^Transplanting Wild Flowers. 

a— An Appropriate National Flower for Britishers 
from Irishman's Viewpoint 

3— Novel and Popular Nature Study for Public 
Schools. 

4— Blessings of "Angling and Temperance." 

5 — The Prejudiced Canadian Judge. 

6— Horseheads More Appropriately Named Horse- 
tails. 



6 INTRODUCTION 

7 — Captured Deer with a Trolling Spoon. 

8 — ^A Canadian's Strange Catch. 

9— Off Midst the Rapids of Incredulity and the Chau- 

diere of Improbability. 
10— A Loon on Skates. 
II — The Resuscitated Pike and Pickerel. 
12 — ^Ireland and Scotland's one Word in Common. 
13 — ^The Drummer's knowledge about Rabbits. 
14— A Feathered Electric Fan. 
IS — Proper Ammunition for Wild Geese. 
i6^Strather Proved He was no Goose. 
17 — ^A Prize Coon Hunt in Georgia, 
ift— The Big Sheriff's Strange Uneasiness. 
19— Difference Between a Canuck Collins and a Yankee 

Gin Fizz. 
20— The Fresh Air Child Learns about Hens. 
21— The Judge's Tall Story. 
22— The Canadian's Farewell Chant. 
23 — ^Why Mike's Notion to Make a Motion was not 
Carried Out 

CHAPTER III. 

DUCX-SHOOnNG AMONG THE CAYUGA CAT-TAILS, MARCH. 

I — A Plea for Protection of Wild Fowl in the Spring. 

2 — ^The Spring Migration Fever Epidemic. 

3 — Fishing and Hunting Recreation a Modem Neces- 
sity. 

4 — A Suspicious German Mine Host. 

5 — A Tactless Game Protector who Damaged the Good 
Cause. 

6— Good and Attractive Sign for a Drug Store. 

7— A Wideawake Officer. 

8— The True Friend of the Birds. 

9 — New York a Pioneer in Fish and Game Protection. 
10 — ^The Tardy South and Alien Game Hogs. 
II — ^A Blow that was Never Struck. 
12— Why the Judge Thought Bryant Used Black Pow- 
der. 
13 — At Supper on Cayuga Mead. 
14-— Nature's Freaks m Flowers and Children. 



INTRODUCTION ^ 

15— Old MoU, the Wise Decoy. 

16— A Cayuga Legend of the White Drake. 

17 — ^Where to Look for an Enemy. 

18 — ^A Hen that Deserved a Monument. 

19— Better than the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg. 

20 — ^The Sheriffs Odoriferous Bag. 

21 — ^When the Unexpected Happens. 

29 — ^A Withering Glance. 

2^3 — Why the Canvas-back Came Down. 

24— How the Sheriff Knocked Riot out of a Negro's 

Head. 
25 — Clint Martin's Cayuga Tipple. 
26— The Model Blind for Night Shooting. 
27— Just the Right Size for Big Chiel 
2&— The Cause of Old Jim's Death. 
29— Comox Joe's Indian Justice. 

CHAPTER IV. 

A SFUNG SAMBLZ IN THE finXSHISBS, APtlL. 

• 

I — ^An Auto on Gassic Ground. 

»— Bryant's "Dimmer Vales" and Dinner. 

3 — ^Sotne Historic Trout Streams. 

^—Little Rivers as They Used to Be, and Mother's 
Bread. 

5 — ^A Woman Angler's Postscript. 

6 — ^A Poet's Inspiration. 

7 — ^"The Mountains." 

8 — Green River and the Williamstown Valley. 

9— See How the Wine Glass Flushes at Supper in 

Greylock Inn. 
10 — ^"Love is Like Arbutus Blooming." 
II — ^Fine Business. 

12 — Three Classic Banquets Which Lacked Brook Trout 
ij — ^Eminent Ancients who were Zealous Anglers. 
14 — ^Daniel Webster on the Kennebec. 
15 — Williams, a College Ideally Located. 
16— A Plea for Reforestation and Forest Preservation. 
17 — An Aesthetic Old Lady. 

iS— The Highly Educated Trout of Haystack Meadow 
Brook. 



8 INTRODUCTION 

iQ-'The Romance of a Berkshire Mansion. 

20— Prof. Bliss Perry's Brook Trout Story. 

21 — Manges Favorite Bait for Muscallonge. 

22 — The Tonawanda Way of Landing Big Fish. 

23— "Gliding Through the Rushes." 

24 — ^A Toast to Sweethearts of the Past 

25 — ^A Pledge to Our Later Loves. 

26— Matins and Vespers. 

27 — A Modem Ascent of Greylock. 

28— Where Every Prospect Pleases. 



CHAPTER V. 

BROWSING IN THE ADISONDACKS, MAY. 

I — A Young Veteran and Old Graduate of Woods 
Lore. 

2 — "Browse Along" is a Happy Phrase. 

3 — Seventeen Ozone-filled Miles Between Railway and 
Camp. 

4 — Rac^uette and Raritan a Rare Team. 

5 — Similarity of a Horse and a Brook. 

6 — ^A Bull that Could go Some. 

7— A Prose Ode to Spring Angling. 

8 — ^A May Toast. 

9— Not Permitted to Yield to Temptation. 
10— Robbed the Cradle of the Brook. 
II — A Good Swap. 

12 — Gem of the Northern Adirondacks — Sterling Pond. 
13 — Lon's Welcome. 

14 — A Table Set in the Presence of Woodland Deities. 
15 — ^The Dandelion's Place in the Affections of Moun- 
taineers. 
16— Where Alders are Faithful Allies of Salmo Fonti- 

nalis. 
17 — Spring Superstitions as Old as the Hills. 
i&— The War Between Trout and Pickerel 
19— The Native Alarm Gock. 
20— Why the Sheriff Arose. 
21— What Flies? 
22— The St Regis, the Regal Domain of the Trout. 



INTRODUCTION 9 

a3 — Personal Encounters with Lancewoods at Indian 

Falls. 
24— The Granddady of Them All. 
25 — Gentlemanly Fishing, Says Lon. 
26 — The New Resident of Twin-lakes Valley. 
27 — ^Where the Five-pounders "Lay Low." 
26 — Pierre Dumont's Black Deer and Bad Luck. 
29 — ^An Eerie Errand to a St. Regis Eddy. 
30 — The Gloom of a Canadian Forest 
31— Joey Tells of "A Skeery Time." 
32 — ^Returning Good for Evil in the Wilds. 
33— The Sheriff's Ghost Story. 
34 — ^The Buck with a Charmed Life. 
35— A White Lie. 

36 — ^Lon's Tete-a-tete with Mamma Bear. 
37 — ^A Do^ that Got His Master into Trouble with 

Bruin. 
38 — ^The Last Lynx of the Adirondacks. 
39— The Fish Hog Punished in Way to Fit the Crime. 
40— A Drunken Miller, or Scrambled Eggs. 
41 — ^A Beverage that "Lights 'em up Some." 
42— The Price of War Time Whiskey. 
43 — How an Adirondack Mile is Measured. 
44— "Loaded for Bar." 

CHAPTER VI. 

NIAGAIA AND RENSSELAER ANGLERS' CLUBS IN JOINT 

TOURNAMENT IN RENSSELAER AND AT FORT 

NIAGARA, JUNE. 

I — ^Delights of Fishing in Congenial Company. 

2 — ^The New Doctrine Relative to Increasing Fish and 

Game. 
3 — ^The Angler's Return to the Original Meaning of 

"Corollary." 
4— Teaching Father How to Fish. 
5 — ^The Proud Progenitor of Sturdy Sportsmen's 

Qubs. 
6— The Angler's Philosophy in Verse. 
1 — ^A Guide-board to Rensselaer. 



10 INTRODUCTION 

8— A Tournament in Sunshine and in Rain. 

9— Night Bulletins of the Score from Lakes and 

Streams. 
ID-Wait "Till the Shearin's all Over Before You Blat" 
II — On the Result Hangs the Fate of Empire. 
i2->Fish Without Scales that Turned the Scale. 
13 — A Toast to "The Beautiful Daughter of the Adiron- 

dacks." 
14— The Return Visit. 
15 — ^A Model Joint Tournament of Two Famous 

Anglers' Clubs. 
16— Niagara's Welcome to the Anglers from the East. 
17 — ^A Historic Programme. 
18 — The Seat of Many Wars the Scene of a Peaceful 

Contest. 
19 — How Hastings Captured the Pride of Ontario. 
20 — ^A Long to be Remembered Banquet. 
21 — McLaren's Gold Badge. 

Tribute to Good Fellowship. 



CHAPTER VIL 

IN CAMP ON IfALASPINA INLET^ BRITISH COLUMBIA, JULY. 

I — ^An Invitation from the Far West 

d— Song and Story on the Overland Limited. 

3 — England vs. Nebraska, a Story-telling Match. 

4— No Striking Below the Belt of Truth, 

5 — Remarkable Com Raised in Nebraska. 

6 — Giant Grasshoppers. 

7 — Mosquitoes Like Derricks. 

&— Why the Widower Printed a Card of Thanks. 

9— When He Was Ready to Tell the Truth. 
10— The Big Boss, 'T)ig In." 
II— The Foolish Men Who "Take the Boss' Bluff." 
12 — A Comfortable Philosophy. 
13 — The Rockies and Cascades Compared. 
14 — The Height of a Pacific Coast Fir. 
IS — ^Why a Chinaman Can't Measure the Big Trees. 
16— Mt. Ranier's Interpretation of a Noted Ode to 

Nature. 
17 — Passable Yams about Passes. 



INTRODUCTION ii 

i8— The Judge's Tale of History Repeating Itself. 

19— New Sayings of Mrs. Malaprop. 

20 — The Tedinicaiities of Politics. 

2i~Too Well Known at Home. 

2a — Chinook Charley's Welcome. 

23 — ^A Siwash Legend. 

24— Prize Muddy Roads. 

25 — Pity Poor Lucullus. 

26— Jack Henmen's Life Preserver. 

27— Ample Supplies for a Millersport Ball. 

2&— Up the British Columbia Coast. 

29 — ^Battle Between a Whale and Thresher Eels. 

30--A Yankee's Fortune in Silver Foxes. 

31— Fish for the World. 

32— Lund and Staeder Thulin. 

33 — Swedish Hospitality. 

34 — Specky's Encounter with a Bear. 

35 — ^Fish and Game Near at Hand. 

36— The Meal for which Lady Thulin Apologized. 

37— An Appreciation of "Old Salt Pork." 

38--A Side Trip on the Okeover. 

39— A Narrow Escape. 

40— Where Wild Fowl are at Home. 

41 — ^A Startling Salute. 

42 — ^A Wilderness Oppressive in its Grandeur. 

43 — ^Twilight 'Neath Snow-capped Mountains. 

44— Comox Joe's Menu. 

45 — ^A Storm in the Mountains. 

46~Raining Overtime. 

47— A Notable Bear Hunt 

4ft— "Best Keep Away from Cinnamon Bear." 

4g— The Goat of White Qiff. 

50— A Day with the Steel Head Salmon. 

SI — ^A Great Place for Geese. 

52— Where Small Game Do Not Cotmt 

53 — ^Strange Gifts of the Sea. 

54 — ^A Cat and a Crane. 

55 — ^A Cougar's Visit 

56— The Buck that had Learned Siwash Wisdom. 

57— For Solitude Profound. 

58 — ^The Malaspina Grizzly — ^That's Another Story. 



12 INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER VIII. 



•MODERN PIONEERS OF THE FRENCH RIVER, CANADA, 

AUGUST. 

I — ^Therc is Medicine in Nature's Music. 

2— The Twelfth Nocturne of the North. 

3 — "Au Large 1 Envoyez au Large!" 

4 — The Big Sheriff, Our Falstaff, Waxes Sentimental. 

5 — "Just Boys Again and School Out for Two Weeks." 

6— North Bay in Former Days. 

7 — ^Across Nipissing by Day and by Night 

8 — A Moon Struck Party. 

9 — ^Louis Beaucage on the White Man's Greed. 
10 — ^Advice for the Garrulous. 
II — Made to the Sheriff's Order. 
12 — ^Jim McGarv^s Preferences. 
13 — Bound to Make Full Time. 
14 — Recovered from Sentiment's Spell. 
15 — Moonlight on the Lake and Worse. 
16— "Way out in Idaho." 
17 — A Meal in Texas. 
18 — A Miracle in the Wilderness. 
19 — Falstaff 's First Engagement with a *Lunge. 
20— Forgotten by the Fish You Can't Forget. 
21 — Pete Crawford's Costly Kittens. 
22 — An Escpensive Fourth of July Celebration. 
23 — More Bad Luck for Pete. 
24— Why a "Fellar Hates to Lose 'em." 
25 — The Sheriff Insists on Recalling one More Hard- 
luck Story about Pete. 
26-The Old Lady Who Talked in Church. 
27— How Falstaff Worked. 
28 — The Thousand Islands, but Just as Nature Made 

Them. 
2p — ^A River in Love with its Surroundings. 
30— A Woodland Lullaby. 
31 — The Iron Heel of Commerce. 
32 — ^The Sheriff Redeems Himself by Landing a Xunge. 
33 — How to Catch Esox Nobilior. 
34— Angling in the Rush-lined Woolsey. 
35— The Solitary Fire Ranger. 



INTRODUCTION 13 

36— The Feast on Delmonico's Rock 

37 — ^Backwoods Philology. 

^ — The Lake of the College Colors. 

39— "Him Fool Bass Here.^ 

40— -Up the Masog-Masing. 

41 — ^Foiar Distinct Types of Indian Guides. 

42 — ^Too Much Moose. 

43 — ^The Courteous Bull Moose. 

44 — The Moose that Liked Dessert. 

45 — ^Moose Fascinated by Horses. 

46 — ^When the Moose is not an Amiable Fellow. 

47 — Old Juisha to the Rescue. 

48— Juisha's Novel Weapon for Moose. 

49— When the Rifle was in the Case. 

50 — The Associations of Forest Odors. 

CHAPTER IX. 

A FAS CALL OF THE NORTH DAKOTA FRAItlE CHICKEN, 



I — ^The Best Season for an Out of Doors Pilgrimage. 

a— The Time of the "Scarlet Mantle." 

3 — ^Dreams of Prairie Grouse. 

4 — ^The Partridge and His Western Cousin — ^A Happy 
Comparison. 

5 — ^A Lucky Double. 

6— Surprised, Like the Proud Parents. 

7— The Bird Takes All the Chances. 

8— A Shot at a Pot Hunter. 

9— Partridge that Ran the Gauntlet. 
ID— Jim Starkwell's "Reacher." 
II — ^A Snap Shot Among the Pines. 
12 — Easy Shooting for Morrisey. 
13 — ^Luxurious Hunting— in Comparison. 
14— Where the Birds Took Few Chances. 
15 — The Swede's Terms. 
16— A Patriarch Bass of the Muskokas. 
17— Worse Than Petty Larceny. 
18 — ^An Intrusion upon Nature's Privacy. 
19— The Noise a Moose Made in the Water. 



14 INTRODUCTION 



__ __ Delightful Ride to WinnipM^. 
21— A Fort William Bag of Wild Fowl. 
22— The Englishman Who Took the Trolley for Moose. 
23 — Native Humor of the Woodsmen. 
24— Tempted to Stop Off. 
25— Falstaff Warbles. 
26— The Canadian Forests in September. 
27— A True Western Welcome. 
2&— Whetting the Appetite for Chicken Shooting. 
29 — Licensed and Hunting in Due Form. 
30— A Great Bargain, Anyhow. 
31 — The Water Wagon in North Dakota. 
32 — ^A Proud Moment 

33— A Prize Pair— Setter King and Pointer Spot 
34— Chief Game Warden Smith's Way. 
35 — Fine Work Around Straw Stacks and Over Stubble. 
36— The Beauty of the Dakotas. 
37 — Encouraging Effects of Game Protection. 
38— A Tactical Error. 

39— Chief Game Warden Smith's Ideas of How to In- 
crease Birds and Shooting. 
40— Old Jerry's Suggestion. 
41— A Tribute to the Prairies. 

CHAPTER X. 

SOMB SEOOLLXCnONS OP RENSSELAER's HILLS AND DALES, 

OCIOBES. 

I — Small Game Shooting in the Rensselaer Hills. 

2 — A Surprise for Albanians. 

3 — ^The Sportsman's Special. 

4— A Home-like Hostelrie. 

5 — ^Where Cheer and Sunshine Always Reign. 

6— From the Hill Tops. 

7— What McLaren's Restocking Has Accomplished. 

8 — The Dyspeptic Traveler Cured. 

9^An Evergreen Sign-board. 
10— "Hustle up, the Birds are Waiting." 
II — Cross-examined Between Bites. 
12— A Lucky Day with the Ducks. 



INTRODUCTION 15 

13 — ^The Family of Grays that Were Strategists. 

14— The Squirrel that Outwitted Two Hunters. 

15 — ^A Woods Near-Tragedy. 

16— "Supper Time?— Any Time You Get Back." 

17 — The Score of Six Pairs. 

18— How Nick Always Found His Way Home. 

19— A Night at Tsatsawassa Inn. 

20 — Mike as an Expert. 

21— Both Critics Were Right 

22 — Morals in Politics. 

23 — ^And They are Picking Stones Yet 

24 — Not Fourth of July Crackers. 

25 — ^An Unwelcome Visitor. 

26— The Contrariness of Wives. 

27 — ^A Tartar Witness. 

28 — Committed Himself. 

29 — ^Rafferty's Apology. 

30— Why Pat Wanted to See the King's Counsel. 

31 — ^Too Young to be Old. 

32— Why We are Never Ready to Go Just Yet 

33— The Eleven O'Qock Lunch. 

34— "Where do You Get Your Grub Here?" 

35 — George's Grand Stand Shot 

36 — Not Ready for the Emergency. 

37 — ^The Song of the Whip-poor-will. 

38 — Billy's Second Sight on the Firing Line. 

39— How Sol Outwitted the Cute Boys. 

40— "Never Touched Me." 

41 — ^Tricks with the Shot Gun. 

42— The Shot for Various Birds. 

43 — ^The Frost's Effects on Land. 

44 — ^The Deacon Didn't Miss Any Stones. 

45 — City Chap Ahead in a Horse Trade. 

.CHAPTER XL 

AN AUTUMN HUNT IN THE ADHONDACKS^ NOVSICBBI. 

I — ^A Flower that is Something of a Shooter Itself. 
2 — ^The North Woods Seen Through the Haze of 

Indian Summer. 
3 — ^Incense of a Wood Fire. 



i6 INTRODUCTION 

4 — Natives Recommend "Better Hunting on Bejrant." 

5 — Sterling Lake at Our Feet. 

6-— An Exciting Wild Fowl Skirmish. 

7 — Circumventing the Wily Geese. 

8 — A Buck Marked for Identification. 

9— Juisha's Stem Qiase. 
10 — Col. Lon's First Rebel. 
II — A Diverting Shot 
12— On the Track of the Red Deer. 
13 — ^An Adirondack Outlaw. 
14— Tack Angell's Ways that Were Not Angelic 
IS — How Foreman Mclntyre Circumvented a Crooked 

Contractor. 
16— Frightened to Death. 
17 — Preached too Much About Honesty. 
18— A Devout but Heated Controversy. 
19— A Shrewd Youthful Financier. 
20 — Leonard Jerome's Dislike of Ceremony. 
31 — How Uncle Larry Jerome Called on His Niece, 

Lady Randolph Churchill. 
aa — ^"Au revoir, Meestir Bar." 
23 — How Madame La Blanc Fooled the Inspectors. 
24 — ^Legs of Reminiscence are Long. 
25 — ^A Trip to James Bay. 
26 — ^Tobacco that Made Indians Sick. 
27— A Tjrpcsctter's Revenge. 
28— A Child's New Memory System. 
29 — ^The Sun as a Detective. 
30— The Bull Dog Bluffer. 
31 — End of the Hunt at Eventide. 

CHAPTER XII. 

THS ROUND TABLE AT SPCMtTSMEN^S STATE CONVENTION, 

DECEMBER. 

I — Minus Signs that Add to the Sum Total of En- 
joyment 

2 — Present Joys that Extend Into the Future. 

3— Great Work of the New York State Fish, Forest, 
and Game League. 

4 — Importance of Educating Public Sentiment for Pro- 
tection of Fish and Game. 



INTRODUCTION 17 

5— A Progressive Agriculturist 

6 — Like a Surgical Operation, "Entirely Successful, 
But." 

7 — ^Fish on a Toboggan Slide. 

8 — ^As the Whale Said to Jonah. 

9 — Last State Worse Than the First. 
10— Bass that Out-tunaed the Leaping Tuna. 
II — ^A Home Run Hit in Malaspina Inlet. 
12 — ^Just Starved for Swallows. 
13 — ^The Judge's Violation of Law. 
14 — ^A Fatal Attraction for Lead. 
15 — A Successful Canine Angler. 
16 — ^Waves Full of Inspiration. 
17 — ^A Novel Method of Catching Eels. 
18 — ^Why Ambrose Oiled His Hair. 
19 — ^Deacon Swift's Average Lumber. 
20 — New Application of an Old Principle. 
21 — An Expensive Economy. 
22 — Mother Crouch's Criticism of the Minister. 
23 — The Minister was Right After All. 
24 — ^The Unhappy Bride and Groom. 
25 — A Story in the Sheriff's *'Honey-laden Voice." 
26-~One that Made Rome Howl. 
27 — A Punishment to Fit the Crime. 
28— Skill of the Indian Anglers of Muskoka. 
29 — The Guide Who Was a Bom Optimist. 
30 — ^The Hermit Artist of Lake Joseph. 
31 — A Modem Izaak Walton. 
3a — ^The Scribe's Tale — ^A 'Lunge Who Dined on Black 

Bass. 
33 — How Heather the Horse Beat the Moose in a 

Famous Race. 
34 — No Moral to that Tale. 
35— Where Whish Was Not Lame. 
36 — ^Where Time Was Forgot. 

37— A Toast to THE FRIENDSHIP OF TRUE 
SPORTSMEN : 

It is the warmth of Morning sunshine that kisses the 
damp from the brow of the Mountain and dispels the 
mists from the bosom of the Valley; it is the grace 
of budding branches in the Spring-time, and the beauty 



i8 INTRODUCTION 

of clustered blossoms imaged in the Summer pool ; it is 
the warming color that the cardinal flower lends to the 
sombre forest in early Autumn, and the evergreen of 
the Christmas fern in Winter's snows; it is the perfume 
of flower, odor of balsam and warble of bird ; it is the 
weapon which never misses fire, and, with sights al- 
ways set true, is ever ready to keep the wolf from the 
door or hold worse enemies at bay; it is the canoe 
which never leaks, carrying; its occupants safely through 
rapid or tranquil water; it is the fidelity of the com- 
pass which guides the steps unerringly over flowery 
plain and tangled thicket to a restful abode; it is the 
camp where the firelight glows with welcome at Even, 
and where the eyelids close under the benign benediction 
of comfort, rest, and peace. 



"THE HAPPY ANGLER" AND "A 
HUNTER'S MEMORIES." 

Introductory Observations by JoIh*n D, 
Whish, Secretary of the New York 
State Forest, Fish, and Game Com- 
mission. 

He who has never gone a-fishing has lost 
the hope of appeal in his final extremity to 
good St. Peter, who himself was one of the 
Brotherhood. In his last hours he cannot, like 
old Sir John, "Babble of green fields,'' for he 
shall have to cheer him on the dark and lone- 
some pathway to the Gates of Death no mem^ 
ories of verdant meadows and golden sun- 
shine and the mumvur of pleasant water 



INTRODUCTION 19 

courses. * * * * * So that I say, all 
else considered, the angler vfho lives as befits 
the Craft niay most creditably and haf^pily 
face the future, whether it means for him other 
opportunities or the end of time here below. 

Permit me to conclude my brief introductory 
observations by quoting from Samuel Mer- 
rilVs "A Hunter's Memories': 

"The joys of our holidays, who can measure 
them! The present pleasure of the days them- 
selves is not the only nor the chief enjoyment. 
* * ♦ Oh, the unpublished epics, the un^ 
painted pictures of scenes by the camp fire, of 
thrilling moments when the moose, or deer, 
or bear, long, and patiently, and silently fol- 
lowed, at last offers opportunity for a shot — 
pictures of the quarry conquered at last, when 
the mind revels in the intoxication of success! 
If I were a poet, I would write an epic of the 
hunting field. I would seek to thrill the im- 
agination of the sportsman, and by reminding 
htm of his own grand holidays spent close to 
nature; far from the grind, and discord, and 
the pettiness of civilization, I would give him 
a pleasure which no versified narratvi/e of the 
Trojan War could hope to create. 

"The poem, indeed, is surging through my 
mind now like breezes through the harp of 
Eolus, but to most of us the gift of poetic ex- 
pression is not vouchsafed, and my epic will, 
alas! never crowd the works of Homer and 



20 INTRODUCTION 

Virgil from the bookshelves. Being neither 
poet nor artist, then, I can do no more than 
outline, in commonplace prose, the stirring 
scenes I have long been living over and over 
in memory," 



A BLAZE WHERE THE TRAIL BEGINS. 

It may be no more important than the oth- 
ers, but the first blaze where the new trail we 
are about to take has its beginning is usually 
noted with particular satisfaction. So, just 
a word by way of directing the reader aright. 
Once started along the forest path which 
branches off from the public highways here, 
he may find the scenery not worth while, and 
the prospects of entertainment, pleasure, and 
sport discouraging, so in kindness of heart I 
give him an opportunity to turn back before 
he has wasted much time and energy. 

At the outset, I wish to state that "I have 
gathered a nosegay of Culled Flowers," to 
use the graceful language of an old writer, 
"and brought nothing of my own but the 
thread that ties them." However, I believe 
I have picked up in various parts of the Amer- 
ican continent a pleasing collection of wild 
flowers, and I trust the gathering will prove a 
service of some value in the way of entertain- 



INTRODUCTION 21 

ment to my fellow sportsmen and lovers of 
nature. 

The anecdotes, incidents, and adventures 
garnered from many camp fires might have 
been more gaily garnished and more skillfully 
adorned, but I offer them in the rough, believ- 
ing with the editor of a well-known American 
magazine that "A good story is a treasure, 
and, like other precious things, hard to find/' 
Still, who would strive to find a richer color 
for the cardinal flower, or a more splendid 
setting for the humble bloom of the winter- 
green? 

Here and there I have inserted what may, 
by courtesy, perhaps, be called heads of grain 
in the form of serious pleas for the preserva- 
tion of the forests, for reforestation, and for 
a more liberal propagation and a more ef- 
fective protection of fish and game. 

These finds of forest and stream have, as a 
matter of course, withered some, even at the 
touch of friendly hands, yet I have striven to 
pass them on just as I found them. The diffi- 
culty of transplanting wild flower plants is 
understood by most students of nature, so I 
have gathered only the cut blossoms as souve- 
nirs of the wilds, to be pressed and possibly 
preserved by those whose own experience and 
sympathy can supply what my art and love 
have failed to provide — fragmentary and fu- 



22 INTRODUCTION 

gitive remembrancers of the out of doors, 
largely devoid of the odors of the forest and 
the native colors that once adorned them, yet 
with their outlines preserved to a d^ree that 
may prove a pleasant stimulant to Memory and 
its valuable servant, the Law of Associations. 

Matthew Henhy Hoover. 

Lodcport, Niagara County, N. Y. 



r. 



THE NEW rORK 

PU:>LICLlBRAhY 



A8T0R. LENOX AND 

TTLDEN FOUNDAtlONS 

R L 



Wild Ginger 



WOOD SORREL AND SWEET CICELY. 

THE CATARACT CLUB IN WINTER QUARTERS, 
"THE NIAGARA."— /^iVt7^/?y. 

L 

Under the hedge all soft and warm, 
Sheltered from boisterous wind and storm 

We violets lie ; 

With each small eye 
Qosely shut while the cold goes by. 

— ^TWAMUCY. 

"So we've got violets for the club button- 
holes this month, eh?'' piped the big sheriff in 
his high-keyed, thin voice, which was in almost 
ridiculous contrast with his Falstaffian frame. 
He eyed the boutonnieres, sported by his com- 
rades of many a rough portage, with some- 
thing of benign tolerance, glancing from them 
to Sie corresponding poetical motto for the 
month framed on the wall in balsam. 

"Our Bull Moose," as we affectionately called 
him in compliment to his ability to rush 240 
pounds of solid flesh through the dense thickets 
with an agility any antlered king might envy, 
pushed a blazing log further into the hearth 
with his foot, just as he would in camp, un- 
mindful of the convenient tongs, and in dulcet 



26 WILD GINGER 

to demand that truly which thou wouldst truly 
know/ " 

"And our Falstaff here might retort to that 
unfounded arraignment of his story's applica- 
tion/' cut in Gas Manager Duall, in his South- 
ern drawl, *'by repeating old John's words: 
*By the Lord, I'll be a brave judge/ " 

"Thou judgest falsely, already/" spiritedly 
quoted the judge. Whereupon tiie quiet in- 
surance man, Alwater, took up the Shakespeare- 
an dialogue with the effect of a clap of thun- 
der out of a clear sky : " 'Well, Hal, well ; 
and in some sort it jumps with my humor as 
well as waiting in the court, I can tell you/ " 

The hit was acknowledged by the judge him- 
self, who joined in the roar at his expense, 
caused by the knowledge, that, while he was a 
nimble hunter and never slow on the trigger, 
his "but-ands" in rendering decisions often 
caused nervous "waiting in the court"; al- 
though, finally drawled out, his opinions always 
stood the scrutiny of the Appellate Division. 

"Well," shrilled the sheriff's "true falsetto," 
as he himself characterized his own peculiar 
voice, "I ain't up on old sack, but I do know 
somethin' about red licker — ^manny a time I've 
mixed a pint with a quart for a cold — or for a 
cold day like this/* 

"Has this gathering in honor of our guest 
from the St. Lawrence degenerated into a S3mi- 
posium of classic wit in quotation marks?" que- 
ried the newspaper man, C. Handy Mix. "In- 
stead of moving the previous question, always 
in order, 'What'll you have ?* I'll offer, if you're 



A REMNANT OK NIAGARA'S ORIGINAL FOREST. 



THE NEW YORK 

pu uc Library 



ASTOR, LENOX AND 
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 
I L 



WILD GINGER 27 

not good, a resolution to banish the disturbers 
to the frosty abutments of the Niagara ice 
bridge where they'll be for once in real danger 
of taJdng a drop too much." 

"It's high time for the club brain duster," 
dryly observed Lemuel Larch, the district steam 
engineer, better known as "Hot-air Larch." 
NcHlding toward the sideboard he continued. 
"Now we'll C. Handy Mix our somewhat fa- 
mous Niagara Spray." 

Outside the winds from Lake Ontario 
moaned a dirge for the frost-stricken cardinal 
flowers and closed gentians of the long North- 
land portages. Through the vast orchards, 
which now covered in orderly array the rich 
soil where three-quarters of a century ago grew 
the mighty forests of hickory, oak, chestnut, 
walnut, and elm, the January tempest swept 
unresisted and beat against the gleaming club- 
house windows. The hoarse messengers of Bo- 
reas, as they scurried across the ghostly trails 
over which the scourging hosts, first of French 
and Indians, and then of British and Indians, 
prowled from Fort Niagara to deal death to 
the New York colonists, seemed to gibber of 
wounded deer that bunglers had left to die in 
distant glens. Or, with less of imagination, 
wasn't the unobstructed gale jeering at the fore- 
fathers of those very sportsmen who had been 
so unwise as to sweep almost every vestige of 
the sheltering and health-giving forests from 
the Niagara frontier plain, barren but for the 
low-branched trees of ten thousand orchards? 

But the congenial spirits were not in a con- 



28 WILD GINGER 

gress for reforestation just then, although all 
actively supported the noble movement. They 
heeded not the storm without. The toast to 
the guest passed heartily and cordially. 

Lawyer J. Freewill Smythe reverted to the 
poetical tilt: "You fellows seem to prefer the 
Hebrew 'seer' for poet to the Greek *poietes,' 
'maker/ because poets see more than others. 
But when you get to quoting Shakespeare, you 
are at once under the suspicion of seeing dou- 
ble. You remind me of Patsey Hooley of Sec- 
tion Five. Patsey hadn't been long over, when 
through a quickly-acquired political pull he was 
elevated from rail tamper to section boss. He 
picked up a Railroad Gazette somewhere and 
mastered all the technical terms. Dearly he 
loved to air his superficial knowledge, but he 
was even fonder of lording it over his subor- 
dinates. Jim McCoy, the former boss, had been 
relegated to the ranks to make way for Hooley. 
One Monday morning the new autocrat came 
down to work early and found the old boss 
sadly oiling a hand car. Hooley glared at the 
dejected fellow, and in imperious tones growled, 
'Phwat be yez doin'?' 

" 'Grasen the hand car, to be shure,' explained 
Jim. 

" 'Ye common labrer, yez don't know nawth- 
in' 'bout machanry, an' always will ! Sthop that 
an' go an' pick up a armfuU of thim ties !' com- 
manded Patsey." 

"So, stop that poetry and tell us something 
you know something about," directed the short- 
statured disciple of Blackstone. 



WILD GINGER 29 

The sheriff picked up the little lawyer and 
set him gently in a rustic chair, saying, ''Do 
you mean to fix us like Jerry Hc^an did his 
hired man who would talk a government mule 
to death? 'Roger/ says Jerry, 'Whan ye want 
to sh-pake to me durin' the next tin wakes, kape 
yer mout shut T " 

"No, J. Freewill doesn't quite intend to muz- 
zle us/' suggested Assemblyman Lea, "or to 
bar a little poetry now and then, but he evi- 
dently thinks that the poet is apt to rave over 
the apple blosscxns on his table, and then beg 
apples from his neighbors/' 

"Not as plentiful with him," promptly chimed 
in Falstaff, "as with the half-witted feller that 
was pickin' apples in old Congressman Van 
Horn's orchard on the Coomer Road. Some 
of the boys was peltin' him with apples and he 
yelled, 'Stop them apples, er I'll come over thar 
an' lam ye till ye rare like a boss !' " 

"That's right, Lemuel," continued the sheriff, 
bowing gravely to a glass in the extended hands 
of Larch; "thanks for the interruption — of my 
thirst. You, young man, was certainly never 
licked as a kid for holdin' your breath 1" 

George Washington Wynne, the political 
leader, who didn't always land his candidate, 
but who was a sure shot on big game in the 
wilds, observed musingly, after the laughter 
provoked by the sheriff's quaint characteriza- 
tion had subsided, "I've noticed, that in gath- 
erings like these, stories seem to run in bunches 
of similar kinds together — just as pines love 
to be grouped together. You'll note, too, that 



30 WILD GINGER 

pines flourish best with the boughs of the 
clumps interlocked ; so, come on with some more 
of the same yams, although, for me, I'd pre- 
fer a change to the kind that thrill a man who 
enjoys tackling a bear, or landing a muscal- 
longe." 

"I'll tell you why pines grow best in groups 
of their kind," interrupted John I. Teller, the 
wealthy sandpit owner, in his day the best quail 
and partridge hunter in the Central States. John 
had an original theory on any topic that sa- 
vants or fools could introduce, and he could 
elaborate it offhand with precise detail and in- 
sistent confidence as to accuracy. He was a 
man of the soil, a close observer of nature, and 
his deductions from his almost limitless store- 
house of data were always entertaining. But 
his intimates knew that his 'I'll tell you" about 
anything meant a thirty-minutes' dissertation 
and they all inwardly thanked the sheriff when 
he thtunped John heavily on the back, squeak- 
ing, "Pines are all right, but I never seen a 
good grove without its chestnuts." 

"I'll tell you," persisted John. 

"You'll tell us nothin' just now, John," 
chuckled the sheriff in his strangely contagious, 
good-humored way; "we've no time for your 
continued stories, or learned lectures. The trou- 
ble with you, John Teller, is that you put in 
too much time enlightening your feller men. 
You ain't like Si Wilson's hired man, Jase Saw- 
yer, who ust to brag, "Well, when I haint got 
nothin' to do, I works' — ^you talk instead I" 

Teller was "tickled" to draw Falstaff's fire, 



WILD GINGER 31 

as usual, and with eyes twinkling, retorted, 
''You must think I'm a chicken, the way you're 
always picking on me, sheriff/' 

The peacemaking Mayor Whitcomb, in placid 
tones, spoke up. '^Sheriff is himself a good 
deal like the talkative wife of a certain lawyer 
in town — she does ever)rthing but draw up her 
husband's briefs, and for that she's constitution- 
ally incapacitated." 

"A good wan, a joke, to be sure," trilled the 
sheriff, "but who ever saw a lawyer's brief that 
was brief?" 

"The mayor's talkative woman misunderstood 
the term, 'brief,' as badly," said District Attor- 
ney Stickwell, his merry blue eyes focused on 
Whitcomb, "as old man Mclntyre on the wit- 
ness stand in lunacy proceedings the other day. 
Dan Bring asked: Was Mrs. Donahue ra- 
tional, or irrational in your opinion?' Mack 
scratched his stubbled chin, his pride percepti- 
bly rebelling against an admission that he didn't 
understand the two words, but finally igno- 
rance was about to force the old man to sur- 
render; then an inspiration of intelligence broke 
in upon him, illuminating his homely counte- 
nance until it was almost beautiful, and with 
great decision and positiveness he cried in ora- 
torical style, 'Wuz she rashinul? No, her skin 
wasn't rough, but as smooth as a pound^swate 
apple r " 

"You know why a pound-sweet has a smooth 
skin some years, but is rough just the same 
as a russet others years?" interrupted Teller 
without allowing the others to finish their laugh- 



32 WILD GINGER 

ten He proceeded to answer his own query 
without waiting for any possible reply: "Well, 
when the trees bud early and a rain ruffles up 
the blossoms — > — " 

"You're fined a barrel of russet cider for the 
club," interposed the sheriff. 

"Judgment sustained and fine will not be re- 
mitted," laughed the judge. 

"Well, if you won't be enlightened," meekly 
responded Teller, "give us your version of that 
Newfane lawsuit tried before you the other day, 
judge." 

The judge laughed at the recollection of the 
incident tlutt had disturbed his dignity on the 
bench; his sense of humor had got the better 
of him at the time, spectators say, so that he 
sought refuge in a hasty adjournment 

"To appreciate the thing fully," grinned the 
judge, who had difficulty in keeping himself 
from exploding at the very thoughts of the 
scene, "you ought to know the chief actors and 
to have seen and heard them in court." Here 
the judge laughed almost inaudibly. He was 
an exception to the rule that the story teller 
who laughs at his own jokes has few to join 
him, for his expressed enjoyment of his own 
narrations was always infectious. 

"Terrence Murphy," he began, "a landed pro- 
prietor of sixty years, owned a horse that 
strayed into Gottlieb Meyer's com field. Meyer 
was a year older than Murphy. In their earlier 
days they were school friends and chums, but 
a line fence dispute had embittered them against 
each other. It developed from the testimony 



WILD GINGER 33 

that Meyer found man and beast in the field; 
he assumed both were trespassing with intent 
to steal and the outraged Teuton grabbed the 
horse by the halter and started to lead it away 
from the astonished Celt. 

"Terrence leaped on Gottlieb with a wild 
Irish oath, as Meyer testified, and proceeded 
to thump him soundly. Meyer pulled an old 
pistol and shot Murphy twice in the leg. Al- 
though severely wounded, the Irishman got the 
German down and was pounding his enemy 
with a stone, when neighbors arrived and at- 
tempted to interfere. As they dragged him off, 
Terrence roared, 'Lave me alone till I kill him, 
an' git my revenge before I die; 'twill kill me 
ef I don't git my revenge!' 

"Each swore out a warrant for the other on 
a charge of assault, but by their own requests 
were later placed in the same cell, friends once 
more, as each had been close to death, the doc- 
tors said, from the effects of their encounter. 
But the district attorney prosecuted the case, 
to the supreme disgust of the two battling 
neighbors, who claimed the privilege of settling 
their difficulties in their own way. On the stand 
Murphy told his story, dwelling with pride on 
his prowess. The attorney for the defendant, 
Meyer, charged with the shooting, said on 
cross-examination : 'Murphy, isn't it a fact that 
you were the aggressor?* 

"Murphy stood up in the witness box to his 
full six feet, and looking impressively upon 
judg^e, jury^ and lawyers in turn, delivered him- 
self sicfwly and emfrfiatically of these words: 



34 WILD GINGER 



it <\ 



* Fur St — ari foremost — it — is — not — tkrue f 
Then gathering his breath for the climax of 
conclusiveness he added, 'an' sickondly/ — with 
a pause of intended significance — 'ifs — na — such 
—donibed — tingf " 

The judge acted out the part of the earnest 
witness admirably and the recital was greeted 
with shouts of laughter. 

"This may be a chestnut among the ever- 
greens/' said Mix, "but it is also true. A cer- 
tain little girl on being told by her Sunday 
School teadier, that after living on earth the 
Saviour had returned to Heaven, promptly 
asked, "Why did he go back; didn't he like 
Lockport ?" 

"Our guest," the speaker continued, "insists 
upon returning to the St. Lawrence country, 
a region much like Heaven in summer, at least, 
but that he should leave us so soon makes 
me ask, 'Doesn't he like LxxJq)ort?' " 

"My answer is a hearty affirmative, as- 
suredly," laughed Mr. Irvine. "I presume you 
want me to contribute my tree to the clump 
of narrative pines, knotty and cross-grained 
though it may be. The 'run' of court stories 
reminds me of 'A Cause Celebre.' 

A CAUSE CELEBRE. 

In the old days, before confederation had 
provided the Provinces of Canada with the pres- 
ent excellent, if prosaic, judiciary, the admin- 
istration of justice in lower Canada — now Que- 
bec Provinces — was of a somewhat jprinHitive 



the new tobk 
POl^LICUBRARY 



A8T0R, LENOX ANB 
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 



WILD GINGER 35 

character; and, while serving the needs of a 
sparsely settled country, often afforded touches 
of humor quite unconventional and startling. 

In those days, the tribunal charged with the 
trial of small civil cases was called the com- 
missioners court, and was composed of laymen 
selected so as to recognize the different nation- 
alities and religions of the settlers, the men so 
chosen being of local prominence. 

The Allumettes is a large island, some twenty 
miles long by seven wide, situated in the upper 
Ottawa River where it broadens out into the 
Lac des Allumettes. At the time spoken of — ^in 
the early sixties — ^the settlers did most of their 
trading in Pembroke, a town on the upper Can- 
ada, now Ontario, side of the river. As cash 
was not plentiful, much of the bartering was 
confined to the interchange of commodities, the 
settlers exchanging the products of their little 
farms for the necessities of life offered for sale 
by the merchants in Pembroke. It was inevi- 
table that delays would occur in the annual set- 
tlement of balances^ so the commissioners court 
of Allumettes Islan4 had many cases to adjudi- 
cate in which the Pembroke merchants appeared 
as plaintiffs and the settlers as defendants. 

One particular case became a cause celebre 
on account of the Solomon-like exposition of a 
legal point of extreme nicety by one of the 
court officials. It was entitled Dewar vs. Des 
Jardin. It was brought to recover the price 
of a pair of cowhide boots sold the defendant 
some three years previous by the plaintiff, a 
tanner of leather and maker of boots. The 



36 WILD GINGER 

amount involved was one pound, three shillings, 
six pence, Halifax currency. 

The commissioners court was composed of 
Samuel Adams Huntington, of United Empire 
lo3raIist stock, a man of somt means and the 
owner of the local grist and saw mill, a Protest- 
ant, and, by virtue of his vicinage standing, the 
chairman of the court; William Lawrence Gray, 
a pompous Irishman of some education, sup- 
posed to be a cadet of one of the families es- 
tablished in Ireland when Cromwell swept over 
the Emerald Isle; Billy Ponpore, a quick-witted 
French-Gmadian, of sporting proclivities, who 
had lost, almost entirely^ the patois of his race 
through the combined influences of an English 
mother and a fairly good education; and last, 
but not least, John Lynch, brother of the parish 
priest, a fervid Romanist and upholder of cler- 
ical domination. 

The "dark" of the court was the local school- 
master, Luke Keene O'Connor, a t3rpe of the 
Irish pedagogue long since extinct, but whose 
bright wit and general lack of sobriety was a 
source of unending joy to the lovers of song 
and story on the upper Ottawa. The bailiff 
was Israel Desarais, a devout French-Canadian 
of the pure habitant stock, whose shrewd say- 
ings are still quoted on the island, and whose 
exposition of a delicate point of law, involvhig 
the authority of the Church and the supremacy 
of the crown, established a precedent that has 
remained unquestioned for nigh half a aen- 
tury. 

The plaintiff, a high-browed, stem-visag^d 



WILD GINGER 37 

Scotchman, whose likeness to a picture of 
Qiristian in my first copy of Pilgrims Progress 
used to fill my childish breast with awe, was a 
Calvinist of the strictest order. An elder in 
the Presbyterian Church, he was intolerant of 
all other creeds, but particularly opposed to 
"Pope and Popery." 

The defendant, being a negligible factor, need 
not be described; but it is pertinent to state 
that he had the sympathy of the community be- 
cause he was French-Canadian, because he was 
resisting the collection of a just debt, and, 
chiefly because he was being sued by a Presby- 
terian. 

When the case was called the plaintiff claimed 
the right of swearing to the correctness of his 
claim, the amount being under two pounds. It 
was a provision of the law that all claims tmder 
two pounds could be supported by the oath of 
the claimant, and it has since been the subject 
of much research by those learned in the law 
why so trivial a limit should have been placed 
on perjury. 

The clerk having been instructed by the court 
to swear the plaintiff, Luke O'Connor shoved 
a greasy "Path to Paradise" towards Mr. De- 
war, who, ignoring the book, raised his hand 
dramatically on high. Luke, about ten drinks 
below his limit, but still somewhat testy from 
the effects of his last night's libations, called 
out with saw-mill whistle effect, "Arrah 1 Can't 
ye kiss the book; kiss the book, ye omahdoni 
Phat the deivle are ye sthandin' there wid yere 



38 WILD GINGER 

arrum sthuck up like a pike pole on a nmd 
scow ?" 

Dewar, the blood of a score of Covenanters 
coursing through his veins, transfixed the inebri- 
ated Irishman with a steely glare ; then address- 
ing the court, said : "I'm a Presbyterian and it 
is a privilege accorded members of our com- 
munion in upper Canada to swear with uplifted 
hand. This is a part of the dominions of our 
most gracious majesty and I demand my 
rights !" 

Qark Luke's ire had been gradually rising, 
his ferret-like eyes fairly shone with the light 
of battle. Springing to his feet, he pushed the 
greasy little volume imder Dewar's nose and 

fairly hissed: "Yure priviluge be d d. 

We're a little coort av our own over here, an' 
ye'll swear on the book or not at all, at all !" 

The chairman, seeing that Luke's persistency 
was as strong as Dewar's stubbornness, called 
him to order, saying: "I know it is a privi- 
lege accorded men of Mr. Dewar's religious be- 
lief, in upper Canada, to swear with uplifted 
hand, but I have never seen the privilege 
claimed in this court, though I am free to admit 
the claim seems reasonable. However, I will 
leave it to the court to decide. Mr. Gray, what 
do you say?" 

William Lawrence Gray, deeply impressed by 
the dignity of the court, had been stroking 
his beard and looking wise, sat erect and de- 
livered his opinion slowly: "I am aware — ah — 
Mr. Chairman, that — ^ah — it is a privilege ac- 
corded those of Mr. Dewar's religious — ^ah — 



WILD GINGER 39 

persuasion — ah — ^in upper Canada, to swear — 
ah — ^with uplifted hand — but, ah— Mr. Chair- 
man, I have nevah, sir, nevah, seen the privi^ 
lege claimed, sir, in this province — ah — ^I ad- 
mit that — ^ah — Mr, Dewar's contention — ah — ^may 
be according to precedent, sir — I say precedent 
— ah — ^yas — ah — but, sir, there is with me — ah— 
a doubt, sir, a doubt, and sir, where there is 
— ah — a doubt, and that doubt — ah — a grave 
one, I submit, sir, that — ah — ^the court is en- 
titled to the benefit of the doubt!" 

Gray was sometimes called Lord Halifax by 
the Pembroke wits, partly by reason of his 
pompous manner and partly because he was a 
notorious trimmer. He had a small store at 
Chapeau, the town site of Allumettes Island, 
did odd jobs of conveyancing, and was a Ro- 
man Catholic, some thought, because the ma- 
jority of the settlers were. His constant effort, 
however, was to be on all sides, both in poli- 
tics and religion, and he hated to make a de- 
cision. Having delivered himself of his labored, 
but noncommittal and really ridiculous opinion, 
he settled down to a contemplation of the ceil- 
ing, perfectly satisfied with the hum of admira- 
tion that ran through the room at his learned 
statement. 

John Lynch, a low-browed, small-eyed man, 
whose head was covered by a shock of curly 
black hair, being asked his opinion, delivered 
it shortly and to the point : "I belave wid Luke ; 
we want none of Dewar's upper Canada touches 
here. He'll sware an the book, or not at all, 
at alir 



40 WILD GINGER 

The remaining member of the court, BiMy 
Ponpore, clad in homespun smock and trousers, 
with long beef-skin moccasins covering his 
nether extremities, had been taking but an in- 
different interest in the discussion. Sitting with 
one leg thrown carelessly over the other, in an 
attitude betc4cening ease and enjoyment, he had 
been chewing tobacco and spitting at a knot 
in the floor, betting with himself how many 
times out of three he could strike it. He had 
just doubled or quits and had made a particu- 
larly fine shot when he was rudely brought to 
a realizing sense of his duty by Chairman Hun- 
tington's sa)dng, "Mr. Ponpore, what's your 
opinion ?" 

"I?" he jerked out, "I?— Oh! I don't care 

a d n how he swears," and forthwith sent a 

stream of liquid tabac "lickety split" full at the 
knot. 

The court, accustomed to the unconvention- 
alities of the region, never noticed the humor- 
ous incongruity of a judge swearing profanely 
in the very act of discussing the nature of a 
judicial oath, and had no rebuke for Billy. 

It was then that old Israel Desarais, the bail- 
iff, raised himself up from his seat and ad- 
dressed the court. The old man was a splen- 
did specimen of the Habitant, His gray hair 
was thrown back from a "forehead lined with 
thought"; his dark eyes expressed both kind- 
liness and shrewdness; his heavily-bearded face 
was strong, and, the head thrown boldly back, 
indicated courage and fearlessness. He bore 
well the weight of his seventy years, spent, from 



WILD GINGER 41 

his early youth, in the lumber woods and on 
the river. He wore the customary homespun 
clothes, his coat adorned with a capuchin and 
shoulder epaulettes of blue and red cloth, his 
waist bound around with a parti-colored "shan- 
ty belt." His feet were encased in the beef- 
hide moccasins. Israel was held in the greatest 
respect by his neighbors, and though looked^upon 
as the living incarnation of the law, his many 
acts of kindness, his wholesome advice to the 
unfortunate debtor had endeared him to all. It 
was known, too, that the old man would have 
been much better off in the world's goods, had 
not his largent as well as his iabac been so fre- 
quently called into requisition to help out the 
unfortunate, whose failure to pay was the cause 
of the old bailiff's visit. 

Taking his quid from his mouth, and laying 
it frugally aside, Israel addressed the court: 

"Messieurs les commissionaires — I beg zt par- 
don of ze cort if I mak free to mak 2e 'spres- 
sion of my opineeon hon ze subjee hoff ze lK>ath 
of Messieu Dewar. Messieu Dewar, he say he 
got ze rite to make heem heese hoath — ^heese 
han' hi to heaveen. Luke, he claim, he can no 
mak him heese hoath in deese cort honless he 
swar hon ze bibe, hor hon ze Pat to Paradis. 
Now, Messieurs les commissionaires, I tink me 
Messieu Dewar he rite, an' bidam I I tell you for 
why! In hupper Canadaw ze Presbi, ze Me- 
tode, ze Bapte, he can mak heese hoath wid 
heese han' hup to Heaveen. Ze English church 
he tnak him heese hoath on ze bibe honly; ze 
Catolic, he sware hon ze bibe, or ze Pat hall 



42 WILD GINGER 

ze same. But no matter how ze deeferent man 
he mak him heese hoath, bidam! Heese hoath, 
eet ees good. For why ? 

"We read in ze Good Book, wen Habram he 
get hold and he come for to get near to die, he 
tink, by Gar, he hurry hup pretty dam soon 
and get heem a wife for ze son Hisack; but he 
no lak ze gal in ze Canaan Ian', and he tink it 
ees a good job he get ze gal from ze hold coun* 
tree he come from. So, he say, Habram, he 
send ze foreman to ze hold countree to peek 
heem a gal for ze bonne femme for ze boy Hi- 
sack. So he call heem ze foreman and he say» 
'I want you tak ze cameel and ze bes dam rig, 
and ze hear ring and ze bracelette, and ze sil- 
ver and ze gold to mak em ze beeg show, and 
go to ze hold countree for get une ze gal for la 
femme for ze boy Hisack.' Ze foreman he will- 
ing to go sure, but Habram he pretty dam cute ; 
he mak sure no dam foolish beezeness for get 
ze femme from ze Canaan Ian', and he mak ze 
foreman tak ze hoath. How he mak ze foreman 
swar, Messieurs les commissionaires? 

"He, Habram, don't mak heem swar on ze 
bibe— dar no bibe den. Non, by Garl He 
don't mak heem swar on ze Pat. Non, non, 
sacrit Dere's no Pat heese published dem 
day. He no hax heem to put his han' hup to 
Heaveen. Non, bidam — deres no Presbe, no 
Metodeesh, no Bapteeste in dem day. 

"How den, he mak heem, de foreman, sware, 
eh? Habram, he say, 'Come here, and put ze 
han' honer my tighe,' an' he mak heem swar he 
peek heem ze gal from ze hold countree for la 



WILD GINGER 43 

femme for ze Hisack, an' not peek ze gal from ze 
Ian' of Canaan. 

"Messieurs, ze hoath with ze han' bonder ze 
tighe heese good for ze foreman, heese good 
for ze hold man Habram, heese pretty dam good 
for ze boy Hisack, too, for ze foreman he get 
ze Rebacka for Hisack, an' she bully fine gal, 
too. 

"So, I tink me ze hoath Mr. Dewar, heese 
han' hup to Heaveen, sure good, too. 

"Messieurs les commissionaires, me, I'm hold 
man. I mak pretty soon p'r'aps my last ser- 
veese, but it mak no deeference to me wich way 
ze man he swar, so long he tell ze truti Mes- 
sieurs les commissionaires, me, I mak heem my 
spitch; I have tout fini." 

And after all the varied and picturesque 
swearing in that lower Canada court room, Mr. 
Dewar swore with uplifted hand. 



44 WILD GINGER 



WILD GINGER, WOOD SORREL AND 

SWEET CICELY. 

GUESTS OF THE KING^S FORESTERS. 

—^TORONTO. — Februcry, 

n. 

Strew me the ground with daflF-a-down dillies, 
And cowslips, and kingcups, and loved lilies. 

The pretty paunce. 

And the chevisaunce, 
Shall match with the flower-de-luce. 

— M. Dkayton. 

So- ran the fire-indented verses above the 
hearth of the Hunters' Lodge in the Toronto 
King's Foresters clubhouse. The characters 
were "quaint and olden," in keeping with the 
ancient birth year of the floral song which has 
lived to this day. 

The guests from the Cataract County Sports- 
men's Club were informed that the unique in- 
scription was the work of the Toronto Super- 
intendent of Prisons, whose only recreation was 
hunting the forests, swamps, and fields for wild 
flowers and afterwards trying to coax the un- 
tamed floral captives to live in an extensive gar- 
den, in which the various natural conditions 
that each loved best were copied as closely as 
science and affection could imitate nature. 

The affable Mr. Kingsley explained frankly, 



WILD GINGER 45 

"Cultivated and domesticated flowers are spoiled 
by too much attention, just like people^-<The 
American Beauty always conjures up the gen- 
erations of gardeners with their pruning hocks 
to my mind, and I forget the wonderful rose 
creation before me. But its simple, primitive 
ancestor, the sweetbrier^ brings glimpses of re- 
freshing glens, instead of pictures of crowded 
ballrooms; it carries me back to the ages when 
each of the four great peoples of Asia, our fore- 
fathers, clung to their particular variety of rose 
through all their wanderings, as Prof. Koch 
tells us-*-4)ack to the years when men had rose 
he^es for fences; it brings me the fragrant 
pages of Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakespeare, 
who called it the Eglantine '* 

"Hold upl Pardon, dear fellow," drawled 
the president of the Foresters, "our friends from 
Niagara, you know, didn't come, it's safe to 
assume, for a botanical lecture." 

With a winning smile Mr. Frezee delivered 
his rebtike to Mr. Kingsley, who joined good- 
naturedly in the general laugh. 

"You see," Frezee went on," our flower-crazy 
chap here must be given some liberties with 
your patience, gentlemen, you will grant us, 
when you note yon maple sap-trough in the 
window filled with painted cups, ladies tresses 
and blue vervain — the red, white, and blue, your 
colors, don't you perceive, all in youah honahl 
Underneath them, in a subordinate position, our 
dear comrade, afflicted with wild flower mono- 
mania, has arranged our own club flower, the 



46 WILD GINGER 



kingcups, bettah known in the states, I believe 
as buttah-cups." 

"I never noticed that you Red Coats had any 
yeller streak," chirped the mellow voice of Sher- 
iff McKenna, of Niagara; ''an' so I'd think 
you'd prefer for your dub poseey a flower some 
calls mountain mint, or bee balm or Injun's 
plume — it's a kind of pompous bunch of red 
feathers, supported by a substantial body of 
green — old Ireland, by Gripes, always had to 
support the Britishers !" 

"Bless your heart, Pat I" shouted King's 
Counsellor Mallory above the din of applause, 
"we'll drink to that fragrant and well-put toast 
— ^here's to the new club flower, the red and 
green mountain mintl" 

"I am impressed with Mr. Kingsley's novel 
study of the wild flowers," said Assembly Lea, 
of Lockport. "I believe it would be admirable 
for the state educational department to reccnn- 
mend that the public schools take up this branch 
of nature study in Mr. Kingsley's fascinating 
way." 

"Put it in a law," suggested 'Scout' Carson, 
the Large Run printer who had learned the 
value of running away from a most exacting 
business to commune with nature's forms, in- 
stead of press "forms." There was general ap- 
proval, and the "Scout," who in the early days 
had broken the first trail from Yankton to the 
mines, added: "We must resort to anything 
that will attract the children to nature and get 
them in sympathy with her, if we would pre- 
serve our few remaining forests, replace the 



J 



TU£ NEW YORK 

PU UCL BRAKY 



AStOR, LENOX AND 
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 
R L 



WILD GINGER 47 

trees where there are now useless wastes and 
barrens, restore our fish and wild game and pro- 
tect the wild creatures of the waters and for- 
ests." 

This subject was taken up in a half hour's 
helpful talk, including an excellent understand- 
ing for a uniform, or consistent set of inter- 
national game laws which would conserve the 
mutual interests of Canada and the United 
States. 

Game Warden Huntington, of North Bay, 
to diversify the entertainment, called the vis- 
itors' attention to a crayon, bsised on Walton's 
description of the famous Dr. Newell, dean of 
St. Paul's Cathedral in the reign of Henry VIII, 
and the author of the present catechism. There 
were the strong features of "the good man, 
a constant practicer of angling who employed 
a tenth part of his time in tii'at sport." He 
was leaning with one hand on a desk, holding a 
Bible, and at his side were his fishing tackle 
in great variety. Underneath th,e portrait of 
this earnest fisher of men and of fish, was this 
quotation: "He died in 1601, at the age of 
95 years; age had neither dimmed his eyes nor 
weakened his memory; angling and temperance 
were the causes of these blessings." 

"I perceive that your clubhouse adornments," 
observed Judge Hockey, of Niagara, "encourage 
the improbable, or the exaggerated. Now we 
have on our walls at home a tablet inscribed 
with what we call the Cataract Club Tent-Pins, 
the second reading, 'Truth is stranger than fic- 
tion and more entertaining!* '* 



4$ WILD GINGER 

"Ah, weel," broke in Kenneth MacRecdy, of 
Simcoe, "you must nay doot the old doctor, for 
we never had the honor-r-r of his acquaintance 
— and besides^ mon, his anglin' and temperaunce 
went tigither a vary lang, lang time ago!" Ig- 
noring the shouts of, "Hear, hear!" he addal 
with a sly twinkle, "An' so it be with our sport 
stories — the mon tellin' of it was the on'y mon 
on the spot; or like Walton, the on'y eye-wit- 
ness is dead!" 

"Well, let's have the truth, ye nimrods of Ni- 
agara," nodded President Frezee, "no matter 
how improbable it may sound. We are like the 
prejudiced judge in a Muskoka lawsuit, 'pre- 
pared to believe anything from our side, and to 
refute the truth from the other side.' " 

"I can't believe," quickly cut in Lockport's 
city attorney, "that you are so deeply preju- 
diced against your visitors' veracity as Jimmy 
Geoghegan thought the people of Horseheads 
were against his. Jimmy went as a delegate 
to a firemen's convention at Horseheads, N. Y, 
At the hotel he had difficulty in convincing the 
clerk, he went on to explain in addressing the 
convention, that there was such a name as 
'Geogheghan' ; he had to pulverize a fellow dele- 
gate for persisting in pronouncing it 'Goathee- 
gan'; and finally, the secretary, the mayor of 
Horseheads, had refused to call his name in the 
roll because that officer was afraid it would 
teach him to stutter. Rising to the pinnacle of 
eloquence, Geogheghan shouted, shaking his fist 
at the mayor of Horseheads, 'Mister mayor, in- 
dade an' you have a foine town, but moind me, 



WILD GINGEft 49 

yr na9M if after the wrong end av the horse f 
"Both ends of Toronto look alike to tlie," 
cfmtkled Sheriff McKcnna; "it's up TO you, 
cMnng or goin^." 

"WeD, then, sheriff, it's up to you to lead off," 
eoflfunanded the Rex Conviviendi. 

"All riglit," the fat worthy assented. 'Here's 
a mild one — ^too mild to be true I'm afraid. 
StickweD and I were trolling up in Peck's Pond 
in the Adirondacks one afternoon, late in Au- 
gust. We paddled along slowly and almost 
noiselessly and rounding a sharp bend of a 
father steep bank, came suddenly in sight of a 
deer feeding in the lily pads. The buck didn't 
see us, and as we were going against the wind 
he didnt smell us either. We sat there watch- 
ing the handsome feller for ten minutes. Pres- 
ently a twig crackled in the forest. He leaped 
into the air six feet and came down into the 
water like a log shooting from a forty-foot chute. 
Mr. Buck started for the opposite shore, swim- 
ming within 30 feet of our canoe which he had 
failed to notice all this time. It was out of sea- 
son and we had no thought of killing the deer, 
even if we had had a gun. I don't know what 
persessed me, but I picked up my trolling spoon, 
2-O Palmer, attached to a heavy woven line, 
and tossed it ahead of the swiftly-moving ani- 
mal. The line tightened just as his nose pushed 
by the spot where the gang of hooks had struck 
and then I felt a tug! The troil had caught 
m that buck's nostrils t The shock nearly 
pulled the hand off me, but the line was wound 
around it and the buck's head went under water. 



50 WILD GINGER 

My, how the frightened deer plunged and 
splashed ! We tried hard to reach him and un- 
fasten the hooks, but that was easier said than 
done. Whenever we got near him, he'd plunge 
away like mad. The line would run taut and 
under would go his head. Although we did our 
best to help him out, that buck drowned him- 
self, evidently preferring to die than to live 
under the disgrace of having been ketched with 
hook and line like any common sucker.'' 

"I don't doubt your story in the least," suave- 
ly smiled Mr. Howard, the Torontonian who 
sends out great postal cards, embossed with 
the interwoven flags of England and the United 
States, inviting you to the Toronto Fair, and 
reminding you that he imports his welcome di- 
rect from Taragona in casks, which, when full, 
can easily drown every recollection of the Fe- 
nian Raid, and when empty can float the Ca- 
nadian debt. ^'Strange things can easily hap- 
pen at the end of a trolling line " 

"Yes, at the hand end, when you mix yer 
bait!" interrupted the sheriflF. 

"Yes, and at the three-cornered business end, 
too," continued Howard. "My brother and I 
were trolling with a No. 3 spoon up in Lac 
du Talon one morning. The bass and pike — 
your pickerel — ^struck freely for a while and 
then there was nothing doing. To encourage 
our finny friends, I hooked on a small chub. 
We rowed along, but there was no change. 
Weary of our unsuccessful efforts, we permitted 
the Peterboro to drift, the wind carrying us 
around a point into a sheltered cove. I guess 



WILD GINGER 51 

we both drowsed off a bit. Presently the shrill 
htini of the reel on my steel rod with which I 
was trolling brought me out of my dreams with 
a start, to find my line running off like mad. 

" 'A 'lunge has picked up your minnow !* 
shouted Tom, now wide awake and excited. 
As usual, whenever anything big was on the pis- 
catorial progranune, Tom wanted to play the 
star role and tried to catch my bending rod out 
of my hands. I gave him an elbow reminder 
to mind his own business and proceeded to take 
command of the landing forces myself. When 
we drifted around the bend, the spoon had ap* 
parently caught and carried out over half my 
line, but I still had twenty yards on the reel 
after the first wild rush was over. It was a 
battle to make the blood tingle. Tom's com- 
mands and suggestions rattled me some, but I 
steadied down and met every play of the enemy. 
In five minutes I had him coming my way. 
Suddenly the line slackened and the monster 
made straight for the boat. I felt the sickening 
feeling incident to the foreboding that all was 
lost. 

** 'He's a whale with side fins three feet long 1' 
yelled Tom, as he made a plunge at the subma- 
rine creature with the gaff. He missed it. With 
the wail of a child lost in the woods, up into 
the air rose our goblin of the waters. Away 
into the sky sailed my fish, carrying out all the 
line I had so gallantly fought for. Then I 
checked his flight, reeling in like a wild man. 
Up he'd go again, but the steel would turn his 
course and I'd gain a few yards. For ten 



i$ WIU) GINGSJt 

minutes the aerial battle was waged until at 
length skill and good tackle won the day and 
we landed an enormous loon I 

"The bird had picked up my bait while we 
were out of view in the cove and hooked him- 
self the first rush. This strange trophy adorns 
my den at home." 

"It is one, the old proverb," laughed Billy Du- 
fall, of Montreal, "that you Niagaran's have 
paraphrased: 'Rien n'est beau que le vroi' I 
so much hope you perceive that we of the Can- 
adas believe also that 'nothing is beautiful but 
the truth I' " 

"Au large! Envoyez au large I'' shouted 
Huntington. "We are off amid the rapads of 
improbability and the big chaudiere of incredu- 
lity whirls just below them; but, we'll paddle 
to camp in the quiet bay of fact, with the im- 
penetrable forests of 'It's So' behind it." 

The clear-cut words of the best guide and 
hunter in the Nipissing district set forth in cam- 
eo-like distinctness a picture of a camp on the 
distant French River that all present loved so 
well. There was silence for a time, all appar- 
ently faring northward on a mental journey in- 
itiated by Huntington's unintentioned invitation. 

"The snow lies deep on the banks of the 
Masog-Masing," presently remarked C. Handy 
Mix, "so Huntington was almost cruel to lead 
you forth on this chilly night to your happy 
hunting grounds, because it is said 'imaginatk>n 
wears but flimsy garments.' " 

"Yes; even the loons 'd have to git liieir 
skates on, ef they lingered up in that country 



PU LiC L'BRAKY 



ASTOR, IWOX A»» 
TILDES FOUBMnOMS 



WILD GINGER 53 

after November," dryly remarked the sheriflF. 

"Loons can skate/' promptly asserted Lem- 
uel Larch, the Yankee-Dutchman. The eyes 
of the circle were at once focused on the lanky 
general utility camp man of the Niagara Qub, 
as he continued: "A loon, wing-tipped, spent 
most of the winter on the Eighteen Mile creek 
and the Erie Canal near Lockport in nineteen- 
four and nineteen-five. The boys tried to cap- 
ture him, but the sharp-feathered wizard from 
the North led them a merry chase, day after 
day eluding them. One morning my boy rushed 
over to his chum's house, shouting, 'We've got 
him — ^he's frozen fast in the ice !' Sure enough, 
the loon was frozen in. Planning to take him 
alive, the lads chopped the ice around his feet, 
but the instant he was liberated, he slipped out 
onto the smooth surface, with chunks of ice on 
his feet, and the last they saw of him he was 
skating off before the wind like a Norwegian in 
a championship race, headed for Hot Springs, 
Arkansas, to get thawed out!" 

"The loon is closely related to fishes, and, 
like them, can stand a deal of cold," politely 
assented Mr. Frezee. "I remember catching a 
fine lot of pike and pickerel fishing through the 
ice. They froze stiff as boards. We loaded 
them onto a sled like sticks of wood, took them 
home, and threw them onto the kitchen floor. 
As I was eating my dinner, would you be- 
lieve me, I heard a strange flopping and racket 
in the kitchen, doncher know. Upon going into 
the adjoining room, gentlemen, there were my 
fish, all come to life, engaged in a jumping tour- 



54 WILD GINGER 

hament, the pike 'pitted against the pickerel 
in a friendly contest to see which side would 
land all their numbers in the sink which was 
half filled with water I 

"Oh, of course/' the speaker hurried on dep- 
recatingly at the signs of disbelief, "I may have 
g^ven my imagination some play as to the pis- 
catorial tournament, but natural history, gen- 
tlemen, supports me as to the fact of tfie re- 
suscitation of the frozen fish and their instinct- 
ive progress by leaps toward the water in the 
kitchen reservoir." 

"Oh, gowani" piped the sheriflf. "Don't ex- 
plain." 

"Ay, an' Mister Frezee is the ane 'gowari in 
the hcpuak — ^the only 'daisy in the 'untilled ridge 
of the cornfield' — ^but who'd a kenned ye could 
say 'govmn' in proper Scowtch for 'daisy'?" 

The representatives of the two closely-related, 
but often hostile, branches of the Celtic race, 
eyed each other in friendly challenge for a mo- 
ment, while the French and Anglo-Saxons 
looked on in suppressed merriment at the acci- 
dental clash of the Scotch and Irish words. 

The sheriff broke (he silence with his merry, 
high-keyed chuckle, saying: "Annyhow, our 
'usquebagh' means the same, an' we take it the 
same; but bad luck to ye kilted Irishmen, there 
was never much of the good red licker left for 
honest Irishmen after ye came over to take the 
best of everything in the Green Isle !" 

"Oh, sheriff," mterrupted Carson, "you know 
as much about philology as those green drum- 
mers that came into your store one day just 



WILD GINGER 55 

after you had returned from rabbit hunting, 
did about game. While you were washing up 
I heard them discuss a wound on a rabbit. They 
felt sure it wasn't made by a gun shot, so one 
gravely suggested, 'The bunny probably goi 
that when he fell out of the tree* '* 

''That reminds me 01 a woodcock trip I took 
with a Buffalo merchant," said George Wash- 
ington Wynne. "He was a political friend of 
mine, and although he had never hunted birds 
in his life, he begged to have me take him out. 
The woodcock were plentiful, but Preston in- 
sisted upon talking politics and shop. Imag- 
ine that kind of talk in an ideal bird country, 
with plenty of exciting rises. Electric motors 
and snap caucuses talk dc^'t promote good snap 
shooting such as was necessitated by the thick 
alders. Preston was just blowing how he'd fix 
his opponents, when up jumped something right 
under his feet. I had never seen anything like 
it before. As it sailed into the air with a whirli- 
gig motion, Preston yelled, 'Shoot, George, for * 
Heaven's sake — it's an electric fan cut loose 1' 
I let go, after recovering myself, and down 
came the biggest woodcock I ever bagged. 
Over his eyes was a big basswood leaf. The 
bird had evidently drilled down throu^ the leaf 
just as we started him, and the blinder be- 
wildered him and hampered his flight, so that 
when he towered he certainly did go through all 
the motions of an electric fan thrown into the 
air while running full head." 

"You landed your bird, being luckier than our 



$6 WILD GINGER 

Strather, a comical, good-natured darkey, who 
spends much of his time fishing and hunting 
in Niagara county/' remarked John I. Teller. 
"Strather tells and acts out his story. He came 
along to look after our baggage and if you wish 
I'll call him in to relate it himself." 

"By all means," said President Frezee. Ac- 
cordingly the little lithe darkey sportsman was 
summoned. He hesitated at first, but began 
with a reminiscent chuckle: 

"Mistah Case an' Ah wuz a huntin' ducks 
an' snipe down in de Hartland swamps lone 
befoh de hyperpeticulah gemmens — I'se beggin 
de pardon of de 'spectable membahs present — 
de gemmens of de State God and Run Qub leg- 
islationly prohibitioned de blessed fun of spring 
shootin'. Ah lef Mistah Case in a blin' on de 
swamp aige, purposing to make a detourin' ob 
a wheat fiel' dat was boidahed by a pon'. Say, 
Ah 'clare to goodness, jes as dis black nimrode 
got in de centah ob a six-foot rail crossin' a 
deep ditch, up got a simoon from beyant de 
haidge. I wuz balancin' myself jes like Blondin 
on de slack wire ober de Niagarah goge" — Here 
Strather stood on one foot, holding out a poker 
to represent his gun in one hand, and his cap in 
the other, "teetering" his body like a tip-up on 
a stone — "dat simoon dashed watah into de wind 
an' it splashed in my face — it wuz a whirlly- 
wind of wild geese, a flock big enough to covah 
up de hiden-seek April sun. I straightened up 
like a yallar-leg in a bog — standing erect now, 
but swaying, and dropping his cap, getting his 
poker gun ready to fire — and swung on de hose- 



WIUD GINGER 87 



necked flyin' machines 13ce dis — pulling the po- 
ker's imaginary trigger as be fell off the rail — 
'bang ! bang I' went both barrels. Over Ah went 
into three feet of almighty wet watah. Ah 
stuck mah nose up outen de ooze jes in time to 
see two gandahs tumble and ter smell dem fine 
goslin's a fryin' in my ole woman's pan. Mah 
gun fell acrost on de odah side, lucky coon me I 
In goes two shells an' Ah'm aftah my federed 
meat — ^Here Strather again paused to wipe off 
the water, and, presently a supposititious tear 
from his eye — But it's de sweetest hcMney dat 
ffoes to de bear— on'y de comb foah de coon 
nuntah. Say, Ah gets to de aige of de 
wheat fiel', when one of de gandahs raises his 
haid kine of curious like, an' nudgin' his 
wounded comrade dey skiddadles. Wid de help 
ob de wind dey just cleans a bam an' haystack, 
an' off dey goes talkin' it ovah and cosnparin' 
my gun play wid de bombardment of Santiago. 
Ah picks up Mistah Case an' we percedes to- 
wards de horizon dat swallowed up Mrs. Stra- 
ther's geese. By em by we meets two farmer 
boys and Case says, 'Didn't you see a flock of 
geese go by dis way?' De freckeldest kid 
mints at us sassy-like and says, 'I see two.' 
>aw,' you mean, kerrected Mistah Case sharp- 
like, an' the boys seen he wuz mad an' stopped 
der foolin'. Then out cum der ok man and 
says to us, 'Lookin' for wild geese? I and the 
boys shot two cripples a spell ago back o' the 
bam an' afterwards went beyant de woods an' 
got 3even more out ob de flock.' To prove it 
dat p^sky white man showed us de nine birds. 



58 WILD GINGER 

"Mistah Case looked at me and den at de 
fahmahs. Wid a cuss, he asts, 'Hownell jer git 
'em?' 

''De ole fahmah shifts de quid in his mout', 
and solemn as an owl, ansahs Mistah Case 
real dam pertynent : 'Used soft coal 'stid of shot- 
coal tuck fire an' burnt off der wing feathers/ " 

Strather bowed himself back toward the ser- 
vants' quarters in the clubhouse amidst cheers 
and laughter, elicited as much by his descriptive 
pantomime, as by his rich African dialect. He 
eluded an encore, explaining, "Ah'd be a goose, 
mahself, gemmens, ef I guv you another shot 
at me." 

"I've seen considerable wild goose shooting in 
Georgia," remarked Mr. Duall, "and I can sup- 
port Strather's yam with many similarly pain- 
ful escapes of the game after I all but had it 
picked for the pot. But even still more imper- 
vious to fatal effects of shot is the raccoon. 
We had two darkeys who were inveterate 
sportsmen. Their enforced labors during the 
day left them little time for daylight hunting, 
so they turned naturally to the pursuit of this 
wary nocturnal carnivore. Ed and Bob's ar- 
senal consisted of an old horse pistol and muz- 
zle-loading gun. A wily cracker persuaded the 
pair that if they traded their two famous coon 
dogs for a rusty breechloader, their bags would 
increase. In an evil moment they parted with 
Ivy and Pomp, hoping to replace them with less 
expensive pups in time. 

" 'De cunnenest coon in dese pahts cotdd 
sooner lose hees stripes den lose us,' used to be 



WILD GINGER 59 

the boast of these mighty hunters; and, it is 
not of record that any coon ever did escape the 
quartette of men and dogs named. Not long 
after they had traded off their dogs Col. Mont- 
ford sent word to Ed and Bob that some crit- 
ter was raiding his premises, carrying off fowls 
almost nightly, and offered them a jug of the 
best com whiskey on his plantation if they'd 
capture the marauder. Arrived at the colonel's, 
they were supplied with refreshments and also 
loaded with ammunition from the old man's 
hunting cabinet 

"The hunters stationed themselves near the 
hen yard at dark and awaited developments. It 
was a bright, moonlight night, clear, crisp, and 
silent. The dusky hunters were keen for the 
contents of the promised jug. Bob whispered, 
'Ah's sure goin' to see ebber)rthing dat looms 
up on de foah comahs ob dis horizon to-night 
— dey's a heep at stake, you black shaddah.' 
Ed poked him in the ribs, giggling — 'An' Ah 
reckon dis chilell heah eben de footfall ob a 
creekit, 'cause I'se listen' for de trickle of de 
kunnel's cawn juce.' — Bob snickered — 'Ah ken 
smell a vahmint two miles off, jes cause Ah's 
got mah scenter in de aiah for de kennel's liquid 
persuadah.' 

" 'Foah de Lawd I' they shouted, as an agon- 
ized squawk arose on the air. Despite their 
boasted alertness of the senses of sight, hearing, 
and smell, some four-foot enemy had slipped 
through their lines and into the hennery. There 
was a flutter among the fowls as some furry 
thing slipped away with a fine pullet. The muz- 



60 WILD GINGER 

tie loader and new weapon that had cost them 
their trusty dogs illuminated the night. A 
monster coon turned a somersault, dropped his 
prey, and rolling over and over, whisked up 
onto a rail fence and started for the woods a 
few rods away. Again the breechloader spoke 
and the coon dropped from the fence. 

" 'Daid coon J — ^three-thirds of dat cawn juice 
foah mine I' yelled Bob ecstatically. Over to the 
fence they raced, but no slaughtered robber was 
to be found. Hearing a rustle off toward the 
forest, the hunters broke into pursuit. *Ah'd 
gib mah best rabbit's foot to hab Pomp back 
now for jes ten minets,' groaned Ed, as he 
leaped over obstructions in his course. 'Da he 
shins up de big tree in de conah ob de fence!' 
shrieked Bob. 

"Underneath the boughs of the coon's branch- 
ing tower of refuge, the sharp-eyed niggers 
soon located the roU)er, lying flat on a limb on 
the opposite side of the tree from the moon and 
in a spot most in the shadow. 'T'inks he can 
fool us by dat ole game/ grunted Bob as he 
took careful aim and fired. The black spot 
never flinched. The quarry was up fully one 
hundred and twenty feet and the bombardment 
which ensued was enough to arouse the whole 
parish. Ed's supply of powder and shot gave 
out and his partner presently flred the last of 
twenty-five shells; yet, the coon still held the 
fort. Several times he was dislodged from his 
perch, but he always managed to catch on be- 
fore he reached the ground. Bob went back for 
more ammunition. The moon was behind the 



WILD GINGER 6i 

hill now, and the shooting became mostly guess- 
work. Exhausted, the hunters sank at the foot 
of the tree to lay siege until morning might aid 
their aim. As daylight began to approach, the 
coon grew uneasy. Thrice the sleepy hunters 
caught him in the act of slipping down the tree 
trunk, and beat him back with clubs. It was 
growing rapidly lighter and the persistent 
sportsmen were now sure of their prey, when, 
like a bolt of fur, Mr. Coon dropped from a 
limb plump onto Ed's shoulders. Bob struck 
at the coon, the animal dodged and poor Ed re- 
ceived the blow. Crash! The pained and in- 
dignant nigger brought his gun barrel down 
over Bob's unlucky head, stretching him out 
flat. 

"Ed was overwhelmed with what he had 
done, thinking that he had killed his old com- 
rade. Hastening to a nearby spring, he got 
some water and dashed it into the unconscious 
fellow's face. Presently Bob sat up. Looking 
all around and then at Ed, he said impressively, 
TTou fool niggah, youse let dat coon animal 
git away fur suah aftah Ah killed him sebenty- 
fibe times — let him slide away wid a whole jug 
ob cawn juice on his back, too. Now den, you 
heah me, you no good black man — ef Ah sees 
you tech youah alleegatah lips to a jug ob lickah 
in de nex' six months I'se jes natchely gwan to 
lam you till youse es spotted es a button wood 
in de fall !' " 

"Do you know why the button ball tree or 
sycamore, as it's called in some parts of the 
country, is more spotted at certain times of the 



62 WILD GINGER 

year than others ?" began John I. Teller. With- 
out waiting for reply, he went on, "The bark, 
after using the summer's supply of sap, becomes 
dry and the autumn rains *' 

"None of your continued lectures on botany," 
interrupfted the sheriflF. "Your Fll-tell-you's, 
John, make me as uneasy as a wench on an ap- 
ple heap,'' declared the funny little voice with 
mock severity. 

"Well, I propose a 'Collins* for Mr. Duall's 
coon story," offered President Frezee. The tjrp- 
ical Canadian beverage was duly quaffed and 
enjoyed, when Stickwell asked for the ingre- 
dients and recipe of the concoction. 

"Oh, it's your gin fiz," explained Hunting- 
ton, "with some of the effervescence of your 
South country omitted and some of the refresh- 
ing coolness of our ice-covered Canadian sum- 
mits added." 

"Ah, I didn't quite recognize an old friend in 
a strange guise — something like a little fresh- 
air girl from New York," said Mix. "She saw 
a hen on the nest in the bam and watched her 
little country hostess, the farmer's daughter, 
take some eggs from the place vacated by the 
biddy. The rural maiden explained to the won- 
dering visitor that the hen had laid them. The 
poor, wan little tot, whose cheeks were begin- 
ning to take on some of the ruddiness of the 
uninterrupted sunlight of God's out-of-doors, 
said with some confusion, *I have put my peep- 
ers on de hen fruit in de stores, many's de 
toime, an' when I wuz on de bink onct a mis- 
sion angel gives me one to eat — ^a whole one — 



WILD GINGER 63 



but on de dead, I never tumbled dat de goggies 
wuz made dat way by de ole eal chicks.' " 

''That's the most reasonaUe story told to- 
night, with all due respect for our hosts and 
none for my shameless colleagues/' said Judge 
Hockey. "On the principle that like cures like, 
I'll give you the climax of the 'tall story' in 
die hope that it will help you all to swear off 
on the longbow. One of my Hartland constit- 
uents told me that one day he was hunting in 
the Michigan woods, where as a young man I 
worked in the lumber camps. He shot a deer 
across a pond, and in swimming over to get it, 
filled his overalls with fish. After killing the 
deer, the bullet plunged into a tree which was 
filled with honey. Reaching down to get some- 
thing to stop the flow of the honey, he caught 
a partridge under a clump near the tree, wrung 
its head off and with that plugged up the hole. 
Taking home his thirty-two fish, his deer and 
partridge, he returned and filled two tubs with 
the honey." 

"This drives me to warble," gayly shouted the 
Falstaff sheriff. And he sang in his honey-laden 
voice: 

"Oh, dear mamma, pin a rose on me, 
Two little maids are sweet on me — 
One is blind and the other can't see." 

Thereupon, the Canadians, declaring that the 
melody was infectious, rose as one man and sol- 
emnly chanted: 



64 WILD GINGER 

"Then, good-by, booze, for evermore; 

Our sporting days are days of yore — 
We ve had a good time, we must admit. 
We'll have one more and then we'll quit — 

§0, good-by, booze, for evermore." 

"This acme of hospitality deserves some for- 
mal expression," said Manufacturer Davies 
quietly, but earnestly. "But when I attempt 
to rise worthily to the occasion, I am somewhat 
like Mike Murphy^ an ignorant, but a three 
himdred and sixty-five days in the year pditi- 
cian. His district leader was unable to attend 
a certain convention and entrusted a set of reso- 
lutions to Mike. At the proper time Mike 
arose, shuffled his feet, and blurted out with a 
sputter that sent a gentle shower of beery spray 
over the delegates from several adjoining wards, 
'I've a notion to make a motion' — ^then reach- 
ing into his pockets, fumbling with growing 
surprise which became unmistakable embarrass- 
ment as the quest proved unsuccessful, 'but it's 
home in Jim Henley's hind pocket!'" 



THE NEW YORK 
PU,,L1CLHRA Y 



ASTOR, LENOX AND 
TEDEN FOUNDATIONS 

a L 



WILD GINGER 65 



WILD GINGER, WOOD SORREL, AND 

SWEET CICELY. 

AMONG THE CAYUGA CAT-TAII^. — AfOTCh. 

IIL 

Whan that Aprille with his schowres swoote 

The drought of Marche hath perced to the roote, 

And bathud every veyne in swich licour, 

Of which vertue engendered is the flour; 

Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breethe 

Enspirud hath in every holte and heethe 

The tender croppes, and the yonge sonne 

Hath in the Ram his halfe cours i-ronne, 

And smale fowles maken melodie, 

That slepen al the night witth open eye. 

So priketh hem Nature in hef e coraf^es : — 

Thanne longen folk to gon on pilgrimages. 

— Chaucek. 

A wind, heavy v^rith flower showers from the 
Southland, and carrying the mixed chorus of 
feathered migrants — the high harmonics of the 
songsters and the ground tone of the wild fowl 
— ^had brought the annual spring message to the 
impatient ears of the Nia|fara nature lovers. 
The winter's burden of mdoor duress had 
seemed abnormally oppressive. Insistent be- 
yond further endurance had grown the longing 
to go on a pilgrimage, not exactly to the shrine 
of a saint like the pious tourists but impious 
raconteurs of Chaucer's time, but to the "bliss- 
fur out-of-doors. 



66 WILD GINGER 

'That hem hath holpen whan that they were 
seeke." 

Sick were the modem Squyer, Knight, Ye- 
man, Marchaimt, and Frankeleyn of the ice and 
snow bondage; and still more intolerable was 
the distemper which the ''getting and spending" 
breeds. 

Singing the merry old English bard's Spring 
Glee, with all its lusty gutturals and aspirates 
competing with the boisterous notes of the 
March gale, and keeping time with the oars, 
a little flotilla of sportsmen were gliding through 
the rushes of the Seneca River. 

It was in the days before the State of New 
York had wisely decided to set a good example 
to the greedy sportsmen of the Southern States 
by enacting the anti-spring shooting laws. In 
the party were several earnest advocates of pro- 
tection for all game birds in the spring and early 
summer months. The storm had brought in 
from the lake several flocks of teal, mallard 
and black duck, and before the well-placed 
blinds of the more sheltered "back ponds" of 
Cayuga Lake quite satisfactory bags had been 
made by the jubilant hunters. The thoughtful 
Alwater stopped rowing, and pointing to a fine 
pair of female mallards in SheriflF McKenna's 
boat, observed: ^There's two fine nests of 
ducklings slain before they reached the reedy 
reaches of the Woolsey in Canada." 

"Oh, Alwater," cut in the perspiring sheriff, 
who had been pulling like a galley slave against 
the swift current on the way to Qint Martin's 
camp, "your talk will lay me up with 'nervous 



WILD GINGER 67 

perspiration/ the disease that our milkman says 
has laid up his wife for six months. I suppose 
you regret that some pot-huntin' Southerner 
didn't go to them ducks' funerals instead of us, 
ehr 

The bunch of boats was in easier water now, 
and the oarsmen dipped along leisurely on the 
"prepare-for-supper stroke," headed for the 
light gleaming through the dusk. 

"Just the same," said "Scout" Carson, "we'll 
have to put up the bars against this spring 
shooting in our own state and induce the South 
to do the same, or we'll all live to see the ex- 
termination of a good many more species of mi- 
gratory birds." 

"Right you are, Scout," chimed in Mayor 
Whitcomb. "Not many years ago the canvas- 
back fairly swarmed in the Chesapeake, but its 
old haunts there seldom see it now. The ruddy 
duck is growing shockingly rare in this sec- 
tion and already the extinction of the beautiful 
wood duck is in sight. The ducks, the plover, 
the snipe, and the woodcock are rapidly follow- 
ing the Labrador duck to the dusty shelves of 
the museums, shameful monuments of the 
sportsmen's unwisdom and improvidence." 

"One difficulty with the protection of bird 
life," said Judge Hockey, "is that we have too 
many game protectors appointed on the basis 
of political service. They are too often inef- 
ficient. The average protector doesn't protect. 
Then, again, the public hasn't been fully edu- 
cated up to the importance of conserving our 
fish and game supplies for their own welfare, 



i 

L 



68 WILD GINGER 

by which I mean both their material and ethical 
welfare. The people absolutely need the recre- 
ation of fishing and hunting these days to keep 
us from national paresis in these days of high- 
pressure wealth seeking, to say nothing of the 
value of the food supplies which the forests 
and streams alone can supply " 

''Let me interrupt that continued story by 
askin' for a pipeful of tobacco, judge/' piped 
the sheriflE's thin voice. 

"Here you are," responded the judge with 
a chuckle; "you smoke 'Beggar's Delight,' don't 
you, sheriff?" 

"Yes, an' I'll not beat you out of the loan— 
I'd rather owe it to ye," quickly rejoined the 
sporty Falstaff. 

"But about this protection of game," said the 
judge, returning to the serious subject, "the 
protectors are usually ignorant and die public 
don't know the laws. The situation reminds 
me of Blaze Dunkleberger, a German hotel- 
keeper in our town, who got an enormous reg- 
ister to comply with the new law requiring 
all guests to register. It was fair time and his 
place was crowded. The first man he intro- 
duced to the formidable volume on the dingy 
counter was an old neighbor from Wolcotts- 
ville. 'Sign vonce your name am dis platz,' 
commanded Blaze, with unwonted importance 
in his voice. The Teutonic guest glared at him 
suspiciously, looked toward the door and finally 
said: 'Blaze, do you berceive some greens in 
my eyes? Maype nine. You get me sign Jo- 
hann Schmidt's name and den do somet'ings 



WILD GINGER 69 

to me py der sheriff afterwards, isn't it? Blaze, 
you Benetict Arnoldt, you, not me I' hissed Jo- 
hann as he passed out. Blaze gazed at his lost 
friend, enumerated his remaining guests on his 
fingers and then laboriously wrote across the 
first page of the register: 'Dirty-Afe mens eai 
here to-day! That's the way many protectors 
comply with the law, and like the German boni- 
face they get their pay just the same/' 

"Yes, we had a no-good 'stiff,'" said the 
sheriff in a singsong voice, as if taking up the 
same part for the judge in amateur theatricals, 
"who was appointed protector in our county 
some years ago. Nobody had confidence in 
him, he wouldn't pay his debts an' he hated 
himself. He took delight in arresting b»>ys for 
spearin' suckers, or puUin' anybody just for the 
pleasure of making them trouble. He had plen- 
ty of strong cases against fish pirates, but no 
jury'd take the word of that sheepsez-tail, so 
they always went free. That protector got fired 
and he was hired to stand outside Lon Parson's 
drug store." 

No explanation as to the nature of the new 
job being volunteered, somebody inquired what 
it was. 

"Oh, to make people sick lookin' at him!" 
cheerfully trilled the canary voice of the giant. 

"Then we got another protector, a church- 
man, so almighty good that he had bad dreams 
when he was asleep on account of taking a sal- 
ary for doing nothing," was Stickwell's joyous 
quota of running comments on protectors. 'THe 
quit for fear of dying of insomnia." 



TO WILD GINGER 

''He was the antithesis of his successor/' said 
Mix, "who sobered up and was really awake 
only on pay days." 

Duall recalled that George MacDonald struck 
the key note of protection for birds when he 
said : 

'*! have considered the birds; 

And I find their life good. 

And better, the better understood" 

''More recently Neltje Blanchan, who says 
that he is 'a bird lover who believes that per- 
sonal, friendly acquaintance with the live birds, 
as distinguished from the technical study of the 
anatomy of dead ones, must be general before 
the people will care enough about them to re- 
inforce the law with unstrained mercy,' declares 
that 'true sportsmen, worthy of the name, are to 
be reckoned among the birds' friends, and are 
doing effective work to help restore those happy 
hunting grounds which, only a few generations 
ago, were the envy of the world.' " 

"Well, since we seem to be trying to ease 
our consciences for using g^ns this trip," re- 
marked Judge Hockey, "it's some comfort to 
reflect that New York State has led in game 
protection. As early as seventeen ninety-one 
New York passed a law protecting the heath 
hen, partridge, quail, and woodcock, from 
April I to October 5 on Long Island and in 
the city and county of New York. It was al- 
most thirty years later that Massachusetts, with 
Yankee cunning in the phraseology, enacted a 
law for the prevention of the wanton destruc- 



WILD GINGER 71 

tion 'at improper times' of liirds which are use- 
ful and profitable to citizens either as articles 
of food or instruments in the hands of Provi- 
dence to destroy noxious insects/ etc. New 
York has the most sweeping protective laws to- 
day, which if copied by other states and strictly 
enforced by all would ensure the preservation 
and in most instances render likely the increase 
of wild fowl, game, and fish." 

"Yes, but most of the Southern States/' said 
Mix, "are slow to take up game protection even 
in a mild form. Most of them thoughtfully pass 
laws safeguarding game birds when they are in 
the North on their nesting grounds. The United 
States agricultural department points out that, 
'as the wording of modem protective laws turns 
largely on the definition of "game birds," it 
may be well to note some of tiie different in- 
terpretations which have been applied to this 
term.' Mississippi's interpretation is significant 
of the improvidence and greediness of the hunt- 
ers in that state, for according to the code of 
Mississippi 'the term "game," shall mean and 
include all kinds of animals and birds found 
in the state of nature, and commonly so called.' 
In most Southern States, for example, our 
Northern raised bob-o-Iinks, robins, and doves, 
are 'game' and Intimate prey for every pot- 
hunter's weapon." 

"We in New York," observed Teller mus- 
ingly, "rear and nurture birds only to have 
them reach the gourmand markets of New Or- 
leans and other Southern cities. We are in the 
same unfortunate position as England and Ger- 



J2 WILD GINGER 



many, which pass protective laws for birds only 
to have the Italians bag them in the winter." 

"Aha, but we have our own Italians at home 
to eat our robin red breasts and our bob-o-Lin- 
colns right in the summer time/' sighed the 
sheriif, as if oppressed by a great sorrow. Then 
he continued with a merry twinkle : 

"You fellers worry about the Southerners 
and the foreigners killin' birds and whan it 
comes to a pinch, either do nothin' about it, 
or go an' do it yourself like you did to-day 
every time a good flock came along and decoyed 
so you could take 'em settin' 1 Why, you remind 
me for all the world of old John Mahany in 
Somerset. Mahany was the best-posted man 
on European politics in the county. He could 
tell to a day when Gladstone would introduce 
a bill to let us Irish rule London, or give the 
fine points of the game that England was play- 
in' in the Eastern League. But John couldn't 
rule his own household, play a winnin' game of 
seven up, or liquidate the floatin' debt which he 
always had runnin' at the Checkered Tavern. 
John was hard up and the old place was goin' 
to be sold on foreclosure, when one of the boys 
who had made good in Buffalo, paid up the 
interest and sent the old man a fine, new team 
of horses and an up-to-date reaper. The wheat 
crop was good that summer, but John was more 
interested in the shortage in the Russian steppes, 
so he wouldn't step a foot into his own fields. 
The hired man, Mike Neeley, got home from 
the tavern in time to hitch up the team and 
start in on the wheat. Mike's hair pulled some 



THE BOAT THAT ALWAYS WAITS. 



THE XEW YORK 



TJlOEJ^r F0UND4TI0K8 



B 



WILD GINGER 73 

and he yanked the bosses until they got ner- 
vous and ran away. They made a swathe 
through the centre of that field that made it look 
like the charge of the Johnnies through the 
wheat field at Gettysburg, but more ragged 
about the edges. Old Jolm thought the Per- 
sians had rigged up an old-time scythe chariot 
and were attacking their alleyes, the English, 
by the racket outside, when he came out of his 
European trance. Running down to the barn- 
yard bars where the quivering, bloody team 
stood, minus all the reaper except the tip of the 
tongue, John glared first at the horses and then 
at Mike, who had straggled after his fleeing 
cavalry. Then raising his l^uid, he clattered 
like the exhaust of a threshing engyne, 'Mike, 
— Oi — ^hev — a moind — ^to sthrike — ^yej' Mike 
stepped up to the white-faced old feller, and put- 
ting his nose within an inch of John's up-raised 
fist, hissed, 'an' may the divil tempt ye till I 
kill ye !' '' 

The cabin under the tall willows was near 
at hand now. With the setting of the sun, the 
March storm, child of the spring showers and 
the fickle wind, had sobbed itself to sleep. The 
smooth water reflected the golden glow of the 
West Enpurpled were the tips of willows, al- 
ders, and rushes, along the banks. All was se- 
rene and peaceful save for the eruptive flocks of 
blackbirds that rose from the marshes with a 
startling clamor not unlike a park of machine 
guns opening fire. Overhead a crane was mak- 
ing laborious headway to his mate in the swamp 
beyond the distant ridge. A solitary duck, 



74 WILD GINGER 

"Lone, wandering, but not lost" wheeled up 
stream, "going like the Empire State twenty 
minutes late at Syracuse," as the sheriff said. 
TTie more sentimental Charley Hooper quoted: 

"Whither, midst falling dew. 

While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, 
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue 

ITiy solitary way?" 



"Yes, and Bryant must have tried to down 
mallards with black powder and soft shot,** 
added the judge, "because he goes on: 

"Vainly the fowler's eye 

Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, 
As, darkly limned upon the crimson sky, 

Thy figure floats along." 

"Hurry up, thar," shouted Qint from the 
doorway, through which the hunger-pointed 
noses of the hunters caught enticing scents of 
bacon and coffee; "you're worse than twenty 
minutes late for supper. But the missus'll for- 
give you, 'cause you seem to have collected 
quite a nice bunch of feathers." 

His commands, uttered in a hospitable, cheery 
tone, needed no repetition. The boats were 
quickly moored and the sportsmen were soon 
safely anchored at Mrs. Martin's steaming table. 

Hungry as they were, the Niagarans were 
quick to perceive that their hostess haid arranged 
beautiful bunches of the club's flower for the 
month of March, the hepatica, on the table and 
about the cabin. There were the clusters of 



WILD GINGER 75 

white, pink, and blue, with child blossoms that 
reflected these colors wedded, peeping out of 
their fuzzy coats timidly, as if expecting a snow 
squall any moment. 

"Blue as the heaven it gazes at, 
Startling the loiterer in the naked groves 
With unexpected beauty; for the time 
Of blossoms and green leaves is yet afar." 

"Why is it that some of those hepaticas are 
fragrant and some are not?" inquired Alwater. 
"Color doesn't make the difference, because in 
some clusters it is the white and in others the 
pink or blue that carry a sweet odor." 

"Well, when you git to asking questions about 
nature, you're going pretty deep," answered the 
Sheriff, who had spoken for the first time since 
he had begun "coaling up his camel-back en- 
gine." "Why is it in families that some are as 
purty as if copied after the picture of angels, 
while their brothers or sisters have faces cut like 
a snubbin' post? An' why are some too good 
to keep company with an artch angel, while some 
of their relatives ain't fit company for man or 
for beast?" 

Everybody was too busy with gastronomic 
matters to bother with the complex physiological 
and psychological problems involved in the Sher- 
iff's counter propositions. Passing up his cup 
for more coffee, Duall remarked with an interest 
divided between his plate and his reminiscences 
of the day's sport : "Those live decoys of yours, 
Qint, beat the trained seals in a circus for cute- 
ness and intelligence." 



76 WILD GINGER 



HTK 



I'm certainly proud of them, particularly old 
Moll," promptly responded tfie host. "She's a 
haif-wild mallard, and the others are her chil- 
dren by another half-breed mallard. It's shame- 
ful the way they coax their country cousins from 
Canada to their death before the blinds. You 
noticed to-day, whenever I thought a flock didn't 
notice our decoys, all I had to do was to call to 
Moll, and she'd flap her wings and quack so 
she could be heard a half mile. That'll fetch 
the wild ones in the air most every time." 

The younger decoys were anchored, but Moll 
had her entire freedom. She swam around 
within a given area, but never out of range. 

"A mighty cunning duck, that," piped the 
Sheriff. "Whenever you dub shooters raised 
your guns. Lor' how she'd scoot for cover under 
your boat!" 

"Did you see the white duck that floated in 
with the flock of blackies at the south end of 
the pond about daylight this morning?" said 
Stickwell. 

Three of the hunters admitted they had seen 
a duck that looked as white as snow. The sug- 
gestion was made that it was an unusually light 
pin-tail, or butter-ball, but Qint interrupted : 

"That's a white wild duck, an albino, the only 
one we've ever seen in the Cayuga country. Wc 
never shoot at it here, and it winters in the 
spring-waters. The Cayuga Indians had a tribe 
story about a white duck." 

It was well known that Clint had Indian blood 
in his veins, claiming descent from a famous 



WILD GINGER T! 

chief of the Wolf clan. Urged for the lq;eiid, 
he gave it briefly : 

''At Sunken Island a white drake lived. The 
chiefs called him by name, and he'd bring the 
darker brothers of the air to the Indians when 
they needed food. Calanuga sought the beau- 
tiful Canadeega for his wigwam, but she smiled 
not upon him. In wrath he left her father's 
abode, swearing vengeance on the first living 
thing that met his eyes. He pushed his canoe 
from the bank and leaped in. There was a 
shadow on the water, and with heavy eyes he 
looked to see what obscured the sun. It was 
the white drake. Calanuga called the medicine 
men, who made the white drake sacred, 'singing 
birds,' as in his anger he seized his bow and 
fitted an arrow to the string. The shaft met the 
snow-white friend of the Indians, pierced his 
breast, and as he fluttered downward a drop of 
blood spattered upon Calanuga's temple. The 
wrath of the Manitou was upon him who had 
returned evil for good. For many suns and 
moons Calanuga wandered the forest, sleep 
never touching his eyes. One morning the 
young men found him at the foot of the trail 
that leads to Sunken Island, an arrow deep in 
his forehead. The blood spot of the white drake 
had been wiped out I" 

"Thus was the prophecy of the medicine men 
fulfilled, Clint," remarked the incredulous 
"Scout" Carson. "I'm glad I didn't shoot the 
white duck to-day." 

The practical Sheriff quietly observed in his 
fine voice: "The wicked Cally was probably 



;8 WILD GINGER 

nailed by somebody that owed him for a pair of 
moccasins, or by the feller who thought Cally 
might get Candydeega away from him bye an' 
bye. Tve always noticed that our enemies are 
always ready to help carry out a prophecy of 
bad luck for us." 

Reverting to Clint's clever decoys, the Sheriff 
went on: "Your live decoy, MoU, is about as 
valuable as Deacon Bronson's hen. The old 
deacon was going in to milk one fall, night when 
a hen flew against the lantern he was carrying, 
broke it, and set fire to the bam. The building 
was a rickety bunch of beams and clapboards, 
and it, with the ten tons of hay, wasn't worth 
over $350; but the deacon collected $495.91 in- 
surance from the mutual company. Silas Hum- 
phrey, secretary of the Mutual Company, drove 
by Bronson's house shortly after the settlement, 
and, spying the deacon about to slip around the 
house, hailed him. The deacon came down to 
the gate slowly, 'cause he suspicioned the secre- 
tary knew he had beat the insurance company 
bad. 'Well, deacon,' says Humphrey, 'I've come 
fer a settin' of eggs from the hen that set your 
ole bam afire.' Bronson flared up, and spit out : 
'Col sam ye, ye can't have 'em I' 

" 'Why can't I have a settin' — I'll pay you well 
for eggs from sich a mighty valubul chicken, I 
vow. Deacon.' 

*' 'Ye can't, 'cause she was burned in the bara, 
an' her eggs with her,' snapped the now mighty 
mad deacon. 

"'Waal, deacon,' drawled old Humphrey, 7 
^pase ye'll give her a monument, won't yef * " 



•THE TRAPPERS I.AST SHOT," 



THE NEW TOBK 

PUBLIC UBRARY 



ASTOR, LENOX AND 
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 



WILD GINGER 79 

"That hen, like Moll," laughed Qint, "was a 
regular 'bonzanna/ as the boatmaker down to 
Montezuma calls my duck." 

"But did you see the sheriff unload his arsenal 
this afternoon at a big flock? He worked like 
one of Dewey's gunners at Manilla, and when 
the smoke cleared away he picked up six 'fish 
duck,' hooded mergansers, which, when cooked, 
would stink a dog out of a tanyard." 

The sheriff looked at the judge, who had 
made the fling, with mock disgust, replying: 
"When the birds are comin' in, you can't stop 
to ask them for their pedigree. I thought they 
were redheads, the red-hot way they bounced 
down on my decoys. When you build your blind 
and set in it, you're liable to get everything 
down to nothin'. My little girl said the other 
day she read in the paper that Mrs. So-and-so 
had advertised for a girl, but the next day a boy 
came. So with your decoy advertisement for 
ducks — you expect mallards but often git saw- 
biUs." 

"But how about the Geneva clubman who said 
you were on his preserve and ordered you out, 
sheriff?" questioned Stickwell. 

"Why," responded the ready Falstaff, "I told 
him his line fences seemed to be all under wa- 
ter, an' I gave him a look that made him witiier 
away about four pounds." 

"On top of that impudence, sheriff, you 
knocked down a canvasback that your Geneva 
friend had emptied two barrels at," remarked 
the judge. 

"Well, our clubman claimed he had {hit a 



8o WILD GINGER 

pound of shot into him, but as the slate-backed 
bird kept on going, I added just enough to his 
weight to bring him out of the firmamint/' 
laughed John. He continued: 'That canvas- 
bade was as tough as a bad nigger who was 
headin' a riot up on the canal above Pendleton. 
The contractor who was deepening the canal 
hired a lot of Pollocks, Dagoes, and Coons, and 
he couldn't do nothin' with them after they got 
their first week's pay and spent it for Tonawanda 
whisky. The second Monday mornin' they 
owned the whole state ditch and the contractor 
sent for the sheriff. It was a good snipe day, so 
I loaded with number nines, as usual. When 
I showed up without any possey, as the strikers 
expected, they began to laugh at me an' throw 
rocks. Their big nigger leader fired two at me, 
an' when one bounded an' struck my knee I re- 
spectfully requested him to leave the State's 
quarry alone. Just as he was picking up an- 
other bowlder, I let go. That coon yelled so 
you could hear him to Gasport, twenty miles 
away. I took him to the jail. The county doc- 
tor said I had replaced the riot in his head with 
about thirty fine shot. Each spot where the shot 
struck swelled up to the size of a marble, so that 
his cokynut looked like a giant pineapple. So I 
know that one animal will carry off more shot 
than a duck; that's a bad nigger." 

After the supper dishes had been cleared away, 
pipes and cigars were called into requisition. 
Qint came in from attending to his evening 
chores, remarking that the sky had again 
clouded over and that a "duck storm for to- 



WILD GINGER 8i 

morrow" was on the way. Presently rain began 
to dash ^[ainst the windows. The hunters set* 
tkd back to an evening of unalloyed enjoyment 
in the further recital of the day's incidents and 
predictions of the morrow's sports. The host 
brought out a typical Central New York jug of 
russet cider, which he declared was "reenforced 
with a touch of weather-proof.'' 

"Oh, I see," drawled the sheriff, "it's as good 
as la3rin' behind a st<Hie fence in a March rain 
watchin' for geese, an' you don't care if the 
game shows up or not, eh?" 

The glasses were of the regulation hospitable 
size. George Washington W3mne looked at 
them, and presently said: "This reminds me of 
an experience a party of us had up in Georgian 
Bay country. We failed to get the guides we 
had arranged for and were compelled to take 
three Indians that we picked up while cruising 
on our own book. Two of them were pretty 
tough-looking customers. As practical guides, 
however, they proved all right. After a success- 
ful day's hunt we called up the Indians before 
retiring to give them a little niehtcap. Dan 
Bring poured out a large tumblerful of whisky 
and handed it to the diief, expecting that he 
would divide it with his comrades. The chief 
grasped the glass solemnly, poured the contents 
into the wonderful opening in his face, smacked 
his lips, and remarked with approval : 'Big drink 
for big Injun.' Of course, Dan could show no 
discrimination, and had to give the other two 
the same portion, although it contained about 
five ordinary American bar drinks. We had two 



82 WILD GINGER 

tenderfeet with us, and they admitted the next 
morning, with haggard faces that corroborated 
their statement, that they had lain awake all 
night expecting that the drunken Indians would 
massacre them if they went to sleep." 

"Pshaw! Those fellers would be scared to 
death if a pussy cat jumped at them in the 
dark," squeaked the big sheriff merrily. "Like 
old Jimmy Jeffery on the Coomer Road, I guess 
the old man had heart disease. Annyhow, the 
household tabby jumped off the bed at him as 
he was going into the bedroom one evening, 
and he gave one yell an' it was all over. The 
hired man, Tim Murphy, ran for a doctor, but 
he was beyond mortal aid. He heard the doctor 
murmuring something about angina pectoris as 
he bent over his employer, and Tim went out to 
tell the neighbors about the dreadful case. He 
informed them : 'Misther Jeffery died of angora 
pectoris. I tell ye thim docthors don't know it 
allr-4he cat that killed the owld man was a Mci- 
teese an' not angora f" 

"Yes, as a matter of fact," added Mix, when 
the laughter had subsided, "Wynne didn't give 
the sequel which showed that the tenderfeet had 
been frightened at nothing; the bucks went to 
sleep after their 'liquid shock' and slept until 
daybreak as peacefully as babes." 

"We had a similar experience up in British 
Columbia," Mix went on. "Charley Rice, an 
Eastern editor who went West and became rich 
by the rise in value of a tract of redwood tim- 
ber he had bought, invited a party of old friends 
from York State to be his guests. Charley had 



WILD GINGER 83 

a house boat anchored at Fairhaven, 00 Puget 
Sound, and gave us a magnificent time, trolling 
for s^dmon, trout fishing, and duck shooting. 
He was not satisfied with what he a>uld do for 
us in Washington waters and forest, which 
seemed a paradise to the hunters of the depleted 
East, but insisted on a trip up the British Co- 
lumbia coast. We consented to make the tour. 
Charley sent for^an Indian, who, he said, was a 
particular friend of his. Joe Henry, a half- 
breed, with a Siwash for a mother, responded 
to the summons, leaving his farm on the out- 
skirts of Fairhaven, now Bellingham, as 
promptly as if he had received the emergency 
wampum from his chief. "Comox" Joe wasn't a 
particularly handsome man to look at, but when 
Charley introduced us as friends of his from the 
East, his face lighted up with a gracious smile 
which was the sign, as it turned out, of many 
kindnesses at his hands while in the wilderness. 
Before leaving Fairhaven for the north coast 
we learned "Comox" Joe's story, and the secret 
of his love for Charley Rice. Joe had killed a 
white man. His trial was about due when Char- 
ley arrived in Fairhaven. The red man had no 
money to hire an attorney, and an indifferent 
practitioner had been assigned by the court to 
the defence. In fact, he was lucky even to get 
a trial by a regular tribunal of justice, because 
in the far West the killing of a white by an 
Indian usually meant a necktie party on ex- 
tremely short notice. The Eastern editor was 
interested to learn the details of the murder. As 



84 WILD GINGER 

a result of his inquiries, he secured the best law- 
yer in town to defend Joe. 

''Joe had bought at a nominal sum a quarter- 
section of land near Fairhaven. Near him lived 
a notorious bully, whose revolver, it is said, 
was ever ready to intimidate the weak and those 
who quailed before him. It was related to Char- 
ley that on two occasions the white man had 
encroached on Joe's property by moving the 
line fence. The Indian caught him at it the 
third time, and sententiously warned him that if 
he moved the stakes again his next move would 
be to the white man's burying ground. The 
'mover of landmarks' merely laughed at the In- 
dian, and, it seems, went out next morning to 
cut off another plump acre. Joe, who could 
knock over a buck on the jump at seventy-five 
yards with rarely a miss, saw the trespasser at 
work from his cabin door. Without a word he 
stepped to the gun rack, took down his 38- 
calibre Winchester, and went down to the road. 
It was a good 250 yards to the fence where the 
land robber was at work. Joe told the story to 
the jury in short, sullen sentences, his hatred of 
the white oppressor, inherited from his mother, 
glowing in his coal-black eyes. His father had 
sent him to school several winters, and he was 
abore the average in intelligence. This educa- 
tion, back of the natural eloquence of the red 
man, made his testimony something that a novel- 
ist with plenty of space and genius would love 
to dwell upon. When the prosecutor asked him 
on cross-examination, if he did not 'deliberately, 
and with intent to kill, shoot at your neighbor?* 



WILD GINGER 85 

Joe swq)t away the conventional bounds of court 
rules. Rising in the witness box, like Red 
Jacket summoning the tribes to resist white ag- 
gression, Joe waved his own attorney aside : 

" 'Deliberately ?* " said Joe, repeating the 
prosecutor's word. 'No, not deliberately. When 
a man with Indian blood in his veins sees a 
robber at his door he does not deliberate — ^he 
kills at once. 'With intent to kill?* With as 
much intent as I would shoot at a grizzly bear 
carrying off my child. This land belonged to 
our people long before any of your blood came 
to see the sun dip himself in the red waters of 
the Pacific. But I, the descendant of a long line 
of chiefs, had to buy back some of my own fa- 
therms acres with money I earned doing slave 
work for the very men who robbed my father's 
fathers of this same land long years ago! We 
are the children of this soil. I avenge the rob- 
bery as I would the taking of my parents away 
from me by force. In a just cause, a Siwash 
tradition tells us, the arrow cannot miss its 
mark. I shot but once. The oppressor, the 
thief is dead. I have done. Do with me as you 
will, but remember that the wrongs we have 
suffered cannot be righted by the wrong you 
would do me if you took my life. Such a ver- 
dict would rise up when the sun rises and would 
never set when the sun sets; it would rise when 
the wind rose, but it would not die when the 
wind died; it would grow as the moon grew, 
but it would not wane when the moon waned; 
it would shine when the stars shone, but would 
not fade when the stars faded; it would swell 



86 WILD GINGER 

with the flood tide, but would not ebb with the 
ebb tide — ever present would be such a verdict 
to plague you I' 

"His eloquence was irresistible. Judge, jury, 
and attorneys seemed fascinated by ttie fiery 
eyes, the earnest face, the dramatic gestures of 
the Indian who had been, until he spoke, under 
the shadow of the gallows. The prosecuting at- 
torney had the good sense not to provoke an- 
other outburst with any more questions, and 
motioned to the court that he wished no more 
of the witness. Joe's attorney displayed equal 
sagacity when he informed the court that the 
defence was closed and that the defendant had 
made all the address to the jury that would be 
made in favor of acquittal. The jury set the 
Indian free without leaving their seats. 

"Before leaving Fairhaven, somebody who 
wanted to have a little fun with the tenderfeet 
from York State, gave the friendly tip that our 
guide had killed a white man, that he was a 
bad man to provoke when drunk, winding up 
with the advice not to give Joe whisky. This 
impressed some of our party deeply, and the 
man in charge of the commissary proceeded to 
carry out the counsel as to cutting off the guide's 
liquor supply before we left Vancouver on the 
trip up the coast. 

"Joe proved a handy man in every emergency. 
After a hard day's work, a long tramp, or an 
exhausting paddle, I took pains to see that the 
guide got a little stimulant that does not ccxne 
amiss for a weary voyageur. I could see that 
he appreciated the confidence thus placed in him 



WILD GINGER 87 

even more than the liquor, of which he was fond, 
and he never asked for a second glass. 

''In an encounter with drunken miners at 
Lund, British Columbia; in a storm which we 
weathered in a small, open boat while salmon 
fishing; in a night spent away from camp in the 
depths of the great forest because we had lost 
our way ; in a scrap with a cinnamon bear — and 
on occasions almost too numerous to mention, 
Joe was there, and a never-failing help in 
trouble. Several times we went in pursuit of the 
sea leopard, a species of seal, but were not suc- 
cessful in killing one. Before we said good-by 
at Fairhaven on the return eastward, Joe whis- 
pered that he intended to send my wife a sea- 
leopard skin for a Christmas present. Christmas 
came, and with it a letter saying that he had 
gone after the promised skin, but the weather 
was wrong and he had failed. The second 
Christmas business kept him in Seattle. But on 
the third Christmas along came the sea-leopard 
skin, a magnificent specimen, golden mahogany 
with black spots, nearly six feet in length, and 
to-day it is one of the proudest relics in my den 
at hcMne. Joe naively wrote: *I could kept my 
promise the first Christmas by buying skin in 
Seattle — I'm gettin' quite rich now here; but I 
thought you'd like it more if your old guide 
killed the game for you himself — once again 
Here's how. Joe T ** 



88 WILD GINGER 



WILD GINGER, WOOD SORREL, AND 

SWEET CICELY. 

A SPRING RAMBLE IN THE BERKSHIRE^— ^^fif. 

IV. 

Ah, why 
Should we, in the world's riper years, neglect 
God's ancient sanctuaries, and adore 
Only among the crowd, and under roofs 
That our frail hands have raised ? Let me, at least, 
Here, in the shadow of this aged wood. 
Offer one hymn — thrice happy, if it find 
Acceptance in his ear. 

— Bryant's Forest Hymn. 

As our automobile darted from "The Hopper" 
of Mount Greylock into the Green River valley 
road and came to rest for a good-night look at 
the elevating view, the chimes in the Williams 
College gymnasium tower could be beard faintly 
pealing the hour of seven. The rumble of the 
machine jarred upon the senses as rudely as if 
a grind-organ man had stepped from the re- 
cesses of Flora's Glen, in this soulful and sub- 
lime land of Bryant, and had attempted to play 
an accompaniment to the "Forest Hynm." 

"The hum of this modem chariot overwhelms 
the old poetic associations," said Mix, with 
something almost resembling a growl. 

"Oh, well," laughed Whipple, our Yankee 



THE NEW TORE 

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ASTOR, LENOX AND 
WIDEN FOUNDATIONS 



WILD GINGER 89 

host, "there was romance, of course, to hig your 
rod and trout five miles after a long day on the 
streams, while 

'All dim in haze the mountains. lay. 
With dimmer vales between' ; 

but when our old poet collegian of Williams' 
youthful days insists on putting five miles of his 
i 'dimmer vales' between me and dinner I'm al- 

mighty tfiankful for my unmusical chariot." 

"So say we all of us," sang Professor Wylde, 
our old oolite baseball catcher, and all joined 
in the chorus. 

"I could eat a set of Bryant bound in sheep,'' 
sighed the midget voice of the giant sheriff from 
Niagara. "If Greylock is only 3535 feet high, 
I could put eighteen inches of roast beef on 
top of it and get away with it nicely." 

Whipple had written that he still gratefully 
remembered the class-cup presentation which 
had fallen to the lot of Mix, and urged his old 
classmate to bring a party of friends from Ni- 
agara for a spring ramble in the Berkshires. 
l^ck in the eighties we used to whip the trout 
streams together in the shadow of Greylock, 
trudging back to college after a blissful day. 
"Whip" promised to whirl us from one favorite 
brook to another in his three-seated touring car. 
"It will be less romantic than the old way," he 
explained, 'T>ut we'll see more of the country in 
a given time." So, five of the Niap^ara Nature 
Lovers accepted the alluring invitation. 

Ashford Brook, Haystack Meadow Brook, 



90 WILD GINGER 

Hopper Brook, and other mountain-bom 
streams of '^storied or unsung loveliness/' that 
brought down from the heights the sparkle of 
a sunlight the valleys never know, to mingle it 
with the moss-edged shadows, in a clare-obscure 
no painter could mimic, were visited with the 
eager anticipations that recollections of success- 
ful angling multiply. The speckled descendants 
of the famous beauties we had brought to creel 
in the years agone were there, but l£ey showed 
the dwarfed deterioration of encroaching civil- 
ization. A dozen half-pounders were landed, 
however^ and in an historic pool 'neath the shad- 
ows of Greylock one of the party proudly fought 
out a pretty contest with a valiant and mag- 
nificently colored fontinalis that ran several 
ounces over the pound. 

When Tatlock remarked that the trout in the 
Berkshire brooks were not what they used to 
be. Judge Hockey said: "Oh, it's much like 
mother's bread — the more appreciative eyes and 
stomach of youth are endorsed by the exag- 
gerating recollections of later years, so that 
nothing is quite so good as it used to be." 

Professor Wylde, however, insisted up apol- 
ogizing for the little rivers of the glens which 
that day had failed to show anything much better 
than sixteen ounces in the catch. "But you re- 
member," said he consolingly, "what Dame July- 
ana Bemers, Prioress of St. Albans, said in her 
piquant 'Treatyse of Fyssynge' : The Angler atte 
the leest, hath his holsom walke, a swete ayre of 
the swete savoure of the mede floures, that 
makyth him hungry; he hereth the melodyous 



WILD GINGER 91 

armony of fowles; whyche me seemeth better 
than alle the noyse of the houndys, the blaste 
of homys, and the scrye of foulis, that hunters, 
fawkeners, and fowlers can make.' Then comes 
the wcnnan's inevitable postscript, which, we 
truthful fishermen will confess, is more impor- 
tant than what she said in the foregoing: 'And 
if the angler take fysshe; surely, thenne, is there 
noo man merrier than he is in his spyryte' " 

"We certainly have had both in blessed abun- 
dance," declared District Attorney Stickwell of 
Niagara enthusiastically. "I have seen many ro- 
mantic and inspiring scenes, but none to equal 
these hills and valleys when once you have 
reached their heart, as only the eager trout fish- 
erman can. No wonder your great Berkshire 
poet could look upon the prospect of death with 
absolute composure after communion with na- 
ture in the kindly, sympathetic, and helpful "visi- 
ble forms" which she exhibits here, and which 
inspired Bryant to the poetic heights and depths 
of Thanatopsis, the poem, I am told, he com- 
posed on a sunny slope of Flora's Glen yonder." 

"Here we have valleys deep as the grave and 
mountains that reach to heaven," remarked Mix ; 
"and both are parts of the observer's harmonious 
universe, one incomplete without the other — ^no 
height without its depth. *Nor couldst thou wish 
couch more magnificent' on which to lie 'down 
to pleasant dreams.' " 

Whip's touring car was regulated to skim 
over the smooth, graveled New England road at 
a leisurely, even pace, thus allowing the tourists 
to drink in the beauty of the landscape, shifting 



92 WILD GINGER 

with kaleidoscopic tints under the varying lights 
of a mountain sunset. On the kingly crown of 
Greylock the sun was still shining. The Taconic 
ranges to the west ran the chromatic scale of 
color music, the lower hilltops touching the deep- 
est purple tones, while the loftier peaks ran close 
to the aureolar gold of direct sunlight rays. It 
was one of nature's symphonies^ but reaching the 
soul through the sense of sight instead of 
through the sense of hearing. 

''Ah, these mountains have inspired more than 
one poet/' said Mix, with his eyes fixed on the 
succession of beautiful pictures that was unfold- 
ing constantly. Many songs have there been 
since Bryant's day, but Washington Gladden, of 
the class of fifty-six, has the honor of composing 
the lyric laureate of Williams and her moun- 
tains." 

"Sing it, an' I'll foUow with 'My Buck Billy 
Goat,' " chimed in the sheriff merrily, and with 
a nod of encouragement. Professor Wylde 
started the air energetically, his lungs full of the 
ozone and the spirit of the vigorous region ; and 
immediately the four parts of the college song 
were being sustained quite creditably: 

Oh, proudly rise the Monarchs of our Mountain Land 
With their kingly forest robes to the sky, 

Where alma mater dwelleth with her chosen band, 
And the peaceful river floweth gently by. 

Chorus. 

The Mountains, the Mountains, we greet them with a 

song, 
Whose echoes resounding, the woodland heights along. 



THE NEW YORK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



ASTOR, LENOX AND 

TILDEN FOCNDATIONS 

R L 



WILD GINGER 93 

SimXi mingte widi anthems that winds and fotmtauia 

sing, 
Till hill and valley gaily, gaily ring. 

As the chorus swelled in the crescendo of ex- 
ultation, Whipple checked the monotonous ulula- 
tions of the auto, which, dull, senseless thing 
though it was, seemed inspirited by the har- 
mony to keep time to the music's rhythm. On a 
rustic bridge over Green River we halted, listen- 
ing in rapture to the softened and dying echoes 
"resounding, the woodland heights along." 
Then, without further invitation, as if the 
"Monarchs of our Mountain Land" were await- 
ing for their full tribute, we rose in our seats, 
and, heads uncovered, as before majesty, sang 
proudly : 

The snows of winter crown them with a crystal crown, 
And the silver clouds of summer 'round them cling; 

The autumn lets its mantle flow in richness down, 
And they revel in the garniture of spring. 

Beneath those peaceful shadows may old Williams stand 
Till hill and valley never more shall be; 

The honor and the glory of our Mountain Land, 
And the dwelling of die gallant and the free. 

On we went again, at a pace "twenty minutes 
late for supper and the cook's got her bonnet 
on." Like a gargoyle loosened from crag- 
crowning battlements, our lynx-headed racer 
plunged from the summit of Bear Hill, broke 
through a narrow defile, and whirled almost into 
the circular Williamstown valley's centre before 
the brain had time to register the change of 



94 WILD GINGER 

locality. In front of us lo(Hned the Dome, the 
giant sentinel of the Vermont Green Guards ; on 
Sie west towered the rugged Outposts of New 
York; on the east stood the frowning Battle- 
ments of Hoosac ; and behind rose the seemingly 
unconquerable Parapets of Greylock and his 
liegemen. At the piney, unguiform feet of the 
Northern watchmen idled the placid Hoosac 
River. Like all who wandered into that mar- 
velously enchanting valley, the happy stream, al- 
though wondering at what point in the encircling 
wall it had gained entrance, had no longing to 
retrace its steps to the point of ingress and no 
desire to hasten in search of a place of egress. 
This is the enchanted circle where earthly con- 
tentment attains the heights and sounds the 
depths of perfect peace. 

Over the gray-blue rim of the mountain-in- 
dented horizon came the moon, placing the il- 
luminated seal of serenity upon a scene whose 
awesome beauty silences even ' a serenade in 
honor of the Queen of Night. In the midst of that 
broad valley, on a tableland that lifted them to- 
ward the summits of the encircling hills, stood 
the glistening granites and marbles of Williams' 
classic halls. Around them floated their own 
color, the "Royal Purple," woven into a hazy, 
aerial streamer by the loving hands of the dying 
day, the mingled red of the setting sun and blue 
of the promised mom. 

Up the broad, parklike street we glided, pass- 
ing under the boughs of the historic elms, the 
journey through the lofty archway ending at the 
Taconic Inn. 



WILD GINGER 95 

The Balsam Dming Room, overlooking the 
South Valley, was in readiness for the hungry 
trout fishermen. But at an exclamation of pleas* 
ure from Stickwell, who was standing by an 
open window, the merry party turned from the 
well-appointed table to share his enjoyment. A 
mist filled the valley. Before the spectators 
stretched a silvery sea, bordered by illuminated 
mountains that rose above the white vapors of 
the lowlands. Here and there the peaks of hills 
in the midst of the phantom ocean peeped 
through, presenting the appearance of heavenly 
argosies, guided by the Pleiades that hung like a 
flashing pharos over yon distant summit cape, 
all sailing in search of the lost Alcyone. 

"Line up, rushers!" commanded Whipple, in 
the tone of a football coach, as he made for the 
table. In the centre was a fragrant mass of 
trailing arbutus and beside each plate a sprig of 
the delicate blossoms. 

"If he. weren't famished we'd command Mix 
to repeat the verses he loved so well in his 
sophomore days," remarked Professor Wylde. 
"Arbutus was the theme." 

"Wait till we finish the soup," volunteered the 
sheriff, "and then perhaps I can stand it ; but I'd 
like something more substantial before guaran- 
teeing myself against it." 

"Just catch that exquisite odor, and you can 
support the worst rhyming ever rung in on long- 
suffering friends," said the judge, raising the 
decorated lapel of his coat to his nostrils. 

"Well, you needn't sing 'Coax Me,' " re- 



96 WILD GINGER 

sponded Mix, "because I know that moonlight 
has made you all sentimental: 

Love is like arbutus blooming 
'Neath the leaves, yet still perfuming 
All the air. 

Though you cannot see it growing, 
Yet you know from perfume blowing 
It is there. 

Ofttimes love, its deep abiding, 
'Neath the heart is slyly hiding 
Unaware ; 

Yet, jrou know from soft eyes' glances. 
And the light that in them dances, 
It is there. 

*'Oh, that glanced and never touched me," 
condescendingly commented Falstaff. "This is 
a great day, and our Yankee friends have prom- 
ised even better to-morrow. I feel like Dan 
Wurtz, who keeps a Falls' view restaurant at 
Niagara. Dan was standing before his place one 
bright morning, rubbing his hands and smiling 
to himself, when a friend came up behind him, 
and, slapping him on the shoulder, shouted: 
'Well, Dan, you seem to be well satisfied with 
yourself. What makes you so happy? Dan 
wheeled on him with a smile as broad as the 
Cave of the Winds, answering right off the reel : 
*Vell, Chake, ef biznees vill be as goot last veek 
as it vas next — ^by Chiminey Cripes I hope so !' " 

In the midst of the laughter Judge Hockey 
tried to convince the party that the sheriff had 
given an Irishman's version of a Dutchman's 



WILD GINGER 97 

English, but Falstaff insisted that he quoted the 
Teuton verbatim. Addressing himself to the de- 
lidously cooked fish, the judge continued : "You 
recall that in the famous Banquets of Plutarch, 
Xenephon, and Plato, no reference is made to 
the menu. That was probably because brook 
trout were not served." 

That sentiment, so complimentary to the spec- 
kled beauties, was endorsed with hearty ac- 
claim. 

Professor Wylde demonstrated that he had not 
delved among the classics in vain, because he 
talked most entertainingly of historic anglers, 
how Trajan fished zealously and ate his day's 
catch in epicurean style; how Antony and Qe- 
opatra held angling to be a most pleasant recrea- 
tion, with the "seductive Egyptian finally land- 
ing the 'sucker' in rather unsportsmanlike style, 
because we are told she set nets for him." Com- 
ing down to more recent times. Doctor "Gile" 
told about a fishing trip one of his Connecticut 
ancestors had enjoyed with Daniel Webster, 
angling for salmon in the Kennebec. They were 
entertained in one of the prominent towns of 
Maine by one of the State's great men. In 
those days Maine had not shown such a great 
trend toward prohibition as in more recent years, 
and the host, inviting in a few cronies, begged 
them to maintain the honor of the "Kennebec 
Klub" in regard to convivial matters. After the 
day's sport on the river, the feast began at sun- 
down, and, in accordance with strict orders, the 
glasses of the visitors were never allowed to 
stand empty. Along about eleven o'clock, when 



98 WILD GINGER 

the mayor of the town had begun to show signs 
of wear, the judge was actually drqwsy, and the 
court clerk oblivious to his surroundings, there 
arose a great shout outdoors. Webster asked 
the nature of the demonstration, and the host 
informed him that it was the people of Maine 
come to pay their respects to the great states- 
man from Massachusetts, but that the rabble 
should not interrupt the humble festivities then 
in progress. Webster demurred, declaring that 
in his State they did not do things that way, 
and insisted that he would go and acknowledge 
the courtesy extended by the people of Maine. 
Asking for and receiving a tumblerful of brandy, 
he drank it, and, escorted by the host and the 
gentleman from Connecticut to the balcony of 
the hotel, the statesman from Massachusetts 
presented himself. To the cheers Webster made 
a profound bow, so low that his head rested on 
the railing. There the great dome remained, 
to Ihe embarrassment of the host and the per- 
plexity of the assembled people, until Webster 
whispered to his friends, "Raise up my head." 
They obeyed his command and straightening 
himself to his full height the great orator made 
a speech that so<»i sent hats flyii^ in the air 
in wildest enthusiasm. Finally, bidding his be- 
loved fellow citizens a fond good night, Webster 
turned to his friends and said, "Now we have 
paid our respects to the people of Maine, lefs 
go back and make a night of it" 

With the lighting of the cigars, the conversa- 
tion glided into a more serious vein for a space. 
Duall in his pleasant Southern drawl observed^ 



WILD GINGER 99 

''It must have been something of an inspiration 
that induced the educational pioneers to locate 
a college in a spot as isolated as Williamstown 
was in the eighteenth century — in fact, even to- 
day, with its railway, these mountain barriers 
seem to set it apart from the workaday, com- 
monplace world, leaving it to devote itself to 
the arts and belles-lettres." 

"You are right, Mr. Duall," ejaculated Prof. 
Wylde. "The tendency in the old days was to 
locate institutions of this kind in the most beaten 
tracks of civilization, but Colonel Ephraim Wil- 
liams, a soldier, patriot, and patron of education, 
came to love this beautiful valley, as he became 
acquainted with every peak and glen during his 
sojourn at Fort Massachusetts, which was lo- 
cated between here and North Adams. He had 
traveled much in Europe and was himself a 
gentleman of polite learning, versed in the grace- 
ful manners of his times and in the ways of 
the best society, but as you say, his love of 
nature and his knowledge of what the love of 
the great out-of-doors will do for man inspired 
him to make a will, on the eve of his departure 
for Lake George at the head of a regiment 
in the French and > Indian war, providing for 
the establishment of a free school at Williams- 
town. So it is true that its very isolation 
bronght a college to Williamstown in seventeeen 
ninety-three. It is also undoubtedly true that 
unfettered nature had much to do with the for- 
mation of such characters as Bryant, Mark Hop- 
kins, and James A. Garfield." 

"It is without question," declared Mix, "the 



39^110BB 



100 WILD GINGER 

one college in the United States that nestles 
to-day 'near to nature's heart.' And so, the 
greater the pity and the shame that the woods- 
men vandals have been permitted to desecrate 
some of the historic woodland slopes in this re- 
gion." 

''Massachusetts has some splendid forest laws 
and its forestry is being improved yearly, so 
that we hope to be a good example to our sis- 
ter states in the 'science and art of forming 
and cultivating forests; the management of 
growing timber,' as our state forester defines 
forestry. We have recently enacted a law pro- 
viding for 'town forests' under the general su- 
pervision of the state, enabling towns to pur- 
chase and preserve forest tracts. We can afford 
to devote more time and money to this work 
from the fact that Massachusetts has two mil- 
lion six hundred and eighty-eight acres, or fifty 
per cent, of the area of the commonwealth, in 
woodlands. It is a noble heritage, and thank 
God we have not begun too late to cherish it. 
One great wrong against forests is unfair meth- 
ods of taxation. This is being rapidly reme- 
died in Massachusetts. The commonwealth is 
undertaking to cooperate with the land owners 
in the preservation and development of forests 
and we hope soon to reach an ideal condition 
which shall subserve both the material and aes- 
thetic welfare of our people in that regard." 

"The federal bureau of forestry is doing a 
gfrand work, too," said Mix. "Secretary Wilson 
well says, 'forestry is not a local question. It 
is as wide as American jurisdiction. It is not 



WILD GINGER loi 

a class question; it affects everybody/ He is 
right and I should like to see forestry and ar- 
boriculture included in the curriculum of every 
institution of higher education in the land. 
When I come back and see the devastating evi- 
dences of the woodman's improvident ax in 
these glorious hills, I would feel as lachrymose 
as Dr. Edward Everett Hale under similar cir- 
cumstances, were I not prompted by indigna- 
tion to draw a bead on the first indiscriminating 
lumberman I met. Dr. Hale said : 'I have slept 
under pine trees which were high, tall, and 
beautiful when North America was discovered. 
I went through the same region two years ago 
with a friend and found my pine trees all gone 
and sumach and blackberry bushes in their 
places. It makes a man cry to see it' " 

"Oh, I agree with you, that nine out of every 
ten lumbermen ought to be drawn and quar- 
tered," sighed the sheriff, with mock sternness, 
"but you complain as bad as old Mammy Gru- 
ber down on the Coomer road. During the 
coal strike her old man cut down a stunted and 
twisted elm near the barn. One day they had 
company and the old lady wanted to indulge her 
complaining spirit and at the same time pre- 
tend that she was awful aesthetic, as you call 
it. Says she, 'Pa, thet elem was a protector of 
the landscup — it shet off the rear view of the 
ole barnyard. Jes to lose thet ole tree land- 
mark makes my head ache till my hairpins fall 
outf " 

That launched the stories once more — ^the 
strictly true variety, remember. Dr. "Gile" in- 



I02 WILD GINGER 

formed the guests from Niagara that on the 
morFow, after a trip to the summit of Grey- 
kx:k, they were to be whirled down the Adams 
valley to the famous Haystack Meadow brook, 
the haunt of the most highly educated trout in 
New England. The hrook itself had a romance 
of its own, independent of the Indian tore that 
still hangs over the smiling vale through which 
it meanders. At the ck>se of the Mexican war, 
a gaibnt soldier, a masi of large means, wedded 
offe of the beHes of Pittsfield. The story runs 
(hat she was very fond of the South WilUams- 
town valley and vicinity, and, to lulknor her, the 
bridegroom bought a large tract of land, tsJcing 
in a mile of the crystal brook. He built a 
beautiful sununer cottage on its banks. The en- 
chanting stream flowed close to the front por- 
tico. So well did it love the beautiful, flower- 
decked meadow, that it took the mead into its 
fcmd embrace at a hundred places, kissii^ the 
alders, daisies, painted cups, and cardinal flow- 
ers wherever it could catch them leaning close 
to its dimpled face; and then, as if knowing 
that the bride on the porch had se^i it all, the 
brook, with a musical clamor to cover its con- 
fusion, leaped over a miniature precipice and 
ran to the shelter of the woods, disappearing 
beyond a granite bowlder far down the blushing 
vista. During the day the songs of the hay- 
makers came from the fields. At nigbt the 
wtiippoorwills joined their plaintive notes to 
the merrier treble of the brook. The honeymoon 
lasted three summer moons and then the bride 
suddenly sickened and died. Her lover hus- 



m NKW TOBK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



ASTOR, LENOX AND 

TILD£N FOUNDATIONS 

R L 



WILD GINGER 103 

band disappeared after the funeral, leaving a 
brief note to his overseer that everything on 
Meontain Meadow Farm should remain just as 
it was» except for the sale of the stock, until 
further instructions. The additional orders 
never came and to this day Mountain Brook 
Farm remains one of New England's most pic- 
turesque "abandoned farms." After a half cen- 
tury die mouldering monuments of the haystacks 
scattered through the long brook meadow con- 
front the angler at every bend, the musty timo- 
thy and storm-beaten daisies mournfully remind- 
i^ one that "all flesh is as grass." 

'This ^eerns to be a region of haystacks/' re- 
marked Judge Hockey. "You have here in Wil- 
liamstown a haystack monument, I am told, com- 
memorating a haystack prayer meeting held in 
eighteen hundred and six by a few students, at 
which the American board of foreign missions 
was founded." 

"At one of the famous pools of the haystack 
meadow brook," said Tatlock, "is the scene of 
an historical piscatorial contest, which some of 
us here have beard Prof. Bliss Perry describe 
most graphically. An English angler who had 
tried bh skill with unvarying success in most of 
the famous trout streams of Europe and America 
had learned of the widely praised prowess of 
a magnificent trout that reigned in the limpid 
depths of the haystack brook. Many fishermen 
had ra^sured strength and skill with the finny 
king of the Berkshire streams, but bad always 
been ignominiously defeated. The foreign vis- 
itor was entertained at one of the fraternity 



104 WILD GINGER 

houses here and he listened with unfeigned won- 
der to the tales about the educated Yankee 
trout. 'A deuced clever fish,' he'd exclaim at 
each veracious recital of the king's craft and 
erudition. He- was told that after years of ex- 
perience in breaking or rejecting artificial flies 
that trout was accustomed to flip his tail to 
his nose derisively at a 'royal coachman' which 
had too much scarlet in the body, at a 'katy 
did' which had the wrong shade of the Irish 
hue, or at a Tarmachene belle' which hadn't 
enough of the Orangeman's color. The Briton 
marveled still more, 'deucedly clevah trout,' when 
informed that this educated fish wouldn't rise to 
a 'grey palmer' when the season opened during 
lent; that he preferred a 'silver doctor' in the 
enervating dog days, and always rose to sa- 
lute a 'king of the waters' any time. But finally, 
the foreigner fingered his monocle and, smiling 
good naturedly, retorted to the chafiing, 'I say, 
me good fellows, I presume, ye knaw, that now 
you would have me believe that this monstrously 
educated speckled fellow would not stir a fin 
toward a "cow dung," me favorite fly, except, of 
course, at milking te-imeT 

"Well, they took him next day to the brook 
and he exhausted several leather volumes of 
tackle and a large vocabulary of versatile pro- 
fanity on that trout. The king saw through the 
English wiles readily, and like the Green Moun- 
tain boys, would not 'bite' at the British tricks. 
About sundown, on the day of the Englishman's 
defeat, one of the Yankee fishermen repaired 
to the king's pool. In a basket he had two 



WILD GINGER 105 

downy, newly-hatched chicks. With tender care 
he lashed the little innocents with silk thread 
to the body of a 3-O Sproat hodc. The strange 
bait was launched into the stream at the foot 
of the ripples that raced into the pool where 
the monster lay in eight feet of water. As the 
fluttering, struggling lure floated into the foam- 
flecked water, there was a submarine commo- 
tion and chicky disappeared. The angler struck 
at the psychological, or more scientifically, at 
the piscatorial moment, the hook went home and 
the battle was on. For the first time in his life 
the English spectator exhibited extreme agitation 
and he shouted from the opposite bank, 'If two 
against one were not unsportsmanlike, me boy, 
I'd coach you a bit!' Thirty minutes elapsed 
before the great king of the Berkshires was 
brought to net; — and, there he is in mounted 
splendor above yon mantel ! A prize for a royal 
angler, six pounds eight ounces when he came 
from his native haunts." 

"True as gospel," ejaculated Prof. Wylde, as 
the diners filed up to pay their respects to the 
magnificent trophy cm the wall. "I don't doubt 
the method of capture a bit," observed Stick- 
well. "On the upper Niagara a noted fisherman 
named Perry Mang observed that muscallonge 
that wouldn't notice his trolling spoons were 
leaping at swallows that dipped into the river in 
their flight. Mang trapped a lot of swallows 
and in one afternoon landed fourteen 'lunge, 
among them a forty-four pounder, on his winged 
bait." 

''I wonder what kind of landing nets were 



xo6 WILD GINGER 

used on tM trout and 'iungie/' broke in the 200- 
liasi voice of the sheriff. "I suppose it was a 
tennis net for the speckled chap and a canal 
dredge for the muskies — ^you fellers oughtn't to 
leave out interesting details. I went down to 
Rapids village one day in August to serve a 
summons on Jake Steller. Jdce and his men 
were in the hay field and I was about to do busi- 
ness when his ten-year-old came tearing up from 
the Tonawanda Creek yelHn*, *Pap, come once 
quick, something's got John's line an' is puUin' 
him into the crick.' Jake was on the hay rake, 
and wheelin' his horse, he started for the stream, 
we follerin' on the r\m. We got there in time 
to see some monstrous fish slashin' and chumin' 
the water like an Ohio side-wheeler makin' 
Pittsburgh with the water twenty-three feet 
above high mark foot of Wood street. The kid 
was dragged into the water up to his arm pits, 
but was holdin' on game. Jake lost no time, but 
drove right into the crick, swung a circle and 
just as he came over the strugglin' whale, 
dropped the boss rake ! *Gid-dap, Sam !' and he 
lashed the old boss into a gallop up the sloapin* 
bank, draggin' out a 'lunge longer than a four- 
teen-year-old boy raised in the high stump coun- 
try. Oh, that boss rake beat landin' nets and 
gaiffs forty ways !" 

''But that was three against one, and unsports- 
manlike, Tatlock's Englishman would protest," 
laughed Stickwell, above the roar of applause 
that greeted Falstaff's quick-fire recital. 

Banjos and guitars "that bore the tender sears 
of love's young days," as the class poet iUchard- 



WILD GINGER lojr 

3on once put it, were produced from dusty 
covers, and an imprc»nptu trpubador club was or- 
ganized. 

"You remember the night otu- club introduced 
the English boating song to an American au- 
dience in the Leland Opera House at Albany ?" 
queried Wylde. "Let's have 'Qiding Thro' the 
Rushes/ if we can recall the words — ^tbe tune 
we can never forget. 

The somewhat rusty voices mellowed as they 
proceeded with the song of infectious com- 
radery. The piccolo banjo carried the rhythmic 
waltz air, the other banjos represented the rip- 
pling music of the water rushing by the speed- 
ing boat and the deep bass of the guitars imi- 
tated the stroke of the oars : 

Gliding thro' the rashes, 

Hurrying down the stream. 
See how the daylight flushes, 

Stars begin to gleam. 
Nothing in life shall make any change 

That our life can Icnow; 
Nothing in life shall make any change 

That our life can know. 

Eaton may be more clever, 

Harrow may make more row ; 
But we'll all pull together, 

Steady from strc^e to bow. 
See how the wine glass flushes 

At supper on Bothney mead; 
See how the wine glass flushes 

At supper on Bothney mead. 

Drink we the sturdy sailor, 

Tossing on ocean wide. 
Drink we again still deeper, 



io8 WILD GINGER 

Sweetheart and bonny bride. 
Hark, how the boatswain whistles, 

"Aboard for the Baltic Main." 
Farewell, to thee, my love and my pride. 

Till we meet again. 

ft 

"Mix used to sing that to one of the nymphs 
of the hills, but he confided to me that he got 
his confounded grammar wrong and sang it 
'nothing can' instead of 'nothing shall change' 
and blamed if the educated miss didn't let a little 
change change her love for him," bubbled the ir- 
repressible Dr. Gile. 

"Let the past dead bury its dead," shouted 
"Faether" Glen. "I propose this toast, since we 
are pa3ring tribute to the ladies : 



M 



Pledge we sweethearts of the past, 

In a vintage of our Spring — 
G>bwebs that the bin amassed 

'Round the aging flagon cling; 
But the wine is clear and sweet, 

Mellowed by the dust of years, 
Warming hearts which Time would cheat 

Into quaffing naught but tears. 

"But the inconsistent old rascal can't let the 
past alone himself. I'll be more loyal to the 
present, and beg you to tinkle the glass valves 
of your hearts in response to this sentiment, 
responded Mix: 

"Drink, we, now our later loves. 

In a vintage of our prime — 
Bless us, don't forget the cloves. 

Tell us, too, what is the time ? 
Let the pledge be not too deep. 

Sweetheart wives awaiting us, 



ft 



THE NEW YORK 

PUtiLIC LIBRARY 



ASTOR, LENOX AND 

TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 

R L 



WILD GINGER 109 



Down on 'absent treatment* sweep : 
'Sign the pledge, yoo infamous!' 



>f 



The next morning it rained. But Williams- 
town^ the Queen of the Berkshires, hath all sea- 
sons for her own. She is lovely in the array 
of sunshine, imperial in the robe of silvery 
night, but to see her in her full beauty, as an 
impious sophomore once said — ^was it John J. 
Ingalls? — ^you must see her taking her bath. 

Anyhow, we remembered that Wordsworth 
made it a rule to take his airing every day and 
that he said he never consulted the weather and 
therefore never had to consult a physician. To 
reinforce Wordsworth, and a host of enthusias- 
tic anglers, Sir John Lubbock assures us that 
"It always seems to be raining harder than it 
really is when you look at the weather through 
the window." 

"Faether" Glen was stirring in the hotel cor- 
ridors early, singing to the tune of "A pretty 
blue-eyed maiden": 

"All nature's children feel the matin spring 
Of life reviving with reviving day." 

The sheriff rolled over and chirped that he 
would enjoy the matin song more if he hadn't 
joined in the vesper chorus so often. 

A breakfast of trout, bacon, and water cresses, 
was "the waterproof lining for cheerful stom- 
achs," as Duall blithely put it, and directly we 
seated ourselves in "Whip's" plunger. In the 
old days we used to make the summit of Grey- 
tock by an all-night journey, by way of South 



no WILD GINGER 

Williamstown Valley to reach the heights on 
"Mountain Day" for the ineflfable sunrise. Now 
there is a roadway to the top by the ncMtheast- 
em route and "Whip" distinguished himself by 
driving his car and its occupants to liie Grey* 
lock observatory without a dismotmt zt any 
point in the perilous incline. 

The rain had ceased. Day had asserted its 
supremacy over the vast territory that the eye 
commanded like a proud satrap. To the east 
seventy miles, Wachusett was still blushing un- 
der the timid kiss of Aurora. Farther to the 
south, Mount Tom glowed tmder tjie bright 
rays that warmed his lofty summits. Almost 
on the borders of Connecticut could be seen the 
vapcMy outlines of Bald Peak. Tumii^ to the 
westward, here and there was caught a glimpse 
of the Hudson, like a silver ribbon in a billowy 
plain of gray. The Helderbergs outlined them- 
selves dimly against the majestic background 
of the Catskills. On one of the heights could be 
distinctly seen the Kaaterskill House, some forty 
to fifty miles away. Literally overlooking the 
scheming capital from our lofty view point and 
peering over the pretentious towers of Troy, 
whose mottoed boast is "Ilium fuit, Troja est" 
— aye, ignoring in our prospect the classic Mount 
Ida of the Collar City that once wore Murphy's 
collar and was proud of it — we sweep on in our 
aerial flight to the distant battlements of Pros- 
pect Mountain, at the very feet of Lake George. 
Northward the Green Mountains rise, and the 
greater part of Vermont looks like a broad 
field of motmtain com shocks^ cut by the scjrthe 



WILD GINGER ni 

of Father Time. Way up to Ascutney and on 
beyond to Killington, opposite Lake Champlain, 
sight carries us in ecstasy. Not satisfied with 
the wonderful scene, we travel on in the optical 
train across the borders of New Hampshire to 
the peaks of Croydon and even Cardigan, over 
one hundred miles distant. Then we sweep back 
toward our vantage point, taking in Monadnock 
and then the Hoosac Mountains. It was a flight 
almost heavenly and we turned with reluctance 
to the panting automobile for the return to the 
valley^ even when it beckoned us with the sil- 
very fingers of trout streams. 



112 WILD GINGER 



WILD GINGER AND SWEET CICELY. 

BROWSING IN THE ADIRONDACKS. — Moy, 

V. 

"Pretty little dandelion, growing in the ^;rass, 
With your shining head of gold, merry little lass ! 
When your pretty hair turns white, pray what will you 

do? 
Plant a thousand more flowers as bright as you ?" 

The first "pilgrimage," — dear old Chaucer 
chose a happy word for those trips which are 
bom of a longing for a change of scene and 
occupation — maAt to the North Woods in the 
spring time by representatives of the Cataract 
Club was under the delightfully unobtrusive 
guidance of Lon Qark. Next to "Adirondack" 
Murray, "A. N." Qark, one of the youngest vet- 
erans of the Civil War and oldest graduates of 
woods lore, is probably known to the largest 
area of the Adirondacks. 

Not all who write verse are poets. Con- 
versely, some who do not jrield to the itch for 
writing are bards of nature by nature. The 
first morning in camp on Lake Sterling Lon 
led a little brigade of anglers to the St Regis 
to engage the trout, which were reported to be 
charging spiritedly up stream against the forces 
of General Rapid and King Cascade that would 
overwhelm any gallant fin but Salmo fontinalis. 



WILD GINGER 113 

The second brigade, he directed to strike the 
trail unguided to Twin Lakes Ford. 'Then/' 
said he, in his whimsical manner^ "just browse 
along the banks until you come to Indian Falls, 
and begin fishing down." 

"Browse along*' was good in several ways. 
The absence of a trail made it impossible to rush 
dty fashion to the point of destination. Then 
**browse" — oh, well! the dainty buds and flow- 
ers of May, all the sweet provender of earth, air, 
and sky, crowned it as the word fitting all the 
environment like a Jack in his Pulpit. It sug- 
gested wandering along pleasant places leisurely, 
according to comfort and convenience, and nib- 
bling of the tenderest and sweetest herbs, mints, 
and birch buds, filling not so much the stomach 
as the lungs, soul, and life, with a joy that could 
know no satiety. 

So come with us, fellow sportsman, and you, 
reader, who have worthy aspirations to become 
a worshiper at nature's shrine, and ''browse 
along^' the trails that have briars as well as 
flowers, but which lead to the balm that heals 
deeper wounds than thorns can make. 

The May sun was beckoning high from over 
the hills where the trout streams tumble, when 
our Adirondack schooner-and-four drew up in 
front of our hotel at Potsdam. Seventeen ozone- 
filled miles lay between the town and the camp 
where Lon and laziness waited. Seven Cat- 
aracts, freed from winter's fetters, and Mac 
Laren, the bounding and unbounded head of the 
Rensselaer Qub, climbed blithely into the seats. 
"Ged-dap, Racquette, go-long Raritanl" shouted 



114 WILD GINGER 

the angtilar-featured yahoo of the yellow sand- 
hillfi^ as he cracked his blacksnake at the ta* 
marack-brown leaders named after the rivers of 
York and Jersey. Racquette kicked up his faeda 
and brought them down on the stone pavement 
with a clatter true to his name, while Raritan 
just flowed along as if he were starting a fu- 
neral procession. 

"Your Raritan/' snickered the big sheriff's 
toy trun^et voice, "must have been named for 
the Raritan Canal, instead of the river I" 

The driver smiled good-naturedly, then 
drawled: "Every stream runs smooth on the 
level stretches, but just watch him cavort amd 
caper when we strike the hills. Raritan kin go 
sum, I vum. But he can't tech a three^ear-olc 
buU I bruck to harness last Thanksgivin'. Judge 
Swift, over on the state road, has a trotter he 
sets sum store by an' he was drivin' intew teown 
one afternoon in good sleighin' when wife an' 
I overtuck him in our cutter. Stump Tail, my 
bull, was jest swingin' along natural like, wlien 
the judge turned roun' an' sez with a laff, 'Cmn 
on, Sile.' I prodded Stump Tail twkt till he 
snorted an' at that he bruck loose. Wdl, I swan 
that air bull chucked Itmips of snow the sise of 
them bowlders back over our heads clean to Blue 
Mounting. When we turned the comer at the 
judge's yard, the old feller turned aroun' sn^in 
with a siceered look, shoutin' at me, Ter he'v'n's 
sake, dontcher let thet wile moose gallop over 
met' 

"You must have been right on the judge's 
beds all the way/' complimented Duall. 



WILD GINGER 115 

''On his littlsV" ejaculated Silas, disdain'- 
fully. ''Why we wuz rig^t up on his paUUt!" 

It was such a morning, that upon awakening 
the autoist instinctively braces his ann for the 
wheel, the golfer squares his shoulders as if he 
already felt the stick in his hands, and the angler 
— now you come to the joy of all human joys — 
well, tlw angler glows into a gladness, subdued 
and tender, whic^ sets hun to crooning a love 
ditty to nature so delicate that only the fine tenor 
of the running reel, the harpist harmonics of 
the vibrant balsams, the droning overtones of 
the distant waterfall and the soft symphonies 
of the singing brook can lend the mated accom- 
paniment. Forgotten are the chilly days that in- 
terposed their cold blanket between us and the 
arbutus and the blue bird, the sparkling little 
river and the speckled beauty. They have, 
as hope assured us, "come by" at last. So lef s 
all dismount at this first spring bubbling clear 
and cold from the hillside and drink again to the 
toa^t we proposed in the waiting days : "Here's 
to the snow^released buds now peeping forth in 
welcome on the hillside, to the wings poised 
for the home-coming flight, to the rippling wa- 
ters that have broken through their ice-walled 
prison.'' 

"Oir four-horse team," but not the one made 
famous in the judge's song of "Way out in Ida- 
ho," climbed steadily upward and the air began 
to take on that bracing quality which the low- 
lands never know. The change from the home 
city to the hills of St. Lawrence reminded one 
of stepping from an overcrowded ballroom into 



ii6 WILD GINGER 

a park of evergreens. On by the great banks 
of sand which loomed up like the breastworks 
before Vicksburg we swung toward Parishville. 
At the foot of the hill, the eager and happy 
boys out of school alighted to make the ascent 
easier for the horses. Far down in the valley 
meandered Alder brook, famous in its day for 
trout, but now "fished out" by fishermen who 
had not learned the wisdom and enjoyed the 
reward of replanting where they had reaped. 
Silas told about an occasional good catch still 
made in the glistening ribbcm entwined in the 
dozen shades of green below. Just then a lad 
with the proverbial "cut pole" came trudging 
along with three trout, the largest over a pound 
in weight. Stickwell begged the party to stop 
long enough to "try just one or two holes down 
by those big rocks," but the captain was inex- 
orable. "Camp in time for lunch!" was the 
strict injunction. 

On the heights above Parishville we surveyed 
the landscape o'er, but turning from the hazy 
outline of the silvery St. Lawrence to the far 
north, from the rolling vista of the Empire 
shire to the south and west, eyes were directed 
longingly to "the promised land" which lay "just 
this side of Champlain's wave," and 'neath the 
watch and ward of Blue Mountain. Through 
a forest of beeches, hemlock, spruce, and pine, 
we hurried, on past the burnt lands, and the 
fiaven in the valley of Sterling was just be- 
yond. Then more temptations for delay. A 
grizzled settler and his freckle-faced boy came 
shuffling down the road with two strings of trout 



WILD GINGER 117 

Tznging from four to nine inches, probably sixty 
fish in all. "You've been robbing the cradle," 
shouted MacLaren, he of the big voice, as he 
eyed the fingerlings. 

"Waal, they be mighty good for the pan after 
winter pork that's got salted to the bottom of 
the bar'l," smiled the old man. 

"You passed 'Lawless Rock' a mile back, 
Mack," remarked Wynne. 

"And, besides, those people have the law of 
necessity on their side whenever they take 
game," added the liberal ex-sheriff as the pair 
passed beyond hearing. 

We had to stop at a little ten by twelve cabin 
to inquire how Uncle Lafayette and Aunt Car- 
rie had "wintered." Here dwelt an old couple, 
the husband a veteran of the Civil War and his 
spouse, both past the three score years and ten, 
and lived, the good Lord only knew how. Tra- 
dition had it that Lafayette had traded his first 
wife and a likely heifer calf for his present 
help-meet and that the itinerant minister from 
Potsdam had performed a ceremony without in- 
quiring as to whether there had been a divorce 
or not, because, as he expressed it, he thought 
"it would look better." Both Uncle Lafayette 
and Aunt Carrie now were regular attendants 
upon the little chapel in the clearing which Lon 
had built and were very solicitous for the spir- 
itual welfare of the "sports/' as they called 
the people who occupied the camps on Sterling 
in the summer time. 

"There's Sterling I" There was a look of ad- 
miration from all and a sigh of perfect content- 



ii« WILD GINGER 

ment and approval as the party gazed upon the 
silver sheet encased in etetn, a plate richer than 
any which ever received the stamp of the Ester- 
ling bankers in the mediaeval days when spu* 
rious metals were more common than the genu- 
ine. Well namedy art thou, gem of the northern 
Adirondacks ! 

''Oo-hugh I Oo-hngh !'' rang out the old fa- 
miliar signal, and Bald Mountain welcomed back 
the call. Presently a boat shot out from the 
landing on the shore opposite and Lon's tall 
form was soon descried propelling the largest 
craft. Silas was sent around the woods road 
with the baggage, while we reserved the more 
direct, if not more delightful trip by water for 
ourselves* 

The spring fountain was bubbling from the 
hillside with its old-time vivacity, carrying its 
limitless invigoration as of yore. Qisty appeared 
in the kitchen doorway, in each hand a com 
meal covered trout, shouting, ''Hurry up, <Un- 
ner'U be ready in a jiffy and you know Sterling 
fish don't wait, because they don't have to-— 
there's too many glad to eat 'em 1" 

We were usher^ into the dining room of the 
large cottage, which looked out upcm the wa- 
ters of Sterling at an elevation of forty feet. 
The scene through the windows was entranc- 
ing, but the table was, despite that fact, the cy- 
nosure of all eyes. The board was adorned 
with hepaticas, dogwood^ violets, and a solitary 
bowl of dandelions. Qisty explained, ''I like the 
woods flowers, but the dandelicms remind me of 
the settlements." 



WILD GINGER tiQ 

''All, the golden dasdelioii* the flower whose 
Uooming time is every month in the year when 
it has a chance, and its habitat any place that 
wiB give it sunlight for a few hours during the 
dagr— that's our dub flower for MayT shouted 
Ithi etttfattsiastically. 

Lon had been over to Dead Creek for two 
hoars and had come back witfi two dozen fine 
tMtit ''That stream/' suggested Duall, "is 
caUed 'Dead Creek' on die principle of 'Lucus a 
non Ittcendo/ because it is not dead, but alive 
with ttxraL" This proved to be the case when 
Lemuel Larch headed a party on the mile tramp 
back through the woods and across die little 
clearing to the brook running through the valley 
five himdred feet bdow the brow of the moun« 
taki. But there the angler earns all he gets, 
fen* the valley represents a riot of Flora and her 
attcttdants in their cups. Through grass, brakes, 
aad briarsy the enthsiasts plunged, only to find 
themselves within s^king distance of the stream 
confronted with a wall of alders, flaidced with 
the water plants that were just bobbing through. 
Tops of bushes were swished off, hooks were 
ett^dded in weeds and not a little patience was 
expended before a successful cast could be made. 
The sheriff, with bull moose strength, straddled 
ibe alders and tossed in his line. There was 
a splash and we thought we had lost our big 
comrade when we heard him puff, "Cc«ne here, 
ycm frecMe-backed son of a sun fish— drying to 
Mfag me on that root, eh I" With a lurch and 
a Itinge, the earnest disciple of Walton huried 
a trout into the air, the fish describing an arc 



120 WILD GINGER 

terminating in a distant clump of bushes. After 
much pawing and ejaculating the sheriff came 
back with a trout twenty-four inches long, dark 
as the tamarack water of his home stream, but 
beautifully spotted with crimson. It was rare 
fun fighting a hooked trout and his sympathetic 
allies, the alders, at the same time. 

Back on the hilltop again we looked down 
upon the valley, lost in admiration. We could 
remember much of spring's glories we had seen 
in her favorite haunt. There was the stream 
fringed with fleur-de-lys, the flower which Rus- 
kin says "has a sword for its leaf and a lily 
for its heart" But he was not even then in- 
spired by our own iris, which is truly "bom to 
the purple," but was writing about the pale iris 
of France. Scattered along the banks were the 
blue spiderwort, the water avens, the hepaticas, 
the violets, pink corydalis, wood sorrel, Labra- 
dor tea, adders tongue, wild ganger, buttercups, 
daisies, anemones, and bluets. Along the wood 
shore opposite were the (logwoods reflected in 
the pools. The "fiddle-heads" were peeping 
through the moist soil, clad in their white wool 
as protection against the chill nights. For luck, 
don't forget to 

"Break the first brake you see, 

Kill the first snake you see, 

And you will conquer every enemy." 

And do not forget that biting the first frond 
you see in spring will keep away the toothache 
for the entire year. We have had hardly time 
to note the delicate tracery and forms of the 



WILD GINGER wx 

branches and buds of the forest trees that have 
been coaxed into a beauty that later days cannot 
rival. We have but glanced at the witchery of 
the mocMiworts, the bracken, the obtuse woodsia, 
the marsh fern tribe all 

"As graceful as ladyes fair 
Bend o'er their mirrors sheen, 

So o'er the turbid water's breast, 
Thy plumes are waving green." 

Later the ferns unfold in their full perfection, 
but look at the baby marginal shield ferns, the 
chain ferns, the maiden hairs, the scouring rush- 
es, the horse tails, the club mosses, and the quill- 
worts. Dead Creek Valley is a misnomer, be- 
cause it is alive with everything that lives and 
grows in our northern wflds. 

Each creel made a respectable showing of 
the big trout from Dead Creek. The stream 
empties into the Racquette River, once the great- 
est domain of Salmo fontinalis in the country, 
but ruined for speckled beauties by the intro- 
duction into its waters of pickerel by jealous 
guides from the Saranac country, it is alleged. 
The pickerel chase the trout far up the creek 
and the latter have to be sought near the head- 
waters and in the pools along the meadows 
which lie above the shallow barriers. 

The long ride of the forenoon and the strain-* 
ing battle to get a line into Dead Creek pre- 
pared the tired, but happy, fishermen for an 
early bed. That night there were no before- 
retiring stories. For a blissful half hour we 
sat before the fire and watched the owl an- 



191 WILD GINGER 

dhotis blinking good*night on the wide hearth. 
It was resolved to make an early start for the 
St. Regis, a mile away, next morning. 

"Better set the alarm clock to wake this sleepy 
crowd/' suggested the prudenft judge. 

"I have an alarm clock that never fails me; 
you'll hear him tapping on the tin chimney at 
sunup loud enough to wake the Seven Sleep- 
ers/' remarked Lon in his deliberate, restftil 
manner. 

Sure enough^ next morning, every mother's 
son was aroused by the summons, lively, cheer^ 
ful, and inspiring. "Tap-tap-t-t-t-t-t-^ok !" A 
red-beUied woodpecker, it seems, was in the hab- 
it of drumming on that pipe every morning. It 
furnished more music of the noisy kind than a 
hollow limb, and the gaudy fellow seemed to 
take pride in showing his mate what a racket 
he could make. 

"Sterling Lodge," owned by several members 
of the Cataract Qub, of Lockport, N. Y., con- 
sists of a two-story building with ice house 
adjoining, four two-bed cottages, a boat house, 
bam, and best of all, a supply of pure water 
piped from a mountain spring into the main 
building. It is not luxurious, but provides all 
the comforts one ought to have in the woods. 
In May, the unheat^ small cabins are not so 
comfortable as the larger building with its fire- 
place and kitchen stove. So we were all bunked 
up stairs when the woodpecker rapped, "Get 
up." The big sheriff, projpped up on his pil- 
lows, was looking out on the rippling waters of 
the lake, at peace with all the world. "IttL take 



-ADIRONDACKS, 



THE NEW YORK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



ASTOR, LENOX AND 
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 
I R L 



WILD GINGER U3 

a derrick and a bench warrasU to gft me away 
from this comfort/' droned the eontcnted giant 
Just then the mischicvoua Duall made a cast 
through the open door with a hook and line 
and oS came the coverlet. The sheriff arose, 
promising his tormentor an enforced bath in the 
lake. 

The punishment, however, was never adminis- 
tered, because the himgry Faktaff was diverted 
from his purpose by the sight of the savory 
table steaming with trout, bacon, boiled potatoes, 
and freshly-melted maple syrup. Wynne de- 
clared he had eaten nothing for break&st ex- 
o^t a little cereal and fruit for ten years, 
but as he mowed away his third 6sh he re- 
marked, **I had forgotten that taKHit were so 
good — and Aese potatoes boiled in their skins 
taste better than anything I ever got in New 
York City restaurants." 

Then came the renewed discussion of the 
angler's ''eternal question" — ^what flies? This 
was more 'pkxii^ than usual, because early 
May in the north woods is not productive of 
large creels as a rule with the artificial lures. 
It may be tmqK>rtsmanlike, according to accepted 
standards, to resort to the old standby, the dew 
worm, but as Mix put it, when there is a big 
family to feed one must feed the trout what 
they Uke best. So, while the argument waxed 
warm over the virtues of the ''black gnat," "cow 
dung," "ibis," "royal coachman," "Rube Wood," 
"Seth Green," "grizzly king," "dusty miller," 
"awift water," "alder," "green drake," "queen of 
the water," "parmacheoee belle," et al, each pru- 



124 WILD GINGER 

dent fisherman quietly filled a capacious worm 
box, "just for an emergency." 

The St. Regis River is undoubtedly the best 
natural trout waters in New York State to-day 
and produces the finest catches of speckled beau- 
ties. The west branch affords remarkably fine 
fishing. It is a wild little river, averaging thir- 
ty yards in width, and flowing through some of 
die grandest country in the Adirondacks. In- 
dian Falls, two miles from Sterling, is a most 
picturesque spot and an ideal place for trout. 
The river drops over a twenty-foot ledge and 
slope and below forms a miniature Niagara 
whirlpool. This is usually good for a half dozen 
or more fine fish. 

Duall cast into the foam just beneath the falls. 
The milky surface parted and a splendid fish 
leaped at his hook but missed. Anodier try and 
this time the angler was more successful. Away 
went the line with a strong fish pulling like 
mad to cross the pool and make the mill race 
lined with jagged rocks below. Duall saw the 
danger and checked the rush. Around he came, 
close to the stone platform. 

"Be careful, he's a speckled whale!" shouted 
Larch, as he got a glimpse of the trout. The 
sheriff and Stickwell had no time to watch the 
sport, for on the other side they were engaged 
in a desperate battle of their own. In five 
minutes Duall slipped the net under his pretty 
foe and out came a two-pound trout, a beau- 
tiful male with deep crimson sides. Before the 
sheriff and Stickwell landed their fish, the judge 
yanked out a half-pounder without much cere- 



WILD GINGER 125 

in<my» following this performance with another 
of ^e same size in less than another minute. 
Then things quieted down in the po<d for a 
time. Larch let his line drift down the natural 
race when a great fish met him half way. He 
failed to make allowance for the swift cur- 
rent in the strike and before he could give line, 
the monster snapped his tip as if it were a lily 
stem. 

"The big ones always get away — sometimes/' 
laughed I^rch, but there was a catch in his 
voice. "His mate is two ounces heavier and lies 
just below. Here goes!" In two minutes he 
had the extra tip fitted and in readiness for an- 
other effort. The first cast landed on the rocks 
and the unanimous and unkind verdict of the 
'l)rothers of the angle" was that the first sad 
experience had unnerved the usually imperturb- 
able Larch. 

"Laugh!" he chuckled, "Laugh, because here 
comes £e granddaddy of them all 1" 

All bznds quit fishing, because there was evi- 
dently something doing that was worth watch- 
ing. Profiting by his former bad luck, Lardi 
struck mildly, but firmly, and then instantly 
gave the fish his way. But one can never teU 
what a trout will do. Instead of nmninpf with 
the swift current, he leaped into the air and 
then shot up stream and was back in the whirl- 
pool before the angler knew what was happen- 
ing. The trout sounded every nook in the 
depths, tried to leap up the falls and then raced 
around with the current of the whirlpool. Twice 
the angler thought the fish was giving up, but 



126 WILD GINGER 

eadi time he rushed for the race and the secowl 
time got down into the lower pool. Lardi 
scrambled abng tfie steep and dangerous rocks 
like a mountain sheep. Once he slipped and 
there was a dangerous slacking of the line. We 
noticed the danger of losing the fish, but were 
oUivious of the fact that our friend barely 
missed tumbling into the deep and dangerous 
torrent. Below the second pool was a bad rap- 
id, full ef "dead-heads" and rodcs. The trout 
now worked his way toward the darting waters. 
Once he got just to the edge, but by a supreme 
test of the rod's strength the piscatorial prize 
fighter was forced back. Five minutes more and 
the end came. What a beauty, what a reward I 
There upon the rock platform lay the pride of 
llie St Kegis, a three-pound trout! 

Into the water we went bdow the second 
pool and waded the now shallower river fom 
abreast. The sport was es^ting and exhilirat- 
ing. On several occasions every line was bo^ 
and there was no talking. In the stretch of 
three<|uarters of a mile we took eighty-seven 
more trout, ranging from a quarter to three- 
quarters of a pound. 

On the way home, somebody remarked that 
we belonged to the fish-hog dass. Lon protest-- 
ed, "Not at all — ^this is gentlemanly fishing. Last 
year men from the lumber camps used to take 
a six-quart pail full of trout from below the 
logger's dam four miles above here, every morn- 
ing in the spring when the togs were not run- 
nittg.' 

Near the Twin Lakes trail an animal plunged 



WILD GINGER 137 

from the water, s^d disappeared in the bushes. 
"An elk I" shouted Lon. There are over three 
hundred in the woods now, I am told, and a pair 
have been reported up this way several times. 
It looks as if the elk were going to be restored 
to the Adirondacks." 

The next day we tried to lure the big trout 
of the lake from their spring holes, but with 
little success. A number of half-pound fish were 
caught and over by the old pine that has 
stretched its loo. feet in the water for half a 
century, a pounder was captured. For a few 
days following the break up of the ice, the 
large trout bite and then fish over four and 
five pounds are occasionally caught. But after 
that brief festival the wary old chaps seem to 
settle down into their wonted sedateness and 
nothing tempts them to an engagement. 

The andiron owls blinked solemnly that night 
and more than once were caught winking sar- 
donically at each other when the tales began 
to circulate before the fireplace. "Oh, cheery is 
the blink of my ain fireside,'' are the words 
carved on the mantel above, yet through some 
psychological trick, the reminiscences for a time 
ran along gloomy trails. 

Joey started it. Joey is a comical little lum- 
berman and guide. Not over five feet, he could 
carry a great pack through the woods all day 
without a sign of fatigue. He had dropped in 
to see his old friends. 

''Waal, Pierre Dumont cum to bad luck, just 
as I expected," remarked Joey to the fire. Ef 
he had stopped aJEter shoptin' the gray wolf up 



128 WILD GINGER 

ter Long Peond an' let the black deer alone, 
he mought a seen Montreawl ag'in." 

The party looked their interest and Lon asked 
Joey to tell about it. Pierre had come from 
Montreal to help on a log drive on the St. Regis. 
He liked hunting better than lumbering and 
never knew what a close season was. The 
Frenchman distinguished himself by hunting 
down and shooting a gray wolf, probably the last 
in the region, near Long Pond. There was a 
story that a black deer had been seen in the 
Blue Mountain country and Pierre vowed he 
would bring in the alleged specimen of melan- 
ism. While waiting for flood water, he started 
after the black budc. He came back with the 
story that he had seen the deer and got two 
shots at him, but couldn't say whether he hit 
the animal or not. Next day Pierre was miss- 
ing and later his body was found floating in a 
St. Regis pool. 

Lon took up the story at that point. "The 
Parishville coroner oflFcred me fifteen dollars 
to bring in the body and I gave a French hog 
raiser five dollars to go witi^ me and take his 
team. The men who found the body tied it to 
a bush without removing it from the water. We 
got to the spot on the old log road about dark, 
but my helper objected to touching the corpse 
at night. The upshot of it was that I had to 
perform the unpleasant task myself. Just as we 
started over the road, which is bad enough for 
navigation in daylight even on foot, it began to 
rain. There was a clap of thunder and the 
crash of a falling tree just behind us. The 



WILD GINGER 129 

Frenchman shrieked, 'Mon Dieu!' threw up his 
hands and toppled over the dashboard in a 
swoon. The wheels just missed him. I got out 
and started for the live corpse in the trail be- 
hind when the horses broke into a run. For- 
tunately they took the wrong fork of the road 
and came up against a barrier in the shape of 
a fallen tree. I tied them there and again went 
back for my scared Frenchman. The rain had 
revived him, but he seemed to be bereft of rea- 
son. Heroic measures were necessary and I 
employed them so vigorously that he trotted 
along back to the wagon. We got the team 
into the right road and started on again, when 
the Frenclmian looked over his shoulder and 
by the light of the lantern got another glimpse 
of our ghastly load. He was about to leap from 
the seat into the bushes, but I caught him by 
the collar and shoved him down. With one 
hand I drove and with the other held that fear- 
made lunatic. I earned ten times my money 
by the time I reached Parishville.*' 

That reminded the judge of a gloomy expe- 
rience we had on our third trip to the French 
River, Canada. We had just made camp and 
had got comfortably settled when toward even- 
ing^ a canoe rounded the point. The paddler was 
an Indian. In the bow sat a white man. The 
stranger held his head between his hands and 
even when the canoe grated on the sand at the 
landing he did not move. The Indian got out 
and led his passenger to a seat near the fire. 
Words of welcome brought nothing but a nod 
from the white man, who seemed to be dazed or 



I30 WILD GINGER 

too ill for speech. The Indian spoke a few 
words to our Indians, whom he knew. They 
interpreted: "Comrade drowned at the Five 
Mile." That was the brief introduction to a 
tragedy of the wilderness. Two young men 
from Pittsburgh, wealthy, fond of the wilds, 
sportsmen and athletes, for several years had 
made the trip up the French River from the 
Georgian Bay. They knew the treacherous 
stream well, but perhaps familiarity had bred 
a fatal contempt. The young men pulled a 
two-oared skiff containing most of their duffle, 
while the Indian paddled a canoe. In attempt- 
ing to row up one of the rapids of tfie Five 
Mile, a famous spot well known to 'lunge and 
bass anglers, they upset Both being str<mg 
swimmers, they struck out for shore. One of 
the men made his way to a rock in the stream 
and shouted to the Indian to help his companion, 
who seemed to be having a hard struggle. The 
guide complied and soon brought the swimmer to 
shore. When they looked around for young Al- 
len the rock was bare. They called and searched, 
called and searched for hours, but no trace of 
the missing comrade could be found. Next day 
our entire camp went down to the Five Mile to 
assist in the hunt. The only evidence of the 
tragedy was the wrecked skiff. Three days later 
the body was found not many rods from where 
the unfortunate youth had been swept from the 
rock. 

"The woods has its fla-owers an' sunshine," 
drawled Joey, "but there's dark gullies, tew." 
Then his twinkling blue eyes grew solemn again. 



WILD GINGER 131 

and he conrinucd: "Clafflin over on the crick 
hed a skeery time one night las' summer. Old 
man Brown went out to the back pasture lookin' 
fer a stray ca-afF. Whan he didn't te-um up 
fer supper, Clafflin took a lanthom an' mosied 
aroun' fer him. He saw somethin' in a holler 
spot that looked like a man, but when he threw 
the light on it, it war nothin' but a stump. He 
stepped back, an' as he did so his foot struck 
somethin' soft. He turned 'ra-oun an' thar was 
ole man Brown, deader'n a stump. Clafflin went 
back home, got a blanket, an' kivered the corpse 
'till the corowner cum nex' day." 

Then came Dan Bang's story. A party of 
New Yorkers made a trip up the Georgian Bay 
in a small chartered steamer. A storm drove 
them into a bay and when they were about to 
land at the dock of a private estate the pom- 
pous owner ordered them away. They anchored 
and spent an uncomfortable night on the boat. 
The next day the churlish proprietor hurried 
€k)wn to the dock about daylight and begged to 
know if the party had a doctor among them, 
as his wife was dying. Unfortunately there 
was no doctor with them. The woman passed 
away the next day shortly after a physician had 
arrived. The visitors courteously offered to 
act as a funeral escort and in their boat carried 
tbe corpse to the nearest railroad port. 

"You fellows will be telling ghost stories next 
and I'll have to light you all to bed," nodded 
the sheriff. "You're as bad as old Jerry and 
Sarah Newton, who always enjoyed looking on 
the darkest side of everything. Each sought 



132 WILD GINGER 

to outdo the other in bodily ailments. If Jerry 
complained that he had the rheumatism in the 
right shoulder, Sary had twinges in both. When 
Jerry had a toothache, Sary was just wild with 
neuralgia. One day a neighbor's girl ran home 
to her mother and said : *Well, ma, Jerry's got 
ahead of Sary at last on sickness t' The mother 
wanted to know 'what's Jerry got that's worse 
than Sary's ailments ?* The girl answered, *Why 
he's dead !' " 

After a time Lon said: "J^st to vary the 
programme I must tell you about the big buck 
up on the Ten Mile. He's a buck that makes 
a track five inches long and he bears a charmed 
life. Some of you sharpshooters ought to try 
him out next fall. I have heard a score of 
hunters tell about hunting the Ten-Mile buck 
and I bet he's been shot at a hundred times. 
The tricks he has played on wise men would fill 
a book. A Vermont game warden makes an 
official report that a deer weighing four hundred 
and forty-seven pounds was killed in that state. 
If there is a deer that size in these parts, the 
Ten-Mile buck will fill the bill." 

"Alonzo, Colonel Alonzo," chided Stickwell, 
"you are drawing the longbow now. Why, 
the biggest deer reported last year in this state 
weighed only two hundred and forty-six pounds, 
shot by Mr. Len, of Utica." 

"That Vermonter," remarked the sheriff, "re- 
minds me of a pathetic yet ludicrous incident at 

a wake not long ago. Mrs. Mc lost her 

favorite son. She looked at the corpse and 
wailed, ^JsLOiit, ye told me yesterday you'd be 



1 
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PUBLIC LIBRARY 



ASTOR, LENOX AND 

TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 

R I 



WILD GINGER 133 

well to-day, but it's dead ye are to-day and ye 
LIED TO me!' " 

Lon was asked if the bear were still plentiful 
around Sterling. He said they were occasionally 
seen within a mile or two of the lake. "J^^t 
above Hog-back Brook, on my way home from 
the Five Mile," he began, "I met a bear that 
showed fight. I was coming down the road 
when a bear rushed out at me. I traveled along 
at a brisk gait for several rods. Looking around 
I saw the old lady standing under a big tree and 
eyeing me savagely. I soon discovered what the 
trouble was. I had walked under a limb on 
which were two cubs. We stood and looked 
at each other for .several minutes and I finally 
decided that dinner was waiting at home and I 
went along." 

Joey told an amusing story about a neighbor 
of his named House. The settler was out hunt- 
ing with his dog. "Sport started up a big b'ar," 
said Joey, "an' Mr. B'ar decided to do some of 
the huntin' hisself . He chased Sport an' the dog 
ran to his master. House yelled at Sport to get 
out, but Sport thought misery liked company 
an' mighty lots of it when a b'ar tries to butt 
in. The faster House legged it, the faster Sport 
follered, with the b'ar right on their heels. The 
fight was all outen Sport, an' the ole man felt 
thet thar war never none in him — leas'ways he 
hadn't challenged no b'ar to a scrimmage thet 
day. Thet dog war like sum folks — he invited 
trouble an* insisted on havin' all the neighbors 
in to help entertain it. Finally House managed 
to swing up into a tree with his gun. Sport 



134 WILD GINGER 

played tag around through the bushes with the 
b'ar an' House at las' put an end to the game 
by shootin' the b'ar." 

One of the most interesting characters of 
Sterling was old man Duffey, "Wildcat Duf- 
fey^" as he was known for many miles around. 
The veteran who passed away at 89 a few years 
ago had a record on wildcats that ran into 
several score. He would go forty miles through 
the woods if he got a report of a wildcat prowl- 
er. In his later years the cats were scarce 
and he was too old to endure the hardships of 
the hunt; so he contented himself with fishing 
in the lake for the big trout. At this he was 
most successful. The old man in his boat was 
an ideal picture of contentment. 

"But the cats are not extinct in this neighbor- 
hood," remarked Mix. . "You doubtless recall 
reading in the newspapers of a Canadian lynx 
which was slaughtering the deer in the Cutting 
preserve and vicinity over Lake Ozonia way. 
The lynx was a bold and cunning beast and for 
months outwitted the hunters who tried to shoot, 
trap, and poison, the marauder. Finally Cut- 
ting's men lay in wait for three days within 
shooting distance of a deer which the lynx had 
killed and partially eaten and they landed the 
cutthroat. Last summer a party of us were 
entertained for a few hours by Mr. Cutting at 
his bungalow on Ozonia and there we saw the 
famous lynx mounted. It is a beautiful speci- 
men and a trophy worth having." 

The hour was growing late, but the stories 
of the region came thick and fast and nobody 



WILD GINGER 135 

thoiight of bed. Lon regaled the sportsmen 
with talcs of trouting in the old days **when 
there were trout in the streams of this sec- 
tion." 

"A man named M had a camp up above 

the still water. He was worse than a game 
hog, because the average sporting razor back 
takes what he kills back to his family and neigh- 
bors. This fellow used to catch trout when 
it was no trick to land two or three hundred 
a day, and good fish, too, take them back to 
his camp spring house and let three-fourths of 
them spoil. It couldn't be otherwise, because 
he caught three times as many as he could 
eat or give away here. But the day of reckon- 
ing arrived. M was taken sick in camp. 

I went to help nurse him. He had two guides. 
When the patient began to recover he had a 
voracious appetite and he asked for some trout. 

I said to him 'M you have made yourself 

sick eating trout and by allowing trout to putre- 
fy about, the premises. You won't be able to 
get up and handle a rod for four weeks. I 
have told your guides that if they catch a fish 
•for yoii 111 drown them. Pork is good enough 
for a porker like you and that's all you get 
until you leave, and then the season will be 
over I' That went. Old M didn't taste an- 
other speckled beauty that season." 

Somebody remarked to Joey, "Well, Joey, I 
suppose, judging by the returns, that you don't 
have many Democrats in this section." 

Joey's eyes sparkled, and he drawled, "Waal, 
I spect ef ycm raked the teown with a &ie tooth 



136 WILD GINGER 

comb you might fetch out three or four — ^taint 
many, but by gol, it's all we want 'roun' here!" 

Asked about the observance of the game laws, 
Joey said: "We knows the law and we likes 
it. Neow two deer's the limit, but I've alius 
got one comin'." 

"Joey," suggested Lon, "You darn't tell us 
how you went without Sunday breakfast some 
time ago." 

"Sure," laughed Joey, his comical face lighted 
up with amusing reminiscence. "I toted a pack 
basket up to the Five Mile camp loaded with 
a sack of flour, bacon, sugar, coffee, three 
bottles of pickles, two of catsup and five 
dozen eggs. When I reached the dam I 
climbed up on the wing, which is five feet 
about the rocks below. I made it all right, 
but as I went to straighten up I lost my bal- 
ance and tumbled. Sumheow I went down 
threw the straps fust and the dumed pack basket 
cum down plump atop of me upside deown. 
When I got my eyes open I couldn't tell whether 
I war a drunken miller or scrambled eggs. I 
war so disgusted that I jes jumped into the 
river an' it ed served me right ef I'd never 
cum up!" 

"But talkin' 'bout politics — I bet you fellers 
don't know what patritism is. I know six men 
thet walked a day an' a half through the woods 
to vote and done it all for two dollars a piece 
and a gallon of alcohol for the bunch." 

"Alcohol?" inquired Larch. "Alcohol for 
their lamps?" 

"Waal, it lights 'em up sum," giggled Joey, as 



WILD GINGER 137 

if at pleasant recollections. "Didn't you ever 
hear of Adirondack torchlight ? Jest take a pan- 
ful of alcohol, heat it on the stove and skim it, 
then you're ready for the torchlight procession. 
Why, it'll make you see things in the dark !" 

"TTie stuff must be worse than Jack Montcy's 
war-time whiskey," put in the sheriff. "Jsick 
was accustomed to get his whiskey for three 
cents a glass, but the saloonkeepers got to- 
gether and raised the price to five. Jack went 
into Bob Cramer's place one day and threw 
down a five-cent shinplaster and the bartender 
mistook it for twenty-five cents. When he 
handed Jack back four fives, Jack counted it over 
and remarked, 'Is this right?' The barkeeper, 
thinking his good customer was kicking on the 
raise in price, apol(^zed and handed over two 
cents more. By this time Jack had grasped the 
situation, recovered himself, and promptly said: 
'Ah, that's more like it I' " 

It was nearly twelve o'clock when Joey re- 
marked, "Guess I'll have to step over hum." 

Asked how far he had to go, he replied, "Oh, 
'bout three miles on beyond whar you started 
fishin' this momin'." 

That meant nearly five miles and over an an- 
cient log road, overgrown, rocky, and rough. 
"Your miles are larger than ours," was re- 
marked. 

"Yaas they be," responded Joey. "We meas- 
ure a mile up here by startin' a dog runnin' and 
when he drops thet's a mile." 

"Hope you don't meet Lon's bear at the Hc^- 



138 WILD GINGER 

back," remarked the judge as the little woods- 
man started on his Icmg, dark journey. 

"If I do Fm loaded for b'ar," he replied, 
gayly tapping his blouse in which he had stored 
five bottles of cordials sent to friends in the 
Five Mile camp. Off he plunged in the Stygian 
darkness of the narrow forest trails without a 
lantern, yet apparently traveling with as much 
ease and assurance as a tenderfoot would in 
daylight. 

"That lad knows every root and stone between 
here and his camp," observed Lon. 

We had just got nicely hardened to the de- 
lightful toils of the trail and the muscle-build- 
ing exercise of rowing, tramping, paddling, and 
casting, when the call "Back to the treadmill" 
came. But it was a happy, helpful week spent 
amidst all the delights of May in the great 
woods. 



WILD GINGER 139 



WILD GINGER. WOOD SORREL, AND 

SWEET aCELY. 

TEACHING FATHER HOW TO FISH — AN ANGLERS* 

TOURNAMENT. — June. 

VI. 

And the large water lilies that o'er its bed. 

Their pearly leaves to the soft light spread ; 

These haunt me; I dream of that bright spring's flow» 

I thirst for its rills like a wounded roe. 

— Mrs. Hemans. 

The unattached angler can enjoy himself, of 
course; but in an unsocial way, usually. When 
it was organized about a quarter of a century 
ago, the Niagara County Anglers' Club — "The 
Cataract Qub'* — ^put a new reading on one of 
Izaak Walton's most highly prized sayings. 
"All who love virtue be quiet and go a-angUng/' 
advised the patron saint of the rodmen. 

It was decided by the Niagara Club that the 
true angler — certainly a lover of virtue— de- 
served no warning to be quiet, and, furthermore, 
that he could obtain the highest recreation by 
going fishing in congenial company. Accord- 
ingly, Article II of the club's constitution set 
forth that, "The particular object of this asso- 
ciation is recreation in angling for game fish, 
target, and game shooting, and the promotion 
ana elevation of such sports amongst its mem- 



I40 WILD GINGER 

bcrs." This was fortified by another article re- 
quiring the club to hold an annual outing and 
fishing tournament^ at which at least two prizes, 
a eold badge and a ''high-hook banner" were 
to be awarded to the member landing the largest 
small mouth black bass. 

There is a comparatively new doctrine which 
is gaining ground nowadays, to the effect that 
increasing the shooting and fishing will tend to 
increase game and fish. This theory rests upon 
the proposition that if the law were liberalized 
to allow more recreation in field and stream, 
the lovers of sport would find it worth while to 
provide themselves with well-stocked covers and 
waters. The Niagara Club was hardly so far 
in advance of the times as to accept that doc- 
trine twenty-five years ago, but it put into ef- 
fect one of the doctrine's corollaries, namely 
that no anglers' club may hope for perpetuation 
without angling. The perennial rejuvenation of 
the organization with each recurring outing, the 
steady growth of the club until it has become 
one of the foremost sportsmen's organizations 
in the state and the promotion of goodfellow- 
ship among the "brothers of the angle" suggest 
that the original meaning of "corollary," the 
only one current in Walton's time, namely, some- 
thing which is given in addition to what has been 
earned, as a bouquet along with wages, need 
not be considered obsolete by the Niagara an- 
glers. Incidentally, it may be said, the club has 
earned its right to heavy creels by systematic 
and judicious replenishment of Niagara waters, 
a work, however, that redounded more to the 



WILD GINGER 141 

net fishermen than to the game fish anglers. But 
the annual tournament was the club's garland, 
extra. 

For seventeen blissful years the Niagaras had 
tasted the joys of opening the black bass season 
as a club, with due and elaborate preparations, 
including all the pleasures of planning and the 
ecstasies of anticipation in the company of those 
affected with the same gentle mania. The club 
had at this early age, seventeen, attained the 
dignity of parenthood, being the proud progeni- 
tor of the Rensselaer County Rod and Gun 
Qub, the Orleans County Rod and Gun Qub 
and the Niagara Rod and Gun Club of Tona- 
wanda. In honor of the eighteenth anniversary 
of the parent organization. President McLaren, 
of the Rensselaer Club journeyed across the 
state to attend the annual meeting of the Niag- 
aras and formally extend the invitation of the 
first bom for a joint tournament on the lakes 
and streams of Rensselaer. 

That event will be handed down in tradition 
to the remotest generations of the Cataract and 
Patroon counties. The press of the state sat up 
and took notice when it was announced that two 
Pullman car loads of anglers would travel three 
hundred miles to reach the scene of contest and 
fraternization with another club. Through the 
mails went an immense four-page cardboard, 
with a flaming red front: "Eighteenth annual 
outing and tournament of the Niagara County 
Anglers Club — Let Loose in Rensselaer upon 
invitation of the Rensselaer County Rod and 
Gim Qub, June i6th and 17th, 1903." The 



142 WILD GINGER 

cartoonist had done his best to portray 'Vnde 
Charley'' Hatch in action with a black bass and 
to represent "our bait" allegorically with figures 
of bugs, bees, worms, and other creeping thixigs 
that only unwise anglers see. At the bottom of 
the page was "The Lover's Song," a tribute to 
arbutus, the typical flower of Rensselaer» and 
the parody, "The Angler's Song:" 

Life is like the sportsman's 9n^ii)g, 
Lure and line in pools a-dangling, 

Brave and fair; 
Though we cannot see it coming. 
Yet we Icnow from hot reel's humming 

Something's there. 

Ofttimes life is disappointing, 
Tips untrue the rod disjointing 

Add to care; 
Yet we know the trout or sucker. 
Fighting hard against our luck, or 

Skill — is there. 

Under the head of "Itinerary," this advice 
was given, "Remember, boys, you're accustomed 
only to the breezes of a single lake, and the 
mixed zephyrs of the many inland seas of Rens- 
selaer, fed and re-fed by McLaren's famous 
ninety and nine streams, are more than likely 
to disturb your equilibrium at first." Then came 
the information as to time tables, the arrival and 
departure at the various lakes in Rensselaer 
among which the visitors were to be distributed 
with the hosts as companions and euides; the 
long list of prizes for various piscatorial achieve- 
ments; the score card governing the contest of 



SAFE FROM ( 



THB NEW TO&K 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



ASTOR. LENOX AND 

TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 

R L 



WILD GINGER 143 

the two sides^ the Reds and the Blues ; the rules 
of the tournament, providing for the equal dis- 
tribution of guests and hosts on each side and 
requiring at least one of each side to fish in 
each boat; the tournament and outing officials 
and roster of the club. So that there should be 
no excuse for strays, a large map of Rensselaer, 
showing every highway, lake, and stream, with 
the nine lakes to be fished marked in blue, was 
printed on the back. Beneath it was this ''guide- 
board" : 

"Rensselaer is just a few looks west of Para- 
dise, Vt.. and is more like the Promised Land 
than anything any angler ever saw elsewhere. 
At the hill-towered gateway of the Berkshires, 
'neath the very portals of Greylock^s classic 
shade and scenes that thrilled Bryanf s song, 
the plamsmen of Niagara come to woo the beau- 
tiful daughter of the Adirondacks and to do 
homage at the feet of the best beloved of the 
Httdspn, the sweetheart of the Catskills, the 
mountain-guarded, peerless, sweet-scented Ar- 
butus — ^Rensselaer." 

Qirerdrawn, soft, sentimental? Oh, well, the 
foregoing was not written for the man whose 
heart never thrilled to the electric pulsations of 
the throbbing reel and whose soul never opened 
its innermost recesses to the invitation of a 
flower at the brook side. 

The first day was ideal, but the second brought 
rain. The trained veterans of the rod cared 
not for the damp conditions and stuck to their 
merry fight on lakes and trout streams. De- 
spite the handicap of the second day, nearly 



144 WILD GINGER 

one hundred black bass were caught and a 
goodly number of fine trout, pickerel, pike, 
strawberry bass^ sun fish, rock bass, bull heads, 
and suckers — ^the last carrying a penalty of ten 
points minus. 

The interest grew intense at the dose of the 
first day as the telephone at headquarters at 
Averill Park, the seat of the judges of the tour- 
nament, responded to eager inquiries from Tsat- 
sawassa Lake, Crooked Lake, Burden Lake, and 
Snyders Lake, where groups of the contending 
rodmen were stationed for the night. Early in- 
dications were that the Reds, captained by Red- 
dy Reichard, the redoubtable fisherman of 
Reichard's Lake, led their opponents about three 
hundred points. But Captain Hank Ferguson, 
of West Sandlake, the acknowledged king of the 
rod of all that region, about nine o'clock re- 
ported the return of four men from a distant 
trout stream in the mountains, in which quar- 
tette the Blue stood eight trout ahead, counting 
at 55 points each, a gain of four hundred and 
forty points for the Blues. That put the Blues 
on the latest returns one hundred and forty 
points "to the good," and the news was flashed 
from point to point. The celebration, in which, 
strange to say, both sides joined with equal 
hilarity, waxed warm. At ten o'clock a farmer's 
rig drew up at headquarters with eight knights 
of the rod who had been completely forgot- 
ten. 

"Back from Glass Pond with a big catch!" 
was the word that spread like wildfire through 
the Averill Park hostelries. The verandas of 



WILD GINGER 145 

headquarters which flaunted the long banner of 
the Niagara County Anglers' Qub were crowded 
with eager faces. 

"How do you stand, Blues ?" shouted an anx- 
ious partisan to a returned companion. 

"Don't know — it's close, but I think the four 
Reds here have us beaten by a fine catch of 
strawberry bass. One boat ran into a school 
over some submerged brush in the lake and 
caught thirty before we got onto the game. Our 
representative in the lucky boat was outfished 
three to one before we anchored alongside and 
evened matters up within five or six." 

"How much do strawberry bass count?*' 
shouted a Red, who exhibited a string of 
twelve. Score cards were consulted. "Only 
forty-five each!" joyously exclaimed Lieutenant 
Steve Sherman of the Reds. Election returns 
from a decisive precinct never created such 
nerve racking anxiety. 

Out on the grass, under the gleaming head- 
light lamps, were laid with jealous and watch- 
ful care the catch of the late coming double 
quartette. A strong guard of partisans stood 
over the shimmering fish pile, the judges, cards 
in hand, stationed between. The Blues counted 
and were duly credited with eighteen strawberry 
bass, four large-mouth black t^ss, and six pick- 
erel, total 1,250 points. Cheers from the Blues 
greeted the official announcement of Judge 
Frank Brown. 

"Wait, boys, don't blat till the shearin's all 
over," laughed Captain Reddy. 

Grand Marshal Wicker and Field Marshal 



146 WILD GINGER 

McLaren had to exert their utmost authority, to 
induce the crowd to stand back while the count 
of the Reds' catch was made. The fate of em- 
pire hung upon the result. "Reds, twenty-four 
strawberry bass, four large-mouth black bass, 
two pickerel, two yellow pike, total fourteen hun- 
dred and eighty points," solemnly announced 
the chief judge. The shout that then rent the 
air from Red throats indicated that an electoral 
college had announced its decision. It is "not 
all of fishing to catch." Oh, of course not, but 
that well-worn and overused saying does not ap- 
ply in a fishing tournament, in which are en- 
gaged men of red blood who do with their might 
what they set forth to do. 

Again the telephones were busy and the tabu- 
lated returns at the various hotels were cor- 
rected, showing that the Blues' lead of 140 had 
been wiped out, and that at 10.30 the Reds were 
high by 90 points i 

"Returns all in?" The "hours for fishing'' in 
this tournament were sunrise to nine, according 
to agreement of the captains, and 11 p. m. was 
the final hour for reporting. Just before the 
mystic moment of fraternalism, the Elks' Eleven 
O'clock, in straggled a pair of weary fishermen. 
They bore lanterns, and the slimy strings showed 
they had been devoting their skill during the 
hours of darkness to the bullheads. 

"Another county heard from," brought the 
crowd to the judges' pavilion with a rush. 

"Only bullheads — ^fish without a scale, but they 
may turn the scale," chuckled a Blue. 

A great shout of laughter went up when it 



WILD GINGER 147 

w^ discovered that the Red man of the belated 
pair was hiding two suckers under his string of 
bullheads. "Twenty points off for the Reds/' 
announced the judge. The Red man displayed, 
besides the two negative trophies, 10 specimens 
of Amiurus nebulosis — sounds better than bull- 
head in a formal tournament — and i eel. His 
Blue comrade triumphantly flashed up 15 bull- 
heads, and 375 points to 265 for the Red. 

The final bulletin for the night read : "Blues, 
twenty points in the lead." But for the two 
meddline suckers, the score for the exciting 
first day's contest would have been a tie ! 

The anglers who were true to piscatorial tra- 
ditions and rose with the sun were well repaid, 
for some fine catches were made in the early 
hours. One zealous disciple of Izaak, the peace- 
ful Hague, captured 5 fine black bass not far 
from his hotel on Burden Lake before break- 
fast. Those who deferred the renewal of the 
contest until after breakfast had to face a south 
wind driven rain. More than two-thirds of the 
ccHitestants stuck to their posts, cheered on by 
their officers. 

At the close of the second day the skies had 
cleared and the contestants and hundreds of 
spectators were assembled at the headquarters 
hotel for the final 'announcement. Although 
hard pressed, as on the first day, the Blues held 
their dearly won lead, the final score standing: 
Blues, 7,340; Reds, 6,675 — ^majority for the 
Blues, 665 points. 

The sky-blue flag reposed zhovt the banners 
of Rensselaer and Niagara at the banquet that 



148 WILD GINGER 

night. McLaren presided as toastmaster. The 
tall Scotchman had many a jibe and word of 
advice for visitors and hosts alike. Judge Tier- 
ney and Editor MacArthur, of Troy, added 
hospitable words to those of the toastmaster, 
and the visitors were not far behind in the fe- 
licity of their expressions of appreciation. The 
guests arose and tinkled their glasses to the 
toast proposed by the president of the Niagara 
Qub, "To the beautiful daughter of the Adiron- 
dacks, the sweetheart of the Catskills, the sweet 
arbutus of the hills — Rensselaer; and, to the 
noble gentlemen and good sportsmen sheltered 
and protected by these mountains, the Renssel- 
aer County Rod and Gun Qub." The award- 
ing of individual prizes concluded the evening's 
programme and then the guests were escorted 
to their special trolley cars that were to carry 
them through the romantic hills and valleys 
of the uplands to the cars awaiting them at 
tidewater, Albany. Indeed it was a successful 
joint outing of sportsmen's clubs. 

For the recipients of so many gifts of hos- 
pitality, such as the sportsman knows so well 
how to bestow gracefully, the months that had 
to go by before a returning June dragged 
slowly. But part of the time was spent in 
preparation for the coming of the Rensselaer 
guests. 

In due time mail bags were weighted down 
with a unique invitation and announcement. It 
consisted of the conventional 20-pound dark ma- 
nila sugar sack^ printed in brown and fastened 
with a fish line, bobber^ and sinker. 



WILD GINGER 149 

"Fill this bag with dew worms and come to 
the nineteenth annual outing and tournament of 
the Niagara County Anglers' Club — When our 
guests, the Rensselaer County Rod and Gun 
Qub will float with us on the spent wa- 
ters of the mighty Niagara at Youngstown, 
N. Y., June 16-17, 1904, and be shown what 
real angling means — Grand event: Skiddering 
vs. Still Fishing, etc." Inside was the four-page 
bulletin and programme, illustrated with views 
of Lockport, Niagara Falls^ Fort Niagara, and 
Olcott 

It is not all of fishing to fish. To that we 
heartily subscribe. Rob it of the incident and 
attendant sentiment and angling would be worth 
little, except to the man in absolute need of 
food. So for the sentiment. 

"Two Jolly Days in June — To our Eastern 
'Brothers of the Angle,' Greeting : In elabora- 
tion of our previous invitation which you have 
done us the honor to accept, we beg leave to 
present the subjoined programme of doings. 
The beautiful plains of the Niagara frontier are 
taking on an extra bloom in anticipation of your 
coming. The mighty cataract is ready to roar 
its deepest welcome; the rapids will dance their 
highest can-can; the whirlpool will give you its 
dizziest whirl; Ontario's waves will offer their 
most refreshing crests, and the Falls' spray will 
settle upon your travel-dusty throats. With 
fondest recollections of the two days spent at 
the feet of the beautiful daughter of the Adiron- 

dacks ^Rensselaer, and in eager anticipation 

of our reunion for the renewal of friendships 



ISO WILD GINGER 

and of acquaintanceship with King Bass on his 
first recq>tion day» Niagara stands waiting at 
the gateway of the West, beside the bright wa- 
ters which reflect the charms of both our Lady 
of Snows and Miss Columbia, ready to bid you 

welcome To our other guests, greeting. 

Come and join us in good company ^To mem- 
bers of the Niagara County Anglers' Club: 
Dear Brothers: Our active membership is now 
two hundred and seventy-five. We hold a proud 
position among the sportsmen's organizations 
of the state. Our record for the propagation of 
fish and protection and game and the promo- 
tion of true sportsmanship stands among the 
highest The State Fish, Game, and Forest 
L^gue has honored us by selecting one of our 
officers as its president. It behooves us, there- 
fore, to take even our pleasures nobly and to 
hold an outing worthy of our guests, ourselves, 
and our town and county." 

The first page bore a half-tone of "The 
Locks," Lockport, and the inscription advised, 
"See other pages for the key." 

"The Ways and By-ways" afforded some idea 
of what was in store for the visitors from far 
Rensselaer : 

FIRST DAY. 

5.50 A. M. — Leave Lockport in special trolley 
cars for Niagara Falls. 

7.00— Meet guests at their Pullmans, Niagara 
Falls. 

7.15 — Leave in trolleys for Table Rock and 
Falls View. 



WILD GINGER 151 

74(>^LeaTe for Queenstown via Canadian 
side. Birds-eyc-vicw of gorge. 

8.15 — Cross lower river bridge to Lewiston. 

8.20 — Leave Lewiston for Youngstown, mouth 
of the Niagara. 

840 — Signal for the angling tournament off 
Fort Niagara to begin. 

12 M. — ^Standing lunch under the willows, 
Fort Niagara. 

6 P. M.— Signal, "All boats in." 

6.15 — ^All aboard for Lewiston. 

645 — Fish supper and New Gorge Wotel, 
Lewiston. 

745 — ^Leave for Falls via Gorge route. 

8.15 — Doing Niagara Falls by searchlight, if 
not search warrants. 

945 — Shake the dust off our feet and start for 
good old Lockport. 

1045 — Niagara county seat by electric light. 

SECOND DAY. 

9 A. M. — ^Trolley tour of Lockport. 

1.30 P. M. — ^Leave in special trolleys for Ol- 
cott. 

2.(00— Stunts of the amateurs at Rustic The- 
atre. 

6.30 — Final banquet and awarding of prizes 
at Olcott Beach Hotel. 

The author of "Kindred of the Wild" de- 
dares : "When the trout bite best it is the sweet 
of the year." We of Niagara, blessed with very 
few trout streams, amend that by substituting 
"bass" for "trout" and respond, "Amen" to the 
sentiment. 



152 WILD GINGER 

When our guests arrived on that perfect June 
morning, it was the "sweet of the year" in Ni- 
agara. The uncounted orchards had bloomed, 
but left their perfume still lingering in the de- 
lightful air. Even the sun seemed sorry that 
he could not arise earlier to kiss the dew drc^s 
from the fragrant, velvety, leaves of apple, 
peach, pear, and plum, and hear the birds chat- 
ter their first greeting to a new-bom day. 
Tempted though he might be, a poet would not 
attempt to express his joy, lost in the rapture 
of breathing, smelling, and hearing. 

June in Niagara, the placid daughter of "The 
Thunderer of Waters," with bosom as white as 
the foam of the cataract and garments as sub- 
tle in their shades of green. The King of Day 
passes away in a mist of regretful tears. Luna 
lingers, loath to leave a sight so rare. The 
blinking stars tardily turn over their vigil to 
their sister lilies gleaming in the gardens. An 
oriole flashes after his mate^ a winged sun il- 
luminating the landscape. While the sky is still 
pale from the fright of night, there flutters out 
a feathered prophecy of a deeper hue to come, 
the bird "with the earth tinge on his breast and 
the sky tinge on his back." 

But truth be told, these were the joys of the 
early morning which rewarded the faithful 
henchmen of the commissary committee in their 
short-cut journey by night from Lockport to 
Fort Niagara with the supplies. But tfie day 
had completer charms to display at the later 
hours. 

No need to dwell upon the delights of a mom- 



NATURE AND ART UNITED— THE PINES, OLCOTT. 



THE HEW YORK 

pu Lie Library 



ASTOR, LENOX AND 

TILDEK FOUNDATIONS 

B L 



WILD GINGER iS3 

ing ride in jolly company down the famous Ni- 
agara gorge, because they have been experi- 
enced by abnost every tourist. 

The Niagara frontier, dominated for two cen- 
turies by Fort Niagara at the mouth of the river 
of that name, was late coming under Old Glory. 
The beautiful plateau, flanked on the west by the 
Niagara cataract and gorge, and lying between 
Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, was the prize 
for which the Indians fought among themselves. 
On the white man's arrivsd it became the ultima 
thule for which the Frenchman, the Briton and 
the American struggled. The blood of heroes 
has made the cataract shores rich in glorious 
song, legend, and history. But, ever since the 
Stars and Stripes were first flung to the breeze 
at Fort Niagara, this magnificent region of 
lakes, rivers, and brooks, has been proud to ac- 
knowledge a loving master — the angler. 

Niagara is the home of angling. The spirit 
is in the gentle southwest winds that are wafted 
in June from sunny Erie ; it arises in the silvery 
spray which emanates from the Falls, and it 
broods over gorge, orchard, and plain. Years 
ago the Niagara County Anglers' Club hoisted 
its banner as the regent successor to the gory 
rulers of the past and proclaimed for peace 
in the words and name of the immortal Wal- 
ton. 

The gallant anglers from the far East were 
somewhat fatigued by the night's journey across 
the Empire State, despite the luxury of special 
Pullmans, but the bracing breezes of the cata- 
ract country, together with the fervent greetings 



154 WILD GINGER 

of the hosts, quickly restored them to prime 
condition. 

Arrived at Fort Niagara, the two clubs were 
equally distributed between two sides, the Reds 
and Blues, the ancient "friendly enemies" of 
the memorable two-days' battle in the Renssel- 
aer hills. At the long docks were floating a 
fleet of 75 boats, each numbered and manned by 
an experienced boatman, with extra bait tend- 
ers ready to supply the ammunition at every 
stage of the piscatorial battle. There had been 
reports of Canadian pirates slipping across to 
the American side the day before and catch- 
ing several splendid bass contrary to the New 
York fish and game laws, right under the spiked 
guns of the old fort, too ! 

"The bass are here," was the eager word 
passed along the line, and there was disembark- 
ing in hot haste, as soon as the tournament ofli- 
cials could assign the boats by lot. Presently ev- 
ery boat, each with a Blue and a Red tedge 
fluttering from bow and stern, was afloat, and 
the grand marshal's whistle commanded "Bait 
up!" 

The boat flying the "High Hook Banner," held 
over from last year by the gold badge winner, 
led the way. The river and lake were soon 
studded with the busy flotilla. Within a minute 
of the first cast "Our Jerome," winner of many 
a prize in bass tournaments, had a struggle on 
his hands, and the banner passed to his boat. 
The flag didn't remain there five minutes before 
a bigger bass credited to "Gene" Ferree trans- 
ferred the highly coveted rag to his boat. There 
were many transfers during the day, but the 



WIU) GINGER IS5 

Bass Standard finally remained with "Lem" 
Lerch, a shrewd angler, who took a liking to a 
submerged pier, which yielded him six beautiful 
bass during the day. He captured the club 
trophy, although his largest bass fell short of 
the weight of the splendid fish taken by Clifford 
Hastings, of Troy. The "Battle of Hastings" 
was witnessed by nearly one hundred interested 
spectators on that great day. Where the river 
sweeps by the old fort into the lake there is a 
swift current, which only a sturdy oarsman can 
easily combat. In this "stiff water" Hastings got 
a strike. 

"This is not millpond fishing," shouted the 
Rensselaer angler, as the fish doubled up his 
steel rod and carried the tip three feet under 
water. Taking every advantage of the currents 
and eddies which the bass knew better than the 
man, of course, the combatant at the hook end 
looked like a winner. But the Easterner knew a 
thing or two. He gave the signal to drift with 
the current, and then gradually forced the fish 
into calmer water, where the contest proceeded 
on even terms. The verdict was with Hastings, 
and it proved to be a bass that weighed four 
pounds six ounces. It was a magnificent male, 
of the beautiful greens, coppers, blacks, and 
golds which have made the Niagara bass famous, 
and which that well-known artist, W. B. Gil- 
lette, deemed worthy of his brush. The King of 
the Niagara, true to life in form, color, and 
character, has been preserved on canvas for fu- 
ture generations to admire, and it is to-day the 



IS6 WILD GINGER 

chief adoniment of a Lockport home dining 
room. 

This chapter is not a recital of stirring 
achievements or adventures, but it is meant more 
as a suggestion as to how lovers of the gentle 
sport may enjoy themselves "in flocks." Pleas- 
ures that are worth while cannot be won without 
serious effort. The very act of systematic en- 
deavor becomes part of and enhances the pleas- 
ure. It is said the Englishman "takes his recrea- 
tions seriously," or something to that effect. 
That is not at all to his discredit, but the con- 
trary, in our opinion. 

So we are pleased to inscribe the names and 
give credit to the men, many of them men of 
large affairs, who conducted a pastime as they 
would their business. 

TOURNAMENT AND OUTING OFFICIALS. 

Grand marshal, H. K. Wicker, president 
New York State Fish, Game, and Forest 
League, Lockport; field marshal, William J. 
Watts, Lockport; admiral, James Carter, Lock- 
port; real admirals, Hon. George F. Thompson, 
Middleport; Eugene H. Ferree, Lockport; con- 
ductor, Joseph Jackman, Lockport; superintend- 
ent, Jerome E. Emerson, Lockport; judges, Jo- 
seph Dumville, Lockport; Dr. F. T. Carmer, 
Rapids; C. C. McNair, Gasport; quartermaster, 
Charles L. Nicholls, Lockport. Officers of the 
Blues: Captain, George E. Emerson; lieutenant, 
Burt J. Le Valley. Officers of the Reds: Cap- 
tain, C. E. Dickinson; lieutenant, C. F. Hague. 



WILD GINGER 157 

OFFICERS OF THE CLUB. 

("Please treat these persons well — and often/') 
President, M. H. Hoover, Lockport ; vice pres- 
ident, E. B. French, Middleport; secretary, A. 
Edmund Lee, Lockport; treasurer, Hiram K. 
Wicker, Lockport; directors, Hon. Charles W. 
Hatch, Hon. David Millar, Joseph Dumville, A. 
J. Mansfield, John N. Hittenmeyer, W. J. 
Watts, Eugene H. Ferree, John N. Pound. 

OXrnNG AND TOURNAMENT COMMITTEES. 

No. I. — Reception and Entertainment — ^Je- 
rome E. Emerson, chairman ; W. J. Watts, Hon. 
Burt G. Stockwell, Hon. Charles Hickey, Hon. 
John F. Kenney, John H. Wilson, T. T. Feeley, 
Hon. George W. Batten, C. A. Ash, William A. 
McArthur, C. E. Dickinson, Fred D. Moyer, 
O. M. Diall, city; Hon. George F. Thompson, 
Middleport; Avery H. Wilcox, Gasport. 

No. 2. — Transportation and Tickets — ^Hon. 
Charles W. Hatch, chairman; Fred W. Corson, 
W. J. Jackman, Hon. J. F. Little, A. J. Mans- 
field, Henry M. NichoUs, Frank N. Trevor, 
Charles Molyneux, city ; Hon. Burt Graves, Mid- 
dleport; Charles B. Shaffer, Gasport; Hon. H. 
S. Tompkins, La Salle. 

No. 3. — Hotels and Banquet — C. L. NichoUs, 
chairman; Hon. David Millar, James Carter, J. 
K. Davis, Thomas Eckensperger, E. A. Fry, J. 
C. Peuss, Charles A. Kandt, Hon. Charles F. 
Foley, city; A. G. Sherwood, Middleport; C. A. 
Fehrman, Martinsville; John G. Walters, Wil- 
son. 

No. 4. — Boats and Bait— Eugene H. Ferree, 



158 WIU) GINGER 

chairman; G. E. Emerson, J. E, Fogle, John 
Jack, Fred W. Korf, Frank B. Lewis, city; Ed- 
ward Knapp, Middleport; C. C. McNair, Gas- 
port; Dr. F. T. Carmer, Rapids. 

No. 5. — Prizes and Judges — Joseph Dumville, 
chairman; Irving J, Atwater, Burt J. Le Valley, 
W. E. Huston, W. M. Ward, M. J. Fend, 
Alonzo N. Qark, Fred J. Davis, C. E. Camall, 
city; E. J. Bronson, Middleport; Ed Bowers, 
Cambria. 

No. 6. — Badges and Equipment — C. F. Hague, 
chairman; W. H. Higgs, F. C Carr, John Hit- 
tenmeyer, Fred C. Williams, William B. Lerch, 
J. J. Marshall, D. G. McKim, city; Dr. J, E. 
Helwig, Martinsville. 

No. 7. — Programme and Itinerary — F. A. Par- 
tenheimer, chairman; John N. Pound, C N. 
Stainthorpe, W. C. Shapleigh, Dr. B. Bement, 
Hon. John T. Darrison, E. E. Williamson, city; 
Dr. D. R. Downey, Middleport; Charles MHler, 
Newfane ; Fred A. Ackerson, Niagara Falls. 

"AT THE MERRY FEAST— FIVE^MINUTE 

SPARKLES." 

On the evening of the second day occurred 
the final banquet, when one hundred and seventy- 
five men sat down to the blossom-decked tables 
in the great hall whose glass front looked out 
upon the dancing waters of Lake Ontario. It 
was a gala night at the Olcott Beach Hotel. The 
various trades, professions, fraternities, and civic 
societies have their formal celebrations, and the 
Sons of Walton were determined not to be^out- 



^■■^ 



THE NSW YORK 

PUBLIC UBR A RY 



A8T0R, LEKOX AITD 

rtLDES FOUNDATIOKS 

R L 



WILD GINGER 159 

done, either in form or festivity. Here is the 
toast-list, which skeletonizes the body of fun, 
wit, and humor of the occasion long to be re- 
membered : 

"Welcome" — M. H. Hoover, president Nis^- 
ara Q>unty Anglers' Club: 

''Who can help wishing to go a-fishing 
In days as full of joys as £ese?" 

— ^Dr. Henry Van Dyke. 



"Response" — G. V. BuUard, Rensselaer G>un- 
ty Rod and Gun Club: 

"I ask for nothing superfine; 

No heavy weight, no salmon great, 

To break the record, or my line." 

— Dr. Henry Van Dyke. 

"Toastmaster" — Hon. Burt G. Stockwell, Dis- 
trict Attorney, Niagara County : 

"When the air and the water taste sweet to 
you, how much else will taste sweet?" — ^John 
Burroughs. 

"Our First Born" — ^John R. McLaren, presi- 
dent Rensselaer County Rod and Gun Qub : 

"The main conclusion, namely, that a man is 
descended from some lowly organized form, will, 
I regret to think, be highly distasteful to many." 
— Charles Darwin. 

"The Parent"— Hon. Charles W. Hatch, Lock- 
port: 

"Dr. Paley, being asked by the Bishop of Dur- 



i6o WILD GINGER 

ham when one of his most important works 
would be finished, replied, 'My lord, I shall work 
steadily at it when the fly-fishing season is over." 
— Sir Humphrey Davy. 

''Our Second Hopeful" — E. A. Bowman, Or- 
leans County Rod and Gun Oub, Medina : 
"But on warm days like this, you know, 
I like to sit an' watch things grow." 

— Dr. Frank Rose. 



"Our Baby" — ^Lieut C. B. Penney, Niagara 
Rod and Gun Club, Tonawanda : 
"Thou hast been out upon the deep to play, 

Riding all day the wild blue waves till now, 
Roughing their crests, and scattering high their 
spray." — ^William CuUen Bryant. 

"The St. Lawrence Frontier" — Hon. Andrew 
Irving, St. Lawrence Anglers' Association, 
Gouverneur, N. Y. : 

"And why are you paddling toward the St. 
Lawrence instead of the garrison?" — J. Feni- 
more Cooper. 

"Lake Erie" — Charles Bennett Smith, Editor 
Buffalo Courier: 

"The Griffin passed through Lake Erie and 
ended her first voyage in Green Bay, where she 
was freighted with furs and started back to Ni- 
agara." — ^W. T. Smiley's History. 

"Recollections of Rensselaer" — ^Hon. George 
F. Thompson, Middleport: 



WILD GINGER i6i 

''There are lots of fake anglers, especially at 
the tournaments." — Charles Hallock. 



"Impressions of Niagara" — E. C. Nilcs, Troy : 
"It is a spot beyond imagination, 
Delightful to the heart" — Firdausi'. 

"The Man Behind the Rod"— Hon. David Mil- 
lar, Lockport: 

"Angling is so like mathematics that it can 
never be fully learned." — Izaak Walton. 

"Bait and Tackle"— Hon. John D. Whish, sec- 
cretary. New York State Forest, Fish, and Game 
Cdmmission, Albany : 

"Poets, anglers, hermits hoary 
Confirm my vested rights sublime." 

— Charles Halk>ck. 

"The State League"— H. K. Wicker, presi- 
dent. New York Fish, Game, and Forest 
League, Lockport: 

"While great events were on the gale. 
And each hour brought a varying tale." 

—Sir Walter Scott. 



u 



The Weather"— Dr. Charles G. Myers, Troy : 
The shifting shuttle of the Summer's loom 
And weaves a damask-work of gleam and 
gloom." 

— James Whitcomb Riley, "June." 



"Water" — Hon. Charles Hickey, judge and 
surrogate, Niagara County: 



i62 WILD GINGER 

"We drank the cup to-day held to our lips, 
and knew that so long as we were athirst that 
draught would not be denied us." — Hamilton W. 
Mabie, "Under the Trees." 

"The Press"— Harold J. Balliett, city editor, 
the Buffalo News: 

"Behold, we bring the second ark. 
The press! the press 1 the press!" 

— Ebenezer Elliott. 

"The Lawyers as Fishermen" — Hon. A. Ed- 
mund Lee, Lockport: 

"They begin by making falsehood appear like 
truth and end with making truth appear like 
falsehood." — Shenstone. 

"Our Future" — Hon. Daniel E. Brong, Lock- 
port: 

"There is, after all, no house like God's out- 
of-doors. And lastly, sirs, it quiets a man down 
like saying his prayers." — ^Robert Louis Stev- 
enson. 

Olcott, Niagara's queenly lake resort, ap- 
peared in gala dress in honor of her distin- 
guished guests. Ontario was in a serene mood. 
The lake was placid as a millpond, the gentle 
undulations of the glassy surface expressing a 
contentment and sense of supreme enjo3rment 
which were communicated subtly but surely to 
those who gazed on the charming scene with 
delighted eyes. Olcott, wearing with becoming 
grace her regal crown of pines, sat before her 
mirror, all her charms displayed, unconscious of 



WILD GINGER 163 

her own beauty and the pleasure she was af- 
fording. 

"Qiflf" Hastings' Mt. Ida quarette started the 
ball rolling in the banquet hall with: 

"To Niagara, to Niagara, 
We'll yell right well to Niagara, 
To Niagara." 

The hosts took up the same chorus, substituting 
"Rensselaer" for "Niagara." 

A gold badge was presented to President Mc- 
Laren in commemoration of the second joint 
tournament of the two clubs, the souvenir to be 
passed along to each succeeding president of the 
Rensselaer Qub. The visiting president, in ac- 
cepting the badge, said his first effort would be 
directed, on his return home, to secure an 
amendment to the club's by-laws, whereby he 
might hold the presidency for life, and thus re- 
tain, while he lived, th£ prized reminder of the 
happiest days of his life. But if he could not 
thus hold it, he promised to transmit the golden 
badge to his successor untarnished in every way, 
and that the infant organization, already two 
hundred strong, and active in restocking the 
splendid lakes and streams of Rensselaer, would 
strive to prove worthy of the parent organiza- 
tion. 

It would require pages to record the many 
bright and inspired things which were said at 
that notable board. But, just as the best fish 

?:et away oftentimes, one of the best things came 
rom one of the big fellows who couldn't get 



i64 WILD GINGER 

away. Andrew Irving, the recounting life of 
many a State convention, was held at home, and 
sent his regrets in these delightful words: "I 
regret more than I can tell my inability to be 
with you. May the god of good fishermen smile 
on the company of gentle and true men assem- 
bled together, giving them a cloudless sky and 
a soft west wind, and the continual dew of a 
good catch. May the recording angel deal le- 
niently with the tales that are told, and if the 
toast of the St. Lawrence Frontier is drunk, let 
there be no heel taps. Greet all the brethren 
in my name." 

Dan Brong drew the blissful occasion to a fit- 
ting close in a tribute to good fellowship of a 
particular brand which is found among anglers 
only. It was permeated with humor, graced 
with wit, and adorned with eloquence. The 
peroration was a benediction and a good^by till 
we meet again, that made parting difficult 

All went from the gathering better sportsmen^ 
truer men. The wilds and a select few make a 
fascinating combination. But there are many 
who cannot spare the time for the long journey 
into the wilderness. Let two bodies of sports- 
men, with common interests and established 
friendships try the experiment which proved so 
delightful and successful for the two clubs from 
the eastern and western part of the State. We 
believe that in many ways they will find it well 
worth while. 






WILD GINGER 165 



WILD GINGER, WOOD SORREL, SWEET 

aCELY. 

A CAMP ON MALASPINA INLET, BRITISH COLDIC- 

BiA. — July. 

vn. 

'The feathery fern, the featherjr fern, 
An emerald sea, it waveth wide, 

And seems to flash, to gleam and burn. 
Like the ceaseless flow of a golden tide ; 

On btishy slope or in leafy glade, 

Amid the twilight depths of shade, 

By interlacing branches made. 
And trunks with lichens glorified." 

A line from Charley Rice, dropped from 
"House-boat Niagara, BelHngham, Wash.," 
briefly announcing that the steelheads were bit- 
ing briskly and diat game on the Pacific coast 
was in season whenever it was fit to eat, caught 
four members of the Cataract Club without a 
struggle. Charley was a Lockport editor who 
made a seasonable investment in timber lands in 
Washington, and who had the good sense to go 
where he could enjoy fishing and shooting al- 
most any young, blithesome day and check up his 
profits on the logs at night. Ideal existence. It 
seemed almost too good to be true, yet it was 
worth investigating. 

On the morning of the third day from home 



i66 WILD GINGER 

the Northern Pacific express labored through a 
long ttmnel which penetrates a spur of the Rock* 
ies and emerged on the western side. ''Good 
morning/' smiled a dazzlingly beautiful view. 
We were now quite up in the world, more than 
five thousand five hundred feet above sea level. 
Although on mountain tops, yet among peaks 
snow-capped that towered to heaven. The sun- 
light effects on the white summits were almost 
blinding in their brilliance, while far down be- 
low in rocky glens and canons there was all the 
sombreness of eternal despair. Here was a 
study in light and shade that could well elicit 
the satisfaction of the student of the clare-ob- 
scure, while at the same time impressing him 
with the utter hopelessness of mastery. Nature 
seemed to mock at the pitiful indirection of art : 

"I wonder if ever a sculptor wrought, 
'Till the cold stone echoed his inmost thought; 
Or if ever a painter by light and shade, 
The dream of his inmost soul betrayed?" 

The two brother engines, joined in the hercu- 
lean task of drawing the linked caravan of hu- 
manity and freight, halted to take breath in a 
level spot between two cliffs. A clear spring 
satisfied the iron horses and their passengers 
alike. Near by was the water-tank man's cot- 
tage. A young girl in the doorway, with a 
basket of dewberries at her side and wild roses 
in her hair, was singing from her very heart in 
utter enjoyment. The words and the air were 
lost in the panting engines, but sentiment 
prompted another query voiced by the poet : 



WILD GINGER 167 

"I wonder if ever a song was sung, 
But the singer's heart sang sweeter? 

I wonder if ever a rhyme was rung. 
But the thought surpassed the metre ?" 

The locomotives were less noisy now. Dis- 
tinctly came the melody and the words now : 
"Sweet Rosy O'Grady, my own pretty Rose!" 
And somehow "Sweet Rosy O'Grady" fitted into 
the scene better than "I Love My Mountain 
Hone," or "Poet and Peasant." 

After breakfast we wandered into the smok- 
ing compartment, secretly hoping that we 
should witness a renewal of the story-telling con- 
test between Mr. Edmunds, the English mining 
expert from Wealdston, Middlesex, and Captain 
J. Nelson Stewart, U. S. A., of Omaha, Ne- 
braska. Sure enough, there sat the immaculate 
Britisher, calmly loading his patent seltzer bot- 
tle for the first broadside on the Nebraskan. 
Captain Stewart was smiling a challenge over a 
long black cigar which was pointed defiantly at 
John Bull. 

Sheriff McKenna, after nodding his greetings, 
trebled out: "Well, to your comers, and may 
the best man win. Yesterday's battle was de- 
clared drawn by the referee. I warn you there's 
to be no strikin' below the belt of truth to-day. 
I want to see brisk work, too. Andy Byrne, a 
contractor out home, had about three hundred 
Dagoes workin' for him all summer. He'd 
come down in the morning, mount the highest 
pile of dirt, survey the laborers, and then shout 
sternly: *Boys, big lay-off to-night; only the 
best kept; dig inf That bluff was good once a 



i68 WILD GINGER 

week the whole season. But, remember, *Only 
the best kept 1' " 

A day on an overland train will make more 
progress toward intimate acquaintanceship than 
a year under ordinary circumstances. The gen- 
tlemen addressed laughed good-naturedly at the 
big man with the little voice, and then faced each 
other. 

"Pardon, captain," began Mr. Edwards, "but 
I rathah gathahed lawst night that you were 
incredulous, sir, incredulous, with regard to me 
statements concerning the tropical growths in 
India, sir?" 

"Not in the least," briskly responded the Ne- 
braskan. "My friend, we grow corn out in Ne- 
braska so tall it is eighteen feet up to the first 



ear. 



'And, my deah boy, how far is it to the next 
car," calmly inquired the Briton, with a "never 
touched me" air. 

"Our com has but one ear, sir; but the stalks 
are twenty-four feet high, hollow, and fuU of 
shelled com," parried the captain. 

"Mahvelous country, to be shuah — but th^i 
you have the grassboppah handicap," suggested 
Mr. Edwards. 

"You're right there. Tall as our com is, I've 
seen grasshoppers so big they had to get down 
on their knees to eat the pollen off the com 
tassels," responded the American, as sober as 
a deacon. 

"You astonish me completely!" exclaimed the 
Englishman, with a twinkle. "Your insects, sir, 
must be related to the mosquitoes I saw in 






WILD GINGER 169 

Alaska, which fly away with the hehnets of the 
Royal Mounted" 

"Ya-as/' drawled the captain, with a delibera* 
tion this time that indicated that he had been 
caught for once with no cartridge in the barrel^- 
"ya-as, but our Niagara friends will find nx>s« 
quitoes up in British Columbia that can straddle 
the Columbia River and pick passengers off the 
steamboats/' 

Time i'' called the sheriff. 
Specky/' the witty German-American of our 
party, who had been christened "Baron," moved 
that a vote of thanks be extended the two gen- 
tlemen for their "moving-story show." Mix 
and "Kit Carson, the Scout," as the rotund put>- 
lisher had been dubbed because of a wild West 
e3q)loit in his younger days, assented. Mix sug- 
gested that the vote, in view of the character of 
the stories, pertained to a matter as serious as 
that which agitated a bereaved Lockportian. He 
explained: A gloomy individual glided into the 
sanctum one morning, shuffled up to the city 
editor's desk, and sniffled : "I want to print and 
pay for a 'Card of Thanks' — ^my wife is dead !" 

"I'm against thanking annybody fcM- causing 
the death of truth," solemnly warbled the sher- 
iff, glowering at the Englishman and his an-^ 
tagonist 

"I presume that either of the gentlemen in 
question," ejaculated the "Baron," with a crack- 
ling laugh, "are willing to tell the truth — ^under 
8<xne drciunstances. One of my neighbor's lit- 
tle boys had been punished for fibbing and ad- 
monished to tell the truth in the future. The 



170 WILD GINGER 

little chap sobbed : 'Yes, mamma, Fm always go- 
ing to tell you the truth about Leonard when- 
ever he does an)rthing naughty.' " 

"Big lay-oflF to-night; only the best kept, dig 
in." 

Business, ambition, habit — one or all of these 
are the big Boss Andys which get down early 
every workday morning and shout at most men, 
"Dig in." Equally unintelligent with the stupid 
foreign laborers are the business and profes- 
sionsd men who "take the bluff," and come to 
believe after a while that unless they "dig in" 
from mom until night, from year's beginning to 
year's end, there will be a permanent "lay-off' 
for them. It is true that in this world of com- 
petition only "the best kept" is the infrangible 
rule. Yet wise men are learning to differentiate 
between the drudge who "digs in" blindly and 
the man who prepares himself for his best efforts 
by the lay-off of his own initiative. "The best" 
in the long run are the men who run away from 
Boss Business occasionally, who forget Boss 
Ambition, and who break Boss Habit. These 
bosses, remember, can never follow the trail the 
sportsmen love to tread. And when the out-of- 
doors man gets back he can set a pace which the 
three bosses cannot keep, so they never get close 
enough to him to ding in his ears again, "Dig 



vu. 



Thus we comfortably philosophized between 
yams, as the luxurious Overland Limited hur- 
ried through canon, over summit, and down 
grade. 

The Rockies command respect, excite wonder 



MT. BAKER. AS SEEN FROM MT. EXTRAl 



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PUBLIC LIBRARY 



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WILD GINGER 171 

and prompt rzptnrt; the Cascades create awe, 
cause astonishrnent, and compel admiration. 
There is some difference in the character of the 
two ranges, of course, and we have endeavored 
to describe the variety of impressions which they 
create. In the Pacific mountains are all the 
glories of the Rockies, but they are on the 
boundless scale of everything Pacific. In Sun- 
set Land the trees of tiie Rockies have become 
living monuments that tower up to heaven, the 
inland ferns and bracken have grown into 
bushes that would shelter a cottage, and the 
alders of the East are here immense saplings. 
The lowly blueberries of New York are repre- 
sented by giant cousins, which bear red and blue 
fruit on stalks so l^igh that the tallest grizzly 
cannot reach them. Vegetation shows all the 
evidences of the unsparing hand of the Al- 
mighty. On the western slopes the forest takes 
on a tropical appearance. The foliage is luxuri- 
ant, and moss dangling from the tree branches 
seems to proclaim the Southern wilderness. 
Canons now have become simply bottomless ra- 
vines into which travelers look and tremble. They 
see directly under them, a thousand feet below, 
the tops of mighty trees, marshaled in orderly 
array like a giant army in review. The Cyclops 
are preparing to scale the seats of the gods. 
And, verily, if they pile yon Ossa upon the 
near-by Peiion they might successfully strive to 
gain the gates of Jupiter Actaeus, if not heaven 
itself. Across the seriated gorge is still a darker 
ravine, clad with trees sufficient to build a ladder 
to reach the most distant star. Over there must 



172 WILD GINGER 

be the cave of the Centaur Chiron, who loved the 
wooded slopes of Pelion. And far out beyond 
the horizon's rim is the great Sea of the Setting 
Sun. Is it there that Xerxes' fleet sank from 
view forever? 

No, these are the western bulwarks of the 
Land of Liberty, and beyond is the ocean now 
dominated by Old Glory. The ancient poets 
who so bravely sang in the ages agone did not 
have such superior inspiration, after all. Some 
day there will arise a singer whose song will 
soar majestically above the Iliad and the .Sneid, 
just as Mt. Ranier and Pike's Peak lift their 
summits farther up through the cerulean blue to- 
ward the sunlit glories of eternal truth than 
Olympus and Ida. 

"How high are those immense firs?" asked 
Mix. 

"Oh, just about three looks and a jump," re- 
sponded Captain Stewart. 

"Even at that, a Chinaman couldn't see to the 
top of them," murmured the sheriff. 

"And why, pray?" inquired Mr. Edwards. 

"Because his eyes slant the wrong way," tit- 
tered the gentle giant. 

On spe^s the train toward Seattle. Long 
mountain ranges are traversed, unfolding new 
delights at every turn. Far toward the coast 
rises a white p3rramid, which has for its base 
dark blocks of granite. That foundation is built 
of mountains ten thousand feet high, and the 
monument which surmounts it, towering a mile 
above, is Mt. Ranier. One is "lost in w<mder, 
love, and praise." But the praise comes tardily, 



WILD GINGER 173 

for serene admiration which does not hasten to 
audible expression takes entire possession of the 
soul. The deep sentiment of the first view of 
Mt. Ranier makes a fuller appreciation of this 
ode to nature possible: 

"I weave the beginning, I fashion the end; 
Life is my fellow, and Death is my friend ; 

Time cannot stay me, 

Nor evil betray me, — 
They that assail me, unknowing defend. 

"I ravel asunder, I knit every flaw ; 
Blossoms I scatter, with tempests I awe ; 

Birth-place of duty, 

And shrine of all beauty, — 
Firmly I govern and love is my law !" 

At Puyallup our car switched off for Seattle, 
and adieus were said to our friends, the Eng- 
lishman and the Nebraskan, and the French art 
dealer from New York, who had become enam- 
ored of the Baron's pet slang expressions, "a 
food sketch" and "cut that out." With many 
eep bows, Monsieur assured each of his friends 
from Niagara that he was "one, waht ze Baron 
Speck call ze goot picture, pardon, ze 'goot 
sketch/ " And, with hand on heart, he solemnly 
vowed, "Your friendship, monsieurs — it is zat 
I nevaire, nevaire 'cut it out' from my heart." 

A day in Seattle was enough, and too much, 
for we were longing for a sight of Charley 
Rice's house-boat Niagara and the British Co- 
lumbia camp among the big cedars. The State 
of Washington proved to w a steamer in a di- 
lapidated state, but the scenery of island-dotted 



174 WILD GINGER 

and mountain-inclosed Puget Sound quickly took 
our minds off the discomforts of the boat 

''We won't have a chance to make the mistake 
our old friend Van Dusen once did, because the 
passes have now come to an end, and nothing 
but good money talks," observed "Scout" Car- 
son. Van Dusen had borrowed a friend's pass 
for a trip by boat to Detroit. He thrust the 
pasteboard through the window to the purser in 
applying for his berth. The official looked up 
at him critically, and asked: 'Your name, 
please?* Van looked at the stem purser, fum- 
bled blindly through his brain for the name of 
his friend which appeared on the pass, and 
which he knew as well as his own, but for the 
life of him he couldn't recall it. The unhappy 
fellow was about to admit that he was using an- 
other man's pass and was about reaching down 
into his pocket for the money, when an inspira- 
tion flashed upon him. Van is a large, imposing- 
looking citizen. Stretching himself up to his 
full height, he bellowed out: 'What! Does this 
company employ a purser who can't read I 
There's the name right in front of you on that 
pasteboard I' The purser was no fool, but he 
was a good fellow and appreciated the joke; so 

he laughed: 'Excuse me, Mr. , we have a 

very good stateroom at your service.' " 

That recalled the similar experience of our 
friend, the judge, who this time had allowed 
"Boss Ambition" to keep him home. On the 
way to North Bay, Canada, one time, he was 
about extending his pass to the approaching con- 
ductor, when he happened to glance at the sig- 



WILD GINGER 175 

nature and perceived that he had signed his own 
name, although the transportation was made in 
another name. A quick escape to the water 
cooler enabled him to make the proper correc- 
tion. The year following, when virtually the 
same party were together, the judge was laugh- 
ingly relating the narrow escape he had. Just 
then the conductor called 'Tickets!" Where- 
upon the judge, interrupting his anecdote, 
scrawled his name on the bottom of the pass in 
his hand with a flourish as bold as if he were 
signing a court order. He had actually repeated 
the very amusing blunder about which he was 
telling us! Again he was not troubled by the 
amiable railroad official, but he did not escape 
so easily from his friends. 

"Yes, indeed," twittered Falstaff, with a rem- 
iniscent twinkle, "before we got through with 
him he k>oked like the 'emancipated corpse,' as 
Mrs. Terwilliger described an emaciated de- 
parted friend." 

The "Baron" said that reminded him of a 
would-be fashionable neighbor of recently ac- 
quired wealth, who came home from abroad with 
an enameled complexion. To a friend who was 
admiring her change for the better, she con- 
fided: "Oh, you see, I had my face embalmed 
in Paris." 

"She was not the lady," remarked Mix, "who 
said that she found the body of the church filled 
and so she had to sit in the 'transit,' meaning 
the 'transept* The same woman, after being 
convinced that an electric flatiron was a great 
labor-saving device, declared that the first time 



176 WILD GINGER 

she went to Buffalo she intended to investigate 



in one." 



That was another reminder for the ''Baron/' 
A German friend in SwarmviUe bet that a cer- 
tain candidate would carry the county by five 
hundred majority. It turned out that his man 
was elected by five hundred plurality, but lacked 
several votes of five hundred majority. Day 
after election he called at the cafe where tlie 
wager stakes were held, but the proprietor had 
already paid the money to the other bettor. Joe 
stormed until he attracted a crowd. Striting 
the bar vehemently, he sputtered: "I bets my 
gelt on Schmidt's five hundred machority; he 
goes in yet! But now Dinkleperger sess no 
five hundred pluscality looks like five hundred 
machority, -no, und, py himmel, / shust voutd be 
informed vat iss de cause off der necktiecali- 
ties!' Joe wasn't the first man to be floored 
by the "technicalities" of politics. 

"Change your line of talk,' commanded the 
sheriff, "or I'll put you all on trial for disturb- 
ing the peace of Puget Sound, and make you 
cry for 'a change of venom,' as a Newfeme 
chicken thief said to his attorney in urging him 
not to try the case at home where they were 
both too well known." 

" 'What'U you have ?' as Jonah said to the 
whale just before the fish shut him up. And, 
speaking of whales, there's one spouting now !" 
shouted the "Scout," pointing out toward the 
arm of the Pacific which runs in by Victoria 
along the southern point of Vancouver Island. 
Sure enough, there was a spouter, and we all 



WILD GINGER rvn 

bad anieagBT look at the 'biggest fish that ie not 
a fish we ever saw. 

''Omiook CItttrley" Rice was at the BdKng- 
ham ianding when The Stake of Wmhmgtou 
fMXDderDUBly swting op to tiie dock. After Unt 
greetings, he introduced the party to Joe Henry, 
the Siwash haU'^breed whoee life he had saved 
in a case of proven justifiable homscide, and who 
was Charley's devoted attendant. 

There is a Siwadi legend that onee in fifty 
years all nature mourns the death of an Indian 
princess who had wept for a slain lover a twelve- 
month and then passed beyond the sunset sea. 
We had apparently struck the year of dotor 
when the slaes weep from January to Decem- 
ber. Yet the Pacific coast rain is nodiing more 
than an amiafble sprinkle^ once one gets aoms- 
tomed 'to it. 

'^Jjooky diat you don't have our -clay itnds/' 
observed the sheriff. "Just a Ught monung dew 
flookes our highways mudcfy for all day." 

On-the 'houae-boat Niagaifaw^ found a steam- 
ing meal awaiting us. Canned salmon is good, 
Kennebec sabnon is better, but Puget Sound sal- 
mon is best. Those are exactly tfie degrees of 
palatability conferred by the discriminating epi- 
cure. Just the TecoUeotion of those delicious 
strawberry-colored steaks makes rone's mouth 
water to this day I And the young wild docks, 
tlKit had attained almost full growth by late July 
in that climate, which knows no winter nor pov- 
erty orf food that the mallards, blackies, teal, -and 
pintail lik e Well, Luculhts, poor chap, you 



178 WILD GINGER 

never dined on Puget Sound, the Bountiful Pro- 
vider ! 

While we visited the salmon canneries and 
viewed the other sights next day, "Comox" Joe 
was a very busy man, putting the final touches 
on the preparations for the trip up the British 
Columbia coast The tent, the rest of the outfit, 
and the supplies were critically checked off by 
Chinook Charley. ''You forgot the case in the 
cellar of the Fairhaven, Joe,'' mildly chided the 
captain of the hunt. 

"Yes, don't forget the box of life-preservers," 
chirped the sheriff. "I've been in many a tight 
place in my day and witnessed many an escape. 
I was duck shooting with big Jack Henmen in 
the Hartland swamps late one October. Jack 
started to cross a six-foot ditch which was cov- 
ered with ice that he thought would bear his 
weight. Down went Jack up to his armpits. 
Without trying to scramble out, the unlucky 
man reached into his hunting coat, pulled oat 
his flask, and, raising it to his lips, shouted be- 
fore taking: 'Don't try to save me, though I 
can't swim, 'cause I have my life-preserver on !' " 

"A little of the 'crayture' is all right in the 
wilderness, where anything is liable to happen," 
said the scout, in an apologetic tone, "but don't 
let's overdo it," he added cautiously, with a side 
glance at the Indian. 

"We won't be as bad as the Millersport com- 
mittee," rang in the Baron, "which was sent to 
Lockport to get supplies for a Fourth of July 
dance. They spent the day in Lockport sam- 
pling goods and got back just as the ballroom 



WILD GINGER 179 

opened. Six cooks were ready to begin cook- 
ing the supper; but when the supplies box was 
opened all that turned up was thirty-six bottles 
of whisky and a pound of floor wax!" 

"That must have been the party at which the 
Rapids blacksmith and his comrade got into 
trouble," reminded Mix. The Baron remem- 
bered : 

"Oh, yes, yes I John Krinkle's wife had a 
panacea for all ills in an egg-nog for which she 
was famous throughout the whole countryside. 
John and his bosom companion, Hervy Hulsap- 
ple, attended the dance, and just before the 
break of day Hervy essayed to escort his top- 
heavy friend home. They negotiated the mile 
with considerable difficulty, and at last John 
was propped up against the door. The good 
frau opened to the knock, and Hervy, hat in 
one hand and the other firmly grasping John by 
the coat collar, bowed deeply, and murmured: 
'Missus Krinkle, here's der Chon-Oion kronk — 
he must some of der echnock haff I' The woman 
glared at the sorry-looking pair, and then 
snapped: 'Vait, vunce, till I get der proom, an' 
I giff. you two carps an echnock, a knock dat 
you don't forgitT But Hervy didn't wait for 
his." 

The provision box looked big enough to feed 
a small colony. Charley remarked that pro- 
visions were cheap and we didn't know when 
we'd get back. That recalled Anderson's story 
of the Swede who applied for a job on the 
farm and was asked what wages he wanted. 
Hans drawled: "Mn Yonsen, you geeve me 



A) WILD GINGER 



fintjr cente day andb yaa eet me; yea geeve me 
seventy-five cents day* auidt ay eet mysdfi" 

''Big- lay-off to-night.; only' die best, kept; dig 
inl" That wa» the bywosd, and action was 
suited to it in loading up. the yacht that was to 
carry the party and duflb to the steamer ComMc 
at Vancouver. 

The clouds broke away and the sun peeped 
through as we weighed, anchor, bound for Lund, 
British Columbia* Impressive is> the sceneiy at 
every stage of die boat's progress. On the eaat 
rise the snow-crowned mountains of the Cana- 
dian Cascade Mountains. Equally imposing are 
the crystal summits of. Vancouver Island's haok- 
bone. 

Thirty miles out a' novel marine batde* was 
witnessed by the interesiied tourists. Ahead of 
the ship a quarter^mile. the sea was afqiarendy 
displkying some sort of eruptive phenomena. 
As we drew nearer to the scene of violent dis- 
turbance; a Taxada Island miiier explained: "A 
whale and thresher eels having a litde fisti- 
cuff." The combative threshers w«re making it 
warm for the big fellow, who fought bade pon- 
derously, but he was no match for his quicker 
enemies and he made desperate efforts to escape. 
For a half-hour we watched the intermittent 
fighting, as the marine monsters worked off sea- 
ward. 

Near Texada, the scene of active mining op- 
erations^ we were shown an island of some 
twenty thousand acres, which an enterprising 
Yaidcee fnom Seattle, had stocked with 



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PUBLIC LIBRARY 



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TlLDEir FOUNDATIONS 

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WILD GINGER i»i 

foxes and from which he expected to reap a 
fortcine. 

Great black fish, weighing from five hundred 
to one thousand pounds, disported themselves 
about the ship^ and the short-haired seals were 
seen gamboling around nearly every small is- 
land. Salmon were leaping everywhere, and as 
the immense expanse of water stretched out be- 
fore us we began to get some small conception 
of the source of supply for the immense can- 
neries of Oregon, Washington, and British Co- 
lumbia. 

Lund at last I Lund in the government rec- 
ords is a post office of the Royal Service. As 
the stranger comes to know it, Lund is the 
"staeder," chief town, of the mountainous laen 
over which Laensman Charles Thulin rules. 
He came twenty years ago from Sweden. Tall 
and strong as a descendant of Skjold or Gustaf 
Vasa, his handsome, frank face is that of one of 
nature's noblemen. He landed first in the 
States, working his way gradually westward 
and northward. His heart was set on a home 
like unto that in the bfeautiful forests which 
skirt the shores of Nordingra or Sundsval in 
the fatherland. The Thulin brothers heard of 
the great trees, the rich mines, and the inlets 
abounding in fish far north of Vancouver. This 
was the destination of the emigrants. For a 
while they worked as woodsmen in Michigan, 
later in Wisconsin, finally reaching Washington. 
With a little accumulated money they sailed up 
the coast from Vancouver in search of the right 
location upon which to file a settler's claim. At 



i82 WILD GINGER 

first they took out papers on Point Sarah, a 
peninsula twenty miles long and two miles wide. 
At last the Norsemen and their brides were at 
home, for the boundless forest was their do- 
main and the sea and its swelling tides around 
about them on nearly every side were their 
adopted protectors. The Thulins prospered, and 
to-day they are owners of an estate tfiat would 
make a rich dower for a Swedish princess. 
Three copper mines, four logging camps, and a 
fleet of fishing vessels are theirs. 

The greeting and hospitality which they ac- 
corded their guests proved that ''kind hearts are 
more than coronets," for riches had not spoiled 
the uncrowned kings of Malaspina. 

We enjoyed the following day e3q)loring the 
Thulin domain. It gave us some idea of the 
old days of feudalism. The three-story bar- 
racks-like house was the castle, the centre of 
government and of all economic and social ac- 
tivities of the region for miles around. At night 
the miners, lumbermen, and fishermen dropped 
in from the various Thulin camps to assemble 
at the Thulin Inn near the dock, where those 
who desired it were allowed so much grog, 
which was scored up against them. Thou^ 
mild in manner, every rough backwoodsman 
knew how stem Baron Thulin could be, and 
how every drunkard was obliged to accept free 
passage to Vancouver with the boss' best wishes. 
That night at the inn afforded a varied study 
in character. Besides the interesting types of 
physiognomy and picturesque costumes, there 
were the fascinating speech of die men of that 



WILD GINGER 183 

region. Most of them hailed from the States 
and centres of older civilization, and they were 
glad to see men "from home/' although in real- 
ity we were strangers. One after another, as 
we quickly became acquainted, related his ex- 
periences, and many were the tales of hardship, 
adventure, and heroic achievement which we 
heard that night, with rolling thunder from the 
mountain heights punctuating the sentences. 

On our way from the inn to Thulin's hospita- 
ble roof we ran across a bear! That is. Baron 
Speck did. He stumbled across the prostrate 
bruin. Angry at being thus rudely aroused, the 
bear put out his paws to embrace the intruder, 
but for once the big Baron executed a quick 
movement. With a shriek and an "Ach, GottI" 
that was blood-curdling, he leaped into the air, 
and when he came down he was landed safe on 
the Thulin steps. A pet bear, given the freedom 
of the place daytimes, was chained near his box 
between the inn and house. The Baron had 
forgotten about that, and in the semi-darkness 
had strayed out of the path into bruin's door- 
yard. 

Brook trout, our New York Salmo fontinalis, 
except for a darker coloring, we caught abun- 
dantly in the streams and small ponds near the 
Thulin house. Within a hundred rods blue 
grouse were plentiful, and deer and bear were 
to be had for the hunting within a mile. Our 
efforts were confined mostly to work along the 
old log roads, owing to the almost impenetrable 
underbrush of most of the forest. We fished in 
the bay, and caught what at first glance looked 



i84 WILD GINGER 

like overgrown bullheads, but turned out to be 
rock cod; a delicious fish that could be hooked 
by the boat load, using an ordinary lead squid 
and bobbing- it up and down near the bottom. 
We were warned not to wander too far away 
without experienced fishermen, on account of 
the treacherous tides, which register a difference 
of from eight to eleven feet along the precipitous 
rocky shores of die islands and mainland. 
Trolling in the bay, the handsome silver sal- 
mon, the king of the game fish of tfie northern 
seas, entertained us until the conch called us in 
to supper. 

One of Mrs. Thulin's suppers! Ah, let me 
dream again! The good housewife would not 
permit her maids to serve us, but she herself 
and her daughter prepared our meals and 
served them. Great was the honor, but, if possi- 
ble, the joy incident to partaking thereof was 
even greater. The Japanese cook was allowed 
to pass the water pitcher and pour the coflfee 
and tea. 

"Eet iss not much," said Mrs. Thulin, with an 
apologetic wave toward the table. But, listen — 
this is what our hostess did not consider much: 
Bean soup, that a French chef would have no 
right to name in the same day with any of his 
own; broiled salmon just from the water; ham 
and eggs, venison steak and onions; roast beef 
and gravy; celery, beets, pickles, potatoes, waf- 
fles and maple syrup, hot rolls and fresh bread, 
blueberry pie, cheese. At dinner next day this 
menu was varied with mountain trout, grouse, 
and wild duck. Run away, Del, run away. 



WILD' Gm<5ER tSs 

Knickerbocker, run away, Martin and the rest 
of yon Tenderk>in amateurs! You are too 
young* to listen to this. Charley Rice confiden- 
tially- advised us that the hostess would not con- 
sider her table complete without some form of 
pork, beef, and cheese, even if she had a score 
of varieties of fish and game in the menu, for 
these wild things are reckoned as mere side is- 
sues. The woodsman would rather have his 
piece of bacon or salt pork and potatoes any 
day than a plate of venison and trout. 

"Well, nothing sticks to your sides like old 
sBit pork/' contentedly sighed the sheriff, with a 
nod' of approval; "and a man can do more days' 
works on potatoes than he can on trout and 
pMtridge." 

Baron Thulin placed his private yacht, the 
Okeover, at our disposal. Our plan was to run 
up the coast twenty miles farther and back into 
Theodosia Arm. A famous trout stream, rising 
in the Cascades, emptied into the sound there. 
The valley of Hernando Creek was famous for 
its deer, bear, and grouse. We were told that 
if we cared to push up to its headwaters among 
the mountains we would find plenty of goat and 
some sheep. With the latter expedition in mind 
as a possibility, we took along with us, in addi^ 
tlon to the Indian, Comox Joe, Gus, a pleasant- 
faced young Finlander, and Erickson, a Swede 
of fifty, both experienced hunters. 

Eric Thulin had charge of the engine, and 
Tcxn Davison, a loquacious Irishman^ insisted on 
acting as our pilot. The cunning Tom had 
managed to keep out of Charles Thuliums sight 



i86 WILD GINGER 

until time to embark, and then, in the confusion 
of the moment, the fact that the Irishman was 
the worse for liquor escaped the boss' keen eye. 
All went smoothly for a time until we began to 
thread our way through the small islands and 
rocks near the end of Point Sarah. The Oke^ 
over shivered as she grazed a submerged granite 
and we thought it was all over, but the craft 
righted itself. Eric shouted at the pilot to mind 
his eye. Several times we on the bow who 
could see the danger warned Tom that he was 
running dangerously near to the rocks on either 
side, but he waved us aside as ignorant tender- 
feet "who wuld be scared to wade a bath-tub." 
Another close call, due to Tom's shaky piloting, 
forced the party to interfere, and Thulin was ad- 
vised of the trouble with the pilot. The 
"Scout," who was conversant with machinery, 
took the engine, and Thulin took Tom by the 
collar. He had to threaten to throw the obstrep- 
erous Irishman overboard before he would 
promise to lie down. A swimmer would have 
a slim chance, what with the swift currents and 
perpendicular banks on every side, so Tom 
didn't invite any predicament of that kind. 

Deep into the inland sped the Okeaver, gliding 
by beds of kelp and grass beds, and long 
stretches of what looked like wild rice, spots 
suggestive of good angling and duck hunting. 
A buck stood on the distant headland, but the 
"pufF-pufF" of the boat was too much even for 
his curiosity and he vanished between two looks. 
From the water-grass on both sides of the arm 
rose flocks of ducks. There was a scramble 



WILD GINGER 187 

for guns as scattered bunches beean to wing 
within reaching distance of the yacht, and pres* 
ently there was in progress a bombardment that 
awoke the echoes far back into the towering 
mountains. A dozen fat birds were picked up 
before the little craft touched at the rude dock 
in front of the abandoned ledger's cabin at the 
end of the arm. 

Slumbering Tom woke up just as we landed, 
and in sheer mischief he sneaked to the whistle 
rope and let off an unexpected salute to the soli- 
tude that was weird and startling in its effect. 
The echo and reecho was marvelous as a dozen 
mountainsides took up the sound which in re- 
duplication became almost unearthly. The de- 
mons of the forest have broken lose and in 
wild defiance forbid the intruders to set foot in 
their domain. 

"Dweller in hollow places, hills and rocks. 
Daughter of silence and solitude, 
Tip-toe she stands within her cave or wood, 
Her only life the noises that she mocks." 

While Gus, Erickson, and Joe busied them- 
selves making camp, Chinook Charley pointed to 
the great forest, repeating : 

"Kill for us a famous roebuck, 
Kill for us a deer with antlers." 

Specky snorted: "J^st cut out the antlers; 
I'm hungry, and any old deer will doe." 

That got away, like many other things in the 
wilderness of Theodosia Arm. 

To the Easterners, accustomed although they 



i86 WILD GINGER 

wiere to the extensive forests of the Adiron- 
dadcs, Quebec, and Ontario, the giant, gloomy 
wilderness before them seemed almost forbidding 
in its aspect The trees in the creek valley grew 
io an enormous height. But for an old skid 
road which cut through for a mile or two back, 
traveling would have been very tedious until the 
higher grounds were reached. Our modest 
Eastern bracken are replaced with the tall, 
dense, woolly "pteris lanuginosa," or "pubes- 
cens," and our lowly Christmas and holly ferns 
find as substitutes of lofty stature the 'Toly- 
stichum aculeatum," "Califomicum," and "angu- 
lare." The "lady fern" that our Eastern poets 
sing about gave way to the Amazons of the 
fern kingdom in Malaspina. 

We saw several deer, and all of us had an 
opportunity to "make good" ; but only one buck 
was the result of the first expedition. '"Enough 
is as good as a feast." 

The twilight scene from the mountain side 
was one that will linger long in tnemory. A 
mist was spreading over the beautiful panorama 
of water and forest below. The mountains 
above were already concealed from view, except 
where here and there a white peak gleamed with 
the reflections of the dying day. The effect of 
the fading light on land and sea was ineffable. 
We seemed to occupy a region midway between 
earth and heaven, with the white thrones visible 
here and there above us. The camp fire below 
had withal the more inviting look, and the hu- 
man stomach bade us not to ascend, but to de- 
scend to the more homelike abode. 



NO TIME FOR STORIES. 



THB NEW YORK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



A8T0R. LENOX iND 

TILDEH FOUNDATIONS 

ft L 



WILD GINGER 189 

Rock God chowder, salmon steak, stewed duck, 
and roast grouse, bacon, potatoes, and coffee, 
cooked and served in Comox Joe's best style I 
Once again, get thee behind me, Broadway — 
or stay where you are, if you wish, for you no 
k>nger have any temptations for my stomach. 

Supper was hardly finished .before a heavy 
rain storm came up, and we were quite well sat- 
isfied that we were comfortably quartered in a 
stout log cabin, with a roaring fire on the open 
hearth, instead of the tent we had brought with 
us. Up the valley the wolves were howling, and 
their sharp yelps could be heard above the rum- 
bling of the thunder. Erickson looked at Gus, 
and whispered : ''Some man hurted deer, wolfs 
now fightin' over carcass." So it proved next 
day, when Comox brought back some of the 
bones of a freshly killed deer which had been 
picked clean. We had failed to follow the trail 
of a wounded doe after she struck the credk, 
but Joe was not long in picking it up. 

''Little things talk loud to Indian's eye,'' 
grunted Comox. "Broken moss on stone across 
stream shout to me : 'This way she go.* " 

The storm increased in fury. The awfulness 
of thunder can never be appreciated until one 
has heard it echoing and reechoing through the 
valleys of great mountains. "The artillery of 
heaven" seems to be aiming its heaviest guns at 
the ranks of sin and the mortal feels that each 
discharge will riddle the devil and bring the 
ruins of hdl tumbling about his ears. 

"Pile on a few more sticks, Joe," requested 
Chinook Charley. As the Indian complied, the 



190 WILD GINGER 

native with at least one legally recorded notch 
in his rifle, accounting for the death of a white 
land grabber, smiled grimly. ''When a man 
prays one day and steals six^ the Great Spirit 
thunders and the Evil One laughs/' 

Gus observed that so much rain this time of 
the year was unusual, adding: ''Vy dis sunmier 
it rain tirty-tou days a mont." The Finlander 
and Swede were encouraged to relate some of 
their hunting experiences. Gus told of guiding 
a party three years before down on the White 
Salmon River. They caipped near a great forest 
of oaks where. the bear came to feed on the tons 
of acorns. Back of this oak timber is a steep 
mountain, down which run several bear trails 
and several deer trails. The hunters had a pack 
of twenty hounds, and these were sent skirmish- 
ing through the woods to interrupt the feasting 
bruin. A young man from Portland was sta- 
tioned on the first trail, and he had not been at 
his post long before along lumbered a big bear. 
The hunter stepped from behind his tree, where- 
upon the bear stopped, and the pair stood eying 
each other for two or three minutes. The Port- 
lander finally fired. Bruin dropped onto all 
fours and galloped oflF in the direction of the 
other hunters, who killed him. The dogs were 
yelping closer now, and just ahead of them was 
a cinnamon bear. The Portlander took a shot 
at the monster, and this time had better, or 
worse, luck, for he only slightly wounded the 
animal. The bear charged, and the hunter ran 
for help. He needed it. Four guns finally killed 
the cinnamon, but not until he had killed three 



it 

i€ 



WILD GINGER 191 

dogs and knocked the nimrod from Portland tin- 
conscious. The party remained three days, and 
killed ten Uack bear and one dnnamon, besides 
wounding several that got away. 

I know Portland man/' remarked Comox. 
No good. Coward* Indian say 'Coward shoot 
with eyes shut.' But best keep 'way from cin- 
namon. Him uglier than grizzly — heep quicker, 
too. Black bear run; grizzly not fight less 3roa 
hit him first; cinnamon^-crfi, he like scrap'^e 
kxddn' for it Near my ranch live Siwash, big 
hunter, but shoot too much. Shoot when cabin 
full, cadK full. No good. Good man to be 
dead fer oder hunters. Dis Siwash huntin' deer ; 
ctnnamoa huntin' heem» too, perhaps — anyhow, 
bear scare deer away, make Siwash mad. In- 
dian shoot bear. Bear like dat. Run after Si- 
wash. Indian shoot ag'in^ run some more ; shoot 
ag'in, run ag'in. By em by bear git Indian. I 
md both d^d. Bear stop five bullets, but git 
Siwash jest same." 

''What if you had hit that cinnamon in the 
berry diicket this eirening, Charley ?" inquired 
one of the tenderfeet. 

"I did hit him," remarked Chinook Charley, 
in his quiet, even voice. "I broke one leg, and 
for some reason he decided not to tackle me and 
made off instead. I couldn't follow him through 
the underbrush, even if I had wanted to. He'U 
come out and make for the mountains, and we 
may trade hkn in the morning." 

''No track him now^ too much rain," sniffed 
Comox. But the Ftnlander and Swede tocki up 
Uie chaM next morning, following up close to the 



192 WILD GINGER 

snow line after putting up the cinnamon not 
three miles from camp. Two days there were 
gone, but they came back with the pelt of Char- 
ley's bear, exhausted and famished, but tri- 
umphant. 

"Plenty goat up White QiflE," remarked 
Erickson, after supper. "But no good fer to 
shoot till rain stop some more." Each day con- 
tributed its brisk showers, and the limited time 
made it impossible to wait for more favorable 
weather for the mountain climb which we had 
looked forward to so eagerly. Boss Business 
was beginning to assert himself, even in that re- 
mote spot. 

At the creek mouth the steelhead salmon to<Jc 
the fly, affording exciting sport. We had to cut 
away the brush to fish the stream farther up for 
speckle trout. While slashing away at the en- 
tangled alders, briars, and brakes. Mix broke up 
a yellow- jacket's home. A leap into the creek 
saved his life, but it spoiled the fishing in that 
hole for an hour. The yellow-jackets spoiled the 
angler's face for exhibition purposes that day, 
too. 

One pleasant day we put in on a trip by small 
boats six miles down the Arm. Along the way 
we put up a half dozen varieties of ducks, small 
and large bunches. After the first few shots 
they were wild and rarely came within reach. 
We put out some decoys off a point which was 
surrounded on both sides by ideal feeding 
grounds. For two hours we shot almost unin- 
terrupted, until our somnolent consciences told 
us we had exceeded the limit for decent sports- 



WILD GINGER 193 

men. Forty-five ducks of the edible kinds and 
twelve shell drakes that got mixed up in the 
trouble comprised the bag off Pintail Point, as 
we christened it. 

"Great spot for goose/' said Joe. "One fall 
up here with big man from Seattle. He shoot 
tree days — ^too much shoot — no good. Glad he 
bust g^n — drink too much — shoot while gun dip 
in water — ^fly to pieces — knock end of nose off — 
good, he shoot too much. But before he knock 
off nose kill heap goose, mebby two hunderd, 
mebby more — four swan, too, and some cousin- 
goose. (Brant.) 

The snipe and two or three kinds of plover 
were plentiful and fearless. Apparently these 
birds were never shot at in that region, for they 
would teeter along the shore, tamer than the 
ordinary tip-ups in the East 

Angling amoi^ the kelp beds produced more 
than one strange sensation for the tenderfeet. 
We caught everything from rock cod to sea- 
cacumbers, including sculpin, starfish, jelly-fish, 
and a baby octopus. 

"Now watch Mix quit, because he's against 
the deadly enemy of the masses, the awful oc- 
topus," laughed the sheriff, as he knocked a 
slimy sea-cucumber from his hooks. 

One boat, in trying to stalk a great crane 
standing in the shallows, crawled under the 
overhanging branches of trees along the bank. 
A furry bunch scooted back from a dead limb 
that reached out close to the bird and shot down 
into the underbrush. "A wildcat I" exclaimed 



194 WILD GINGER 

Charley. "Bob was out hunting, too, and ap- 
parently saw the crane first." 

A cougar visited the camp one night. His 
cries up the valley were heard several, times. 
Joe placed some fish on a stump eight feet from 
the ground. Next morning they were gone, and 
tracks of the mountain lion were traced in the 
soft earth near by. 

"Up creek old cougar start deer," said Joe, 
who had been prospecting after the discovery. 
"Buck jump twenty feet, when catch cougar 
creepin' up on him. Buck no fool. Know Si- 
wash wisdom: 'When fox walk lame, time for 
old rabbit to jump.' " 

For solitude profound, we commend the im- 
mense forests of the Pacific coast. The sensa- 
tions of sitting in the midst of the great trees is 
hardly describable. With the sun directly over- 
head, no ray of sunshine penetrates neater the 
ground than one hundred and fifty to two hun- 
dred feet. The hunter is in the center of a dark- 
green hemisphere, whose outer surface far above 
is a dome of gold. The silence after a time be- 
comes almost unbearable, and even the most 
timid nimrod would almost welcome having it 
broken by a grizzly. 

And grizzlies there were, for one of the party, 
escorted by Gus and Erickson, encountered one 
over in the canon across the Arm, and— — 
Well, that's another story, which might have 
been heard had the reader been one of the pas- 
sengers on the Okeover returning to Lund. As 
it is, let's talk about something pleasant: hope 
it doesn't rain to-morrow. 



THK.MBW lOBK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



ASTOB. LENOX AH» 
TIIDEN FOUNDATIONS 

B 1 



WILD GINGER 195 



WILD GINGER, WOOD SORREL, SWEET 

CICELY. 

MODERN PIONEERS OF THE FRENCH RIVEH, CAN- 
ADA. — August. 

VIII. 

"The cardinal, and the blood-red spots, 

Its double in the stream; 
As if some wounded eagle's breast, 
/ Slow throbbing o'er its pain, 
Had left its airy path impressed 

In drops of scarlet rain." 

There is medicine in music ; and the very best 
18 nature's music, for it possesses subtle proper- 
ties which upbuild mind, body, and soul. The 
languorous melodies that float over jasmine bow- 
ers and magnolia blooms appeal to certain tem- 
peraments; but, scmiehow, to the ear of the 
sportsman and to him who loves the rugged out- 
of-doors, they suggest the shallow dilettante airs 
of the ballroom. The Southland, even in win- 
ter, is therefore unsatisfying, and quickly palls 
upon him whose soul thrills to the grand, awe- 
some, inspiring chorus that the Northern for- 
ests sing. 

The Southern hills and rivers have their 
"Love Dreamland" waltzes, but kindly give us 
Leybach's Fifth Noctune, Chopin's Twelfth, and 
Hokel's ''Song Without Words," that may be 



196 WILD GINGER 

heard on the rock-girt shores of Lake Nipissing 
and the French River, according to nature's own 
inimitable interpretation. 

If a man, woman, or child can carry with him 
in memory the master chords and the pervading 
harmonies of the Twelfth Nocturne he has from 
the hands of the Great Master a gift of incal- 
culable value. That greatest of all Chopin's 
creations, in our estimation, is much affected in 
the drawing-room; but the lights, the sounds, 
the environment only detract from the power 
the piece has over the soul of man. Take it 
with you, vague, faulty, halting though it may 
be, as reproduced by the fingers of the bndn on 
imaginary keys, and let nature furnish the re- 
sponsive notes. 

Once in the far North wilderness we heard 
the Twelfth Nocturne, not played by human 
hands, but sung by the voices of nature. There 
was the prelude of the breezes in the near-by 
pines, accompanied by the ripple of waves on the 
beach, while the burden of the melody was con- 
stantly carried in subdued but insistent notes by 
the distant cataract. Then came the rumble of 
thunder in the far-away mountains, growing 
nearer and more awesome as it approached, un- 
til it attained the culminating crash overhead, 
in each lull of the storm still could be heard 
the same undertones of the sighing branches, the 
same melody of the muffled cataract. It was the 
Twelfth Nocturne with all the variations and in- 
tricacies and shadings which master musicians 
alone can create. Let nature play Chopin's mas- 
terpiece for you some time, even at the risk of 



WILD GINGER 197 

J 
having the drawing-room renditions pall upon 
you thereafter. 

"Grand Trunk train for the Muskoka Lakes 
and North Bay I" 

What a welcx>me announcement was that to 
the party of the Cataract Qub, who all winter 
had been recounting the adventures, labors, mis- 
haps, and delights of the first camp on the se- 
cluded arm of the French River, and who, at 
last! were actually on the way to their northern 
cabin home ! In the smoky, stuffy Toronto sta- 
tion a pale little girl was vending hothouse 
flowers. The big sheriff looked at her pityingly, 
and, handing her a coin, said : ''Give the flowers 
to that lady over there with the three little chil- 
dren." 

"Why didn't you wear the roses yourself, 
sheriff?" laughed Lemuel Lerch, as the flower 
girl ran away to present the bouquet to the tired 
Uttle mother in the comer. 

"Oh, I'm not much on posies — I've got my 
mind set now on the cardinal flowers of Okiken- 
dawt Island." 

"What, Falstaff, getting sentimental," cried 
Stickwell. "We'll have to look into his case." 

Assuming the attittide of a giant troubadour, 
the sheriff warbled in subdued tones, low enough 
not to attract the helmeted bobby in the lobby: 

"Oh, dear mother, pin a rose on me. 
Two little girls are stuck on me, 
One is blind and t'other can't see." 

And like unto the busy man of the world were 
the other men of affairs — just boys again and 
school out for two weeks I 



198 WILD GINGER 

Aboard the train business cares were forgot- 
ten under the opiate of some soothing influence. 
Is it the lullaby glide of the coach, or the bal- 
samic air which salutes the nostrils by the time 
we have caught a glimpse of Simcoe at Barrie? 
Anyhow, something has created a new feeling 
within us, making life doubly worth living. It 
may be in part the joint product of present en- 
joyment and anticipation which thrive won- 
drously in the sunshine of good-fellowship and 
congenial company. 

At North Bay the steamer Van Woodl<md, 
chartered to carry our party, with guides^ cook, 
boats, and supplies, was in waiting at the end of 
the long pier running out from the sandy beach. 
We had only time for supper at the Queen's 
Hotel and a brief renewal of acquaintanceship 
with Chief Game Warden Samuel Huntii^[toa 
and other good sportsmen we had met in the 
northern metropolis of Ontario and northern 
terminus of the Grand Trunk. The chief out- 
fitting point of the Temagami, Temiscaming, Ot- 
tawa River, Georgian Bay, and Magnetawan 
regions, North Bay is an interesting town. Pic- 
turesque lumbermen, Indians from the reserva-^ 
tions, fishermen, and trappers mingle with the 
thrifty Canadian tradesmen. There the tourist 
can see "The Man from Glengarry'* and the rest 
of the shantymen from the woods. 

Lac du Talcm, Trout Lake, and Nipissing it- 
self offer inducements to the sportsmen to tarry, 
but our path lies across Lake Nipissing, a route 
that "leaves no trail." 

Lake Nipissing and the French River formed 



WILD GINGER 199 

two very important links of the nearly all-water 
route between Montreal and the far West from 
the earliest days of the French domination of 
the northern portion of the American continent 
The first pioneers on the French River, there- 
fore, must be sought in the musty pages of his- 
tory which are illumined by the heroic deeds of 
the titled adventurers from France. But until 
the very last years of the last century the French 
River was little frequented by the sportsman of 
modem times. About the year 18^, an aban- 
doned log cabin on an arm of the French, north 
of the main channel, and beyond the Big Chau- 
diere about twelve miles, was refitted by Mr. 
Huntington and Dr. Hale, of Ann Arbor, Mich- 
igan. Three years later members of the Cata- 
ract Qub were invited to take an interest in the 
camp, and a club was formed to maintain this 
ideal headquarters for an outing in the Canadian 
wilds. So, we have some title to count ourselves 
among the first fortunate pioneers of the French 
River as known to modem times. 

On the previous trip we made, by daylight, 
the steamer journey, twenty-five miles across 
Nipissing and twelve miles down the French to 
a point one mile above the Big Chaudiere, which 
is a bar to further navigation without resorting 
to the portage. That, luckily, means an end to 
steamboating. In the same providential manner, 
rapids not navigable by the redcless Indian ca- 
noeist, even, at the western end of the French, 
9tofs too easy access from the Georgian Bay dis- 
trict. By this we do not mean that we would 
not like to see all mankind enjoy the very best 



200 WILD GINGER 

nature affords, but we do believe that nobody 
deserves to revel in the select and supreme de- 
lights unless he be willing to earn them by the 
hard work such as this trip to the heart of the 
French River entails. 

The first trip, as we were saying, was by day- 
light, and this time we planned for a moonlight 
sail across Nipissing. Everything was in readi- 
ness, and we boarded the Van Woodland at 
eight to await the rising of the moon. Those 
who had been so fortunate as to take the day- 
light voyage recalled the glories that were un- 
folded to them on that occasion. A year had 
passed, but memory was faithful: The mists of 
morning hung like a silvery veil over the dis- 
tant isles and shores. Vision was not satisfied 
with its limited range. The God of Day seemed 
too deliberate in lifting the silken curtain whose 
folds inclosed the mirrored vistas of islands and 
channels far out over the sparkling waters. 
Yonder peak, around which a wreath of vapor 
was slowly curling upward, looked like the 
ghost of a Huron chieftain, initiating the peace 
pipe of the nations, the sweet-scented kinni- 
kinick, and bidding his ancient foes, the saga- 
mores of the Iroquois, welcome. A white- 
winged bird of peace floated into the sunlight 
from somewhere in the impenetrable, airy ex- 
panse, flashing in the bright rays as he turned to 
gaze upon the glowing orb, like a heavenly mes- 
senger. But, as if to dispel the suggested senti- 
ments of concord and tranquillity, from a rugged 
pine top swooped an eagle, eager to encoimter 
any feathered intruder upon his domain. And, 



PORTAGE AROUND HIG CHAUDIERE. 




rORK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



ASrOR, LENOX AND 
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 
I R I 



WILD GINGER aoi 

reminiscence brought back, too, the pretty girl, 
the fisherman's daughter, who rowed whUe her 
father trolled, and how one of our gallant yotmg 
men stepped to the megaphone and politely 
shouted: "Here's to The Lady of the Lake! 
Hats off, gentlemen!" The grizzled old water- 
man lifted his cap in response to the salute, and, 
encouraged by his action, the maiden gracefully 
waved her hand. 

The moon came up, near the full, in a cloud- 
less sky. "We're oflFl" Off the throbbing 
steamer's bow parted twin streams of liquid 
silver, that drew from the smooth surface just 
beyond the golden reflections of the stars. And 
then, as if in respect to the Queen of the Skies, 
the draperies of night wfcre thrown aside, re- 
vealing to eager eyes a prospect of surpassing 
loveliness. The rocky promontories of Manitou 
Island stood forth in glistening array, like a 
chain of fortresses against the dark background 
of trees, with here and there a solitary pine on 
the summits like giant sentinels. 

Louis, the son of a Beaucage chief, broke the 
silence : ''Dat long time back. Great Spirit's land. 
Water all round, but white man got him, too, 
by 'em by." 

So it would seem the Manitou's island was 
not safe from the invader's greed, for the white 
man had taken ever3rthing in sight, not sparing 
an isolated patch of rocky forest in mid lake to 
the red man's g^od. 

"But, Louis," said the judge presently, "don't 
your tribe hold some choice lands as a reserve 
up at Beaucage? Don't the Duquese tribe hold 



aoa WILD GINGER 

a splendid tract, indudiqg a big strip of origi] 
pine that they have refused to sell for a quarter 
of a nulion? And don't you Indians have per* 
mission to shoot all the deer and moose you 
want any time of the year ?" 

"You have said," grunted Louis. Then, after 
several puffs at his pipe, the Indian added: 
''There will be hungry white men so long as 
there's any Indian land to swallow." 

"In other words, judge," giggled the sheriff, 
"as Jim McGarvey says, *Whan ye have anny- 
thing to say, keep yer mout' shet.' " 

"The Province promised to build improved 
houses for the Indians ten years ago," said Mix; 
"but the Indians may make the same criticism 
that my boy did of me the other day. The lad 
remarked to his mother confidentially: 'Papa 
keeps his promises, but he keeps them too 
tong.' " 

"Well, this all suits me as well as if I bad 
ordered every bit of it," sighed the sheriff con- 
tentedly. "And I'm about as particular as Jim 
McGarvey, too. Jim was called in to play as 
substitute in a Fourth of July match game of 
ball. It was in the old days, when tl^ batter 
could call for a high or low ball. Jim was green 
to the game, and when he stepped up to the 
plate he stood there, looking scared-like at the 
big pitcher and appealingly at the umpire. 
'What kind o' ball, Jim ?' yelled the umpire. Jim 
hitched around, spit on his hands, grasped the 
bat, and then, again facing the pitcher, com- 
manded defiantly: ^A low warn — an' d-^-n 



tt 



WILD GINGER J03 

After the laugh subsided, it was generally 
agreed that the slow trip in the moonlight was 
just the thing. 

Jim McGanrey," the judge was reminded, 
was a very industrious man, and it ground him 
dreadfully to miss even a quarter of a day's 
work on any account. Despite his crippled con- 
dition, the faithful old fellow boasted he hadn't 
lost but one half-day in twenty years, and that 
was to attend a funeral. He was so painfully 
deformed that he bobbed back and forward like 
the closing and opening of a joined rule. One 
day he was hobbling Song the towpath on his 
way to work, and in stepping out of the way 
of a canal team toppled into the water. With 
much difficulty he was fished out by the crew, 
more dead than alive. When they had about 
given him up for drowned, Jim sat up, looked 
around, struggled to his feet, shook ttie water 
from his head like a dog, grabbed up his dinner 
pail, and started to snap himself down the tow- 
path toward work. Without a word of thanks 
for the rescuers, but with his mind still strictly 
on his working time, he inquired without stop- 
ping: 'An' do yez think I kin make three- 
quarters ?* " 

''Thank goodness we are putting in full time 
here," laughed the Scout. 

The witchery of an irrefragable silence soon 
again rested upon all. From the brilliancy of the 
open water the boat swept majestically into the 
shadow of wooded islands. The soothing^ odors 
of the forest arose, grateful to the nostrils as the 
incense of "God's first temples." Overhanging 



204 WILD GINGER 

boughs of spruce, balsam, and pine seemed al- 
most within reach. The last argosy of islands 
was left astern, and the converging shores an- 
nounced the near approach to the French. 

"Boys/* came the sheriff's mellow voice, like a 
child calling from its crib for a drink of water, 
"it's about time to hit those lunch baskets." 

And it's remarkable how everybody recovered 
from the spell of sentimentality which had been 
thrown about the party by the irresistible beauty 
of the night in the depths of that far northern 
wilderness. 

Swiftly the Van Woodland sailed on down the 
French, which all the way to the portage is as 
wide as the Hudson at Newburgh. From over 
the hills came a wild-beast cry. Then silence 
again. A wolf barking in defiance at the in- 
trusion, but at a safe distance! 

The sheriff donned the cook's white apron and 
assumed the role of "Mine Host" of the novel 
floating inn. "Just a little 'mountain dew' to 
counteract the deleterious effects of the night 
air, my son," he remarked benignly to each pa- 
tient. It was Luna's turn now to look down 
with envy and wink at the great owl on the 
blasted pine on our bow. 

Out came the banjo and guitar. Under the 
inspiration of the scene and the situation, it was 
marvelous how honey-laden became the roughest 
voices. 

"Come away I come away ! 

Oh, come where the silv'ry waves break! 

Oh, come, oh, come, there s moonlight on the lake." 



WILD GINGER ao5 

Now, all together, boys, as the bass of the 
banjo beats time to the sweep of imaginary oars, 
and the banjo simulates the ripple of the waves : 

"There's moonlight on the lake, 

The sun has gone to rest, 
The birds have called their loved, 

Have called their loved ones to their nest 
Upon the banks we meet, 
Our hearts are filled with joy. 
Our boats the ripples break. 
For now there's moonlight on the lake." 

"Now, then 'Baron' von Speck, the basso solo: 

"There's moonlight on the lake, 
Our boats the silv'ry ripples break. 

And our hearts are filled with joy. 
Because there's moonlight on the lake." 






'Good, very good. That sounds like more ! 

'Now, for the judge's song. Don't protest or 
expect to be coaxed, or we'll make you portage 
all the pale ale and give you nary a drop in 
camp," threatened mine host. The judg^ 
started, and all joined in with a will : 

"There is a land, they sav, 

Where crystal waters flow, 
Midst beds of quartz of purest gold. 

Way out in Idaho. 

Chorus. 

"We're coming, Idaho, 
Then wait, Idaho, 

Our four-horse team 

Will soon be seen, 
Way out in Idaha" 

Somebody stumbled against the kerosene can 



2o6 WILD GINGER 

and interrupted the song right there. No dam- 
age was done, and the piece was carried through 
to the last thrilling and optimistic stanza of 
"We'll know hard times no more." 

The kerosene can reminded the sheriff of a 
story — if it hadn't been the can it wouM have 
been some other servant of the law o£ associa- 
tions. 

Will Pomray was a traveling salesman who 
had seen pretty much every part of the United 
States. He tells that one time he was riding 
with a friend named Brainard in southern Texas 
and they lost the trail. After wandering about 
nearly a day, half starved, they pulled up in 
front of a dilapidated cabin and atked the yel- 
low-skinned woman who appeared in the door- 
way if she could provide them with something 
to eat. She reckoned she could scrape up a 
meal. The pair sat outside until long after dark, 
growing desperate in their hunger long before 
the hostess appeared and suggested that if they 
cared to they could come in to supper. There 
was a bountiful dish of meat, of which they par- 
took heartily, some sweet potatoes, and brackish 
water.' The woman intimated that she had done 
the best she could for them, and after a time 
conveyed the information that all she had on 
hand was a gander, the only gander in her flock. 
Pomray expressed regret that she had sacrificed 
the head of her flock to satisfy their hunger, 
whereupon, with a hospitltble flourish, the good 
woman simpered: 'Waal, 'twan*t so much, ater 
all, 'cause ole Dick had been sickly fer a lone 
spell.' " 



WILD GINGER J07 

Brainard experienced an internal spasm just 
then, and to quiet it^ reached over and filled the 
gourd near the lard pail, which did duty for a 
Water pail, and drained it. This didn't seem to 
feU^e Brainard much, for he shouted in utter 
disregard of the politeness expected of a guest: 
'Woman, for Heaven's sake, what ails this wa* 
ter?' Without lifting an eyelid, the hostess re- 
plied: 'Ye needn't be uneasy, stranger. Ah 
reckon, 'cause all ye tastes is the kerosene Ah 
poured mter th' water ter kill the Ivrigglers/ " 

'That doesn't phase me, sheriff," shouted the 
Scout. "J^t ^^d me another of those tongue 
MndWkhes." 

Bunks were quickly arranged, and all hands 
ttirtxed in for a little rest before the rising of the 
stin. The steamer had now tied up to a natural 
dock, consisting of precipitous rock facing 
twetlty feet of water. Slumber came soon, 
somebody quoting: 

^A Ihttlt munnur in mine ear, 
A little ripple at my feet" 



The ''Baron" was already snoring, but he 
'^camc to" long enough to grunt : 

"The 'ripple' sketch is all right, but please 
cut out the mosquito music for mine." 

As a matter of fact, the shores of the French 
RiTer are high and no abiding place for the 
winged pests of any kind. The bite-'em-^io- 
9ce-'em flies have a brief season of pernicious 
activity m June, but thereafter are seen and felt 
no more. 



2o8 WILD GINGER 

Great miracle! Every man fulfilled his vow 
of the previous night and arose in time to see 
the sun come up over the pines. And what a re- 
ward I The primeval forests close at hand, the 
receding ridges and the island-dotted river 
formed a panorama beautiful beyond words. A 
flock of duck wheeled into the bay, alighting 
almost within reach of a paddle before they dis- 
covered that their favorite feeding grounds had 
been preempted. Overhead an eagle was soar- 
ing, disdainful of the intruders below. A sharp- 
eyed hunter had discovered a deer that had come 
down into the lily pads across the river. Around 
the water lilies the bass were leaping while the 
trembling weeds farther out indicated that the 
pike were hustling for their breakfast. Fish- 
ing from the rocks near the boat, three rods 
landed a dozen splendid black bass within fif- 
teen minutes and in a jiffy Lemuel had them 
dressed and sputtering in Beaucage's pan. 

A substantial breakfast was quite essential, 
for the party had before them the quarter-mile 
portage, and many great loads to carry. We 
were turning our backs upon civilization for two 
weeks, and had to depend upon what we took 
in and what we could catch thereafter, as the 
captain was instructed not to return for us until 
the allotted time. 

Dr. Van Dyke well calls the portages "the 
troublesome delights of a journey into the wil- 
derness." They are more than that: They are 
that which preserves the wilderness, and the 
sauce which heightens the enjoyment thereof. 

The Peterboros and birch-bark canoes were 



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soon laden with the camp duffle. ''Au large!" 
shouted Louis, as we pushed off down stream. 
Ah, primitive man is once more free! Cast off 
from the sordid anchorage of the world and its 
cares. "Au large! Envoycz au large!" 

At the foot of the great rapid a mile below 
the portage is an ideal spot for the angler. The 
parly could not resist the temptation to tarry 
long enough to paddle up to the foot of the Big 
Chaudiere and try their luck. From a high rock 
the sheriff made his first cast. Down into the 
swirling waters went the protesting frog. Ere it 
had hardly disappeared there was a vicious tug 
at the line. The reel sang "The Spinning 
Wheel" with variations, for a dozen bars. Cau- 
tiously the angler reeled in and a huge maski- 
nonge responded to the invitation to come in. 
Man and fish eyed each other for an instant and 
then, with a saucy toss of his head, the great 
fish darted for the milky water^ taking with 
him half the tackle as a souvenir of the early 
morning encounter with the sheriff. 

Falstaff was soon refitted, however, and joined 
the others in the exciting struggles with black 
bass. Four-pounders were the average, but a 
man who could land one out of every three in 
that powerful current was both lucky and skill- 
ful. 

Cast off, was the word again, and the little flo- 
tilla headed once more for camp twelve miles 
down stream. 

'TDid you think you were fishing for suckers 
at Beebe's Mill?" chuckled Stickwell, by way of 



ato WILD GINGER 

comforting the sheriff as the big fellow oiourtied 
over the loss of his first muscallonge. 

"I guesi Tm Jonahed," trailed Faktaff, for 
the first time in his life a victim of the hkies* 
"That fish weighed forty pounds if an ounce/* 
he soliloquized, ignoring the chaffing from the 
other boats. Like Rachael mourning for her 
children, he would not be comforted. 

'Tm as bad as Pete Crawford," he went on, 
"Pete was married to hard luck and was too 
lazy to try to get a divorce. Pete's wife told 
him to get rid of some kittens, so the first time 
he started for town he tied the kits in a meal 
sack and put them under the seat. When he 
reached the Wrights Comers school house, he 
saw the children at recess and thought he'd 
have some fun. Pete picked up the bag and 
gave it a fiing. The bag busted and out leaped 
the kittens on the horses backs. Away went the 
team, Pete yankin' and hoUerih' 'woal woat' 
but the more he yelled and sawed, the hardtr 
the sorrels galloped. At the turn they went 
plumb through the fence and into a wheat field, 
leaving Pete and his hired man among the fence 
rails while the runaways tore a swathe right 
through the crop all the way to the creek. Tfiat 
bag of kittens cost Pete twenty-five.— Btrt that 
'lunge — ^mercy me, but he was a beaut! 

"Another time," the sheriff resumed, a^ soon 
as he got his, mind off his own recent loss, "Pete 
thought he'd make a little money Fourth of 
July. He kept his plans quiet until posters ap- 
peared on all the cross roads announcing that 
Peter Crawford would send a canal boat, k>aded 



SHERIFF'S FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH A MUSCALLONGE— 
FRENCH RIVER. 



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WILD GINGER 9ii 

with inflanuiiaUe material and ablaze, over the 
Falls, copying after John Hodge's advertising 
scheme for Gargling OSL Quite a crowd as- 
sembled to see the sight. Pete had bought an 
old scow for forty-five dollars and a lot of tar 
and oil barrels for ten dollars more. He lit up 
his cargo and started the craft The heat drove 
off the men who were instructed to keep the 
boat off shore and she drifted into a pile of lum- 
ber above the Falls and destroyed five hundred 
dollars' worth of property. Pete had a close 
call on being arrested for arson, but got out 
of the trouble for one hundred dollars in addi- 
tion to the cost of the property. — I don't expect 
to connect with another fish like that I" 

''Cheer up, sheriff, think of what happened to 
Pete !" remarked a condoling friend. 

"Yes, bad luck followed Pete like a dog after 
a boy coming home from the butcher's," the 
sheriff presently resumed, as he rested on his 
oars and gazed back toward the receding Chau- 
diere, with the wistfulness of Lot's wife looking 
back at the burning city. "A negro named Sam 
Tod came North with Captain Rogers after the 
war. Sam was not a gentle, retiring coon. The 
soldiers had taught him to box arid he was the 
regiment bully. Pete hired Sam. One night I 
met Sam coming from Crawford's barn with a 
bag of com. Sam said, 'Ah jes can't hear mah 
pigs a*squealin' when de boss' bam am full of 
cc^n I'l-^But I bst the biggest lugger in Canada 
back there I" 

"Oh, forget it, sheriff," cried Mix. "Remem- 
ber, there's as good fish in the sea." 



212 WILD GINGER 

"I know the old sayin', but a feller hates to 
lose 'em once he's had his hook into 'em/' an- 
swered the big chap sadly. 

He rowed hard for a few minutes as if to re- 
lieve his mind by exercise, but presently returned 
to the old subject. 

"Talk about hard luck! Well, there are oth- 
ers. Pete Crawford had several Dutchmen 
working for him. Sam had been the favorite, 
but the German hands combined against the 
darkey and finally set the boss against him. For 
revenge, Pete sent the Dutchmen to town on a 
fake errand, one at a time, waylaid them and 
gave each man a good drubbing. They sued 
Crawford for damages and he settled for ten 
dollars a piece. — I wouldn't have lost that fish 
for twenty-five!" 

"Sheriff, you're as bad as the old woman in 
church," broke in Larch. "Old Mrs. Pifer used 
to get a pail of milk each Sunday morning at a 
place beyond the church, and then come back 
for service and set the pail in the vestibule. 
One morning she had forgotten the cover to the 
pail and when the sermon was about half over 
she heard a suspicious lapping behind her where 
she sat in the rear pew. Turning 'round she 
saw a dog helping himself to the milk. Before 
she thought what she was doing, she shrieked 
in a shrill voice, 'My goodness, that dog's drink- 
ing my milk I' Then, realizing the breach of 
decorum, she said in a acared voice, 'My good- 
ness, I talked in church! Why, there, I talked 
again ! Mercy me, I'm talking all the time !' " 

"Never mind, Lemuel," the sheriff answered. 



WILD GINGER 213 

"You'll never be licked for holdin' your breath I" 

"But did you see how Falstaff worked on the 
portage?" said the "Baron." **Why, he worked 
just like a barrel of cider — sitting still." 

"But I wasn't standing on my head, like you. 
Baron, when you slipped from the gang plank 
this morning," retorted Falstaff, somewhat 
aroused. 

The sally brought a broadside from the entire 
flotilla, for it recalled the ludicrous spectacle 
presented by the towering Teuton when in 
undress uniform he fell into the water and stuck 
in the mud head first. 

Threading the maze of channels among the 
ten thousand islands, we reached our log cabin, 
after a delightful trip, unsurpassed by any river 
voyage in the world. The French River is the 
St. Lawrence at the Thousand Islands, but just 
as nature made it. 

The bunks, covered with fresh balsam, cedar, 
and spruce — if correctly done — are a veritable 
balm of Gilead to the weary voyager, but this 
is no time to stretch out, since the camp must 
be put in order for the business of taking pleas- 
ure in the wilderness. There were springs in 
the neighborhood, but we solved the water prob- 
lem more satisfactorily by putting down a driven 
well right at camp. The water thus obtained at 
15 feet was cold, palatable, and wholesome. In 
the bank we dug a deep cave in which we 
stored our perishable provision and there our 
fish, game, butter, lard, ale, etc., kept as well 
as in any refrigerator. 

Wonderful is the river that so dearly loves the 



«I4 WILD GINGER 

moss-covered rocks, the red-berried shrubs, the 
cardinal flower and the cone-clad trees that he 
goes miles out of his way at a hundred points 
to take them all into his fond embrace. For 
twelve miles fr(xn Nipissing to the head of 
Okikendawt Island there is, indeed, but one 
broad channel. Prcxn that point on to tke 
Georgian Bay, over 50 miles by stream^ there 
are two main channels, and almost countless 
minor ones, embracing innumerable islands. 
There are hundreds of rapids, most of which 
can be run by canoists of ordinary skill. But 
the river is treacherous in places least sus^ 
pected, as testified to by the tragedy which over- 
took two fine young athletes from Pittsbuiigfa 
one summer we were in camp on the French. 
The guides duly cautioned us to take no un* 
necessary chances in dangerous water. Despite 
this we had one or two narrow escapes, which, 
however, proving to be escapes, only added zest 
to our life in the wilds. 

The Little Chaudiere, where the north branch 
joins the main channel^ was within long rifle 
shot above us, and that night its croning lulla- 
by hushed our tired eyes to sleep. 

Next morning, Ross Anderson, the guest from 
Chicago, was up by daylight and came back 
before the rest of the party had rolled out 
When we arose he was helping Beaucage pre- 
pare six black bass, two pike, and a huge pick^ 
erel for breakfast. The Indian was protesting 
against touching the pickerel-^-called pike in 
Canada — explaining, "Him snake fish — ^no good, 
eat heep frog." Ross shouted to the figures in 



J CAMP ON THE FRENCH RIVER. 



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WILD GINGER ai5 

white ia the doorway, ''Saw traeks like (uceo 
ia the sand ever io Looa Bay I" 

"Moose/' gnmted Beaucagc. "Moose runway 
over dere." 

The side channel on whieh our camp is located 
18 nearly a mile wide with an island in the cen* 
tr^ We never tired of the beauty of the 
scene obtainable from our out-of-doors dining 
hall, which we had located midway between the 
Uving cabin ^n4 the cook shanty. Considerable 
lumberii^ had been done along the French, 
bat there still remained a good deal of original 
forest, luid the second growth was from twenty 
to forty years old. 

Iq 1900 the Ross govermnent sent ten survey 
p^irties out to explore the Nipissing and adjacent 
districts with a view to conserving their re- 
sources. They learned that in the Nipissing 
district north of the C. P. R. there were at 
least 20,000,000 cords of standing pulp wood 
alone ; in the Algoma district 100,000,000 cords ; 
m the district of Thunder Bay 1 50,000,000 cords ; 
in the district of Rainy River 18,000,000 cords. 

The camp was divided into four parties for 
the first day's expeditions. One went to the 
Little Chaudiere, or "Shy-air" as the guides caQ 
it; another to the Masog-Masing Creek, noted 
iot its deer runways; another to the Woolsey 
River; another to the Five-Mile Rapids down 
on the main channel. 

Below the Little Chaudiere there is a whirl- 
pool 900 yards in diameter and famous for the 
'lunge that lurk there. The judge and sheriff 
tried their fortunes there. With 50 yards of 



2i6 WILD GINGER 

3-O hard braid linen line out and a gorgeous 
3-O Palmer spoon whirling attractively at the 
end, they made the circuit of the pool, the 
sheriff determined to redeem himself. On the 
second turn just as the lure whirled tmder the 
overhanging pine near where the gigantic mill 
race of the upper French shoots into the chan- 
nel below, the sheriflF cried, "I'm fast. Back 
water. Oh, no, I've got him. He's gone." 

That was the verbal kinetoscope reproduc- 
tion of their connecting up with old Esox no- 
bilior. Then the battle began. Thrice across the 
pool and then down into the stiller water the 
contest continued, when at the end of ten min- 
utes the big fellow surrendered. He was towed 
up to the boat and his career ended forever 
with a 22-calibre pistol bullet through the neck. 
Forty-two pounds, and with a spread of jaw 
that will comfortably take in and hold a derby 
hat I 

Trolling parallel with the shore line, so as to 
run the spoon in about six feet of water off each 
promontory or headland where the muskies love 
to lounge, we found to be a very effective way 
of fishing. Twenty-four 'lunge our party cap- 
tured in the two weeks, and many more we 
might have had merely by putting in the nec- 
essary time trolling. The splendid fish were 
not wasted, for what we didn't consume in camp, 
the Indians smoked for their winter use. 

The rush-lined Woolsey was a famous 'lunge, 
pike, and pickerel grounds. Near the mouth 
of the Woolsey are the Duquese rocks, held by 
a colony of pike. A turn around these rocks 



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WILD GINGER 217 

always produced results. Making the circum- 
ference in twenty feet of water, we were quite 
certain to connect with a fish running anywhere 
from eight to fifteen pounds weight. Qoser in, 
where the water was not so deep, lay smaller 
fish, just as ready to accept a glittering chal- 
lenge as their elders, and much friskier in a 
fight. 

Casting for pickerel from shore afforded much 
sport in the Woolsey. The stream seemed to 
be literally alive with them. Stickwell tested 
his steel rod on a fish that proved to be a 
husky musky, and for a time it looked as if 
the 'lunge would drag the angler into the river. 

At the mouth of this solitary river was the 
home of Fire Ranger Hayes, a silver-bearded, 
venerable hermit of kindly heart. In a little 
six by eight tent he dwelt there six months in 
the year, his only companion a collie. Nixie 
kept Hayes posted on the whereabouts of par- 
tridge which were plentiful. On our first visit, 
the bark of the dog was heard on a nearby ridge 
and the old man said, "Boys, if you want roast 
partridge for your lunch, go up the trail a few 
rods and take your gun." The judge* and Mix 
investigated matters and presently returned with 
seven fine birds. The whole flotilla had made 
the Woolsey trip that day and the rendezvous 
for two o'clock lunch was at Delmonico's rock, 
a half mile up stream. 

There Larch and the baron were already put- 
ting a ten-pound 'lunge and some bass and pike 
on the fire. The scout was busy dressing frogs' 
legs^ much to the disgust of the Indian, who 



9i8 WILD GINGER 

afterwards refused to eat fish because it had 
h^ea fried in the same pan in which the frogs' 
legs had been cooked. Partridge, venison, and 
bacon, potatoes, blue berries, raspberries, and 
coffee, ccxnpleted the meal which gave the name 
to the place — Del's Rock. 

We made an expedition back to various lakes, 
including Beaver Lake, where we found oq 
beavers. Beaucage explained that the beaver 
had migrated inland "maybe hundred acre, two 
hundred acre, maybe more." But the guides' 
linear standard "acre" is indefinite enough with« 
out adding the Indian's "maybe," so we decided 
not to undertake an interminable journey for 
the glimpse of beaver in the wilds. One of 
nature's freaks was a small lake back two miles 
from the river. It ccmtained nothing but the 
large^mouth black bass. In the French we 
never caught any bass but rock and small mouth. 
We named the pretty sheet of water "The Little 
Oswego of the Big Oswego" and Beaucage 
turned that into Indian for us: "Skitewaubou* 
bassing." But as "skitewaubou" is the Indian 
for "^wiiiskey" the native was undoubtedly hav- 
ing a little fun with us. And by the way, phi- 
tologists, is "skitewaubou" at all related in deri- 
vation to the Celtic "usquebaugh," the name for 
the "mountain dew" of Ireland? 

But we decided that the most chamung in- 
land mirror of all was a lake that some of us 
called Cardinal Lake and some Blue Flag Lake. 
The blue flags blooming in profusion in August 
made the lake a mass of blue, as if decorated 
for a Yale regatta, with here and there just a 



WILD GINGER aig 

I 

bit of envious criinson which the cardinal fkm- 
ers threw forward in reflection from the banks 
to keep Harvard in countenance. And as spec* 
tators, there were the dragon tooth with its yel- 
low for Princeton, and the purple gentian for 
Williams. What a study in color for the ar- 
tist I 

A jaunt to the Five Mile, taking in the inter- 
vening four rapids, affords plenty of excite- 
ment en route and excellent fishing all the way. 
The best bass fishing we found below the sec- 
ond rapid which we christened the "Banquet 
Hall of the Fishes." Along the rocks we cast 
for bass. There we saw something tiiat no an- 
gler in our party had ever witnessed before. 
Tossing a buck-tail spinner into the water, a 
bass struck, whereupon three more bass Taced 
after him in his struggle to escape, rushing up 
to the very water's edge in their curiosity. Cast- 
ing in again and again the remaining three fish 
were captured in the same way. 

"Him fool bass here," g^nted Beaucage, 
''can't learn de lessong from what killed hees 
bf udaire. Mais^ bong fishing — ^not too bad I" 

We leave it to the learned scientists to ex- 
plain why bass in that unfrequented country 
are absolutely without fear of man, while in 
civilization they are counted next to the trout 
tA shyness and cunning. 

In the third pool Andersen hooked a 'lunge 
just at the head of the dangerous rapid. ^- 
lore die boatman was aware of his perilous 
(Mltion, the canoe had been sucked into the 
swift current and was going down stream in 



220 WILD GINGER 

spite of all his efforts. Andersen claims the 
'lunge saved them a ducking and possible drown- 
ing by heading up stream and drawing the boat 
after him. 

By no means fail to explore Masog-Masing 
Creek for at least a mile or two. Five of the 
party made a two-days' expedition up the "Creek 
where the woodpecker sings," the favorite home 
of the cock of the woods, the great black-bodied, 
red-headed woodpecker, who has no song, but 
a raucous cackle that can be heard a mile. In 
the two days they counted 42 deer and met a 
party of Indians from the reservation coming 
out with 15 carcasses. 

Around the camp fire at night — a little blaze 
is both cheerful and comfortable in the August 
evenings of upper Ontario— the guides and the 
cook, La Blanc, entertained us with stories of 
the great North. Some of them had made the 
trip to James Bay and all of them knew the 
country within a radius of 100 miles quite well. 

During our several trips to the French we 
became acquainted with at least four distinct 
types of Indian guides. Each gave the lie to 
the slander that "there is no good Indian but a 
dead Indian." 

Louis Beaucage, tall and straight as a shoot 
of arrow wood, had his cabin near Sturgeon 
Falls. Besides his native tongue, he speaks Ca- 
nadian French well and English picturesquely. 
In addition to deeming it his duty to make a 
trip successful from the angling and hunting 
standpoint, he thought it incumbent upon him 
to entertain his party with his own reminis- 



WILD GINGER 221 

cences. These of themselves would fill a large 
volume. 

Alex Duquese, the son of the aged chief — ^in 
1900 the old chief of the Duquese was reported 
to be 90 years old ; he steadfastly refused to sell 
the valuable tract of original pine on the reser- 
vation, but the press dispatches in 1909 reported 
that he had died the previous fall and his suc- 
cessor had bartered away the magnificent stand 
of pine to a lumber company for $100,000 — lives 
on the French near the Big Chaudiere. He is 
friendly and faithful, but uncommtmicative. 
Alex detests paddling for the troller, explaining, 
"Me hunt man ; me no fish man !" 

Louis Bonfield, a Mattawa, is an Indian who 
appreciates a joke, likes to perpetrate one him- 
self, and loves to laugh. A laughing Indian 
was something of a mystery until he explained 
that his grandmother was French. 

Ike Restoul came from the lake region back 
among the big pines. He was as silent and som- 
bre as his native forests. There was just a 
trace of disgust upon his face when Bonfield 
showed merriment over the weak jest of a pale- 
face. His sole contribution to the conversation, 
outside of the subject of the hunt, was apropos 
of Beaucage's "continued stories": 

"A squaw's tongue runs faster than the legs 
of the wind." And that was the nearest we 
ever came to a tragedy in camp. Ike was the 
bravest canoeist of them all, and why they call 
the silent Restoul "Sure Rifle" is a story in 
itself, a romance of Wolf River. 

La Blanc invited us to spend a fortnight with 



2M WILD GINGER 

him ofi his ''hay farm" up in the Temiscamitig 
country. "Renty moose," he declared, "tdo 
much the moose dere — ^she tramp gra^s tip, eet 
hay down, too much for the poor farmaire." 

La Blanc declared that one morning last fall 
he counted six moose in his hay fields around 
the stacks. He told the party that if they didn't 
care for the hardships of trailing through die 
wilderness and sleeping outdoors in order to 
get moose, he could assure the hunters of g<>od 
sport right around his little clearing. ''I^eek out 
best head right from cabin door-^shoot beeg tftif^ 
kr& !" 

One day La Blanc's little boy Louts went 
down the wagon trail to meet his fathef. Not 
far outside of the clearing the boy encountered 
a bull moose coming from the opposite direc- 
tion and taking the beaten path. The lad was 
accustomed to seeing the big beasts around the 
haystacks, and was not much alarmed, tie 
trudged right along Until he came within three 
rods of the moose. The lad, telling his father 
about the experience, went on to say, "She big- 
ger, much bigger — mee leetle fellar — but she W^ 
fellar have ze grand mannaire and step out of 
trail, step 'round trough brush — easy for big fel- 
lar to do dat — ^me, I go along trail — look back 
and see she big fellar is trottin' in trail ag^." 

La Blanc and his wife were annoyed by a 
moose that insisted on helping himself, not only 
to their hay, but to dessert in the shape of tur- 
nips from their garden patch. One evening La 
Blanc coming home from the hay field, s&w the 
big brute lumbering out of the patd) and go 



WILD GINGER 223 

down to the river to drink. A shot gun was 
standing by the cabin door. He picked up the 
weapon intent on teaching the forest king a 
lesson on "meum et tuum/* as the judge had put 
ity helping La Blanc out with his story. 

"No, et turnips," interrupted the sheriff. 

Just as the moose had finished his drink, he 
turned round to meet the irate eye of the owner 
of the purloined turnips within 20 yards of him. 
La Blanc put a load of bird shot into the beast's 
spongy nose. La Blanc shook with reminis- 
cent laughter, and then went on, "She beeg ant- 
lers shake lak ze top of ze Norway pine in gale 
— ^she keeck out behin', before lak t'ree t'ousan' 
mule runnin' bot' ways — Bish! Swish I Pouf! 
In ze wataire she leap and splash 'rotm' lak 
feefty leetle boy in szvimminT 

On another occasion La Blanc, assisted by 10 
men, was commissioned to take 50 horses to a 
lumber camp back of Temagimi. At a river ford 
they came across 7 mopse standing in the water. 
One of the teamsters shouted, "See the moose !" 
Notwithstanding the shput and the noise of the 
moving men and horses the wild animals stood 
there gazing intently at the drove of horses. 
They seemed to be fascinated by the novel sight 
of so many strange looking animals and it was 
several minutes . before the moose finally satis- 
fied their, curiosity and loped off into the for- 
est. The big fellows paid no attention to the 
men whatever, but devoted themselves entirely 
to the horses. 

But the moose in winter is not the same ami- 
able fellow he appears to be in summer. La 



224 WILD GINGER 

Blanc related several experiences he had which 
led him to keep a respectful distance from the 
antlered king after the fall of the first deep 
snow. Rubichault, a noted old French hunter 
of the Lac du Talon region, confessed to Wit- 
beck, of the Cataract Qub, whom he had fre- 
quently guided, that he always shinned up a 
tree when he met a bull moose in winter. The 
old guide explained that a bull in winter would 
usually take the aggressive, the sagacious ani- 
mal apparently realizing that he was compara- 
tively helpless in deep snow in a long chase 
and that it is to his advantage to bring mat- 
ters to an issue at once, particularly if he come 
upon his two-legged antagonist unexpectedly at 
close quarters. One day Rubichault came upon 
a great bull on rounding a bowlder. The beast 
was within 5 rods of him and plunged at him 
without a bellow of warning. The Frenchman 
swung up into the nearest tree, which was hardly 
more than a sapling. The furious animal tried 
his best to straddle and walk down the slender 
birch, and several times the hunted hunter was 
almost shaken from his perch. It was cold and 
Rubichault was fast succumbing to frost. His 
old comrade, Juisha, heard his cries for help 
after an hour which seemed a day, and coming 
to the rescue, shot the moose just as his friend 
was about to fall into the antlers of the in- 
veterate enemy below. We have seen the cu- 
rious weapon with which Juisha killed that par- 
ticular moose and many other moose besides. 
The old guide, who died in 1904 at the age of 
80, an eager sportsman and perfect gentleman 



WILD GINGER 225 

to the last, used as his sole weapon of the 
chase, a common double-barrel shot gfun, such 
as a farmer's boy would buy at the village hard- 
ware store in exchange for 20 bushels of com. 
With this he was prepared to bring down small 
and large jp;ame. He moulded a bullet that 
would just m a brass-headed No. 12 gauge shot 
gun cartridge, loaded the cartridge with four 
grains of black powder, and then with two wads 
between, he fitted the leaden marble down snugly 
in its place and wrapped it over on top with 
soft paper to hold it in place. Juisha was 
good for deer, moose, fox, otter, or bear, at 
100 yards, nine times out of ten. 

We still have in the den at home two of the 
"big game shot gun cartridges" which Juisha 
loaded for us and which we have carried on 
a score of hunting trips, having it along on 
about every occasion except the day when Stick- 
well and the writer were fishing down on the 
Three Mile and two moose swam the French 
in front of our boat, not 25 yards away. 

One pleasant afternoon in September we said 
good-bye to Camp Niagara on the French, leav- 
ing it to the loons, the 'lunge, the deer, the 
moose, the challenging cock of the woods and 
the scolding jays. We paddled up stream and 
camped over night on the portage. A doe and 
her pretty fawns were admiring themselves in 
the bay mirror as we rounded a point. Ducks 
wheeled in flight overhead to join the innumer- 
able aquatic caravans on the lake, like us, south- 
bound again. The night under the stars on 
the portage overlooking the lake was among the 



2a6 WILD GINGER 

most pleasant features of the entire outing. 
There, as we gathered balsam boughs for our 
beds, in the twilight we joined in Home Sweet 
Home with the lingering songs of the forest. 

Pleasant memories are closely tmited with 
sweet odors. Recollection may lie bidden, se- 
curely locked up in a scent for years, until 
a perfume key restores it to light. As a sweet- 
scented conservatory of delightful remimscence 
we have brought back from the Northlaad some- 
thing that shall recall the odor of the forest, 
the song of bird, the tint of sky, the ripple of 
wave — all the joys of the vast out-of-doors; 
and if this halting recital of vajcation hours 
shall have afforded you, patient reader, some 
little pleasure, we shall all the more enjoy our 
owa woodland souvenir — a bunch of balsam 
from the French River, 



THE NEW YORK 

PUBLIC UBRARY 



ASTOR, LENOX AND 

TIL&BN FOUNDATIONS 

R L 



WILD GINGER 227 



WILD GINGER, WOOD SORREL AND 

SWEET CICELY. 

A FAR CALL OF THE NORTH DAKOTA FRAIRIB 

CHICKEN. — September. 

IX. 

"Along the roadside, like the flowers of gold 
That tawny Incas for their gardens wrought 
Heavy with sunshine droops the golden-rod." 

Spdrtsmen and nature lovers have long been 
engaged in controversy as to the most delight- 
ful season of the year to make a tour for the 
enj<^ment of scenery or to camp in the wilds. 
It is more or less a matter of taste and there- 
fore not a subject for final settlement by dis- 
ciission. 

We have experienced the joys of living in 
the woods in early spring, when the floral her- 
alds have just begun to swing to the May 
2C|)hyrs their many colored signals which only 
the initiated may read, yet which cause joy in 
the most untutored breast. We have felt the 
deep delight which placidly emanates from the 
mountains, streams, lakes, and valleys of the 
Noithland which summer has glorified. Each 
season has its own peculiar charm, and the 
nature worshipper hesitates to make the chief 
award to any one, lost in indecision as to 



228 WILD GINGER 

whether the palm should fall to the time when 
the mountains "revel in the garniture of spring," 
when "the silver clouds of summer round them 
cling," when "the snows of winter crown them 
with a crystal crown," or when "autumn's scar- 
let mantle flows in richness down." 

In general, the best time for the out of doors 
pilgrimage is any time the tired business man 
and the weary houtsezvife can get away. 

If extraneous considerations were allowed to 
creep in, the trout angler would vote for spring, 
the man ambitious for bass and muscallonge 
would crown summer^ but the hunters would be 
unanimous for the time of the "scarlet man- 
tle." 

Late one September a half dozen members of 
the Cataract Club, after a regretful farewell to 
the comrades of many a delightful expedition of 
the rod and gun who had foolishly permitted 
less important matters to keep them at home 
this time, started on their long journey from 
Niagara in response to the far call of the prairie 
chicken. As the luxurious Canadian Pacific 
train carried them swiftly northward, the scen- 
ery from the viewpoint of the sportsman became 
more attractive, but the travelers noted it but 
little, for the visions of the prairie anticipations 
interposed. 

Sheriff McKenna, he of the great frame and 
"still, small voice," the man with the body of 
a church organ and the notes of an aeolian harp, 
piped out: "I've been shooting prairie chicken 
in my sleep for three weeks, and I've been re- 
trieving pillows, that I knocked out of bed in 



WILD GINGER 229 

throwing my gun to my shoulder, till I've lost 
95 pounds. I'm so nervous I don't believe I 
could hit a pinnated grouse if it was hobbled to 
the stubble." 

*'I guess we're all like the men who spend 
so much time preparing an impromptu speech 
that they suffer from preliminary stage fright/' 
observed Judge Hockey. "But once we get fir- 
ing away at the birds which are as helpless as 
the speaker's audience, although the former have 
sense enough to try to get away, I imagine 
we'll have things pretty much our own way." 

Lanky Alwater, the hero of many a trap shoot 
and brush skirmish, allowed, by way of in- 
creasing the courage of the party which was to 
face the critical eyes of some of the most fa- 
mous prairie wing shots of North Dakota, 
"Since we can occasionally stop the feathered 
bolt called the ruffed grouse in our overhunted 
country, I predict that his lumbering cousin of 
the plains will be easy for us." 

All were tenderfeet so far as prairie shooting 
was concerned. What had been said was the cue 
for some reminiscent "whistling to keep the 
courage up." George Washington Wynne 
squared his shoulders, remarking with a shrug, 
"Pshaw, therell be nothing to it. This chicken 
business must be a cinch. Bowling over prairie 
hens is rolling marbles on the dining room table ; 
shooting partridge is hitting a spit-ball pitcher 
in the ninth innning with two out, two strikes, 
three balls, the score tied, the pennant depend- 
ing upon the game, and when you are braced 
to drive a homer he throws to second appar- 



230 WILD GINGER 

en'tly, but instead turns around and puts a dandy 
over the plate when you're off your guard !" 

George, encouraged by the applause of the 
happily put contrast, continued: "I was hunt- 
ing with la couple of good fellows down in Cat- 
taraugus county where the hills are killers and 
the underbrush wearing when I made a double 
that caused my comrades to sit up and take 
notice. The dogs came to a point near a fallen 
tree right in front of me. Two birds got up. 
One straight away crumpled under my first bar- 
rel. The other flew to the left, by Strather, who 
missed. I took a long chance just as the bird 
Was raising the trees on a ridge and he dropped 
on a 70-yard shot." 

"Surprised you some, too," concluded the 
sheriff's high soprano. "Like Mr. and Mrs. 
Lovejoy, of Adam Street, who, according to the 
piece put in the paper by a green reporter, 'were 
surprised this morning by the birth of a son* — 
you were expecting it and wanted it to happen, 
but it was a considerable surprise when it did 
happen." 

Wynne good naturedly joined the laughter at 
his expense. Duall, the mischievous young gas 
manager, would not let it rest there, but added 
his shot: "You said you 'took a chance,* but 
hasn't the sheriflF taught you all these years that 
it is the bird that takes all the chances and that 
the hunter who is not afraid to bum his pow- 
der in the long run outbags the man who is 
always waitinpr for a reasonably sure thing?" 

"That rule is sound, but even when strictly ob- 
served, the swift and resourceful grouse of the 



WILD GINGER 231 

Ea^ern woodlands often seem to have taken 
very few chances after a day's hunt/' laughed 
C. Handy Mix, reminiscently. "What a long 
gauntlet of shot the princely birds will mn scath- 
fcss !" 

"Run?" mockingly murmured the sheriff. 
'^You're always watching for a chance on the 
ground, eh?" 

"Well, perhaps the metaphor didn't apply to 
this winged game, but you'll be sorry when I 
proceed to refesh your memory as to the gaunt- 
let I have in mind," continued Mix in response 
to the interruption. "Down in the valley of the 
Berkshire-bom Kinderhook one bright October 
afternoon, you, Falstaff, were stationed in a 
broad, open ravine. Deployed above you were 
Stickwell and myself, then you and Alwater. 
Bob Whitegiver with the faithful Sport was on 
the hillside beating the cover, when out darted 
k splendid cock. The magnificent gamey chap 
disdained protection of the dense thicket, and 
propelled himself like a feathered cyclone right 
down the tree-lined aisle, in the open all the way 
for 600 yards. All of you had scored difficult 
shots during the day and must have had your 
eyes on your medals rather than on your sights, 
for Stickwell paid his double respects, then I, 
and tfien — please don't interrupt — ^then you, sher- 
iff, emptied your Winchester pump and the 
feathers flew, but flew intact on the bird as 
before. Alwater seemed considerably unnerved 
at the frightful exhibition of marksmanship, be- 
cause he decapitated a small pine as the par- 
tridge went by. But the tall fellow whirled and 



232 WILD GINGER 

just as the bird was bidding farewell to us all 
on the edge of the evergreen forest, a shot that 
was marked off at 76 paces laid the gallant 
grouse low." 

"Birdie Alwater's gun," chirped the sheriff, 
"must have been like Jim Starkwell's. I shot 
a mallard on the Eighteen Mile Creek and was 
about picking the bird up when Jim, who had 
fired fully 30 yards back of me, overtook me 
and claimed the game. I inquired if he con- 
tended that he killed the duck at 90 yards. 
Without a quiver, Jim patted his rusty old 34- 
inch shot gun that had done duty as a rifle in 
the War of 1812 and stuttered, 'Course I do, 
'cause this here weepin IS A REACHER !' " 

The narrator chuckled at the recollection and 
continued : "I said, ' Jin^* yo^r old gun ain't the 
only smooth bore in this party — take the mal- 
lard !' " 

"Talking of remarkable shots," remarked Du- 
all, "Dispatcher Charley and I were sitting on 
the heights overlooking Tsatawassa Lake in 
Rensselaer after a hard tramp after partridge. 
We were taking in the beauty of the valley and 
the Massachusetts mountains in the dim dis- 
tance. Presently we heard somebody crushing 
through the brush below us. 'R-rrr-00-oo-ough !' 
Up sprang a partridge almost under the log on 
which we sat. Just a glimpse and the bird 
buried himself upward among the dense pines. 
About fifty yards beyond in the direction he had 
disappeared was a circular opening in the dark 
woods. The hole in the intertwined branches, 
not over three yards wide, glowed like the mouth 



WILD GINGER 233 

of a furnace in the rays of the setting sun. Like 
a flash Charley raised his gun and fired at that 
opening without apparently aiming or waiting 
for a target. At the report the furnace door 
seemed to emit feathery sparks and a brown-red 
ingot dropped into the darkness beneath." . 

''Charley had something to guide him, like 
old Jim Morrisey, of Hartland/' commented the 
sylphlike voice of the big sheriflf. The crowd 
looked its attention, of course, for the story. 

*']im could bag more quail and partridge than 
any man in Niagara county. He had a mongrel 
dog called Rover, and Rove had most of the 
pedigreed hunters beaten to a frazzle as a side 
partner. Jim walked into the Checkered tav- 
ern one day with 10 partridge and a fine bunch 
of quail. A Rochester drummer remarked: 
'You must be a great wing shot, old man.' Jim 
allowed he couldn't hit a bam door while it was 
swinging. The commercial traveler wanted to 
know how he could get so many game birds 
if he couldn't take 'em flying. 'Oh,' drawled 
Jim, 'I leave it mostly to Rove. He points the 
bird, I just squats down and shoots over his 
nose to where he's pointin' an' ginerally brings 
home to ma the bird without troublin' him to rise 
in his place.' " 

"That's easy grouse shooting for a change," 
laughed Mix. "And from what our host, Dr. La 
Moure, writes, prairie chicken hunting must be 
the luxurious pastime of kings in comparison 
with the rugged sport we love so well. Some 
of you remember the day we put up about 400 
partridge, or 40 partridge ten times each, in a 



234 WILD GINGER 

2b-acre pasture lot whkfh had become densdy 
covered with a growth of 2oyear-old pines. 
The trees bad plenty of sunshine, so the branches 
grew within three to four feet of the ground. 
Birds would get up under our feet, dart around 
a tree, and the whirligig game was over before 
anybody but the partridge could get into it. All 
afternoon we played hide-and-seek under the 
evergreens and when we gave up, the entire 
party had one bird that forgot the rules which 
prohibited leaving the cover." 

"That was hard work and I soon ^t down 
to admire the Christmas trees," sighed the sher- 
iff. "There wasn't enough in it." 

"You were like the Swede Ross Anderson told 
so many amusing yams about up in the French 
River camp. Ole had been fired for laziness, but 
soon came back, saying 'Misteer Yonsen, ay 
moost have yob.' The toss informed him there 
was none for him, but he told a pitiful story 
of a destitute family, so that Johnson relented 
and ordered him to return next Monday and 
he would give him $io a week, having forgotten 
that he paid the man only $8 before. Ole 
looked at him dejectedly and blurted out, *T'ank 
you, Misteer Yonsen, but ay cannot work for 
TEN, AY MOOST HAVE EIGHT!'" 

The train was now entering the famous Mus- 
koka region. It brought many agreeable recol- 
lections of earlier years when game and fish 
were plentiful in the larger lakes as well as in 
the more inaccessible waters. This section is 
one of the most conspicuous examples of im- 
providence with r^^rd to the denizens of for- 



WILD GINGER 235 

ests and streams on the American continent 
The Canadians; fortunately, have awakened to 
the situation and are enforcing rigid laws for 
the protection of fish and game and for re- 
stocking lakes and covers. Very little good 
angling can be obtained in Muskoka, Rosseau, 
or Joseph, at present, but it is improving. 

Ed Cox, of the Port Sandfield hotel, tells 
some great stories of the fishing when he went 
with his father, a pioneer hotel man of the 
Muskokas, to the region back in the seventies. 
He claims that six and seven pound small-mouth 
black bass were common in those days. One 
summer when he was a young man a party of 
New Yorkers angled for an immense bass that 
made its home under the log pier. Once or 
twice they hooked the patriarch, but the monster 
outwitted the anglers. Cox c^ot hold of the big 
fish several times, but he had no tackle or skill 
equal to the task of capturing him. To make 
a long story short, some lumber men came to the 
hotel, heard about the fish, and after a campaign 
of low cunning speared the bass underneath the 
logs where he lay. They used a common pike 
pole for the ignoble task. The fish weighed 
8 pounds 2 ounces. 

"Those fellows," cuttingly remarked Falstaff, 
"were as mean as the dagoes that stole the 
Widow Simpson's barred Plymouth Rocks. The 
justice told her she could have them arrested 
for petty larceny. That struck the widow as 
too mild and she shrieked so the whole neigh- 
borhood could hear: 'Petty larceny for stealin' 
my keounty fair prize winners 1 Not much — I 



L. 



236 WILD GINGER 

wants the miscreyants locked up for PETTY 
SNEAKERY I' " 

Cox in many respects was an ideal host. He 
took a Baltimore man out partridge shooting 
one September day and while the guest was sit- 
ting near a brook a buck came in to drink within 
20 feet of him. Without thinking of the law 
he fired and killed the deer with No. 7 shot 
The game warden was informed by parties who 
saw them dress the game and the Baltimorean 
was fined heavily, aldiough he had gone home 
and never heard of the penalty. Cox paid the 
fine, invited the judge and witnesses to the vil- 
lage tavern, got them all feeling happy and then 
thrashed them all soundly. 

"Good, but what are deer and partridge, boys 
— we want prairie chicken," said Duall, with 
mock disdain. 

In the morning the Canadian Pacific railroad 
train was thundering through the deep ravines 
and along the dashing waters of the French 
River. Commerce had thrust its steel dart to 
the heart of the once seemingly impenetrable 
wilderness, where all of the party had followed 
the trail long before the minions of transpor- 
tation had marked where to strike. The puflF 
of the engine in the forest where before they 
heard only the blow of the deer or the howl 
of the wolf seemed uncanny. On the grades 
the shriek of the whistle outmocked the loons 
that used to cry out their eerie warnings of the 
coming storm. Onward rushed the steam devil, 
unmindful of the cardinal flowers that waved 



WILD GINGER 237 

the red flag of protest against the intrusion upon 
nature's privacy. 

"Down beyond that distant point where you 
see the broken pine top/' said the judge ani- 
matedly, "we encountered our first moose up 
here." He indicated the place, continuing, "you 
remember how La Blanc called us all from sup- 
per, saying, *Beeg moose, he in water makin' 
the noise like 50 leetle boy in swimmin.' " 

"Yes, but moose are not pinnated grouse," 
growled Alwater with simulated impatience. 

There is a more direct route to the Dakota 
prairies, of course, but the trip through the Ca- 
nadian wilds appealed to the nature lovers. 

As the traveler leans back in his comfortable 
seat he seems to be gliding through a wilder- 
ness fairyland. Every glimpse has a new set- 
ting, but the woodland lake or mountain lake is 
unfailingly present. Although so numerous that 
the train is never out of sight of some large 
body of water or some miniature of the more 
pretentious mirrors that the wood nymphs love, 
the aquatic setting jnever grows monotonous 
Dor wearisome to the delighted eyes. Each 
pond or lake has its own characteristics, its 
own individuality, so that the tourists would 
fain have a souvenir photc^aph of every one 
to recall the pleasant memories. Impetuous riv- 
ers that pierce dark conifer-clad ravines, irre- 
sistible brooks that throw themselves against 
frowning mountains enliven the view and sug- 
gest to the angler the untold delights that would 
fall to the reward of him who would be brave 
enough to take his canoe and pack and follow 



238 WILD GINGER 

the streams. But even the name "Nipigcm/' 
with its visions of giant Sabno fontinalis, has 
nothing to conjure with effectively. The prairie 
chicken are beyond. 

At Fort William two jolly huntera got aboard. 
They had been hunting for two days on a little 
lake a short journey away from the r^broad 
and were coming home with three trunks filled 
with ducks, getst, and brant. But, pshaw I 
What are water fowl? They enlivened an hour 
with tales of that superior region, all very charm* 
ing, but not to the point How intolerable they 
must have found certain people ''sot in their 
ways" and on a higher mission I 

To illustrate the game possibilities of the sec- 
tion, through which we were hurrying none too 
fast to suit our purpose, one of the gentlemen 
told the story of an English sportsman who put 
up at a Fort William hotel with all his guns and 
luggage^-"gros baggage--^ix or three," as the 
French Canadian guide who later bad to "pack" 
it miles into the wilderness described it — ^and 
after registering s^ked the landlord where he 
could get a little shooting next morning before 
breakfast. Mine host advised his eager guest 
to take the street cars running to Port Arthur, 
three miles up the lake, get off anywhere and un- 
limber his artillery. Next morning he took the 
first car, got off about midway between the two 
cities and plunged into the wilds, leavins; die 
electric lights glimmering behind him. AbcHot 
lo o'clock in the forenoon he returned and 
calmly inquired, "Landlord, will yQU kindly pro- 
vide a dray with which to bring b^ me two 



WILD GINGER «39 

carcasses ?" The landlord in dismay, exclaimed : 
"What! Have you gone and shot some habi- 
tant's cows I" 

"Beastly strange cows!" indignantly rejoined 
the Englishman, A sled was sent out and pres- 
ently came back with two fine moose which 
had •^tumbled across the hunter's path within 
a half mile of the trolley line. 

The humor of the backwoodsman is in evi- 
dence on many occasions. He is willing to make 
any excuse in the solemn wilderness for a joke, 
or something that will add to the gayety of a 
somewhat monotonous existedce. "Ping Pong 
Junction" is one of the many little aggregations 
of shacks alonp^ the Canadian Pacific railroad 
marked as stations on the map. Asked to ex- 
plain the whereforeness of the why of that 
strange nomenclature, a bear-^kin crowned na- 
tive grinned, "You see, stranger, the feller that 
fust k)cated a camp in these here parts after 
tfie Canadian Pacific railroad cum through had 
his shack moved across the track in the winter 
by a snow slide and back ag'in in the spring by 
a land slide. He thought the ping pong game 
with his abode had reached thu limit, score 2 to 
o in favor of natural forces, when a rompin' 
thunder storm heaved his place across thu track 
again !" 

Fellow travelers who had come from the head 
waters of the Kaministiqua actually got our 
minds off prairie chicken by tales of bear and 
moose that made the blood tingle. 

But it was not for long. The train rested in 
the heart of that long stretch of forest. No 



240 WILD GINGER 

station was in sight, but near by were two or 
three loggers' humble homes. Two tots in blue 
gingham were following their mother about the 
little dooryard as she finished the chores. She 
was singing a Canadian folk song, the words 
coming to us distinctly on the quiet air : 

"The doors are shut, the windows fast. 
Outside the gust is driving past. 
Outside the shivering ivy clings. 
While on the hob the kettle sings — 
Margery, Margery, make the tea, 
Singeth the kettle merrily. 

"The fisherman on the bay in his boat 
Shivers and buttons up his coat ; 
The traveler stops at the tavern door. 
And the kettle answers the chimney's roar, 
Margery, Margery, make the tea, 
Singeth the kettle merrily." 

• 

All seemed musically inclined and the sheriff 
was importuned to sing "My Pet, O, My Buck 
Billy Goat," but he waved the petitioners aside. 
Instead, he warbled in his justly famous ''true 
falsetto" : 

"Oh, the old farm bell, I remember it well, 

It was perched on a post near the back kitchen door. 
When it called weary toilers from the harvest field 
away, 
It was the sweetest of music in those good days of 
yore. 
The red bird in the thicket and the quail in the meadow. 
Would break forth in music beneath its magic spell. 
But nothing stirred the heart — the heart ** 

"I forget the rest of the verse, but all in the 
chorus now: 



WILD GINGER 241 

"The old farm, the dear farm bell. 

Its tone so sweet and clear 

Are yet to memory dear, 
The old farm bell." 

Dual! forgot gas meters and began to recite 
William Henry Drummond's "The Family Lara- 



mie" : 

"Hush 1 Look at ba-bee on de leetle blue chair ! 

Wat you t'ink he's tryin' to do? 
Wit pole on de han' lak de lumberman, 

A-shovin' along canoe. 
Dere's purty strong current behin' de stove, 

Where it's passin' de chimney-stone 1 
But he'll come roun' yet if he don't upset. 

So long he was lef alone. 

"Dat's way ev'nr boy on de house begin. 

No sooner he s twelve mont' ole. 
He'll play cano up an' down de Soo, 

An' paddle an' push de pole, 
Den haul de log all about de place, 

Till dey're fillin' up mos' de room, 
An' say it's all right, for de storm las' night 

Was carry away de boom ! 

"Mebbe you see heem, de young loon bird. 

Wit half de shell hangin' on, 
Tak' his firse slide to de waterside. 

An' off on de lake he's gone ! 
Out of de cradle de're goin' sam way, 

On reever an' lake and sea ; 
For bom to de trade, dafs how de're made, 

De familee Laramie!" 

"I'll not give you the verses about the mother 
waiting vainly on the shore for her river boys 
to return, because I'm afraid it would make you 
papas homesick and you would turn back," con- 
siderately explained Uie recitationist. 



242 WILD GINGER 

In late September that north country misses 
even the hardy asters and the golden rods, but 
the lack of floral colors is more than compen- 
sated for by the brilliant tints and shades of 
the deciduous trees and the varying lights of 
the once green tamaracks. In the lowlands 
the transmuting brush of Jack Frost has turned 
the American larch into a delicate lemon color. 
A higher altitude shows them in feathery robes 
of gold, which grades into bronze and the deep- 
est copper. A study of the action of cold on 
this beautiful tree is alone worth the journey 
of i,ooo miles from Toronto to Winnipeg. The 
grasses, scouring rushes, and horse-tails, and 
most shrubs are now dead, but the ferns stand 
out in all the greater prominence. You greet 
old friends and make new acquaintances in 
that large and interesting family as you pass 
along. The partridge vine and winterg^reen now 
have their day and no longer remember that 
they were thrust aside by the gaudy firebush and 
climbing wild roses not long since. In the open 
stretches the Canadian heather is now a lavender 
or pink, according to the amount of light or 
shade falling upon it, making a regal carpet for 
King Moose. 

At Wabigoon Lake a forerunner of winter 
overtook the express. Snow flakes began to 
fall, affording some intimation of the dreariness 
of the Northland locked in frost. 

The party was in the mood to appreciate Ar- 
thur Stringer's verses : 



WILD GINGER 243 

^Along the lonely shore stray snow^lakes fall, 
Tke waves crash od the shattered ice and crush 

The surging floes upon a rock-fanged wall. 
Tinged gold and sa£Fron with the evening's flush. 



''The sun goes down bdiind a blood-red west, 
A cold star glitters in the pallid light, 

Aju] all the silent world draws to its breast 
The three- fold calm of Winter, Snow and Night !" 

"Cheer up I" chirped the sheriff. "You know 
the modem version assures us that 'Many are 
cold, but few are frozen 1' " 

The nm from Winnipeg down to Grafton, 
North Dadcota, was a pleasing and inspiring one. 
Soon after crossing the border, where we found 
an old Niagara Falls friend in Uncle Sam's 
customs uniform and who kindly helped us 
on our way, we got our first sight of the 
dreamed of prairie chicken. A fine flock of a 
dozen or more rose in flight from the stubUed 
field through which the train was running. We 
had difficulty in restraining Alwater from un- 
packing his gun and getting off at the next sta- 
tion. A genial Dakota farmer volunteered the 
encouraging information that by a stricter en- 
faroement of the game laws, the chidcen which 
had been growing rather scarce, were again get- 
ting qmte plentiful even in the eastern part 
of the state. Grood bags had been made around 
Grafton. "But you'll need a $25 license if 
you're from outside the state," our new friend 
explained. 

As the train pulled into Grafton we caught 
sight of Dr. La Moure waving his hat in salu- 
tation. A true Western welcome was accorded 



244 WILD GINGER 

the Eastern sportsmen who were whirled away 
to one of the finest palaces in the state, an 
imposing structure of Moorish architecture — 
the North Dakota Institution for the Feeble 
Minded I Our host laughed as we pulled up 
before the main entrance, "This is the proper 
place for dreamers who would travel 2,500 miles 
to shoot a few prairie hens !" 

That evening at dinner the doctor remarked 
that he had the favorite prairie game in the 
larder, but he thought the birds would taste bet- 
ter if his guests shot them themselves. 

Upon invitation of Editor Pierce the visitors 
met a number of the leading sportsmen of Graf- 
ton and were entertained with delightful tales 
of the ways and wiles of Tympanuchus ameri- 
canus. At their request the guests were enlight- 
ened as to the provisions of the North Dakota 
game laws which are strictlty enforced by deputy 
wardens in every township. For the comfort- 
able sum of $25 a man from another state is 
provided with a little blue certificate which 
reads: NONRESIDENT PERMIT— State of 
North Dakota, County of Walsh, District No. i 
— John Brown, a nonresident of North Dakota, 
is hereby licensed to hunt in North Dakota, un- 
der provisions and conditions of the game laws 
thereof, during the open season of 190X. This 
permit is not transferable. Dated at, etc. — 
Signed, W. N. Smith, state game warden, dis- 
trict No. I — the state is divided into two dis- 
tricts — and County Auditor B. M. Kram." 

Before the early breakfast was finished next 
morning the hunting rigs were at the door. 



WILD GINGER 245 

Lucky are the sportsmen, especially if tyros in 
prairie shooting, who are conducted afield by 
veterans and good fellows like State Warden 
Smith and Editor Pierce. Like many devotees 
of the favorite Dakota sport, they have their 
special equipment for the hunt. A "chicken 
wagon" consists of a 12-foot vehicle equipped 
with extra strong springs that will stand the 
shock of a plunge across a three-foot ditch. 
There are two seats, a cage attached behind to 
accommodate two dogs and a niche for a six- 
gallon jug — ^it need not be explained that the 
vessel is for water, as Dakota is a dry state, ex- 
tremely dry as a ride in September. The ten- 
derfeet desired to know why so much water for 
four men. With a kindness unmarred by the 
suspicion of sarcasm the hosts explained that 
the dogs exercised so violently that they required 
a drink several times an hour and on the prairie 
wells and creeks were few and far between. 

"When I saw that big jug," gurgled the sher- 
iff, "I thought of Sarah O'Riley, who lives 
with her bachelor brother, and who compli- 
mented him on his good sense. Jim came home 
one day with a four-gallon jug. It was a warm 
day and Sarah had just finished a hard washing. 
She looked at the demijohn and then at Jim 
approvingly, saying with fervent thanksgiving 
in her voice, 'Oh, Jamie, what a foresighted and 
sinsible bye ye be. I don't know what ye give 
fer it, but Fm sure 'twas a barg'in, and four 
gallons is none too much fer a family when 
the cow has gone dry de$e t'ree wakes!'" 

"And what a disappointment for you, sheriff, 



146 WILD GINGER 

now th£it you find our jug^ holds water T' laughed 
Billy Mcintosh. 

"Some disappointment," sighed the big chap 
in a thin, weak voice, "but I feel rdieved to 
know that since we must ride on the water 
wagon we have brought dogs along to driidc tiie 
water." 

When little over 2. mile from Grafton, which 
seemed but a stone's throw away on the perfectly 
smooth country, King, a veteran' English set* 
ter, and Spot, a three-year-old black and white 
pointer, were given their liberty. With es^er 
bounds the youngster made for the field on the 
right. King followed more deliberately, as much 
as to say that it is not well to begin an im- 
portant undertaking recklessly. The setter had 
been trained to range far afield, while his 
younger companion had his work cut out for 
him ctoser to the vehide. Spot followed along 
the edge of the field not thirty yards from 
the highway. Suddenly he turned half way 
rourtd, then retraced his steps a few feet and 
runtiing several yards at right angles to his orig- 
inal path lightly sank to earth. "DownT said 
the warden. "There's probably a stray bird 
there. King would have hit the others had there 
been more, as h^ almost circled that spot within 
fifteen paces." 

Three men dismounted, leaped the ditch and 
approached the recumbent pointer. One was 
selected to fire first, as there was to be no pot 
hunting platoon firing. Spot was stationary, 
but visibly excited, yet perhaps less so than the 
Eastern tenderfeet who were to get their first 



REASON— NORTH DAKOTA. 



THE NEW TOIIX 

PDBLIC LIBRARY! 



ASTOR. LENOX AND 

TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 

R I 



WILD GINGER 247 

sight oi prairie chicken in action. The fairored 
hunter stepped up even with tfie dog and still 
the prairie held its secret The wheat stubble 
was perhaps ten inches high, with very few 
weeds, and it seemed impossible that a bird the 
size of a two-thirds grown Plymouth Rodt 
could be lurking within five yards, as indicated 
by the angle of Spot's nose. The intelligent 
animal never moved, except to turn his eyes up 
at the gunner with a look of scorn, as much as 
to say, "Huh, can't you see him right under 
your feet almost?" One step, two, three, ahead 
of the dog, and then a feathered geyser seemed 
to leap from the field not 25 feet away. "Bang 1" 
and over tumbled our first speckled beauty of 
the prairie. 

Warden Smith laughed merrily, after shouting 
his congratulations. "Why, that bird," he ex- 
claimed, "hardly raised his feet from the ground 
before you nailed him ! You fellows come from 
the thicket country where you usually get but 
an instant glimpse of yotir game and it^ gone 
unless you snuff it the first tew feet." 

Mix took the chaffing good naturedly, admit- 
ting that his eagerness might have caused a miss, 
because the mark would have been easier had 
the bird been allowed to rise and get at least 
20 yards away. "There's $25 worth of satisfac- 
tion right there!" exclaimed the delighted New 
Yorker as he walked back with the first trophy. 

The work of the dogs was a marvel to the 
visitors. Their intelligence and sagacity shown 
in a hundred different ways was a source of 
constant delight. King galloped at a steady 



248 WILD GINGER 

rate in semi-cirdes many rods beyond Spot, the 
pair thoroughly covering the ground for a quar- 
ter mile from the wagon. The setter would oc- 
casionally throw up his head to locate the wag- 
on and to keep within distance of both the 
sight and orders of his master. A wave of the 
hand when the dog was so far away that he 
looked no larger than a rabbit was sufficient to 
direct his movements to any particular part of 
the field. Presently King was nowhere to be 
seen, but Spot had noticed him drop and was 
after him on a bee-line to back him up. Before 
the hunters could get out of the wagon both 
dogs were nestled in the stubble about loo yards 
from a mammoth straw stack. "In skirmish or- 
der !" was the command from the warden. Four 
guns glistened in the sunlight as the men hur- 
ried forward. When within 80 or 90 yards of 
the dogs, a fine cock rose to his feet and began 
to strut away. "Take your time; don't bother 
about that fellow," whispered Smith, "there's a 
bunch of chicken within range and they won't 
follow him until they have to!" Just then the 
"walker" took wing, and flying with the wind, 
came quartering toward the two outside men on 
the right of the firing line. The sheriff was on 
the end. By the time the chicken got opposite 
him at fully 60 yards, the bird was making time 
equal to an Eastern partridge, but the sheriff 
was there, bringing down the game with a pretty 
shot. 

The crack of the gun seemed to fill the air 
with birds, five or six rising in different parts of 
the field, four of them within range. Three 



WILD GINGER 249 

V 

came to stubble. Alwater stepped ahead several 
rods when two chicken got up near the straw 
stack. He dropped one ^fore it had flown five 
yards and the other doubled around the stack, 
rising above it on the other side. With his 
second barrel the long Yankee stopped this cun- 
ning bird, too. The feat was greeted with 
cheers. Through all the racket old King kept 
his place, apparently engrossed with the beauty 
of a frosted thistle just beyond him. Could it 
be possible that another bird had lingered 
through all that bombardment? To test the 
query, Duall walked toward the dog and a plump 
chicken scuttled for safety, but was fatally 
touched by the marksman's two barrels. As 
Spot went to retrieve the bird still another chick- 
en skimmed along the ground, a habit they have, 
evidently knowing that their feathers harmonize 
with the stubble, making the mark inconspicuous 
and a difficult one despite its size. Three nim- 
rods had a try at this last of the Mohicans, but 
he got away unscathed and was last seen sailing 
into the cover of a poplar grove near an old 
house over a mile away. 

The prairie chicken gets under headway much 
more slowly than the partridge, but after the 
first few yards develops splendid speed. He 
flaps his wings vigorously and then sails, re- 
peating the flapping and sailing, going at a rate 
that is very deceptive to the eye, as the novice 
soon learns to his sorrow. 

The beauty of the Dakota country from the 
sportsman's viewpoint is the scarcity of fences. 
He can drive for many mQes without encounter- 



^50 WILD GINGER 

ing an obstacle e^ocept the road ditches which are 
easily negotiated by the sturdy team and stout 
wagon. King and Sport trotted through the few 
hay fields and flax stubbles without pretending 
to look for birds, taught by experience that 
the wheat and barley fields are the favorite 
haunts, and that sometimes it pays to search an 
oats patch. 

We started to hurry through an oat stubble 
without waiting for the dogs to overtake us, 
when the grandest flock of chicken that we 
ran across in the two days' hunting rose all 
about us. We saw two or three on the ground, 
stalking proudly away. The ground seemed to 
open and emit prairie chicken. They were just 
out of range and to attempt to get within gun- 
shot now without the dogs was useless. We sat 
and watched the splendid birds, fully 15 being 
in sight at one time. Presently with a cluck, 
cluck, cluck, an old hen fluttered into the air and 
her oflFspring followed. There apparently had 
been a reunion, taking in cousins, uncles, and 
aunts, for a flock of fmly 50 chickens got out of 
that field while we sat there and fired never a 
shot 

"Begins to look like the old days," remarked 
Warden Smith in a gratified tone. "The dis- 
continuance of the early summer shooting of 
half-grown chicks, limiting the bag, inducing 
the farmers to bum over their fields in the faU 
instead of in the spring and the strict enforce* 
ment of the game laws are having their effect. 
We were in a fair way of seeing our favorite 
game wiped out by the steam plows, the fires 



WILD GINGER 351 

at nesting time and pot hunters, but now the 
birds are on a decided increase according to re- 
ports I get from all parts of my district'^ 

King and Spot came up in time to see the 
congregation of chicken depart and looked their 
disgust at the hunters who didn't have intelli- 
gence enough to let their trained allies cover 
die ground first. "We may run across that 
bunch again/' observed Smith, ''but not within 
a mile or two of this place. We looked too 
formidable." The thicket along the creek where 
the birds seemed to have settled, and the ad- 
jacent fields were beaten in vain, except for a 
brace of birds that were overtaken before reach- 
ing the locality. 

During the middle of the day we rested a 
couple of hours. The stubble was dry and the 
scent difficult for the dogs. Under unfavorable 
conditions the setter and pointer worked more 
faithfully than ever, leaving very little territory 
traversed by the team uncovered. The flocks 
seemed more scattered as the day wore on, the 
game turning up singly and at most in pairs* 
But this was sufiicient to keep the sport at the 
highest pitch of interest. Toward evening the 
chicken began to congregate again, and three 
or four nice bevies were located by King and 
Spot, and from these we took only decent toll. 
We drove home over the prairies a tired, but 
happy party, initiated at last into the royal joys 
which the plainsmen know. 

That evening the host and his wife gave a 
reception and dance in honor of their guests, 
who soon forgot the arduous exercise of tbe 



252 WILD GINGER 

day under the genial rays of Western hospitality. 
North Dakota has quite an extensive list of the 
88 varieties of the North American golden rods, 
the asters, and other autumn flowers, but strange 
as it may seem, the Queen of the Prairie, the 
beautiful flower with the color of the peach blos- 
som and the fragrance of sweet birch, has not 
crossed the Mississippi. We can vouch for it 
that North Dakota luis Queens of the Prairie 
that bloom the year round and are "sweeter 
than all the roses," including Ulmaria rubra, 
one of the most attractive of the large rose 
family. 

The second day brought more good sport. 
Impressive as the boundless expanse of country 
was at first sight, the prairie grew on us. The 
clare-obscure of sun-kissed wheat stubble and 
amber flax, the thin golden lines of apologies 
for trees along the streams, the deep blue of 
a sky that seemed wider and vaster than that 
at home possessed attractions that lovers of the 
mountain and hill country hardly dreamed pos- 
sible. We were not quite so eager for sport, 
as the first day had qui^ amply satisfied the 
longings of the hunter. e had more time now 
to simply enjoy bein^, alive and out of doors 
in the biggest out of doors the world can possi- 
bly know. 

That evening there was another reunion of 
the sportsmen at the Pierce headquarters. Chief 
Game Warden Smith favored us with some of 
his ideas on game protection which he has since 
embodied in his first biennial report to the gov- 
ernor of North Dakota. He went on to say: 



WILD GINGER 253 

"When man was compelled to take game with 
the bow there was little danger of extermination, 
as the proportion of game killed to the reproduc- 
tion was very small. Not longer than thirty 
years ago most of the shooting was done with 
a muzzle loader; then came the breechloader, 
later the repeater, and finally the murderous au- 
tomatic shot gun. Thus we see how the killing 
power of the hunter is steadily increasing. The 
automobile which makes it possible for a man 
to cover many miles in a day, also makes it 
impossible for wild game to have many retreats 
where safety is assured. 

"At first it was thought necessary to protect 
game during the nesting season only, but other 
protection soon became necessary. Some sports- 
men and others have gone so far as to advo- 
cate the compulsory use of the old-style guns 
in hunting. It appears to me that this is out 
of harmony with the spirit of the times. Let 
us improve our firearms, as well as increase 
our comforts while hunting, then regelate by 
law and create by sentiment a spirit of not 
how much we can kill, but how much we can 
enjoy the sport outside the killing. I am in 
favor of only as many laws and such laws as 
the situation demands, with strict enforcement 
of them. I am opposed to the law which makes 
it harder for the man in the common walks of 
life to enjoy the sport as much as does his more 
fortunate brother who is able to lease the best 
hunting grounds in the state and travel from 
them in a private car. 
"I favor the following legislation: Prohibit- 



254 WILD GINGER 

ing all spring shooting ; the open season for wild 
fowl September ist to January ist; open season 
for grouse of all kinds, quail, and pheasant, 
September 15th to November ist; to make it 
prima facie evidence of law breaking for any 
one to be found off the public highways with 
gun, or gun and dog, before the season opens; 
to prohibit the taking of any dogs to be trained 
or worked on any chicken or grouse family 
during the closed season; a law to protect at 
all times all insect eating and song birds, not 
classed as game birds; to allow a game warden 
to search without warrant any rig or place 
where he has reason to believe that game is 
being kept in hiding out of season; to pay spe- 
cial deputies the sum of ten dollars each tiine 
be furnishes evidence sufficient to convict of 
violation of the game law; to make the cost of 
a resident permit one dollar and the cost of a 
non-resident permit ten dollars. I favor making 
the open season for chicken begin fifteen days 
later so that the young ones may be much 
stronger and better able to care for themselves," 

Tl^se suggestions received the hearty en- 
dorsement of the members of the Cataract Qub 
and of the New York State Fish, Game and 
Forest League present 

**Your ideas are progressive and conservative 
in the best sense. You believe in usinp^ but 
not abusing the hunting privilege. It is the 
same idea as expressed by President Roosevelt 
when he said before the National Conserva- 
tion Congress: 'Forestry is the preservation of 
the forests by wise use.' R. L, McCormick, 



WILD GINGER 255 

president of the Mississippi Valley Lumbermen's 
Association, voiced the same sentiment when he 
declared that 'Practical forestry means conser- 
vative lumbering/ One of our New York maga- 
zines has begun a campaign that is bound to 
gain many recruits in favor of less restriction 
of shooting game and more encouragement for 
hunting by increasing the amount of game by 
propagation." 

"Fm interested, of course," murmured the 
sheriff's gentle voice, "by your talk of game pro- 
tection, etc., but you have so many conventions, 
resolutions, and laws, that an old-time hunter is 
so nervous when he goes out lest he's not shoot- 
ing according to Hoyle that he misses most of 
the time. Your printed rules in that way protect 
more game than your wardens. Whenever I 
hear of a sportsmen's convention I'm as much 
excited as old Gus Grimibaker, a saloon man 
at home. Another saloon keeper told him that 
a temperance meeting had adopted indignation 
resolutions against the liquor trade. Gus wanted 
to know more about it, so his friend said, 'Gus, 
you shust look in der profiles of der Union and 
dere you read all about dat indication meet- 
tngs: 

Editor Pierce concluded the evening with a 
delightful account of a faithful guardian of the 
feathered game, an old man named Jerry who 
lived on one of the small lakes in central Da- 
kota noted for its wild fowl. Ducks, geese, and 
swan, in enormous quantities visit that famous 
pond in the spring and fall. The lake is in- 
cluded in a private preserve now, but even the 



2S6 WILD GINGER 

owners dare not violate the laws which Jerry 
has enacted for the observance of all comers. 
The "venerable venator" will permit himself un- 
der no circumstances to shoot more than three 
days a week, nor to take more than a dozen 
wild fowl in a single day. One morning wc 
arrived at Jerry's lonely habitation, the only one 
on the lake, unexpectedly. Our host greeted 
us cordially, urged us in and insisted on our 
having some bacon and coffee. While we were 
eating Jerry stepped outside on some errand. 
Looking out of the window we saw an immense 
flock of ducks circling the lake. Jerry raised 
his hand toward them^ and talking to his feath- 
ered friends more than to himself, said, "Come 
on, blackies, settle down in the bay — you're safe 
to-day. This is no shooting day." 

And so it proved. A party had put in the 
day before gunning on the laJce and the alter- 
nate day gave the fowl a respite. We knew 
better than to attempt to argue with Jerry. But 
the next day we made up for the delay. The 
old sportsman was wise in his moderation after 
all, and his friends were the gainers in the 
long run. He explained that in a pond not 
many miles away where they shot every day dur- 
ing the open season, they never had yet killed 
as many wild fowl as they had on his pond 
for the entire season. This was due to the fact, 
he thought, that ducks and geese will fight 
shy of a place where there is a constant bom- 
bardment during the hours of daylight, but they 
will take a chance on water where they often 
drop in and are undisturbed for an entire twen- 



WILD GINGER 257 

ty-four hours. Let some of the greedy hunters 
ponder over old Jerry's idea. 

The outing in Dakota was soon over and 
adieus were said regretfully. Assurances of a 
return visit were exacted from the hosts. 

The mountains have their own peculiar glo- 
ries, but the prairies also have their claims upon 
the enthusiasm of the nature lover. The ris- 
ing sun comes up as if waking from the lap of 
Mother Earth to salute her fair face with a 
wakening Iciss. At noon the King of Day rules 
with a majestic splendor not approached by his 
confined dominion over the valleys of the hill- 
limited land. In the evening he waves good 
night with a flaming torch that illumines every- 
thing with a promise and brightens the plain 
with a benediction. 



2S8 WILD GINGER 



WILD GINGER, WOOD SORREL. SWEET 

CICELY. 

SOME RECOLLECTIONS OF RENSSELAER HILLS AND 

DALES. — October. 
X. 

"Thou waitest late, and cotn'st alone 
When woods are bare and birds have fiown, 
And frosts and shortening days portend. 
The aged year is near his end. 
"Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye 
Look through its fringes to the sky, 
Blue — blue — as if that sky let fall 
A flower from its cerulean wall." 

— ^Bryant's Fringed Gbntian. 

From the heights that slope gently down to 
the willow-lined and poplar-girt shores of Lake 
Tsatsawassa on the west, one can get just a 
glimpse of the blue tops oi the Berkshires loom- 
ing up above the New York mountain line. Di- 
rectly eastward over the state wall lies the 
Hancock Valley, and a short jaunt from there 
takes the nature lover northward to the Wil- 
liam stown Valley, where Bryant wrote his Tha- 
natopsis, Green River, and the beautiful tribute 
to the fringed gentian. 

Every month in the year have we enjoyed the 
hills, streams, valleys, and lakes, of Rensselaer, 
but the favorite time for us in the Highlands 



r THE KEW YOM 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



ASTOB. LENOX AKB 
TIIDEN FOUNDATIONS 

R I' 



WILD GINGER 259 

of the Hudson is October. The time and the 
place, too, make the fringed gentian the appro- 
priate club flower for the month. Nearly all the 
wild blossoms that bountiful mother nature pro- 
vides to deck the New England and Eastern 
States are found along the meadows of the Wyr 
nantskill, the thickets of Black Brook, in the 
deep Nassau woods and the tangled swamps 
around Black Pond, Crooked Lake, and Reich- 
ards Lake, but in October we wear the blue gen- 
tian. 

As often as four times in a single year have 
little parties of the Cataract Club journeyed 
across the state in their devotion to the hills of 
Rensselaer. Niagara county has its own peculiar 
glories, but the level, orchard-dotted country 
cannot satisfy the hiU-bofii man long at- a time. 
By ones and twos were the Niagarans intro- 
duced to the lakes in the hills east of the Hud- 
son, and each and every one soon learned to love 
that blissful region so, that the "pilgrimages" 
to Rensselaer became a fixed habit, their culmi- 
nation being the holding of the annual outing 
of the entire club in Rensselaer two whole hap- 
py days in June. 

Although not far from the "busy haunts of 
men," with the state capitol in sight from Pike's 
Peak near Brown's on Crooked Lake, and the 
pall of Troy rolling upward to the northwest 
not twenty miles away, it is surprising what 
splendid catches of fish and bags of game we 
have taken from among the hills of Rensselaer. 
Long strings of gray squirrels, partridge, duck, 
and even a sprinkling of woodcock and quail 



26o WILD GINGER 

have more than once aroused the astonishment 
of travelers in the Albany station, when the 
homeward-bound Cataract hunters were about to 
take the "eleven-forty p. m." on the New York 
Central. Well laden creels of trout and pails of 
black bass and pike have stirred the envy of 
city folk who could not believe that there were 
such fine fish — "what, just over the hills within 
two hours' drive of Albany !" Impossible ? Not 
at all. Nature has been very lavish with Rens- 
selaer in supplying nearly a score of lakes and 
twice that number of ideal trout brooks, steep 
mountains, and dense cover for game. Then, 
too, the Rensselaer County Rod and Gun Oub 
has assisted nature in stocking the waters and 
covers and protecting the fish and animals from 
the unseasonable and unreasonable attacks of 
man. 

Each time we have wandered into Keeler's at 
Albany on alighting from the 3.30 a. m. train, 
which we called our "Sportsman's special" — 
because it carries a Pullman that leaves Lock- 
port at 7. 1 1 p. m. and journeys across the state 
during a sleep, landing the sportsman in the 
hills of Rensselaer in time for the forenoon 
fishing or hunting — we have been more and more 
impressed by the lines carved above the great 
stone fireplace: 

**Who*er has traveled life's dull round. 
Where'er his wandering may have been. 

Must sigh to think he still has found 
His warmest welcome in an inn." 

We do not recall that we ever heard who the 



WILD GINGER 261 

pessimist was that penned those lines, but must 
admit that there is considerable foundation for 
the indictment of hvunan nature contained in the 
stony verses. 

However, we know of one hostelrie where the 
motive of cupidity may not justly be charged 
against the cordiality and warmth of Mine 
Host's welcome. So long as Mr. and Mrs. 
"Bob" Whitegiver kept the cosy inn on Tsata- 
wassa, members of the Cataract Club were as- 
sured of a welcome as sincere and warm as any 
ever given at the home of devoted friends. At 
all hours of the day or night, in all seasons and 
in any kind of weather, "old Bob," the ideal 
host and the model hunter and sportsman, was 
ready to meet his expected guests and carry 
them over the seven mile or nine mile drive in- 
tervening between Tsatsawassa and the trolley 
station at Nassau or Averill Park, as the case 
might be. And no matter what time of day 
the clock indicated, it was always meal time 
when the hungry travelers arrived at Mrs. Bob's 
boimtiful table. The thermometer might say 
freezing and the barometer might register rain 
outdoors, but within there was always cheer 
and sunshine for the Niagarans at the Tsatsa- 
wassa Inn. 

Standing at the foot of the sloping hill that 
stretched upward for a mile with its wooded 
ridges and copse-decorated parterres, the Tsatsa- 
wassa Inn looks out upon a beautiful heart- 
shaped body of water. Across the lake a half 
mile away is a dense wood of pine, hickory, 
chestnut, walnut, and oak, a typical eastern for- 



262 WILD GINGER 

est. Above rises a hill that attains the dignity 
of a mountain. To the left runs a deep gully ex- 
tending up into the hills fully a mile. A chest- 
nut forest flanks the lake on the right. These 
are the favorite homes of g^ay squirrels and 
there partridges are abundant. 

On top of the hill on the west, back of the inn, 
one can look upon a circular panorama well 
worth the climb. To the southwest may be seen 
the dim blue outlines of the majestic Catskills; 
to the northeast range the foothills of the Adi- 
rondacks and on the east the Berkshires. With 
gun on shoulder, starting out on a crisp October 
morning in the sunlight that flames in the gold 
and red of the oaks, hickories, and chestnuts, 
and tinges the evergreens with copper, to match 
wits with the cimning gray or the clever par- 
tridge — "that were paradise enow." 

We usually made the trip to Tsatsawassa by 
going to Troy, then by trolley to Averill Park, 
and by carriage down the Pike's Pond Valley 
to our destination. This necessitated riding on 
three trolley lines, with a change of cars at Troy 
and one at Albia, but the scenery repaid one for 
the extra exertion. The ride along the romantic 
Wynantskill (an ideal brook trout stream, which 
was all but depleted of the speckled beauties 
years ago, but which now abounds with brown 
and rainbow trout, as well as native trout, thanks 
to McLaren's systematic restocking), up the 
West Sandlake valley is a delight. The line 
runs within a half mile of Snyder's lake, a quar- 
ter mile of Reichard's lake, and terminates on 
the shores of Sandlake, all haunts of the basses. 



WILD GINGER 263 

On the drive from Albia we see on the way 
Glass Lake, Crooked Lake, Pike's Pcmd, and, 
if we care to drive two miles out of the direct 
route, can skirt for three miles the picturesque 
shores of Burden Lake. We never fail to stop 
at Brown's, on Crooked Lake, and pay our re- 
spects to the amiable host of the tavern where 
Governor Roosevelt had the good sense to spend 
some of his summer leisure. 

Albany is only about fifteen miles on a bee- 
line west of Tsatsawassa, but the route around 
by Albia means about twice that distance and 
almost completing a circle. The circuitous jour- 
ney recalled the story told by the rotund Hop- 
kins, of La Salle, a notorious practical joker. 

On the way South one winter Hopkins' train 
was delayed for several hours at Louisville. A 
fussy, dyspeptic little man from Michigan made 
the life of his wife and the other passengers 
miserable by complaining about the halt. 

"Why don't this train go? I didn't pay my 
fare to sit in the cars and look at an old sta- 
tion," the querulous traveler rambled, in a thin, 
piping voice that got on the nerves of every- 
body. "I'm in a hurry to get South. The doc- 
tor sent me there. If I die I'll sue the railroad 
company for damages, I will I My, this is worse 
than waiting for the imdertaker to arrive!" 

After an hour of this, Hopkins looked out, 
and seeing the Louisville belt Hne pull in, re- 
marked to the chronic: "You say, sir, you want 
to go somewhere at once — there is the train you 
want. That'll get you going all right!" The 
Michigander became all animation at once. He 



264 WILD GINGER 

gathered up his baggage, hustled his wife out 
and into the train on the adjoining track they 
scrambled. In half an hour back came the same 
belt-line train, and the mirth-exhausted passen- 
gers in the south-bound express awaited the en- 
counter when they saw the Michigander and 
his meek wife alight. In bustled the dyspeptic, 
fire in his eye, which was alight with battle. 

"You infernal scoundrel," he began, "point- 
ing an umbrella at the imperturbable Hopkins, 
"you knew that was a local-round-the-circle 
train, and here I am again." 

"I see you are," smiled Hopkins; "shake! 
Glad to renew acquaintanceship." 

"Not glad to see you, though," sputtered the 
victim ; "you made me spend my time and money 
for nothin' I" 

"Oh, no, my friend," serenely suggested Hop- 
kins. "You wanted to go somewhere at once. 
You went. You saw Louisville. You thought 
you were on your way and you were. You were 
contented, and so were the rest of us, because, 
my friend, we didn't put up our money for a 
pleasure trip in company with a weeping Jerry. 
Cheer up. Forget it. Hear that ! We are oflE !" 

The Michigander looked at the smiling, good- 
natured, affable fellow passenger for a moment, 
undecided whether to take further offence or 
not, but presently exclaimed: "Put her there. 
Come to think of it all, you're right. I had no 
right to make all of you miserable with my com- 
plaints. I was wrong. As a matter of fact, I 
have all winter to get South and am going for 
the fun of it. I can go to-morrow or next day 



WILD GINGER 265 

as well as to-day. I'm in good company. That's 
one on me, all right. I'll call the waiter and 
what'll you have. I don't care if we stay here 
a week, now, because that swing around the 
circle just swung all of the bile out of me." 

The "Twenty-seven Pines" were now in sight 
two miles down the valley, the green sign-board 
which said to the travelers: "Three miles to 
Tsatsawassa." Reddy, who was driving, ex- 
changed witticisms with his rural friends along 
the way, much to the entertainment of the pas- 
sengers in the carryall. 

On the veranda of the inn stood Mr. and Mrs. 
Bob as the carryall swung around the comer of 
the road. "Just in time for breakfast ; how are 
you all?" came the hostess' cheery greeting. 
"Hustle up, because I expect you to get a dozen 
birds before dinner. Bob circled the lake ves- 
terday afternoon and put up thirty partridge — 
thirty, wasn't it, Bob?" Bob's corroboration ac- 
celerated the dismounting of sportsmen. Al- 
though they had breakfasted at Keeler's at four, 
the appetites were renewed by the brisk air of 
the country fifteen hundred feet above sea level, 
and they were ready for a second breakfast. 

During the meal in the dining room, looking 
out on the lake, Bob was subjected to a running 
fire of cross-questioning concerning the game, 
to which he submitted good-naturedly. 

"Any woodcock down in the alder thickets, 
Bob? A few there, eh? mostly local birds — the 
fall flight not in yet! Remember the twentieth 
of October last year — thermometer eighty in 
the shade — when we put up over a hundred 



266 WILD GINGER 

birds down in the thickets along the valley, shot 
away boxes of ammunition, and counted up only 
nineteen birds to three guns at night I Mowed 
down most of the alders with shot, so the shoot- 
ing ought to be easier this fall; eh, Bob?" 

''How about the bevies of quail over on Brain- 
ard hills this side of the Kinderhook?" asked 
Stickwell. "Do you remember the bombard- 
ment when a nice bunch got up in the ravine, 
with three of us on each side? We were all so 
rattled at the sight of so many bob whites, after 
all these years of absence of the feathered bul- 
lets, that only two birds fell. I was so eager 
that I stalked a cripple and actually forgot to 
put him up, but potted him on the ground. I 
hadn't shot a quail for so long that I wasn't 
sport enough to take any chances." 

"Any ducks and geese in yet, Bob? Only a 
few small flocks of ducks, eh? Need a cold 
spell and storms to drive them into the shelter 
of these hill-protected lakes, of course. Remem* 
ber two years ago?" rambled Mix, between 
bites. "We had a rainy spell which spoiled our 
squirrel and partridge shooting the first day, 
and we got up next morning to find an all day 
drizzle the apparent meteorological prc^^amme. 
In some gloom we had settled down to whist, 
when the restless McLaren burst in from a ram- 
ble on the veranda and shouted that electrifying 
word: 'Ducks, fellows; ducks I' We tumbled 
out onto the front porch, and, making spyglasses 
of our fists, scanned the east shore. Yes, down 
there in the cove there was a glisten of feathers 
in the mist as a duck rose in the water to flap 



WILD GINGER ^ 

his wings. Then far over to the right there was 
a similar signal, and presently a large flock 
dotted on the surface of the lake was outlined 
there. Still another flock was descried over near 
the outlet among the weeds along the woods. 
To boat, to boat! Remember how McLaren 
abused me and Alwater when on the way we 
insisted on taking a shot at a flock of five yel- 
low-legs among the flags at the mouth of Tsat- 
sawassa Creek, and were gloating over three 
birds, when over us sailed a flock of canvas- 
backs and after them a flock of pintails, fright- 
ened out by the volley ? But the big flock, tired 
from buffeting the storm of the night before, 
stuck to the lake. We stationed men in the 
woods on three sides and sent three boats around 
the ducks. Up they got, but flying toward the 
wind to get up, sailed within range of Alwater*s 
long pump artillery, with the result that he crip- 
pled a fine drake, who settled into the lake and 
decoyed back the entire flock. What a fusillade 
followed, continuing all day. At night we 
counted thirty-six ducks out of a flock of forty- 
two, six redheads and thirty black, orange- 
beaked American scoters!" 

"Yes, scoters!" sneered the sheriff, "the kind 
of ducks you boil with soft soap and then throw 
outdoors." 

"Not if you know anything about cookery," 
rebuked Alwater. 

Bob retold, too, how he bagged four geese one 
night when a bewildered flock repeatedly flew 
through the rays of a large reflector light in 
front of the inn. 



268 WILD GINGER 

"How about the family of grays that used to 
feed in the big hickory in the field above the 
road on the hill and outwitted us by jumping 
into open?" asked the judge. 

"Oh, they're still there and up to their old 
tricks," laughed Bob, "all except the one you 
managed to circumvent by covering his runway 
when the rest of us put out the bunch from the 
hickory." 

"And the pair who have holes in the twin 
poplars over in the Big Woods, Bob ? Got one, 
eh ?" 

"I suppose the old gray that played the trick 
on you and Mix is still on deck," laughed Sam 
Ward, recalling an incident at the expense of 
the host and one of the hunters. "Mix and 
Bob came upon a gray in a hickory in a field 
near a hillside. Mix shot at the squirrel as he 
ran down the side of the tree and missed. Bob 
got on one side of the tree and Mix on the 
other to locate the hider. When the game of 
hide and seek got too warm for Mr. Gray, out 
he leaped forty feet from the ground, and ran 
right at Bob. As the squirrel was rushing by 
within six feet of him Bob fired, and plowed 
up the eround just behind the flying bunch of 
fur. Wheeling 'round for the second shot, there 
was no squirrel in sight. The mystery of the 
bold coup was explained by locating a wood- 
chuck hole a few paces behind the hunter and 
into which the wily old squirrel had darted as he 
had doubtless done many times before when 
danger threatened during his meal in the 
hickory." 



WILD GINGER 269 

This recalled the near tragedy in which Larch 
and Alwater were the chief actors in one of sev- 
eral famous hunting trips in Yates County in 
the nineties, when a party of six or eight used 
to bag a hundred or more squirrels in two or 
three days' hunting. Larch had scared up two 
partridge out of a hemlock and missed both birds 
on difficult shots. As he fired, a black squirrel 
leaped from an oak near by and hid in the very 
hemlock from which the birds had fiown. A half 
hour's search failed to locate Mr. Blacksides. 
As he sat on a log waiting for the reappearance 
of the black, a gray came ambling alon^ the 
ground, hunting for nuts. Larch fired quickly, 
and the squirrel leaped into a tree, and a run- 
ning race, the gray through the tree tops and 
Larch on the ground, ensued. Two more shots 
failed to stop the leaper, and the squirrel holed 
in a small oak, about thirty feet up. Larch's 
fighting blood was now thoroughly aroused, by 
being outgeneraled and defeated by two birds 
and two squirrels; so^ throwing off his coat, he 
climbed up. He was prodding down into the 
hole and getting angry sputters from the gray 
when along came Alwater through the woods. 
He, too, had just missed a black squirrel, and 
he was eager to retrieve himself when he caught 
sight of the hunter's black topknot bobbing in 
the oak leaves. He saw just enough to indicate 
the waving tail of a black squirrel, and he shot 
as quick as a flash. "What in the name of the 
sacred sycamore are you shooting at?" came a 
fierce shout from the tree. Up came Alwater, 
terrified to think that he had shot his friend. 



270 WILD GINGER 

"Not much harm done," came Larch's assurance, 
although a number-six shot had plowed a light 
furrow across his forehead and there were sting- 
ing sensations in his scalp. "Now, get ready 
and shoot this pesky squirrel when he bobs out, 
and if you miss I'll take a shot at you," cried 
Larch. Presently out popped the gray, down 
the tree he went, and then bounded out through 
the woods, Alwater vainly saluting him with two 
shots. 

After the late breakfast, six pairs of hunters, 
assigned to different parts of the country around 
the lake, started out, each intent upon making 
the best record for the first day. Hunting coat 
pockets were stored with sandwiches and the 
report was to be made at supper time — "any 
time you get back," as Mrs. Bob had accom- 
modatingly fixed the hour for the evening meal. 

The judge and sheriff and Bob took Sport, the 
setter, and sallied forth for a tour of the lake. 
At night they returned, somewhat wearied from 
the first day's tramp, always the hardest for the 
hunter, but flushed with success. The hills of 
Rensselaer aflForded vigorous exercise, but the 
game is to be had by men who enjoy rough 
tramping. Bob, as usual, took the brunt of the 
hunting by beating the thickets and gullies with 
the dog, allowing his guests the easier and more 
advantageous positions on either side. Eight 
fine birds, plump partridge, and four gray squir- 
rels, and two rabbits was their count. At noon 
they rested for lunch near the spring in the 
wooded bluff overlooking Tsatsawassa. Their 
meal was interrupted by the "quah, cuck, cuck. 



WILD GINGER 271 

quah, qu-ah-qu-ah-ah" of a curious gray, and one 
of the big sheriff's famous weasel-like stalks re- 
sulted in adding fur to their feathers. 

Stickwell and Nick and the much-traveled 
pointer Cody, which, the sheriff said, "was the 
best saloon-broke dog in the United States," a 
slander resented by the owner, went in quest of 
the elusive bevies of quail. They located one 
bunch in the stub pines over the hill, but lost 
them after bagging three. X3n the way home 
they shot a brace of partridge. 

John Wilson Teller and Sam journeyed far 
beyond the lake, over toward Black Brook, in 
hopes of getting a glimpse of the big swamp 
rabbits, which are snow white in winter. The 
great bunnies kept out of sight ; but besides two 
partridge and a gray squirrel, they exhibited 
with much pride a cock of the woods, a bird 
rarely found in New York State of late years, 
a fine specimen which is prided by a Lockport 
naturalist to-day. 

Larch and Alwater, to prove that they were 
not afraid of each other, paired for the day's 
hunt, and climbed the hill, bound for the Qiest- 
nut woods, taking in the Hill of the Giant Pines, 
Sam's Landmarks. They devoted themselves to 
the grays. Hunting in the great chestnut grove 
afforded rare sport. The squirrels were quite 
plentiful, but constantly on the lookout for ene- 
mies, and the sportsmen had to exert their ut- 
most skill and cunning to bag nine grays be- 
tween them. Alwater had the best success on 
the edge of a corn field, where he bagged three 
on the fence. 



272 WILD GINGER 

Duall and Wynne tried their fortunes in the 
Iqug stretch of woodlands along the creek val- 
ley, each man taking a woods to himself. They 
entered the first piece together, and the moment 
they set foot in the leaves there was a commo- 
tion in the tree tops, three squirrels starting for 
the home tree at once. They stopped two of the 
lively little fellows. Crossing the valley, Wynne 
leading fifty rods below, Duall witnessed a pretty 
shot. Looking down into the plateau below, he 
saw a partridge flush from the woods and fly 
, across the open space directly toward his com- 
rade. Wynne fired at the oncoming bird, 
< missed him, but wheeling on the straight away, 
tumbled the partridge in fine style. Cutting 
through the comer of the woods where the bird 
got up, Duall flushed three, one of which he 
bagged, and Wynne got his mate on a quarter- 
ing shot at sixty yards. Five partridge, five 
squirrels, and a rabbit was their score at night. 

Mix and Lea trudged over the hill to the Big 
Woods in the western valley. It is three miles in 
length, and a good place to lose one's bearings, 
as some of the party used to level country dis- 
covered. Stickwell tells about tramping trium- 
phantly homeward — ^homeward, as he thought — 
when he deemed it well to confirm his opinion of 
directions by asking a farmer how far it was to 
Tsatsawassa Lake. "Be you going to Tsatsa- 
wassa to-night, young man?" queried the resi- 
dent. "I hope so, for I'm mighty himgry," 
laughed the hunter. "Well, then, young man, 
yoird better turn right around and head back 
over yon hill !" 



THE RAIN AND SHINE CLUB— BURDEN LAKE, 

RENSSELAER. 
Pate ,71- 



THE ITBW YORK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



ASTOR, LENOX IKD 

WIDEN FOUNDATIONS 

» I 



WILD GINGER 273 

Nick boasted that he couldn't get lost in that 
country, because when in doubt, he said, he al- 
ways picked out the highest hill in sight, climbed 
that, and he invariably found himself in sight 
of Tsatsawassa Lake. 

To Mix and Lea belonged the honor of bring- 
ing in the prize "mixed bag." They came 
tramping over the hill at night, singing "The 
mountains, the mountains, we greet you with a 
song," carrying a fine fox. From their coats 
they produced, besides the reynard, four gray 
squirrels, one rabbit, two woodcock, two par- 
tridge, and two quail. Duall the next day tried 
to outdo this range of variety, and was much 
encouraged in the early morning by securing a 
coon, a woodchuck, a partridge, and two squir- 
rels, but he failed to put up any quail or wood- 
cock. 

That night, after supper, weariness was for- 
gotten in the cheery blink o' Bob's fireside, and 
reminiscence was in order. 

McLaren, Doc Myers, Cipperly, Gruver, and 
"Fergy the Guide," the intrepid game protector 
of the Rensselaer Qub, drove down from West 
Sandlake, to help entertain their brothers of the 
Cataract Club and be with them for the second 
day's hunt. The day's bag was inspected and 
compliments passed 'round. 

"You did pretty well, but you ought to have 
picked up more rabbits in a country thick with 
them," gfrowled McLaren. "Last November 
Charley and Billy Mack got twenty-seven on 
the hillside above the hotel in one afternoon." 

"Yes, Lcng John," exclaimed Mix, "but you 



274 WILD GINGER 

want snow and a beagle for rabbit hunting. We 
were after better game to-day." 

"Speaking of baygles/' said the sheriff, **Mrs. 
Bob's supper to-night. Mack, disappeared just 
like the hare before the baygle." 

In dropped little Mike, the cripple hermit from 
the hill, to get his portion of toddy and then 
creep back home, three miles over the hiU in 
the dark. Mike insisted on giving a lecture on 
the evils of drink, at the same time "downing 
the vile stuff," or as much as the landlord would 
permit him to have, which was a very limited 
quantity. 

Mike claimed to be an expert on whisky. Said 
he : "I can tell by the taste of the stuff which it 
is of forty different brans. And from two swal- 
lows I can tell by the taste the name of the boy 
who hoed the corn the whisky was made from." 

"Down home we had two experts that could 
beat that, Michael," remarked the sheriff, in a 
fatherly, pitying tone. "Eph and Sylvester were 
called in by Steele to pass judgment on a new 
barrel. Eph remarked, after a glass or two: 
' 'Peers to me that stuff kinder tastes of leather.' 
Ves sampled it, and after a time observed : 'Nice, 
but she has a taste of iron.' Steele drew off the 
liquor, and found an old-fashioned leather- 
headed carpet tack in the bottom of the barrel !" 

At a signal from Bob, Mike made his adieus. 
When he had passed out, Lea remarked : "Mike's 
nose looks like a late Crawford — it's certainly a 
peach." 

"Time to go to bed," suggested one unusu- 
ally tired nimrod. "Oh, pshaw I you can sleep 



WILD GINGER 275 

at home/' was the chorus which repeated the 
popular saying in Rensselaer. 

The conversation drifted into politics, but just 
for a brief time, for that was a tabooed subject. 
"How's the Boss of Rensselaer?" asked Stick- 
well, directing his remark to Mack. 

"Oh, I'm out of politics/' answered Mack. 
"I'm disgusted with politics. One of my neigh- 
bor's little girls, the other day, said to a little 
friend, after town meeting : 'How much did your 
father get for his vote?' The second little girl 
replied: *Nothin'.' 'Pshaw!' exclaimed the first 
child, in disgust, 'my pa got ten dollars for hisn, 
but brother Henry only got eight, 'cause the men 
said he wuz only nineteen.' " 

The sheriif , apropos of the political game, re- 
marked : "Politics is all right, if you lose ; but if 
elected you're game for the strikers. I'd rather 
pick stone and earn the honest right to walk 
along the streets and tell the bums that I'm 
just out of quarters to-day." 

The judge opined that there was something 
worse than holding public office. He related that 
when a mere boy he worked for a skinflint 
farmer along with several other lads of the 
neighborhood, who needed the money. The 
farmer required them to pick stones an hour be- 
fore breakfast and then turn in and do a full 
day's work. The boys got together and agreed 
to strike against the extra stone picking; but 
v^hen the farmer told them to pick stone or 
quit, the strikers all showed the yellow feather 
except the judge. "And the stone pickers are 
picking stone yet." 



276 WILD GINGER 

This reminded the sheriff of the farmer who 
was not only a hard taskmaster, but who starved 
his help. Instead of bread, the hired men were 
given stale crackers, which the farmer bought for 
three cents a pound. They agreed to strike 
against the stale food, but an Irishman allowed 
that he could cure Symonds of the cracker 
habit. At noon Mike sat down to his plate of 
crackers, he filled his mouth full, and by agree- 
ment one of the other men told a funny story. 
At the climax Mike exploded, and the pow- 
dered crackers flew over the entire table in a 
fine shower. No more crackers were served at 
that table." 

"That farmer would hardly care to have Mike 
sit down again, like your Falls Italian barber. 
Tell about that, sheriff," some one requested. 

"I went up to the Falls to levy on some prop- 
erty of a barber. When I went into the shop 
it was full of customers. I whispered my errand 
to Tony, so as not to embarrass him before his 
trade; but he declared angrily that he wouldn't 
pay the bill and I shouldn't so much as touch 
a thing in his shop. I sat down, remarking that 
I would stay there until he changed his mind. 
Tony concluded that the sheriff occupying a 
front seat and awaiting 'Next' was not a good 
advertisement for his business, rushed up to me, 
took me by the shoulders, and shrieked : 'No, no, 
sheriffe, no sitte de down, gode de outl' There 
was one place I wasn't welcome where I stayed 
until I got ready* to go." 

"Your office doubtless put you in a position 
that Bump Witts says he usually found himself 



WILD GINGER 277 

at home. Bump loved to get out with the boys, 
but wifey thought he ought to be at home more. 
He said: 'Married life is a strange mixture. 
Here am I — with you to-night, all right — ^but I 
had to fight like a Trojan to get out, and when 
I get home Til have to fight even worse to get 
inr 

Somebody remarked that the sheriff had gone 
through some trying situations and rough bat- 
tles dealing with the tough element at Niagara 
Falls during the construction of the power tun- 
nel, but he had come out without a scratch. 
This recalled the court incident, in which old 
man Peabody, a sharp-tongued farmer, figured 
as plaintiff in a damage action against the rail- 
road company. The old man had been pretty 
badly marked in a railroad accident. His at- 
torney had him partially stripped and was ex- 
hibiting his wounds to the jury. Attorney King 
asked him who his doctor was. Peabody pointed 
to Dr. X., a witness for the defendant company, 
and shouted scornfully: 'That sawbones there, 
and I'm alive yet!" After the rebuke from the 
judge, Peabody put his hand to his side and 
jerked at the attorney for the defence: "Now, 
ain't there a lump there that you overlooked?" 
Of course the railroad lawyer ignored the thrust. 
Angrily the old plaintiff shouted at the opposing 
attorney: "Come up and feel of me — I won't 
charge you for anything you can learn from my 
old body — and you, too/ Dr. X." 

Peabody's daughter appeared as a witness. 
She was asked whom she had married, and she 
replied, naming a well-known dentist. With a 



278 WILD GINGER 

baneful glare at the corporation attorney, Pea- 
body interrupted: "Yes, she was courted by a 
lawyer as well as by the doctor" — with another 
glare for Dr. X. — "and she took the less of two 
evils/' 

"That doctor," remarked Lea, "must have felt 
as much of a fool as a certain other Niagara 
physician. The doctor I refer to had occasion 
to make out commitment papers for an insane 
person, and in the document he absent-mindedly 
inserted his own name where the patient's 
should have been. Fortunately the error was 
discovered by the judge forwarding the papers to 
the asylum. The doctor profusely apologized to 
the judge for the mistake, but the story got out, 
and it cost the young medic a dinner for the 
county medical society to which he belonged." 

That "doc" must have felt a good deal like old 
man RafFerty, of Lowertown, who said that he 
thought "apologizin' for somethin' never helps 
nawthin', an' it usually makes hot' madder than 
they wuz before." Rafferty was instructed by 
the court to apologize to a certain money-lender 
for threatening to strike the Shylock if he ever 
came to collect his interest again. The de- 
fendant stood in doubt between the apology and 
the fine for several minutes, and then, bowing to 
the judge in acquiescence, and with a glance of 
murderous hate at the Shylock, he hissed: 'I'm 
beggin' yez pardon for tretnin' to give yer owld 
hide the batin' it so richly desarves, btU thafs 
the ony ting I could beg of ye, ye owld shkin- 

nintr 

"That court scene must have been worth go- 



WILD GINGER 279 

ing to see," remarked Wynne. "I'd been as 
anxious to hear old man Rafferty, as another 
Lowertown Irishman was to attend the Civic 
League banquet when he heard that Mr. Black- 
stock, of Toronto, King's Council, was to be the 
chief speaker. The papers announced that Mr. 
Blackstock, 'K. C.,' was to be the guest of honor. 
Jim DuflF read the notice, and remarked to his 
cronies : 'I must go to that if I have to sell the 
owld pig fer the ticket, 'cause this mon Black- 
stone is wan av the big guns of the Knights of 
Columbus.' " 

The stories came with the rapidity and pre- 
cision of a rapid-fire battery, although they were 
punctuated now and again by the yawns of tired 
nimrods. "You're getting on toward old age, 
Teller," asserted the sheriff, when the former 
indicated a desire to turn in. 

"Yes, and I want to tell you that you are all 
aching for bed and feel the effects of age after 
your hard tramps if you'd only admit it," re- 
joined Teller, with his characteristic good-na- 
tured smile. "You are like two octogenarian 
ladies I know in Lockport, who would never 
admit for a moment that they were verging to- 
ward old age. Mrs. Holly, aged eighty-nine, 
was overcome by coal gas, and they despaired of 
her life, as she remained unconscious a whole 
day after her condition was discovered. Fi- 
nally she revived, sat up in bed, and asked for 
and ate a hearty breakfast. She remarked: *I 
was just finishing the last chapter of my book. 
I had been reading six hours uninterruptedly 
and must have fainted — ^the first time that ever 



28o WILD GINGER 

happened to me in my life. I surely must not 
read over five hours a day hereafter and take 
more exercise. I guess I shall have to dis- 
charge my maid and do my own housework 
again, or I may expect to get stale physically. I 
can't understand what made me faint. Can it 
be possible Fm growing old?' 

"She had a friend, Mrs. Parke, who was 
eighty-six, and who had suffered with gangrene 
in her right foot for several weeks. Her doctor 
and relatives told her that unless she submitted 
to an amputation she would die. She waved 
the surgeon and relatives aside with an angry 
sniff, exclaiming with the finality of authority 
in that household: *I do not propose to hobble 
through life on one foot !' " 

"Yes, we probably all want to go to bed to 
rest up for to-morrow's campaign — but we're 
not ready to go yet, nice as it would be," ob- 
served Mix. "That reminds me of a remark my 

son made to his mother the other day Sit 

still; you must hear this *bright-boy' story from 
a proud father. The three-year-old had been 
detected putting matches in his mother's teacup. 
She rebuked him, saying that the match heads 
were poisonous and would kill her if she drank 
the tea containing them. The boy looked at her 
with innocent eyes, and calmly declared: 'But 
then you would go to heaven, mamma.' His 
mother said she hoped so, but added: *But I 
don't want to go yet.' This puzzled the young- 
ster, apparently, for he rejoined: 'Why don't 
you want to go to heaven right away, mamma — 
Jesus and the angels are there.' " 



WILD GINGER 281 

When in good company, going to bed is like 
going to heaven; it is doubtless nice, and we 
need the rest, but we do not like to leave the 
comfortable fireside and the loved faces around 
it — just yet. 

It was nearing eleven o'clock. Mrs. Bob 
thrust her head in the doorway of the sitting 
room, crying : "Late lunch is ready I" 

What, another meal ? To be sure. That's the 
Tsatsawassa style. And, oh, the memories of 
those salads and cakes I 

The bountiful table reminded the sheriff of 
a Chicago police captain who entertained some 
Niagara friends at a famous German hostelrie 
which was renowned for serving a meal for 
twenty-five cents. It was known throughout all 
western New York that a quarter bought 
twenty-five different kinds of meats, poultry, 
fish, vegetables, desserts, and pastry. The Chi- 
cago guest enjoyed the supper, and asked the 
Swarmsville boniface for the bill. Almost fall- 
ing over in astonishment at the ridiculously 
small charge for six big dinners, the captain 
exclaimed: "My heavens, host, where do you 
get your grub here — steal it?" 

Wynne thereupon ejaculated : "Bob don't steal 
his supplies, but some just fly his way of their 
own accord. Last fall I was sitting on the 
front veranda when I saw a big bird come sail- 
ing over the lake from the chestnut woods, al- 
most straight for the hotel. As it went by I 
saw it was a partridge, and observed that it lit 
in the field near by. I ran in, got my gun, and, 
shouting to Mrs. Bob and several lady gfuests in 



282 WILD GINGER 

a joking way to come out and see me kill a 
partridge, started in search of the bird. I 
walked slowly up the hillside where I had 
marked it down, and hadn't gone far when the 
partridge got up behind me and started back 
across the lake. I wheeled and pulled in a foot 
above the swift flyer, and down he came, whirl- 
ing over and over, and falling right on the steps 
of the hotel porch at the ladies' feet. It was 
a spectacular, chance shot, but there was grub 
coming to the hotel free of charge, all right." 

"You were better prepared to take advantage 
of an emergency than I was," remarked Teller, 
"I was hunting deer up on the Georgian Bay. 
I stopped to rest on the beach, and had opened 
a bottle of ale and was pouring it into my hunt- 
ing cup, when I heard a noise in the bushes. 
Out stepped a fine buck. He stood within twenty 
paces of me, but didn't seem to be aware of my 
presence. My rifle lay on a log not three )rards 
away, but a move meant that the buck would 
leap into the bushes and get away. For ten 
minutes I stood there and watched the deer 
feeding. Presently he got a whiff of me and 
located me. Even then he seemed bent on sat- 
isfying his curiosity as to who I was and what 
I was doing there. I knew it was useless to 
reach for my gim, so let the buck gaze at me 
to his heart's content and watched him slip 
away into the woods." 

The Rensselaer Club quintette, Gruver, Mc- 
Laren, Doc Myers, Cipperly, and Fergy, livened 
things with a rendition of "Sweet Adeline," fol- 
lowing it with the "Whip-poor-will," a favorite 



WILD GINGER 283 

song at Tsatsawassa, where the melodious bird 
abounds : 



"I lov€ to Stray by the wooded rill 

Where the evening shadows play, 
And list to the song of the whip-poor-will 

As he tunes his evening lay. 

"Whip-poor-will I— Oh, list ! 

Whip-poor-will ! — Oh, list I 

Whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will. 

"Oh, soft he sings his evening lay, 

By breezes borne along, 
A saddened feeling o'er me creeps. 

As I listen to his song." 

Teller was nodding in the corner, but he woke 
up when somebody remarked that it would be 
a good day for woodcock to-morrow. 

"I'm with you for a jaunt through the alder 
thickets in the morning," he said cheerfully. 

"You can't lose John when there's any shoot- 
ing to be done," laughed Duall. "One day, 
down in Hartland, Billy Patterson and Strather 
Leonard were resting in a fence comer after 
a hard morning's tramp after snipe. Billy was 
dozing with back comfortably fitted against the 
rails. Strather saw a snipe come sailing along 
silently from Patterson's direction. Billy's eyes 
were closed, and Strather thought it would be 
a good joke to drop the bird at his feet. He 
raised his gun to fire, when 'Bang!' spoke 
Billy's gun just as the snipe got opposite him, 
and down came the bird within ten feet of the 
astonished Strather. 'That Billy, he's got sec- 



284 WILD GINGER 

ond sight/ laughed Strather, in relating the in- 
cident, 'for when it comes to ^hootin' he can 
tell with his eyes shut when k's time to wake 
up' — ^and John is like him in thki respect." 

The conversation drifted back to the subject 
of shotguns and their efficiency. The sheriff 
recalled the story related of Sol. Pinkerton, of 
Somerset, and the smart boys of the town. Sol 
used to win all the chicken and turkey shoots as 
regularly as they were held. He had an old 
muzzle-loader made out of a smooth-bore that 
was "a reacher." He got wind of the fact that 
some of the boys were going to get him into 
a target-shooting match and take some money 
away from him. He smelled a mouse, and be- 
fore wandering down to the field where he 
heard the lads banging away he put a generous 
charge in his gun. Arrived on the scene, the 
lads bet him two dollars that he couldn't put 
forty shot in a foot-square board at forty-five 
yards. Sol accepted the challenge. All loaded 
up their muzzle-loaders, but Sol held back the 
powder from his horn and only put a charge of 
shot into the barrel of his weapon. While Sol 
was putting up the board, the boys drew the 
charge of shot, and on his return to the firing 
line they doubled the bet. Sol made it eight 
dollars, and he was given first shot. The confi- 
dent boys couldn't suppress a snicker as the old 
man raised his smooth-bore and took deliberate 
aim at the target. To their astonishment, at the 
report the splinters flew, and an examination 
showed that Sol had filled the mark with shot. 
The smarties had forgotten to inquire if Sol's 
gun was loaded when he arrived. Just to se- 



WILD GINGER 285 

cure settlement of the bet, Sol carried home their 
two shotguns and kept them until the boys pro- 
duced the amount of the wager. 

This led up to the trick Frank Gardner, a 
noted hunter of western New York, played on 
a Michigan friend. During the noon siesta his 
friend fell asleep, and Gardner cut the shot out 
of the cartridges in the Michigander's gun. 
During the day the Westerner had made an un- 
usual number of misses. So when he awoke, 
Gardner suggested that his gun was not any 
good and bantered him to shoot at him at sixty 
yards. The Michigander suggested that Gard- 
ner was "crazy with the heat"; but the latter 
persisted until he irritated his friend very per- 
ceptibly. "I'll teach you to make fun of my 
gun," the Westerner shouted, with considerable 
heat. "If your shins get peppered it's your own 
doings." In answer Gardner paced off sixty 
yards, and called out: 'Let go with your pop- 
gun." The Michigander fired, but Gardner 
laughed: "Never touched me." The Michi- 
gander suddenly picked up Gardner's own gun, 
shouting : "Well, I'll see if your gun will do any 
better." Gardner leaped to get out of range, 
crying in terror: "Hold up, George, hold up; 
my gun has shot in the cartridges !" 

John Teller was constrained to give a disserta- 
tion on the best shot to use for various kinds of 
game, and he had a respectful audience, for he 
was known as an expert on shotguns and rifles 
and ammunition. He went on to say that he 
could make a shotgun shoot almost any kind of 
pattern desired. I tell you," he went on, "I 



286 WILD GINGER 

can take the same cartridges and make them 
shoot a half-dozen different styles of patterns. 
See here! Take this shell and cut almost 
through the paper, leaving one wad between the 
shot, and the charge will carry practically as one 
mass for forty to sixty yards, depending upon 
the penetration of the gun. Cut perpendicular 
slits in the shell and the shot will scatter more 
and more, according to the number of slits." 

"Now for woodcock to-morrow," went on the 
nimrod Solon, "you want No. lo's, for you'll be 
shooting at close range in the thick underbrush, 
and the birds have slender bones and are easily 
killed. No. 8's is right for snipe, in order to 
reach the swift flyers that usually get up at long 
range, heavier shot than for woodcock are re- 
quired. I never use larger than 6's for par- 
tridge, though some good hunters prefer 5's." 

Teller was asked to explain why the Rens- 
selaer fields were so much stonier than the 
fields in Niagara, and the man who always had 
a theory ready, responded without a second's 
hesitation: "Well, ill tell you: frost will raise 
the stones from under the surface, working 
them up from way down into the subsoil. My 
men have cleared a field of all stones, and in 
two years there would be quite a sprinkling on 
the surface, with no plowing having been done 
whatever. The thermometer averages ten de- 
grees colder in Rensselaer than in Niagara, and 
the stones are in consequence raised up from 
below faster than in our milder climate." 

The late John T. Murray, who was full of 
amusing reminiscences of Pompey Hill, the 



WILD GINGER 287 

home of Lady Randolph Churchill, used to tell 
a story of an old friend. Deacon Terry. The 
deacon was driving by a neighbor's place one 
day. The neighbor and hired man were picking 
stones in a field which was dotted with a hun- 
dred stone piles. The deacon waved his whip 
at the stone heaps, and shouted: **Waal, Jonas, 
where did you get all them stones?" 

The farmer looked up, and replied: "Why, 
deacon, I raised this crop of stones myself." 

**Raised them yourself, did yer? Waal, I 
reckon ye must have raised them, 'cause I hain't 
missed any on my place I" 

"Speaking of farmers," said Lea, "it's hard to 
get ahead of the Reuben. But one of our Ni- 
agara County farmers admits that he was out- 
generaled in a horse trade by a city man. A 
Buffalo politician bought a stock farm near 
Lockport. Soon afterward he traded horses 
with a neighbor. The Niagara farmer was so 
well pleased with the transaction that he sought 
the city agriculturist again on business bent, and 
the result was they traded four horses. When 
spring work began, the farmer and the agricul- 
turist had another horse-trading bee. When the 
politician took stock after the third trade, he 
found that he had his first horse back and 
twenty-five dollars to boot, both clear gain. The 
farmer met him in town one day, and in an ap- 
preciative crowd, remarked : "Well, G , since 

you moved out here we Niagara County farm- 
ers don't have to go to BuflFalo to get cheated 
in a horse trade!" 

Despite the late hour when the captain of the 



288 WILD GINGER 

hunt sounded "Lights out," an early breakfast 
was promised by the hostess, and the nimrods 
retired to pleasant dreams of the morrow and 
another golden day in the glowing woods of 
Rensselaer. 



WILD GINGER 289 



WILD GINGER, SWEET CICELY, AND 

WOOD SORREL. 

AN AUTUMN HUNT IN THE ADIRONDACKS. — No- 

vember. 
XL 

"Has time grown sleepy at his post, 
And let tne exiled Summer back? 

Or is it her regretful ghost. 
Or witchcraft of the almanac?" 

— Edward Rowland Sill. 

Wandering in the garden or orchard of a mild 
November day, how delightfully surprised we 
have been to come upon a solitary apple blos- 
som, or perhaps a stray cluster of red rasp- 
berries. Discoveries like these in Indian sum- 
mer prompt the query which the poet has so 
charmingly expressed. But the orchard and gar- 
den by no means monopolize the "witchcraft of 
the almanac," for in the forests the hunter is 
greeted by the golden fringy clusters of the 
witch-hazel long after Summer has left for the 
Southland, but returned in sheer pity for the 
withered flowers. Sill must have had in mind 
the Hamamelis Virginiana, the shrub which il- 
lumines stream-bordering thickets with its clus- 
ters of fruit and flowers which hang together in 
the same bunch, as the book name indicates. - 

The American witch-hazel, entirely unlike its 



290 WILD GINGER 

English namesake, except a similarity in leaves, 
is the appropriate flower for the autumnal nim- 
rod, because this shrub is something of a shooter 
itself. Anybody who has been hit in the face 
by one of the little black, white-tipped seeds, ex- 
pelled with considerable velocity by the bursting 
of the woody capsule, can testify to the force, 
if not to the intended accuracy of the woodland 
marksman. 

The haze of Indian summer was spread over 
the broad landscape which greeted the Cataract 
Qub nimrods from the heights above Parish- 
ville, as their Adirondack carryall toiled toward 
Sterling Lodge. The prospect in autumn was 
more restricted than that enjoyed in the clear 
atmosphere of springtime, but the fall view from 
that vantage point has its own peculiar charms. 
Off to the north, where in May we were accus- 
tomed to look for the white ribbon denoting the 
St. Lawrence, there was to-day a broad bank 
of feathery, foamlike clouds. In the east, Blue 
Mountain wore a silver collar well toward the 
crown of his bald head, as if the old veteran had 
just returned from an exciting chase and had 
forgotten to adjust his neckwear. A white veil 
shut off the forests around Cranberry Lake, 
forty miles to the south, but still left in sight a 
vast panorama of brown fields, yellow, golden, 
and emerald hills, undulating in huge, glistening 
billows under the autumnal sun. 

Our conveyance plunged into a deep forest. 
The leaves rustled near the roadside, and from 
a clump of low evergreens two partridge flushed 
with a whirr that startled the horses. Ahead of 



[J. INC LAKE— Al»l HON [>ACKS. 



THE HEW MRK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



iSTOR. lENOX AND 
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS 



WILD GINGER 291 

them a rabbit scurried. These first glimpses of 
game set the pulses of hunters beating faster, 
and although the ride was enjoyable along every 
rod of it, they were impatient to reach the com- 
fortable camp on the banks of Sterling, and sally 
forth "to seek the red deer." It was close to 
the hour of the midday meal. From a settler's 
cabin came the incense of a wood fire and the 
odor of bacon. Oyer the door was a fresh pair 
of antlers, a trophy signifying that the woman 
of the house was cooking a savory pot of veni- 
son for the old man who was coming toward the 
shanty driving a patient old nag attached to an 
apology of a wagon loaded to its full capacity 
with a half dozen shocks of com. 

In response to congratulations on killing a 
fine buck, the typical hill "farme^" drawled: 
"Waal, he'll do; but they be purty scurse here- 
abouts. But yew'll start deer up, thick enough 
over beyant Sterling way an' the Ten-Mile. 
Ged-dap, Jerusyl" 

And so we found it along that somewhat in- 
hospitable mountain road — the natives were glad 
to stop you and advise you that the hunting was 
excellent — a few miles farther on. 

But at last our team broke into a gallop down 
the gentle slope approaching Sterling, and pres- 
ently swung into the old wood road leading 
around to the camp. There stood Lon, smoking 
his old briar as usual and grinning a welcome. 

"You fellers needn't unpack your guns," re- 
marked the veteran guide, philosopher, and 
friend, with a solemnity he knew so well how 
to assume. 



292 WILD GINGER 

"No hunting now — good last week — and will 
be good the week after we leave, eh, Lon?" in- 
quired the judge. 

"Good enough, I expect; but I've got a big 
buck hung up in the ice house pantry now, and 
another up on a tree over on Dead Creek; so 
you lazy city chaps can sit by the cozy fire, 
smoke your pipes, tell the yams you love so well, 
and play pedro. Camp's well stocked with 
game now. Still, if you insist on stretching 
your legs, after dinner, which Hattie is now put- 
ting cm the table, you can go out and see if you 
can bag any of those ducks that have been hang- 
ing around the pond for several days." 

It required physical restraint to force Duall, 
Wynne, and Mix, hungry as they were, to take 
a seat at the waiting table instead of rushing to 
the boats. From the veranda, fifty feet above 
the lake, could be seen a fine flock feeding in 
the bay. During the meal it was learned that 
the ducks, when disturbed, flew back to Dead 
Creek, but returned after a time. So, after 
lunch, the sheriff, Alwater, and Larch took the 
trail along the lake to the outlet, where they 
strung out on ridges overlooking the tiny stream 
which led to the creek, while the judge. Dually 
Mix, Wynne, Farree embarked in pairs on the 
lake. The ducks quickly took alarm, expecting 
mischief, although they had not been shot at in 
the pond, and before the boats got within range 
they rose in detachments and headed for the 
creek. A salute from the woods drove one 
bunch of twenty back, and, dipping over the tree 
tops, they were upon the hunters in the boats 



WILD GINGER 293 

before either gunners or birds were aware of 
the close proximity of each other. Up they 
bunched, in an effort to get back from the lake, 
and the quartette in the boats took advantage 
of the psychological moment. At least ten birds 
came to water, but when the word to retrieve 
was shouted by Captain Wynne, only five were 
on their backs and two more were swinmiing 
away rapidly. The pair of cripples dove, and 
presently two more were descried scurrying 
along the rocky, stump-lined shore. An hour's 
work resulted in bagging three of the five crip- 
ples, and another was discovered on the other 
side of the cove, when Wynne whistled his sig- 
nal. The boats were close to shore now. 
Against the narrow horizon visible down the val- 
ley was dotted a flying V. An immense flock of 
ducks or geese were apparently headed for the 
lake for the late afternoon feeding. 

The hunters backed their boats into the 
shadow of the woods, and Duall leaped ashore to 
warn the trio on the ridge to be on their guard. 
On came the flying wedge, and it proved to be 
a flock of gttst. Three times they circled the 
pond, each time keeping at a respectful distance 
from the boathouse. The leader was evidently 
suspicious, for presently he elevated the course 
of the great flock, and they headed off down the 
valley toward the creek a mile away. Presently 
the flock lowered, almost grazing the tallest dead 
pine. Before the report reached us we saw the 
leader suddenly reel in the air, and followed by 
a goose near the end of the right line, plunge 
down through the trees. Not suspecting a lurk- 



294 WILD GINGER 

t 

ing foe in that wilderness cover, the flock had 
lowered in sailing toward the creek valley so 
that they came within reach of the concealed 
hunters, who had hastily changed their small 
cartridges for double B's, on Duall's tip. The 
flock was perceptibly demoralized, part of it fly- 
ing in disordered haste for Dead Creek Valley, 
the rest circling for the pond. Down the great 
birds came with a plunge, scattering out within 
ninety yards of the boat hunters. With a vigor- 
ous shove, the light skiffs were sent out into 
the lake thirty feet, and two or three strong 
pulls on the oars put the sportsmen within range 
as the geese came toward them against the wind. 
The firing was quick, but remarkably accurate 
for boat shooting. Down came six grand birds, 
one for each gunner and one extra for the cook 
in the kitchen. 

Gathering up the prizes, the boating party 
rowed to the dock, where they were met by the 
gloating trio from the woods bearing two splen- 
did ganders. 

"Great Nimrod of Old!" shouted the captain 
of the hunt, "Why didn't you stick to your 
posts in the woods till I signaled to come in ?" 

Pointing down to the outlet, he began count- 
ing a flock that had just come back from Dead 
creek — ^thirty or more ducks. An attempt was 
made to surround the birds for a bombardment, 
but the wily ducks made their exit for good 
without a shot being fired. 

Lon said there had been no severe cold snaps 
and winter this season would be almost a month 
late in arriving. Wild fowl were still plentiful. 



WILD GINGER 295 

although they usually left the North Woods re- 
gions by the middle of October. Within two 
weeks he had even seen snipe along the creek 
and St. Regis marshes. 

The late lingering of mild autumn recalled the 
contrast experienced a few years before on Big 
Moose Lake, when some of the hunters present 
experienced zero weather on a deer-hunting trip 
on the 7th of November, just six days later than 
the commencement of the hunt so auspiciously 
inaugurated on Sterling. 

At supper one of the party unkindly compelled 
Mix to tell of his humiliation on Big Moose 
Lake. It was an old story, often repeated in 
the scribe's presence by his alleged friends, but 
it had to be retold for Lon's benefit by the vic- 
tim of the historic mishap. Six members of the 
Cataract Qub were in camp on Big Moose in 
company with gentlemen from Rome, Syracuse, 
and Utica. The first two days were unsuccess- 
ful, and the party arranged to have their guides 
get up a drive on the point. The hunters were 
arranged across a narrow neck of land near the 
lake, about one hundred yards apart, and the 
guides went back a mile or more and came to- 
ward them. Hounding is illegal, but the Adi- 
rondack guides imitated the baying of hounds to 
perfection, and it would take an old and very 
experienced buck to detect the difference be- 
tween the canine and human voices. The bay- 
ing drew nearer and nearer. Every hunter at 
his post was on the alert. Presently Mix saw 
a fine buck loping toward him. The hunter 
whistled, and the deer stopped. Mix had re- 



296 WILD GINGER 

turned but a few weeks before from British Co- 
lumbia, where he had made one or two shots 
that undoubtedly had produced what is known as 
"swelled head," a condition apt to interfere with 
good work in any game. At any rate, he 
quickly decided that he was good for a bull's-eye 
and would take no chances on a body shot, be- 
cause the deer, even if hard hit, might stagger 
along a few rods and fall a legitimate but un- 
earned prey to some of the men from the in- 
terior cities who were on the firing line. As the 
buck looked up to locate the sound, Mix drew a 
bead on his forehead and fired at the object not 
twenty-five yards away. At the report the buck 
leaped into the air, shaking his head, as much as 
to say: "Miserable work." Past the sheriff he 
leaped, not stopping for two salutes; the judge 
paid his respects, then a Syracusan fired. On 
down in front of the line sped the frightened 
deer, and just as he was rounding the end to 
safety, the man from Rome landed the fatal 
bullet — at any rate, the buck stopped there and 
there was no dispute over ownership. When re- 
viled by the sheriff, who witnessed the first in- 
credibly easy miss. Mix acknowledged that he 
had fired at the deer's head to make a sure kill. 
Turning over the head of the dead deer, the 
sheriff pointed to a 32-40 bullet hole through the 
ear within a quarter of an inch of the head, 
laughing: "A close call to a score for Lockport 
— ^but a miss is as good as a mile and forty times 
as aggravating." 

This recalled the story of old guide Juisha's 
pointblank shot that missed, almost leading to a 



VAI. OF WATERS. 



THE NEW TOOT 

PDBLICLBRARY 



t 



iSTOR, LENOX AND 

TfLDEN FOUNDATIONS 

£ L 



WILD GINGER ^97 

tragedy. Juisha was the good old French Cana- 
dian who guided us on our first trip to Canada 
up on Lac du Talon. Juisha was fond of tell- 
ing how he got his first moose. That was forty 
years ago, soon after he became the proud pos- 
sessor of the double-barreled shotgun, in which 
he shot a bullet moulded to fit the barrel, a 
deadly weapon for big game at two hundred 
yards or less. Juisha found the track of a moose 
not far from his cabin. Getting provision for a 
fortnight, he started after the big animal, whose 
track indicated that he was a monster. For ten 
days the persistent hunter followed the game. 
The moose traveled in a circle. Every day he 
got sight of the forest king, but no chance for 
a fair shot was afforded the keen sportsman. 
Once the moose startled the hunter by rising up 
before him almost within reach of his arm, but 
escaped by plunging into a thicket. Juisha re- 
turned to his cabin for more food and returned 
to the chase. The moose had evidently put in 
the respite by resting, for he had not traveled 
more than "two acres" from where the hunt had 
been interrupted. One afternoon he surprised 
the moose on a side hill. Not over twenty yards 
away stood the immense brute, in an attitude of 
defiance. "Me not too much lak de look of 
him — ^too much fight in de eyes of him — ^but me, 
I fire. De ole gun, perhaps me, no good. 
Miss ! Down from de hill come de moose lak a 
church let out after de long serveece. Me, I 
haf no time to say de prayer. I dodge 'roun' 
tree an' jump down ledge. Moose, him tumble 
after. Two times I shoot order barrel, but she 



298 WILD GINGER 

only snap. Dodge, dodge, run, turn 'roun', snap, 
and dis time gun go, smash moose horn, an' he 
run leetle way, turn 'roun', an' say : 'Come, fight 
me.' Shoot and kill dat time. Comrade come 
an' help bring beeg moose in." 

The captain of the hunt, George Washington 
Wynne, issued peremptory orders that early bed- 
time would be observed until each man had 
brought in his deer. On unanimous petition, he 
authorized one pipe and Lon's story about his 
first Rebel. Lon, protesting much, finally began : 

"I was a lad of sixteen when I enlisted at 
Parishville. I went through the entire war. 
I've killed a good many deer, but only cme Rebel 
that I am sure of. Our regiment held an iso- 
lated post near the Potomac. We were much 
troubled by the Rebels picking off our pickets 
at night. Most of the work was done by bush- 
whackers, bewhiskered fellows who would creep 
up on the sentries and shoot them and make off 
in the darkness. My turn came for night sen- 
try duty, and I was stationed near a large com 
field. For an hour I made my beat regularly, 
but presently g^ew weary and sat down under 
a tree. My nervousness about the bushwhacking 
Johnnies had somewhat worn off, and I was 
thinking of home and mother, when I was 
aroused from my pleasant reveries by a rustle in 
the com field. It was a bright moonlight night. 
I peered in the direction from which the sound- 
came, but could see nothing suspicious. All was 
quiet. Then again I heard something moving 
through the com. Presently out through the 
shadow of the com I saw a man creeping on 



WILD GINGER 299 

hands and knees, a slouch hat pulled down over 
his ears. Our orders were to call 'Haiti' three 
times before firing. I did as instructed. The 
Rebel stopped short at my first word, but con- 
tinued to advance after the third challenge. I 
drew a bead for his forehead and fired. My 
knees *' 

Lon's story was interrupted at this point by 
a loud report outside. 

"Somebody else has got your Rebel," laughed 
the sheriff. 

The party looked around their circle and saw 
nobody missing. Presently in tramped Joey, car- 
rying a porcupine. He held the quilled beast on 
high, laughing: "I jes came in from the Five- 
Mile to pay yer a visit — got hyar in thu nick o' 
time to save yer pork barrel — somebody left the 
ice house door open I" 

"Well, now go ahead and kill the Rebel your- 
self, Lon," said Wynne. 

He resumed: 

"I was cool enough when I drew up my gun, 
but when I saw the Reb roll over on the ground, 
my knees began to wave under me like two 
saplins in a gale. The guard sergeant came run- 
ning up. 'Down there he is, down there on the 
ground, deader^n a burnt stump,' I chattered, 
my jaws keeping time with my shaking legs. 
'And remember, if he's got gold buttons on, 
they're mine,' I shouted, as we started to inspect 
the corpse. When we got up, the sergeant 
kicked over a big bloodhound, shot through the 
head !" 

When we arose next morning the air was 



300 WILD GINGER 

crisp. A white frost, the third in succession, 
indicated that a storm was not many days away. 
The party of nine was divided into three sec- 
tions, one going over to the shack in Randall 
meadow, five miles away north of the St. Regis, 
and noted as a great place for deer. The sheriff 
led a party up the Dead Creek valley, into the 
vast forest beyond. The third division packed 
off enough provisions and bedding for a three 
days' stay in the Five-Mile camp. 

Deer shooting is an old story, but, like love, 
the hunter, as a rule, likes to hear it repeated. 
However, we shall spare the reader detailed de- 
scriptions of the hits and misses, the hardships 
and the comforts, the disappointments and the 
pleasures. The country is ideal for the pursuit 
of the deer. That northwest section of the Adi- 
rondacks is less frequented than the more ac- 
cessible eastern and southern portions of the 
great North Woods, and the hunter feels that 
he is running very much less risk of being mis- 
taken by some foolish fellow for legitimate game 
than in other parts of the forest. In the first 
three days nine deer were scored, and the hunt- 
ers repaired to the lodge to rest for a day. 

Before the camp fire that night the reunion of 
the three divisfons was a jolly one. Each had 
thrilling adventures and amusing incidents to re- 
late. 

Lon told of how the Sterling region had been 
rid of an outlaw who had upon one occasion 
honored him with a shot from ambush, a fellow 
who boasted of killing eighty deer in one season. 
One of the party recalled being in camp up on 



WILD GINGER 301 

the Ten-Mile with the same outlaw, and losing a 
fine buck that the fellow had made off with early 
one morning before the rest of the hunters had 
arisen. 

This reminded some one of old Jack Angell, 
who belied his name by being a terror to the cor- 
porations, although he was a good neighbor. 
Jack used to say that he wanted to be buried 
twelve feet deep, so the Devil couldn't get him. 
Several times the Buffalo Railroad set fire to 
his woods, and each time Jack turned out with 
all his hired men and greased the tracks for a 
mile, stopping all traffic for a half day at a time. 
He repeated the dose until the company gladly 
settled for the timber on a liberal basis. A train 
killed a pig belonging to Jack. He waited until 
the carcass rotted, and then, taking his stand 
near the track, tossed the putrid mass on a pitch- 
fork into the cab of a passing freight engine. 
The telegraph company forced a right of way 
through Jack's property. One night he sawed 
all the poles halfway through, and when the first 
storm came up all blew down. The company 
then paid for the right of way. 

"Speaking of railroads," said Farree, "a rail- 
road foreman named Mclntyre told me a lot of 
amusing stories of his experience building a 
branch of the Grand Trunk in Canada. He had 
a gang of Chinese working for him, and he and 
his section bosses had to devote all their shrewd- 
ness to keep the Celestials from shirking. 
But Mclntyre had the closest call at losing 
money at the hands of an unscrupulous con- 
tractor. A friend advised him that in years past, 



302 WILD GINGER 

Contractor Brown had the reputation of leaving 
his men in the lurch on final settlements. The 
contract in hand had reached completion, all but 
a few finishing touches. Brown instructed Mc- 
Intyre to finish up while he ran up to town to 
see the division superintendent of the railroad, 
saying he was going up to get his money and 
would be back in three or four days to pay up 
the men. When Brown took the train Mclntyre 
got aboard, too, and, following Brown into the 
smoker, engaged him in conversation. Presently 
Mclntyre produced an order for his pay and re- 
quested the contractor to sign it. Brown de- 
murred, saying he would be back in a few days 
and fix everything. 'Fix it now, or I'll fix you/ 
exclaimed the brawny Irishman. Brown looked 
him over, and, being convinced that the foreman 
meant business, he signed the order. Mclntyre 
got off at a small station near the junction 
where the contractor had to change cars for the 
city, where the railroad superintendent had his 
headquarters, explaining before bidding Brown 
good-by that he was going to remain there with 
a friend overnight. Mclntjrre had a letter ad- 
dressed to the treasurer of the company all 
ready, and, inserting the signed order in the 
same envelope, slipped the latter into the letter 
box on the mail car. Next morning at ten 
o'clock Brown called at the superintendent's of- 
fice to get his pay. The treasurer of the com- 
pany was just finishing opening his morning's 
mail. Brown presented his bill, which had been 
O. K.'d by the division superintendent in the 
next room. The treasurer said the bill was all 



WILD GINGER 303 

right, but he would deduct therefrom twelve 
hundred dollars^ the amount of the order from 
Foreman Mclntyre, 

" What! Where did you get that?' exclaimed 
the astounded contractor, hardly believing his 
own eyes, as he gazed on the order shoved un- 
der his eyes by the treasurer. 

" 'Isn't that your signature ?' calmly asked the 
treasurer, who knew something about Brown's 
reputation. 

" 'Yes, but I signed that at four this morning 
at Saw-log station and I saw Mclntyre get off 
there. Was he here before me?' 

" 'No, but the mail was,' said the treasurer, 
with a cool smile. And the smart contractor 
got a check for what was due him^ less the 
amount of Mclntyre's order." 

A crash was heard in the ice house. Lon 
came in with a serious face, remarking presently, 
in response to inquiring looks: "We had only 
one case of ale and I dropped it. But nothing 
broke." 

With stern visage, the sheriff piped: 

"Do you want to see us come to the end that 
overtook Col. Rowland, of Louisville. During 
the height of the Alaska gold craze the colonel 
was reading an account of a shipload of liquor 
that ran on the rocks two miles from its des- 
tination, with all the mining camps out of liquid 
supplies. The colonel read that far and dropped 
dead, not getting far enough along in the dis- 
patch to learn that the entire cargo was rescued 
by small boats. Don't frighten us again like 



/ 



304 WILD GINGER 

that, Lon. Remeniber we haven't touched that 
one solitary case yet." 

"Now, honest, sheriff," observed Alwater, 
"you're not so nervous as all that over a little 
matter." 

"Well, Birdie," warbled the sheriff, in dulcet 
tones, "I don't like to hear anybody lecture 
about honesty. You remember how old Deacon 
Perrins down home used to go about the streets 
advising his neighbors to live honest, act honest, 
and die honest. These street comer lectures 
continued for years, until one day the railroad 
company got after the deacon on a charge of 
billing cars of pears as apples, because the 
freight rate was lower on apples." 

That brought on a discussion of honesty and 
an honest difference of opinion. One of the 
party related the story of two ministers in a 
country vills^e who held an honest difference of 
opinion on the mooted question as to whether 
the year 1900 ended the nineteenth century or 
began the twentieth century. The Methodist 
minister held that 1900 saw tiie last of the nine- 
teenth century, while the Baptist was equally 
emphatic in declaring that January i, 1900, be- 
gan the twentieth century. It happened that on 
New Year's day a joint service was held in the 
Methodist church. In opening the service with 
prayer, the Methodist divine prayed that the 
nineteenth century would be closed in the year 
they were just entering upon with a great uplift 
morally, socially, and intellectually. The visiting 
minister, in the second prayer, thanked God 
that the nineteenth century had been closed to 



WILD GINGER 305 

His glory, and begged divine assistance in order 
that His people might begin the new century 
that day with high resolves to live better lives 
in the new than ttiey had in the old century just 
ended. The Methodist clergyman retaliated in 
announcing the hymn, asking the congregation 
to sing "to a bright and glorious closing of the 
eighteenth century in the present year of grace, 
1900." The Baptist minister preached the ser- 
mon, and devoted all of his remarks to prophe- 
cies of what the twentieth century, "upon which 
we are embarking to-day," would bring forth. 
In the benediction, the host thanked CkKl that 
His people still had one year of grace remain- 
ing in which to close the nineteenth century in 
a manner that would glorify Him. 

Even the devout, it was agreed, could enter 
with warmth into a controversy involving a 
comparatively insignificant point. 

The story was 3ien told of the little five-year- 
(4d who had been given two pennies for himself 
and two pennies for his sister, with the explana- 
tion that each could have one for Sunday school 
and one for candy. Franny ran into the other 
room, and presently came back, saying: 'Mam- 
ma, I did give to Grace the two pennies for 
Sunday school, and I kept the two that are for 
candy.' " 

Mix related a story that the late John T. Mur- 
ray used to tell about Leonard Jerome, the fa- 
ther of Lady Randolph Churchill, illustrative of 
the Jerome family's impatience of ceremony and 
pomp. Murray and Jerome were neighbors as 
boys at Pompey Hill, N. Y. Leonard and his 



3o6 WILD GINGER 

brother, Lawrence Jerome, made a lot of money 
in New York during the war. A United States 
cabinet officer called on the brothers when the 
latter were spending the summer at their old 
home in Pompey Hill, after they had beaxne 
millionaires. The secretary sent in his card. 
Leonard jumped up and ran to the door, and, 
grabbing his distinguished guest by the hand, 
pulled him insde, saying: "Old boy, glad to see 
ye; but I agree with Lawrence that you can 
hike right back to Washington next time if you 
stop on ceremony and don't walk right in." 

Lawrence Jerome went to England unbe- 
known to his niece. When he called at Lady 
Randolph Churchiirs mansion the butler stuck 
out a tray for the visitor's card. The American 
remarked: "Never mind your plate and my 
pasteboard, but just run along in and tell your 
mistress her Uncle Larry wants to see her." 
The flunky did not move. Uncle Larry repeated 
his request so loud this time that Lady Churchill 
heard him, and she came out, bounding into his 
arms just as Jennie Jerome used to do as a lit- 
tle girl at Pompey Hill. 

The conversation took another tack presently. 
Lon had to repeat the story of his encounter 
with the mamma bear and her cubs at Hog-back 
Brook, not far from the spot where Farree had 
shot a fine buck that day. Lon's amusing anec- 
dote recalled the similar incident related by La 
Blanc, our French-Canadian cook in our French 
River camp. He was hunting partridge one 
morning, and hearing something stirring in the 
brush he thought it was birds. He parted the 



WILD GINGER 307 

bushes, and found himself standing face to face 
with a big black bear. La Blanc had been told 
that if one stood perfectly still a bear would not 
attack a man, provided it had not been 
wounded. "Me, I stood, lookin' heem in eye, 
mais I would so mooch lak to run lak h — 1," 
jabbered the Frenchman, in telling the story. 
"Heem look at me — ^me, I look at bear. One, 
two, tree, six, or nine minuate we stan' — I 
tought heem one h — 1 fine, nice bear, and me no 
want to hurt dat bear — not den. Bear, I fraid 
he tink me nice man, too — nice to eet. It mak 
me sheever now right here — dat bear so close! 
By em by, he size me up too tuff for hees 
stomak an' walk away. Walk away, lookin' back 
now an' some more, to see if I mak some more 
conversaciong. Not me — I mighty dam glad to 
say au revoir until I come up wit' heem some 
odder day whan I haf my moose gun." 

"Speaking of moose," recalled Larch, "La 
Blanc had a neighbor named Perrichon, whose 
boast was that he had moose meat in his shack 
the year round. The game warden and deputies 
heard that Perrichon was too neighborly with 
moose meat and was not only supplying most 
of his own neighborhood, but was sending sa- 
vory pieces to his friends in North Bay. The 
deputies called at Perrichon's house one day, 
but faithful friends who had tasted of his 
bounty warned him of the coming visit. The 
news traveled in a mysterious way much faster 
than the officers could travel, too. Perrichon 
was away, but he left la femme to take care of 
matters. Madame received the inspectors with 



3o8 WILD GINGER 

smiles and courtesies, and expressed pained sur- 
prise when they apiM*ised her of the nature of 
their errand. She implored them to search the 
house, the cellar, the bam^ and not to omit the 
cradle or the bed. It seems Perrichon had suc- 
ceeded in getting most of the game back into 
the woods, but one large piece still remained in 
the house when the deputies hove in sight on 
the edge of the clearing. Madame told him to 
slip out the back way. She slipped the remain- 
ing tell-tale moose meat into a pillow case, 
stuffed rags around it, and laid it in its proper 
place on the bed. After a long hunt, in which 
madame assisted with many a joke and quip 
that put the men in good humor, they were 
about to give up when one of the officers ap- 
proached the bed and was about to put his hand 
on the pillow when she exclaimed, with a shrug : 
"Non, non, you get what is said in ze game 
'hunt ze button' too warm — run away." The 
inspectors smiled at her ready wit and bade her 
adieu, but cautioning her to be more careful in 
making up her bed another time. 

The legs of reminiscence are long, especially 
when they are stretched out before a comforta- 
ble fire in congenial company. From North 
Bay to James Bay, the southern extremity of 
Hudson Bay, was a short journey for the re- 
counters in Sterling lodge that night. The 
judge retold in part the interesting account 
which La Blanc gave of his first trip to James 
Bay country. Thirteen days they spent going 
down and seventeen coming back. The French- 
man described the country along the way as flat 



WILD GINGER 309 

and uninteresting from the scenic standpoint, but 
for the sportsman, or student of the flora and 
fauna of a wild region, the rough pilgrimage 
must be one of unending delight. His account 
of the immense flocks of ducks, geese, brant, and 
swan that they saw seemed incredible. They 
saw plenty of caribou. Moose were compara- 
tively tame, but they shot only three on the en- 
tire trip, sufficient to supply fresh meat. Bear, 
he said, were almost impudent in their familiar- 
ity on two or three occasions, but as a rule 
bruin was shy of acquaintanceship with the tour- 
ists. La Blanc missed the red deer, none being 
seen a hundred miles north of North Bay, On- 
tario, on that trip. Bass, pike, and pickerel could 
be captured with any bright lure. A piece of 
red flannel on a single hook was as good as 
anything. On the way back the party lost their 
fishing outfit. La Blanc took a broken steel rifle 
cleaner, bent the end into the shape of a hook, 
and filed a barb into it near the point. He then 
punched a hole into a Canadian quarter and 
wired it to the steel. Holding this three-foot 
steel rod under water as they paddled along, all 
the pike and bass they could eat were landed. 
With over two hundred miles of water journey 
still to go one of their canoes was smashed, and 
caused several days' delay. Two Indian trappers 
helped them mend the canoe, but as companions 
in camp they found the natives a sullen lot, ap- 
parently suspicious of the white man, and look- 
ing upon them as intruders on their hunting 
grounds. The red men hurried the repairs along 
more rapidly than La Blanc ever saw an Indian 



310 WILD GINGER 

work. The Frenchman laughed as he told this, 
saying: "Indian not good feller — ^he work hard 
on canoe so quicker say good-by — not au re- 
voir." 

La Blanc laughed still more heartily when he 
told us that he had left the Indians some to- 
bacco which had made the party sick whenever 
they tried it. The joke must have been on La 
Blanc, because no man yet has seen tobacco rank 
enough to make a red man raise an eyelash. 

This doubtful gift left behind for the unsus- 
pecting red men recalled the story of the dis- 
charged printer's revenge. A Rochester type- 
setter, who had worked on one of the oldest 
newspapers there for years, grew insubordinate 
and was discharged. The last night he worked 
he left on the composing stone, ready to the 
hand of the unsuspicious make-up man, verses 
of his own composition, entitled, "The Rube at 
the Race Track." The versification was clev- 
erly handled, but the subject matter scandalized 
the whole community. The outraged publisher 
offered as high as a dollar apiece for the limited 
edition that got into circulation before the trick 
that had been played on him by his discharged 
employe was discovered. 

"Those verses, I recall, were a little oflF color 
— of the chocolate eclair order," remarked Mix. 

"Speaking of chocolate eclair — my young 
hopeful of six is very fond of that dessert. His 
mother asked him what kind of dessert he would 
like the cook to prepare for dinner. The little 
chap puzzled for a few moments, evidently 
searching for the name that eluded him, but his 



WILD GINGER 3" 

favorite would not come to his tongue. Then 
he said, giving it up, *I can't think of the name, 
mamma, but it's the cakes that make me say 
this is awful good I declare — chocolate I de- 
clare !' " 

"If you keep on yarning," yawned Lon, "the 
sun will catch you here when you ought to be 
off on the trail early to-morrow morning." 

"The sun as a detective," is the story sug- 
gested by your words, Colonel Alonzo," declared 
Wynne. "You started this romance session with 
your First Rebel and you are our prisoner until 
we say the word releasing you. Fred Specht's 
father, who came from Germany, used to relate 
a story about a wicked farmer of the Black for- 
est near the Specht homestead who had a bad 
name among his neighbors. One day Schwartz- 
mann met a Jew gomg to town. He seized the 
peddler and told him he would have to give him 
both his money and his life. The Jew begged 
piteously, offering all his ready cash to 
Schwartzmann if he would spare him, but the 
cruel fellow laughed, saying the world would 
be better off with one accursed Jew less. The 
Jew warned him that the murder would be dis- 
covered and he would be hanged. To which 
Schwartzmann grinned, 'Who'll see me strangle 
you in this deep forest?' The Jew pointed to 
the sun, saying. The sun through the tree tops 
sees you and will bring you to justice before 
you die.' The highwayman mocked at this, 
killed the peddler and went his way. Years 
later Schwartzmann was lying in bed and his 
wife heard him snickering. His wife asked what 



312 WILD GINGER 

amused him, but he refused to tell. Every 
morning for a week thereafter she insisted on 
knowing what had caused him to laugh in bed 
when nobody had said anything to him. Worn 
out by her importunities he said finally: 'Twen- 
ty-five years before the morning you heard me 
laughing to myself I met a rich Jew in the Black 
forest. Before I took his money and killed him 
he told me the sun would witness the deed and 
deliver me to justice. I saw the sun peeping in 
the window and his face made me laugh to think 
what a fool the Jew was.' The old wife was 
much troubled by the confession and confided 
her terrible secret to the minister, who in turn 
found it his duty to inform the authorities. 
Schwartzmann was arrested and confessed and 
on the gallows advised the young to beware of 
evil deeds because even the sun could bring them 
to justice as it had him." 

Lon warned the hunters that they had killed 
nearly their legal allowance of deer for that 
season and for the remainder of the stay they 
should put in their time largely enjo)ring the 
scenery. "You recall," he said, "how I punished 
the fish hog for catching more trout than he 
could use up on the Five Mile. I cured his 
son of the same habit by taking him on a trip 
and losing him. I managed to recover him 
about dark and then told him that I always got 
lost when I had played the porker with my 
rod. He took the hint, and thereafter his catch- 
es were always within a decent limit, although 
I was with him in the woods many seasons 
after he learned the lesson." 



WILD GINGER 313 

"I ought to have my bulldog here to scatter 
you fellows to bed," remarked the judge from 
his comer near the blinking andiron owls on the 
hearth. The speaker chuckled, and then con- 
tinued: "I laugh every time I think of the 
time some of you sports and others came up to 
serenade me with a miserable rendition of my 
old tune 'Way out in Idaho.' I stood it as long 
as I could and then let Don out of the front 
door. Don wouldn't bite a lamb, but he recog- 
nized you and dashed at you in play and you 
scattered like a flock of sheep pursued by a 
wolf. Let's scatter now." 

It was late and the logs in the fireplace 
were worn thin and flickered low. 

Three days more of tramping over the golden 
hills and shadowed valleys brought health, hap- 
piness, and enough game to satisfy the hunters 
of the Cataract Club. Captain Wynne sounded 
the end of the hunt at eventide and all hands 
turned in to pack up for the return trip on 
the morrow. With a sprig of witch-hazel in 
each lapel and giving three cheers for old Stir- 
ling Lodge, the happy band started homeward 
next day, carrying with them a great reserve 
store of vigor and an inestimably valuable fund 
of pleasant reminiscence. 



314 WILD GINGER 



WILD GINGER, WOOD SORREL AND 

SWEET CICELY. 

THE ROUND TABLE OF SPORTSMEN'S STATE CON- 
VENTION. — December. 

XII. 

"Pale flowers! pale perishing flowers, 

Ye're types of precious things ; 
Types of those better moments 
That flit, like Life's enjoyments, 

On rapid, rapid wings." 

— ^Anon. 

It has been well said, and oft repeated, that 
"It IS not all of fishing to catch fish." True, for 
it sometimes involves catching a cold, but noth- 
ing more. Yet, the hardships, the lack of suc- 
cess, as relates to the creel, and even the jibes 
of friends can detract very little from the in- 
effable joys of forest and stream. The rule is, 
as a matter of fact, at least in the case of the 
genuine sportsman, that these minus signs really 
add to the sum total of enjoyment. 

But we cannot let the analyzation of the propo- 
sition, "It is not all of fishing to catch fish," stop 
there, for the joys of the outing are not of the 
present alone, but extend into the future and 
are cumulative: the anglers go home and talk 
over with brother anglers the success in catch- 
ing and the failure to catch. And, please note. 



WILD GINGER 315 

that the adjective "cumulative" does not apply 
to the catch, because we believe no fish story 
gains in weight by adding anything to it. The 
word applies to the joys which come from re- 
counting the incidents of the outing. 

Thomas Moore expressed this idea so much 
better that we must quote his lines: 

"When Time, who steals our years away, 

Shall steal our pleasures, too. 
The memory of the past will stay, 

And half our joys renew. 

"Then talk no more of future gloom — 

Our joys shall always last ; 
For Hope shall brighten days to come, 

And Memory gild the past." 

As we have said in a previous chapter, the un- 
attached sportsman misses many joys that come 
to his brother who has associated himself with 
other sportsmen for the promotion of angling 
and hunting and for the advancement of the 
cause of reforestation and forestry. We know 
of no organization of the kind enjoying a higher 
rank, both as to its practical work for the uplift 
of the sportsman and all things which appeal 
to him, than the New York State Fish, Game 
and Forest League. The Niagara County An- 
glers' Qub — The Cataract Club— has been a 
member of the state organization since the lat- 
ter's inception, has contributed one distinguished 
president and several individual members for 
its support and encouragement. 

Attendance upon a state convention at Syra- 
cuse is an inspiration, both as to the higher 



3i6 WILD GINGER 

and more serious aims of the organization, and 
the social atmosphere which prevails at the 
famous "Round Table" presided over by the ro- 
tund provocative of risibility, Secretary John D. 
Whish, of the State Forest, Fish and Game Com- 
mission. 

At the business sessions, the devotee of the 
rod and gun may listen to the helpful lectures on 
the best methods of enforcing the laws for the 
protection of fish and game and become imbued 
with the lofty spirit which inspires Commission- 
er James S. Whipple. We believe that Com- 
missioner Whipple struck the right note when 
he said that the public must be educated and 
public sentiment must be arrayed on the side 
of fish and game propagation and protection be- 
fore any great advancement can be made toward 
the restoration of our covers and our water of 
the state. His campaign of publicity, carried on 
by lectures throughout the state by the commis- 
sioner himself, and by instructive and luminous 
literature furnished the press from the gifted 
pen of Secretary Whish, arn accomplishing won- 
ders. Where before ignorance prompted hostil- 
ity, we find enlightenment working hand in hand 
with the department for the restocking of woods 
and waters everywhere. If the state authorities 
can be persuaded to incorporate within their 
present intelligent platform a plank for the lib- 
eralization of the game laws so as to encourag^e 
the rearing of fish and game on farms and pri- 
vate estates, then, we believe, the state of New 
York will lead in the great work which is to 



WILD GINGER 317 

restore to the people the recreative and remuner- 
ative pleasures of field, forest, and stream. 

But this is no place to recite the serious pro- 
ceedings of the New York State Fish, Forest 
and Game League, because that important duty 
falls to the secretary of that renowned organi- 
zation. 

Adjournment of the business session is the 
signal for the getting together of good fellows 
at the Round Table in the Yates where it is 
"always fair weather." 

On the previous year Andrew Irving, the 
noted recounter of the St. Lawrence frontier, 
sent regrets urging his brothers that if the toast, 
"The St. Lawrence Club," be drunk, "let there 
be no heel taps." In his pathetic letter, he ex- 
plained his inability to be present that year by 
saying, "I have taken unto myself a farm. I 
am now 'Rural New Yorker*; with diligence in 
sowing I may become an 'American Agricultur- 
ist'; and with success in reaping hope to style 
myself eventually a 'Country Gentleman.' " 

At the session, noted in years to come as the 
"Round Table of One Hundred Reminiscences," 
Irving was there, likewise McLaren, Lee, Wick- 
er, Bowman, Cornwall, Gould, Forey, Wolcott, 
Mowry, Eddy, Grant, Conger, Mallison, Law- 
rence, Fanning, Jordan, Ferris, Gavitt, Amsden, 
Uncle W. H. Thompson, Wood, Manning, Almy, 
Hatch, Mather, Annin, Killick, and others of 
angling fame. Rex Conviviendi Whish, his 
head adorned with ivy and bay, called for the 
song, "It's always good weather, when good 



3i8 WILD GINGER 

fellows get together," and the battle of the ball 
of yam was on. 

Aurora Borealis Irving was directed to lead 
off. "This is going to be like a surgical opera- 
tion," said the Northern New Yorker with his 
winning smile, "it will be 'entirely successful,' 
but I have fears for the patient audience. Here 
is a story from Monticello, N. J., and as Bret 
Harte says, *I tell it as 'twas told to me.' Two 
Montclair fishermen spent a day on Greenwood 
Lake fishing through the ice. They tendered 
live minnows to the scaly residents of the fa- 
mous pond. But nary a nibble did they get, so 
they shifted their scene of operations to a little 
cove, the inlet of which was a small brook 
around the mouth of which the water had not 
frozen over. The ice contiguous to the open 
water was thin and transparent. The eager an- 
glers could plainly see hundreds of fish lying on 
the bottom. Cutting a hole through the ice, a 
baited hook was lowered and the instant it sank 
two feet there was a grand rush of bass and 
pickerel for the dainty morsel. The minnow 
vanished in a flash and not a fish was hooked. 
Several attempts met a similar fate. The fish 
were too greedy to let any one of them get the 
minnow into his mouth. Almost discouraged, 
one of the anglers proposed changing their tac- 
tics. He went to the shore and presently came 
back with an ice-coated plank. This he thrust 
into the hole in the ice so one end of the board 
rested on the bottom and the other end pro- 
jected a foot above the ice, making a perfect 
inverted toboggan. One of the fishermen, after 



THE N£W YORK 

PUBLIC LiBRARY 



ASTOR, IJBNOX AND 

TFLDEir FOUNDATIONS 

R L 



WILD GINGER 319 

permitting the fish to recover from the intru- 
sion of the plank, dropped a lively minnow into 
the hole just over the plank. He was promptly 
knocked over by an enormous pickerel which 
shot up at the bait, continuing up the plank by 
a momentum he couldn't overcome in time to 
save landing on the ice. An Oswego bass was 
the next fish to shoot the chutes, taking the 
iced incline like a country maiden of her first 
trip on the figure eight. The display of a min- 
now in the water over the plank brought on a 
perfect fusillade of fish, so intent were the water 
tigers on bolting the minnow. The anglers' bas- 
kets were filled and they were about starting 
for home when they were interrupted by a crash 
caused by the breaking of the .ice under *the 
weight of fish. They were precipitated into the 
water and managed to save themselves by the 
same plank which they had used in luring the 
bass and pickerel to the fatal upward plunge. 
If a moral there be to this veracious tale, let 
any fish hog present take it unto himself — every 
fish escaped !" 

"That's a hard one to swallow," interjected 
Sheriff McKenna amidst the various ejacula- 
tions. "Pass me the water, as the whale said 
when he wanted a chaser after he swallowed 
Jonah." 

Lee said if any angler present swallowed that 
yarn he must have been like the Newfane school 
trustee, Dempsey, who made his first annual re- 
port orally to the school meeting : "Whin I con- 
descended to accept this thankless and unremu- 
neratin' office I found on hand six dollars an' 



320 WILD GINGER 

nine sinse ; I sphent durin' the year four dollars 
an' nine sinse ; an' after it all I have two dollars 
an' no sinse left." 

Hi Wicker responded to the demand for a 
story from the president of the league by giving 
a true account of the wonderful experience of 
Justice of the Supreme Court Cuthbert W. 
Pound and son Alexander. "This is a statement, 
gentlemen," began the president, "vouched for 
and which will be sworn to, if necessary, by Jus- 
tice Pound, who gave me the facts and I believe 
them to be absolutely true. The judge and his 
family were spending a few weeks in August at 
Oak Orchard on Lake Ontario. They had been 
fishing for black bass with indifferent success for 
a week, when one day a Buffalo man came up to 
the hotel veranda where were seated a number 
of loungers and presented the judge with a fine 
three-pound bass. The donor banteringly re- 
marked that hook and line were superfluous! 
where luck was present, explaining that the 
bass had leaped into his boat, adding that two 
or three other bass had leaped over his craft. 
The judge's curiosity was aroused, so he called 
for the launch he had been using and with his 
son steering, they proceeded up the creek at a 
leisurely speed. As they entered a narrow part 
of Oak Orchard Creek the bass began to jump 
from the lilies and cat-tails on either side and 
presently a big bass leaped into the boat, while 
several others narrowly missed the boat. The 
bass were jumping now by scores. The judge 
said he never saw such a sight in his life and 
had never heard of such a phenomenon. Through 



WILD GINGER 321 

a mass of flying fish the launch went, picking 
up one now and then. In the course of a mile 
no less than eighteen black bass had leaped 
into the boat and were taken back to the as- 
tonished people at the hotel in triumph." 

The leaping bass reminded Mix of Baron 
Speck and Scout Carson's feat in Malaspina In- 
let, British Columbia. The pair were trolling 
for salmon and had hooked several. The fish 
were leaping on every hand and when in that 
playful mood they rarely strike a spoon. When 
they do, they touch it gingerly and as if more 
in sport than to satisfy the appetite. Five fish 
had been lost when presently the hooks were 
firmly set in a lusty salmon. The scout was 
trolling and on the strike nearly had his arm 
jerked off. The battle was a pretty one to 
witness from the shore, especially, because of 
the excited condition of the two comparatively 
green anglers. The scout would haul in his fish 
hand over hand and then implore the baron to 
*bat him to death.' The baron made several 
futile passes at the great fish, which would run 
out a dozen yards before the intended fatal blow 
struck the spot where the silver beauty had 
been. Up was drawn the salmon again and the 
baron made a particularly vicious swipe at him. 
'Landed him at last!' exultantly shouted the ba- 
ron as an eighteen-pound salmon turned over 
on his back near the boat. 'No you haven't!' 
shrieked the scout, as the line burned through 
his smarting fingers once more. The baron 
looked his incredulity, for under his hand floated 
the dead salmon he had just struck. To con- 



322 WILD GINGER 

vince him, the scout braced himself and by sheer 
strength flopped his fish into the boat from which 
the new occupant nearly evicted the exhausted 
anglers — a twenty-five-pound salmon ! 'How did 
it happen ?' panted the baron as he eyed the two 
fish. *Easy explained/ gasped the scout. 'I saw 
it all. Just as you struck at the salmon on my 
hook another salmon leaped into the air and 
came in contact with your bat — you connected 
with his curves for a home run — that's all !' " 

The man from Rome made a great outcry at 
this point. Rex Whish looked at him sternly, 
observing, "Don't bark like that, or I'll have you 
shot I" 

Charley Hatch coughed politely and not in 
disbelief, he said: 

"That is one way to catch fish. Rufe Gibbs, 
of Lockport, used to tell about a friend of his 
at Niagara Falls who had great success in land- 
ing enormous catfish in the eddies below the 
cataract. This enterprising angler one day 
picked up a dead swallow and put it on his 
hook. Presently he found himself engaged with- 
out previous notice as anchor in a tug of war 
with bright prospects of being dragged into the 
fatal current that broke into foam at his feet 
on the slippery rocks. Working his way down 
to calmer water where he got better footing on 
a broad platform of rocks he finally landed 
a twenty-pound catfish. After that when he 
went fishing he took a shot gun along and pro- 
cured his bait from the air. The big cat seemed 
positively starved for swallows and it frequently 



WILD GINGER 323 

took more than one swallow to make a meal for 
the overgrown bullheads." 

The shot gun in connection with fishing re- 
called the judge's famous violation of law, when 
he took a fowling piece to get ducks, but landed 
fish unintentionally. The judge was directed by 
Rex to relate the incident, although advising 
him that he need not testify if the recital would, 
in his opinion, tend to incriminate him. 

"This is a fish story," began the judge, "al- 
though a gun figures in it. I was duck hunting 
down on Cayuga Lake late one March. At least 
two of the gentlemen who have spun yams for 
you to-night were with me on the occasion, al- 
though I fear they have impaired their use- 
fulness as credible witnesses, so I will show 
you a photograph which I happen to have with 
me, to strengthen my case. The shooting proved 
indifferent sport. In the warm sunshine we 
grew drowsy, and presently the guide, the sher- 
iff and I were sound asleep. After a time I 
awoke and my attention was attracted by a 
slight commotion in the cat-tails near the boat 
Little ripples appeared on the water, as if a 
muskrat were moving about underneath. When 
this had gone on for some time I aimed at 
the spot where the cat-tails stirred and fired. 
To my intense astonishment, three fish came to 
the surface and floundered around half stunned. 
My companions were very much awake now 
and helped me pull the prey into the boat. 
There were three pickerel, one seventeen, one 
twelve, and one six pounds. It was mating sea- 
son and the two larger fish were a pair. The 



324 WILD GINGER 

little fellow apparently had got into trouble 
by spying on the courtship. I was innocent 
of any intention to kill fish, and although it was 
in violation of law, the feat was so unusual 
that I took the pickerel home and exhibited the 
interesting trio landed at one shot, with the 
game not in sight when I fired!" 

"Those fish," remarked the Rochester savant, 
"must have been like the rattlers of the West 
The cowboys claim that even the poorest shot 
with a revolver or rifle cannot miss a rattle- 
snake because the serpents attract lead!" 

"So far mere men have figured in the fish 
catching incidents," observed Bowen, the Me- 
dina enthusiast. "I must tell you about the 
famous angling collie owned by Harry Cornell, 
the Lewiston, N. Y., hotel man. Jolly, the col- 
lie, was bom with only three legs, but he had 
been adopted by a family which does not catch 
fish with its feet, so the handicap didn't count. 
Harry taught Jolly to fish. The hook is well 
baited so that it will last for several fish. Jolly 
takes the end of a light bamboo pole in his 
mouth, whisks it sideways until the line swings 
into the water and then the dog,, with an expect- 
ant and eager look in his eyes, sits back on his 
haunches on the dock and waits for the electric 
thrill we human anglers so much enjoy. When 
he feels the tug, Collie's one weakness is a temp- 
tation to bark with delight, but having lost 
several fish through giving away too soon to 
expressions of delight, keeps his mouth shut 
until the business is finished. Jerking his head 
upward suddenly, he usually hooks his perch and 



WILD GINGER 325 

then backs swift from the edge of the dock until 
he draws his fish triumphantly into a safe place. 
Putting a paw on the line, he then catches the 
fish by the tail and pulls his catch from the 
hook. Then is the time for cheering and Jolly 
gives way to a series of joyful barks. With 
the fish in his mouth he runs up the bank to 
the hotel and deposits his prize proudly at his 
master's feet. When the bait is exhausted, the 
knowing dog howls in piteous tones that he 
is sure will bring somebody to his assistance in 
sheer distress at the outcry. One day Jolly 
nearly met his match. A large black bass seized 
the bait and almost pulled the dog into the river 
before timely help arrived. For three weeks 
after that proud feat, Jolly would stop fishing 
after capturing the first perch, apparently in 
disgust at hooking something unworthy of his 
prowess as an angler." 

Apparently apropos of nothing, the sheriff 
dryly murmured in his flutelike voice, "A young 
man of our town, somewhat overfond of the 
flowing bowl, took a girl to Olcott Beach for a 
day's outing and they came home that night 
married. The bride's stem father wanted to 
know who told 'you' silly children to marry.' 
The girl blushed and stammered and finally re- 
plied, 'I guess the waves, father.' The old gen- 
tleman scowled and growled, 'Huh, you mean 
the waves with brown foam on theml' I guess, 
Medina, the same kind of waves told you that 
dog tale." 

"Novelty in pursuit of the gentle art of an- 
gling is the order of the evening," gravely ob- 



326 WILD GINGER 

served Rex, "but I need not caution you to ad- 
here to the truth, gentlemen. Thus far I have 
not detected any signs of any departure from 
our strict rule in that regard. 

Lea took the floor next. . "A Falls fisher- 
man " 

"Can anything true come from Niagara 
Falls?" interrupted the big sheriff. 

He was promptly overruled and Lea resumed. 
"A Falls fisherman told me of his novel method 
of catching eels. He attached a ball of lead 
weighing several pounds to a strong line on 
which he fastened several gangs of large hooks. 
Getting into a boat he would allow the current 
below the falls on the American side to carry 
him down near the edge of the rapids and then 
he would pull across to the Canadian side where 
the current would take him up stream again. 
Playing the line out he would draw it up through 
the rapids where the eels were feeding under 
the foam and frequently hook two and three big 
fellows at a time. In this way he made large 
catches. This fishing required nerve, but only 
the brave deserve the fat eels that abound in 
dangerous places." 

"That story," laughed Irving, "is as smooth 
as the hair of a guide I used to journey with 
in the wilderness of Quebec. I once summoned 
courage enough to ask Ambrose why he oiled 
his raven locks. He explained, 'It mak' slippery 
place for ze bugs, so she slide off and I laf lak 
ze ball batter cry — ^nevaire touch moi !' " 

Uncle St. Lawrence Thompson unlimbered his 
casting arm. "Some of these stories are a little 



WILD GINGER 327 

thin, but they are averaging up very fair, con- 
sidering the occasion. Deacon Swift used to 
run a rickety old saw mill up near Antwerp 
which turned out lumber often subject to just 
criticism. One day a customer complained, 'Dea- 
con' look at them boards — a half inch at one end 
and an inch and a half at tother. Jemminy 
Crickets, do you call them inch board?' The 
deacon smiled benignly, patted his neighbor on 
the back and drawled, 'Waal, Jabez, you admit 
a half inch at one end an' an inch and a half 
at tother — don't that average up an inch ? " 

That reminded Cornwall of another anecdote 
of the same Antwerp deacon. At the time of the 
first appearance of the Universalists the village 
blacksmith, who had become a convert to the 
new religious denomination, made a strong ef- 
fort to carry the deacon, a devout Baptist, with 
him into the strange fold. After wrestling long 
and arduously with the deacon, the latter from 
sheer exhaustion was driven to admit that doubt- 
less the Universalists were as good as the Bap- 
tists. Lige was elated at this first sign of the 
success of his proselyting efforts, but his zeal 
would not be satisfied with any middle ground. 
With intense earnestness he returned to the as- 
sault: 'I'm powerful glad, deacon, to hear you 
admit that us Universalists are as good as you 
Baptists, but I say we are a long sight better, 
because don't the scarcity of an article increase 
its value !'" 

Cornwall applied his story by saying that 
stories like those being related that night were 
a very scarce article. 



328 WILD GINGER 

"Perhaps it's just as well/' chirped the sheriflf, 
with an assumed air of surly criticism that sat 
poorly on his amiable countenance. "Old Phil 
Carpenter, down in Newfane, was an awful sav- 
ing old soul. He'd begin in the fall making the 
family eat the specked apples so as to save the 
good ones and the result was that Phil's folks 
ate rotten apples all winter. We've begun with 
the rotten ones* and I can see the diet we're to 
feed on all night." 

The sheriff's pseudo cynicism had a delicious 
flavor and it lent zest to the feast. 

"Do you object to the subject matter or the 
way in which these veracious tales are related?" 
sternly inquired Rex. 

The sheriff tried to scowl, but the shining 
moon face beamed through the clouds, as he re- 
joined. "Well, perhaps a leetle bit of both 
and mostly more of the former, as old mother 
Crouch said to the minister when he- asked her 
if she was staying away from church because 
she didn't like his doctrine or because she ob- 
jected to his delivery." 

With a searching look around the circle, the 
sheriff shook his head sadly and went on: "You 
are a bad lot of players. You remind me of 
young Thad Taylor. His family was very pious. 
They were Methodists and the children were 
brought up very strict. No games of any kind 
were allowed at home and they couldn't whistle 
on Sunday. They used to mark spots on pieces 
of pasteboard and play dominoes back of the 
barn. Thad loved music and with the first money 
he earned he bought a violin unbeknown to his 



WILD GINGER 329 

parents. The father was very wroth and Thad 
was under the shadow of his displeasure for 
months because the mother had prevailed to let 
the boy keep the instrument. Shortly after this 
strained decision, Thad's brother Joe confided 
to me that Thad had begun to take lessons, but 
the music did not seem to dispel the gloom 
in the household occasioned by the sad breach 
in morals persisted in by the elder boy. After 
he had taken a dozen lessons the district preacher 
came along and he decided that it was very 
wrong to nave 'the instrument of dancing and 
Satan' in the house. Thad stuck it out for a 
few more lessons, Joe said, but losing the en- 
tire sympathy of the family, finally quit the 
lessons. He continued to saw away on the vio- 
lin, Joe told me, adding with sadness in his 
voice, 'An' the way brother Thad plays makes 
me think the minister is right !' " 

When the laughter subsided. Mix remarked: 
"Sheriff, when you try to take the part of a 
kill-joy, you look as silly as a couple I once 
saw at the Rushville county fair one beautiful 
September afternoon. A country beau and his 
blushing sweetheart had consented to be the 
victims of a public marriage on the fair grounds, 
lured by the promise of a set of dining room 
furniture offered by an enterprising merchant. 
They drove away after the ceremony in front 
of the grand stand, cheered by the crowd. Near 
the gate the newly-made groom, overwhelmed 
by the congratulations of friends, neighbors, 
and strangers, sought to hurry the pace of the 
nag he was driving, when at the cut of the 



330 WILD GINGER 

whip the horse planted his front feet and the 
carriage came to a stop with such suddenness 
that the couple were nearly precipitated into 
the middle of their first real grief. The brave 
boy caught his bride just as she was going 
over the dashboard, saving her life at the ex- 
pense of a very important part of her going- 
away gown. It was the case of a balky horse 
under the most distressing circumstances imagi- 
nable. During the half hour that Dobbin rested, 
no less than three hundred suggestions as to 
how to start the stubborn nag were offered and 
half that number were tried, but all with the 
same result. Dobbin was evidently' proud of 
the newly-married couple in his charge and he 
wanted the populace to get well acquainted 
with them. A gallant young man in the crowd 
generously offered to lend his rig to the groom 
and drove up for the transfer, but the bride 
stuck to her seat and in pleading tones assured 
the groom that she was well satisfied to sit right 
where she was, and in fact asserted that she 
would not move an inch. After another trying 
wait, a kind-hearted woman in the crowd, sus- 
pecting the cause of the bride's reluctance to 
change seats in public, handed the girl a shawl, 
and then turning to the gaping multitude, com- 
manded: 'It's your time for supper. I mean 
each an' every one of ye. Now git!' And they 
got; whereupon, the bride slipped the protect- 
ing shawl around her and was quickly trans- 
ferred to the other carriage. As soon as it 
started, Dobbin seemed to think his part of 
the performance had been concluded and he 



WILD GINGER 331 

submissively fell in behind the procession which 
was led by his master." 

"Now, the fractious sheriff ought to stand 
without hitching," remarked Presiding Elder 
Whish with mock austerity. "Let the breeze of 
your reminiscence circulate freely and drive these 
smoke clouds of dull care away. Landlord, an- 
other bowl of that sparkling water. Now, 
then, who's the next sparkler?" 

"Well, since you have ordered water," meekly 
trilled Falstaff McKenna, "here's something to 
go with it on the side." All eyes were on the 
big sheriff, because he was famous for his "true 
stories." Respectful attention, too, was depicted 
upon every face, because it was notorious that 
he had almost drowned a Canadian prison in- 
spector because the giant had seriously insinu- 
ated that he doubted the truth of one of the 
sheriff's reminiscences of the woods. 

Lighting a fresh cigar, he continued in his 
justly celebrated "honey-laden voice": 

"I was once angling below the Little Chau- 
diere on the French River in the most treach- 
erous water just below the chute. With my 
guide paddling, we made the circle of the foam- 
ing basin twice without a response from the 
depths, so we sheered off toward the shore 
rocks for a rest. I don't know how it hap- 
pened, but a silver flask in the canoe stem near 
the Indian slipped into the water. Yes, dropped 
into the water, and it contained the last drop 
we had in camp! — Now don't interrupt me to 
ask about what kind of snakes inhabit that re- 
gion, because down at the mouth of the French 



\ 



332 WILD GINGER 

not over forty miles away there are really rat- 
tlers, and annyhow, the water snakes anywhere 
on tiie French arc uncommon size. Well, the 
last of our anti-snake juice or anti-microbe so- 
lution, or just plain old 'red eye' as you please, 
gentlemen, had disappeared in the limpid depths. 
Undismayed, or rather in the last throes of 
desperation, I drew in my three-gang spoon and 
began angling for the crown jewel ten feet down. 
We took turns grappling for the key to the 
Indies. After a time the nervous tension grew 
on both of us and I caught myself calling the 
Indian some uncomplimentary names unworthy 
of the son of a great chief and tried to square 
myself by promising to send him a whole case 
like the sample we were dredging for if he 
would overlook my unkind language. Alec 
grunted something about my being somewhat 
awkward myself and kept on chugging. At the 
end of four hours a hook point fastened itself un- 
der the slender ridge which marked the beginning 
of the screw threads of the metallic cork. Thank 
the (x)wers that protect a lone wanderer in the 
vast and awesome wilderness, my guide had not 
succeeded in unscrewing the cork before the 
frightful catastrophe occurred. Neither of us 
breathed as we slowly, delicately, prayerfully, 
almost tearfully drew the prize to the surface. 
I was about to shout for joy when there was 
a splash and a plunge and away whizzed the 
trolling line. 'It's lost!' I groaned. For the 
first time in his life, the veteran woodsman. 
Alec, was plainly rattled. He dropped his pad- 
dle. Instantly we were out in deeper water and 



WHERE THE LUNGO SAVED THE SHERIFF. 



noBiisw fWK 
POjUCLBRahY 



ASTOR, lEKM AND 

TILDES FOUKDATIONS 

B L 



WILD GINGER 333 

the current was hurrying us toward the worst 
part of the river. Death by drowning stared 
us in the face. The canoe lurched sideways and 
we shipped water. I was so intent holding 
onto the line which was attached to the fish 
which had attacked my flask that I never real- 
ized that I was kneeling on a paddle. I was 
determined to die fighting in defense of my 
rights as owner of that beautiful silver bottle 
which had been presented to me by a dear friend. 
Why that flask was marked with my own mono- 
gram, so it couldn't belong to a foreign mus- 
callonge. I could see through the foam of 
the death threatening waves ahead all the deli- 
cate threads of the silver lettering on my prop- 
erty which some impudent fish was trying to 
confiscate. Just then the craft swung round, 
for the line had tightened. The 'lunge was ac- 
tually towing us now. I hung unto the tow line 
like grim death. Away ploughed the musky, 
strai^t for the opposite shore. There he turned 
into an eddy and the canoe drifted against a 
Norway pine lying along the shore. We leaped 
out. From land we fought a vicious battle with 
the thief, forgetting for the time that he had been 
for us the chief of that woodland life saving 
station, and bearing in mind only the ugly truth 
that he had snatched away from us our life- 
preserver. We landed him. Yes — it was there 
— the flask. Alec and I sank down on the rocks 
exhausted. You see, when the 'lunge grabbed 
the flask, his upper and lower jaws met and were 
pinned together by two of the three hooks, so 
that he could not possibly open his mouth to 



334 WILD GINGER 

disgorge the metal flask. — Oh, don't groan like 
that — dieer up, the worst is yet to come! — ^but 
one of his sharp teeth had penetrated the thin 
silver, so that the fluid contents had escaped 
in sufiicient quantities to intoxicate the king of 
the Chaudiere. My bottled prescription, there- 
fore, was responsible for our salvation, for 
drunk, instead of sober, that 'lunge had headed 
for shore instead of deep water, as any respect- 
able musky in his proper senses would have 
done !" 

''I hear that the man from Rome has one 
that has made Rome howl. Try it on us." 

The man from Rome, unabashed by the intro- 
duction, began : 

"Up in the Temiscamingue country the prize 
trout are caught. A party of four of us landed 
twenty-eight one day, the smallest being several 
ounces over three pounds and the largest seven 
pounds " 

Rex here suspended to rule that all running 
comment should be eliminated. 

"My guide and I found ourselves six miles 
from camp one day with my flybook behind in 
a fishing coat. We were about to start back 
when from an inner pocket I fished out a stray 
brown hackle. It had done duty on several 
occasions and was the worse for wear. But 
after several casts I landed a trout. In a fine 
pool farther down I had a jarring strike, but 
through awkward work lost a beautiful fish and 
with it my last artificial bait. From the dead 
trout I took an eye and with this tough little 
bait I landed four pretty fish. In the excite* 



WILD GINGER 335 

ment of rapid work where big ones were ris- 
ing, I picked up a fish just landed and forgot 
to kill him before plucking out an eye for fresh 
bait. In retribution for my unintentioned cru- 
elty, the fish slipped through my fingers to 
liberty. On the way back to camp we passed 
that spot again. Just behind a rock I had a 
response, but the trout missed the hook. Four 
times that performance was repeated in the iden- 
tical spot, a fish striking but failing to con- 
nect. The guide paddled around on the other 
side and that time I landed the persistent fish. 
To my surprise it was the trout from which I 
had borrowed the bait — 



Dorrowca inc uaii ; • • " 



'Silence, *ye hard hearts, ye cruel men of 
Rome,' " growled Rex Whish above the roar of 
protest from the round table. Unperturbed 
the Roman continued: "That game fish had 
been caught on his own eye. In our country 
trout are shy, but up there hunger makes them 
forget even a surgical operation. I missed the 
one-eyed trout the first four times, it seems, be- 
cause I was fishing on his blind side." 

"The police coop for this man from Rome," 
insisted the sheriff, as he went through the mo- 
tions of handcuffing him. "Jim Hilton, of Low- 
ertown, used to refer with pride to a grandfather 
m London who could afford to ride in his own 
*eoop.' I gladly pay the fare for a coop for 
this offender to take him to the stat;ion." 

"The long bow will be laid aside long enough 
to permit it to recover," announced the Rex with 
a sigh. There was a murmur of approval around 
the circle. On urgent solicitation, the regent 



336 WILD GINGER 

sang his favorite ditty, "The Hunter's Lament," 
and refused to desist until he had finished the 
very last line of the seventeenth stanza. 

The conversation drifted into a discussion of 
tackle and the various methods of fishing in dif- 
ferent localities. Each member of the round ta- 
ble symposium had something interesting and 
more or less instructive to relate. One of the 
anglers told of the genius of the Muskoka In- 
dians as fishermen. Lake trout in the Muskokas 
have grown scarce and wary of late years and 
the average angler, untutored in the Indian 
methods of capturing them, may cover many 
miles of water without landing a single fish. 
The Indians make their own trolling spoons. 
These they hammer out of an alloy of cop- 
per, fashioning a graceful spoon about the size 
of a teaspoon. To this they attach a gang with 
only two hooks, adorning it with red, black, and 
white feathers. At the end of the line they put 
a two-pound lump of lead; then a small lead 
sinker ten feet from the hook and heavier sink- 
ers at intervals of ten feet. This ponderous 
apparatus they cause to skim over the bottom of 
the lake with great skill, rarely getting the line 
caught. If an Indian loses a spoon more than 
once in a season he is deemed a bungler and 
unworthy to seek the deep-lying trout. The 
slightest touch from a fish is recognized instantly 
by the trained troUer. He can distinguish in- 
fallibly between the bump of a sinker and a 
strike of a trout in the flash of an eyelash, 
and while the less experienced would be trying 
to decide whether he had a bite or not, the red 



WILD GINGER 337 

man would have his fish hooked and well on 
his way to the boat. 

Another present was reminded by this account 
of a young Canadian of Lake Joseph who pos- 
sessed not only the angling skill of the Muskoka 
Indians, but their stoicism and patience as well. 
Young Art Hill looked at life in its every phase 
through roseate glasses, although he was bom 
in a dark nook of the great woods and his every- 
day path was briar covered. The eldest of a 
large family, he was depended upon from the 
time he was a little boy to provide a goodly 
share of the family's support. The greater the 
hardship, the harder Art laughed. When he 
had to work himself to death, he seemed to think 
the joke was on him and was therefore in duty 
bound to laugh with the rest at his own ex- 
pense. 

At first, newly-made friends were apt to en- 
tertain the suspicion that young Hill was a trifle 
weakminded because of his abnormal optimism, 
but they soon discovered that there was not a 
brighter or keener youth in all that region. 
What a glorious gift was this rare disposition 
of the young woodsman. He seemed constitu- 
tionally incapable of entertaining a percept of 
misfortune as affecting himself personally! 

After a long pull or twelve miles up the lake 
and back, with no fish to show for the ardu- 
ous labor, he laughed good-naturedly in the faces 
of the two sportsmen, assuring them tiiat the 
lack of trout that day meant more left to catch 
next day. His prophecy came true, for the trout 
were biting the next day and Art laughed every 



338 WILD GINGER 

time one was landed, saying that the removal 
of a trout left more feed for the fish in the lake. 
He told tales of hardship in the logging camps. 
He fell into a blow hole when the thermometer 
was thirty degrees below zero and was nearly 
drowned. That was funny. When he got out 
it was near night and he wandered in die woods 
until morning, being found near camp more dead 
than alive. That was a side-splitting comedy. 
Once a distant camp ran out of provisions. Art 
and a driver were sent to the distant town for 
flour and meat. Wolves attacked them and killed 
his comrade, wounding Art so that he was laid 
up for weeks. The rescuing party took him 
back to the starving camp and there the fever- 
ish wounded lad kept body and soul together 
by chewing up a piece of pork as large as his 
thumb each day. At the recollection, the yotmg 
Canadian laughed till the tears came into his 
eyes. He showed the stump of a finger that 
had been frozen off and in his eyes It was an 
amusing deformity. At the hotel we learned 
that Art laughed as heartily, and even more so, 
when he was enduring the hardships as when 
he was telling about them. 

Young Hall one day paddled the sportsmen 
to a remote part of Lake Joseph and pointed 
out the almost completely hidden cabin of a her- 
mit who had lived in that woods for forty years. 
The strange man was well educated and an art- 
ist of no mean ability. He had come originally 
from New York, murmuring of some great sor- 
row, but with no definite confidences to repose 
in anybody. He painted beautiful and appeal- 



WILD GINGER 339 

ing pictures of the lake and forest, but he had 
no canvases for sale. He never invited any- 
body to his woodland studio, but to all who 
came he gladly showed his art treasures. The 
hermit painter had no visible means of support, 
but he had abundant means. 

A still more interesting person was found at 
Port Sandfield in the Rev. Doctor Wild, in 
many respects the modern replica of Izaak Wal- 
ton. He was at the time of his thirtieth annual 
summer vacation at Port Sandfield, 75 years of 
age, yet 75 years young in spirits, vivacity, and 
powers of entertainment. During the six weeks' 
stay at the lake he fished regularly twice each 
day, rain or shine, two hours in the morning 
and two hours in the evening. He used to say 
with a good-natured laugh: "God made the 
fish to seek their food in the mom and the even- 
ing, and if he meant them to be caught, it was 
at these appointed times. And if an angler can- 
not capture all the fish for his needs in four 
hours each day, then he deserves to go fish hun- 
gryy he and his house. I confess that the four 
hours daily bring me much fewer fish here than 
they did even ten years ago, but I am content. 
The air is as fresh, the sun is as invigorating, 
the birds sing as sweetly, and the company is 
as good as it was thirty years ago and I enjoy 
them all even more, for each year has enabled 
hie to more and more appreciate the value of 
ozone, sunshine, music, and good companion- 
ship, all wholesome and life-giving gifts from 
the Giver of all good and perfect gifts." Doc- 
tor Wild was learned in ichthyolc^y. He de- 



340 WILD GINGER 

clared that the black bass came into the cut be- 
tween Lake Joseph and Lake Rosseau when the 
tide ran through. He was authority for the 
statement that the bass of one lake never ran 
through the cut into the other lake. 

From the Muskokas it was but a short jour- 
ney for the recounters to drift farther north- 
ward and reminiscences of the Canadian wilds 
came thick and fast. Speaking of the voca- 
cious appetites of the fish in the north country. 
Mix said: 

In Shakespeare's Pericles we read this scrap 
of conversation : 

"Fisherman — Master, I marvel how the fishes 
live in the sea. 

"Second Fisherman — ^Why, as men do a-land ; 
the great ones eat up the little ones." 

Anglers are all well aware of the cannibal 
trait of fish, and so minnows are the favorite 
bait for catching most game fish. Chubs do 
very well in ordinary waters, but up in the 
French River wilds they are too small for the 
prize fish, the muscallonge. Old Esox nobilior 
will strike a 4-O Palmer spoon in pure disdain 
or spite occasionally, but for real biting incited 
by appetite he wants a plump black bass. Par- 
don me, if some of you think I am playing with 
your credulity, but that is a commonplace among 
those who have fished on the French River. One 
day below the Big Chaudiere Rapid I was troll- 
ing for lunge when a bass struck the spoon. 
I pulled him in and was about to return him to 
the water and try again when I decided to go 
to camp and take the bass with me on the end 



WILD GINGER 341 

of the line. I had almost forgotten the bass, 
a four-pounder, when the heavy braided line 
tightened around my fingers until the ends be- 
came purple. I realized something was hap- 
pening to my first caller. It was a lively fight, 
but in time I landed a magnificent 'lunge. He 
had only one hook in his throat, but the dorsal 
fins of the bass, which was well on its way 
down the big fish's gullet, acted as a series of 
hooks and helped hold him fast. You all know 
the size of a four-pound black bass. The head 
of that 32-pound muscallonge adorns my den 
at home, and the tips of the jaws stretch eight 
and a half inches apart, so that he could have 
taken that bass in sideways if his kind ever 
did it that way, but they don't. A post mortem 
showed that the voracious musky had dined on 
a two-pound fish for his breakfast that very day. 
Tell the man who has never caught muscallonge 
that a twenty-pound fish can open his mouth 
wide enough to take the crown of a derby be- 
tween his teeth and he'll look at you with a look 
of suspicion, but nevertheless the statement is 
readily established by experiment." 

Irving smiled and his blue eyes twinkled as 
he observed : "Pretty swift pace we have been 
following at this round table to-night in the story 
race, yet in the wilds I have repeatedly run 
across incidents even more marvelous than any- 
thing yet related, marvelous as that may seem 
to be. The competition this evening reminds 
me of a unique race between a moose and a 
horse which I witnessed in part. David Macin- 
tosh, the village justice, postmaster, and general 



342 WILD GINGER 

store man, wagered a barrel of sugar against a 
moose carcass to be delivered that winter that 
his delivery horse Heather could beat Ronal Du- 
bois' trained moose from the village up to Lone 
Pine Camp on the Ottawa, a distance of twenty 
miles. Each man was to ride his own animal. 
A motley crowd witnessed the start in front of 
Macintosh's store. The starter was the village 
priest, Father Donahue, and the umpires James 
Donaldson, an attorney, located in the village, 
and Tim Duffey, foreman in the logging camp, 
the end of the course. The road to the camp 
was fairly good most of the way, but the last 
four miles was no better than the average log 
road in the forests. Heather was used to gal- 
loping over rough and stony ground and could 
pick his way home on a short cut route through 
the woods as accurately and swiftly almost as 
a deer. Ronal depended upon the length of limb 
and native swiftness of Le Chute, a moose he 
had raised from a sucking calf when the mother 
had died in defending the little fellow from log- 
gers who sought to capture him. At the word, 
Heather sprang into the lead and raced for the 
woods a mile away, but before they entered the 
forest, the long, apparently leisurely lope of 
Le Chute enabled the moose to easily overtake 
his competitor. 

"The French partisans of Ronal's shouted to 
Macintosh's clerk's to roll out the sugar and 
they'd take it over to the Frenchman's cabin, 
insisting that the moose as good as had the 
race won already. Donaldson, however, urged 
them to bide a wee, suggesting that the finish 



WILD GINGER 343 

of a story is often diflEerent from what the in- 
troduction promises. The Frcochmen laughed 
derisively, declaring confidently, 'Dat storee have 
mighty dam sweet finesh for Ronal/ 

"Next day back came the racers. Heather 
trotted up to the store porch blithely alone, while 
Le Chute had taken a back trail for Ronal's cab- 
in on the outskirts of the town. It was Heath- 
er's race. Presently the crestfallen Ronal crept 
into the centre of the emporium and his cronies 
gathered around him, some with dark looks be- 
cause of side bets they had lost on the moose. 
'Drink, drink, it was the ruin of my beeg moose.' 
Ronal burst into tears as he went on, *I tell you, 
drink did it. Le Chute get 'bout acre ahead of 
Heather, p'r'aps only half acre, oh, well, maybe 
quarter acre ahead of dat dam horse, when he 
mus' drink, oui, he mus' take one drink. No 
listen to me, not Le Chute, but he trot to river 
and drink, drink, drink and den drink some 
more. I hear dat Le Heather comin' — I beg Le 
Chute to stop drinking, but he no stop. He ac' 
as eef he had one contrac' to drink up de whole 
dam river. Heather trot by an' I pray my bon 
moose, him good Le Chute to run along. Mais, 
noni Sacre! He is just start to drink after 
long trail an' he drink and when I keeck him in 
de ribs he roll over in water and splash me lak 
paddle wheel of a t'ousand boats in de canal. 
By em by, Le Chute sorry and go on, run lak 
hdl, he feel so good after big drink, but when 
we again see Macintosh, dat beeg Irishman Duf- 
fey is tying some fool ivy on his head, an' his 
red-headed, freckled-face wife, she, dat saucy 



344 WILD GINGER 

femme, she have been feeding dat dam horse a 
bowl full of sugar out of de barrel lak dat one 
I expected to roll oif of Macintosh's porch to- 
night I' 

"No, gentlemen, I attempt no application of 
my story," Irving continued. "I'm no moralizer. 
Do I wish to imply that but for stopping to 
drink, some of the contestants in this story sym- 
posium to-night might have taken the prize? 
Not at all — and besides, that moose stopped to 
drink water!" 

The sheriff looked searchingly around the cir- 
cle and then piped, "After that, I think we'd bet- 
ter be on our way. Whish has sat in that one 
position so long that all of his joints are stiff 
— except his elbow." 

"I preach the value of exercise and practice 
it," blithely responded Rex, amid the laughter 
at his expense. 

Time was forgot and nobody noticed the hours 
chimed off by the tall clock in the comer. Dur- 
ing that historic symposium of the Round Ta- 
ble more deer than the famous valley of the Ma- 
sog-Masing had ever seen fell before the unerr- 
ing aim of the sportsmen's rifles, while very few 
got away; more muscallonge than ever leaped 
the foaming caldron of the Big Chaudiere were 
played and landed in full view of the enthralled 
company of seasoned anglers; and, as for trout 
that were lured to their doom and the bass that 
were foiled in their wiles, there was not enough 
hampers and tubs in Syracuse to hold them. It 
was winter in Onondaga, but the happy hunters 
at the Round Table in the Saline Tabard Inn 



^ IBB MEW YOHK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 



mDEH FOPNBATWMS 



t 



i 






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* WILD GINGER 345 

could hear the birds of Nipissing sing, feel the 
spray of the Five Mile Rapid and scent the 
balm of balsam and wintergreen as reminiscence 
carried them far northward where the happy 
hunting grounds were fast locked that night in 
the Frost King's embrace. As the smoke rose 
from the table, it seemed the haze of forest 
camp fires long since dead through which com- 
rades looked upon the wraiths of never-to-be- 
forgotten joys in the land of the white violet, the 
cardinal flower, the closed gentian and the blue 
flag. In the silence that fell upon the com- 
pany now and again, as when a shift of wind 
carries away the garrulous and unceasing rum- 
ble of a distant chaudiere, the felicitous dreamers 
caught themselves filing after each other in moc- 
casined feet along the blazed trail, or toiling 
over the interminable portage. The far-away 
halloo of a newsboy calling the morning papers 
was to their ears the gloomy cry of the loon 
foretelling a storm, but it brought the recounters 
back with the suggestion that there would be 
a storm for them to face at home if it ever be- 
came known that they had lingered until dawn 
in the hospitable lodge of the Onondagas. 

Now, before the good nights are said— or 
more appropriately the good morrows — let us 
rise in unbroken circle around this historic ta- 
ble to the toast, THE FRIENDSHIP OF 
TRUE SPORTSMEN: It is the WARMTH 
of MORNING sunshine that kisses the damp 
from the brow of the mountain and dispels the 
mists from the bosom of the valley; it is the 
grace of budding branches in the SPRING- 



346 WILD GINGER 

TIME, and the beauty of clustered blossoms 
imaged in the SUMMER pool; it is the warm- 
ing color that the cardinal flower lends to the 
sombre forest in early AUTUMN, and the 
evergreen of the Christmas fern in WINTER'S 
snows; it is the perfume of flower, odor 
of balsam and warble of bird; it is the 
weapon which never misses fire, and, with 
sights always set true, is ever ready to keep 
the wolf from the door or hold worse ene- 
mies at bay; it is the canoe which never leaks, 
carrying its occupant safely through rapid or 
tranquil water; it is the fidelity of the compass 
which guides the steps unerringly over flowery 
plain and tangled thicket to a restful abode ; it is 
the camp where the firelight glows with wel- 
come at EVEN and where the eyelids close un- 
der the benign benediction of comfort, rest, and 
peace. 






FEB 9 ■- "1348