Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1876-10-24
Misffllaneons.

Inc following IS the old Irappers de-
scription of his death-watch by the body
of the dead miser in the depths Of the
wilderness, as it appears in Mr.. Murray's
Adirondack Story. now being published
in his paper, The GOLDEN RULE. The
story is written in the authors best vein.
and the quiet humor aud strong descrip-
tive power for which he Is noted have
abundant opportunity for exercise:
"Well, Henry. it was sorter new work.
ye see, Tor me and the hound; for tho
| have buried many man in the trenches
arter the fight, and though l have xiv
cred up good many redskins off and on
in my lite, yit | wasn't very handy at
the mournin' equipments of the settlement
But have seed many gineral laid out
on his bier, in the old wars, with his
uniform on and his sword by his side,
and the death sentries on duty, and the
mutlled drums all beatin' and | conceited
that though Mr. Roberts wasn't gineral,
nor even privit in the ranks, for that
matter. that he should be treated in an
honorable way now he was dead.
SO cut some crotches and drove 'em
into the ground, and made frame of
small white bushes about the size of
bier, and on these / put q layer of bal
sam and cedar boughs, and over these |
scattered pine tufts ontil | had bed fit
Tor the dead or livin'. gineral or private,
and laid in plenty of hard wood for my
fire, and some pitch knots, for / said TO
myself, If the animils come round will
have to shine up on 'em, and defind the
corpse; Tor | feared the panthers-for
this lake is great spot for the varmints,
and 'leven years ago there was sartinly as
many as there is now. And arter had
got the bier ready laid the body on it,
and bolstered the head up nateral-like.
and then me and the hound sot down to
supper with dead man at the table. We
didn' waste time in the eatin' for the sun
was already down, and by the time we
had cleaned up night had come.
Well, Henry, l took my stand at the
foot of the bier, and kept my death watch,
rifle in hand, steady as sentry on duty.
save when stirred the fire or lighted
pine knot. For the animils was Uneasy,
and l needed the pine knots more than
once. and some of the varmints got the
tech OF lead and the smell of powder that
night, tell ye. for they was full of their
devilments, and made me and the hound
AS wakeful as if we were surrounded by
inimies."
did you really have to kill anythingp ?"
| asked, speaking for the first time in an
hour for the Old Trapper had told his
story with such naturalness of information
and gesture that he had held me SPELL
bound by his narrative-for no one could
hear him tell the strange tale he was tel
ling and not be carried along by the move
ment of it,-and now that he was evident
ly reaching the climax, feared should
miss some detail of his experience which
being omitted would mar the narration,
so, hoping to hold his utterance to the
line OF actual occurrence, l said, ''Did
yov have to kill any thing, that night ?"
"Well. yis, did," he replied. II
bored hole through a dog wolf over
there on the beach, after, had borne his
onnateral howlin' as long as a mortal
could; and dropped cat from that dead
cedar there, arter me and the hound had
stood the stare of her eyes for ten minits
or more, and about two in the mornin', q
litter of panthers crawled in on US ontil
the bushseemed alive with 'em, and lift
ed the scalp of the biggist Of the drove,
after he had got within forty feet of the
corpse and paid no more attention to the
brands l pitched at him than il they was
tufts OF sod; so with pine knot all afire
in one hand to show me the sights, drove
the lead in between his farnal eyes in q
style that taught 'em all manners for the
rest of the watch. Yis. Henry. we had
solemn and lively time of it, for sartin,
that night. and at times it looked as if
there would be no funeral the next day;
eastways, none that me and the hound
would attind, onless we made one for our
selves; but we stood to our post. and be-
tween the brands and the lead and tie
help of the Lord we brought the body
through safe till sunrise.
But it was mighty solemn watchin' by
the body all by myself in the depths OF
the woods, here that night; for at times
the animils would make the air roar and
scream. and the mountains to yelp as if
the upper world was inhabited with cats
and wolves and panthers, and then they
would suddenly become quiet, and the
world round about was nothn' but silence
with the moon shinin through it and the
dead mans face was as while as the moon
and still as the air, for his troubles was
over and the marks OF them passed from
his featur when his breath went away.
And so me and the hound kept our watch
by the dead, til the sun riz in the east,
and the hour had come for the funeral"