Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1878-09-19
Men with Queer Nerves.

NAen with queer Nerves.
Tile Jumpers of Maine-A Region
an achich some Startling Things
are Seen.
A correspondent who has just re-
turned from tour writes -
In FEBRUARY last I was riding in
a sleigh from Shirley to Geenville,
in Maine. / was a commercial
traveller, and my companion in the
cutter, Mr.. Long, was an old school
mate from New York, now saw
mill owner of Greenvilie. Riding
just behind MS in rude pung were
two Canadian Frenchnen whom he
had hired to work in his mill. At
the foot of long hill I sprang
from the sleigh to warm my feet by
walking, and as leaped out, the
board seat, on the extreme end of
which my friend sat, tipped mp and
he fell ont into the snow. He jump.
ed mp and laughed. just then /
saw the Frcnchmen tumble back
ward ont of their sleigh exactly as
Long had done. twas a ludicrous
minicry, and l could not under
stand it. We stopped their lazy
horse and laughed at them as they
came up, but they only pointed at
Long, muttered something in mon
grel French and shook their heads
seriously. One of them struck On
his head and sprained his neck.
Wel,," said Long, "I'd no idea
those fellows we're Jumpers"
Jumpers s' l asked, "what's
jumpers 2"
" Why, didn't you ever hear of
jumping Frenchmen %
Never in my lfe.'
These are jumping Faenchnen.
They tumbled ont of that seat inst
becanse they saw me tumble, and
they couldn't have helped it to save
their lives. This country is full OF
jumpers"
Can't they control their con-
duct in any way 2"
"Oh yes in most ways, when
they are not jumped but you jump
one of them and over he goes"
Jump one Of them! Come, ex-
plain. You'll have to make your
| joke palmer"
No Joke, 'pon honor. By
Jumping one Of them l mean sur
prising him. Sfartle him in any
way and you set him going at once
I'll show you lot of them wher
we get to Grecnville." +"
We were in the upper half o.
Maine. Greenville is at the low
er end of Moosebead lake, which i.
the source of the Kennebec river
and the centre of q vast lumber re-
gion. 1t contains some fifty houses
among which are two large hotels
which are filled with pleasure-seek
ers in summer. More than half O
the lumbermen employed in tn,
woods in winter, l learned from
|, Long, are Canadian French, o
half-brceds- unkempt, half-clad
and SO ignorant that not more thar
one in two hundred can read prin
or write his name. Most of these
, he said. are jumpers.
"Now follow me into the dining
room" he added, as he hitched tin
f two horses in front of a small hotel
through tho window of which w
, could sec a dozen red-shirted me
5 at supper. followed him in. A
e he entered the room he raised hi
e hands suddenly above his heaC
S pointed his ioreangers at the cell
\ ing, and said: "Sh-h !! F" so as t
e be heard by all. The men aroun
(. the table instantly sprang up, point
j ed their forfingcrs at the ceiling
;. and every one said "Sl,-h!" On
s knocked over his chair, and som
; crockery was broken by the .jo
+ that tie table received. The tw
+ Frenchmen who had followed thei
n employer also repeated the sam
O gesture and said "Sh-h ]" TIL
men aronnd the table flushed, an
h then turned pale as they resume
S their seats. They recognized Lon
r as he salutcd them in their pccnlia
t French-Indian patois !; but the
were surly and indisposed to tall
:, We soon withdrew.
;, "Well," said Long, "they're jump
}, ers."
s "What did they do that for ?"
e asked"
1 "They couldn't have helped it
1t their lives had beef at stake"
lc | wanted to vestigate til
r. strange phenomenon, if, indeed,
,r was genuine. but I was to start ne
morning for Bangor.
81 have never seen any of the
queer creatures down along Il
AT coast" said.
TO ''No," said Long, ".hey are co
10 fined to Canada and the frontier.
IN mainly in the numbering region,
lie There are thousands OF jumpers