The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1877-06-02
..ShoemaEer and Naturalist"

Conant thus describes the adventure Of
Thomas Edward, the subject of Mr.
Smiles recent biography:
When twenty years old, Edward went
to Banff, to work at his trade. Three
years later he fell IN love with a comely,
bright and cheerful lass, and after a short
courtship, married her, and began house.
keeping on about two dollars and a half
a week. Poor as they were, they were
content and happy. Edward at once
began to make collections of the objects
gathered in his walks. He had acquired
the art of deserving birds as well as in
sects. Unfortunately he knew almost
nothing of books, and was unable to
write. He did not possess a single work
on natural history, and did not know the
names of the birds and animals he caught,
and whose habits he was familiar with.
All his knowledge had been gathered by
himself, and was hisoWn.
To assist him in procuring specimens
of birds and animals, Edward bought an
old gun. 1t was so rickety that he had
to tie the barrel to the stock with a piece
of thick Irvine. He carried his powder
in a horn, and measured out his charges
in the bowl of tobacco-pipe. His shot
was contained in a brown paper-bag. A
few insect bottles, some boxes for moths
and butterflies, and a botanical book for
plants, constituted tie rest of his equip
ment. AS he did not cease work until
nine o'clock at night, nearly all his re-
searches were made after that hour. He
had TO be back to his work in the morn
ing at six. His wages were SO small that
he couldhot venture to abridge his work
ing hours. He never spent a moment
idly, nor a penny uselessly.
As soon as his work was done, he
would set ouss7 with his supper slowed
away in his pocket, to lose no time, and
50 long as it was lis hit he secured the
country, looking for moths, beetles, birds,
or any other living thing that came in
his way. When it became SO dark that
he could no longer observe, he dropped
down by the side of a bank, or bush, or
a tree, whichever came handiest, and
there he dozed or slept until the light
returned. Then he got up and again
began his observations, which he con-
tinued till it was time to 60 to work.
Sunday was his only day of rest. By
twelve O'clock Sunday night, however,
he was up and away. His neighbors
used to say of him, cts a stormy night
that keeps that man Edward in the
house." In fact, he never stsid at home,
exceptSundays. Weather never daunted
him. When it rained, he would look
out Tor a hole in the bank, and thrust
himself into it, feet foremost. He kept
his head and his gun out, watching and
waiting for any casualties that might hap
pen. He knew of two such holes, both
in sand banks, and both in woods which
he occasionally frequented. They were
foxes or badgers dens. If any of these
gentry were inside when he took up his
position, they did not venture to disturb
him. If they were out, they did the
same, except on n occasion, when a
badger endeavored to dislodge him, show
its teeth. He was obliged to shoot it.
He could often have shot deers and
hares, which anne close up to where he
was but they were forbidden animals,
and he resisted the temptation. He shot
owls and polecats from his ambuscades.
Numbers of moths came dancing about
him, and many Of these he secured and
boxed, sending them to their long sleep
with a little drop of chloroform.
Sometimes he would take up his quar-.
tiers in a barn, a ruined castle, or a
churchyard. His objection to these
places was the greater number of un-
pleasant visitors than elsewhere, p~olecats,
weasels, bats, rats, and mice, not to speak
of hosts of night-wandering insects, mol
ldsks, beetles, skaters, centipedes, and
snaila. Think of having a polecat or a
weasel snif.snifing at your face while
asleep, or two or three big rats Juggling
at your pockets, and attempting to steal
away your larder! Boyndie churchyard,
a most uncanny place after dark, was
frequently his lodging-place, greatly to
the amazement of his superstitious
neighbors. He sometimes had severe
encounters with nocturnal roamers. One
night, while sleeping in the ruined castle
of the Boyne, about five miles west OF
Banf, he was attacked by a large and
ferocious p~olecat. Edward could have
shot the creature, but he wasted
powder and shot upon anything he could
take with his hands. The animal leaped
upon him as he lay ON the floor, and was
seized by the throat by the watchfuI
naturalist. "I thought" says Edward,
"that he would have torn my hands to
pieces with his claws. | e~ndeayored to
get him turned round, so as to get my
hand to the back of his neck. How he
screamed and yelled! And then what
an awful stencil he emitted during his
struggles" After struggling with the
brute nearly two hours, Edward be-
| thought him of his ehloroform bottle,