The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1878-08-14
The s'Jumpers'' OF Name .

In February last, I was riding in
sleigh, from Shirley to Greenville. in
Maine. was a commercial traveller,
and my companion in the cutter, Mr.
Long, was an old schoolmate from New
York, now a saw-mill owner, of Green
Vile. Riding just behind us in rude
pung were two Canadian Frenchmen,
whom he had hired to work in his mill.
At the foot of a 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 up and he fell out into the deep
snow: He jumped up and laughed. Just
then saw the Erenchmen tumble back
ward out of their sleigh, exactly as Mr..
Long had done. 1t was ludicrous MINI
icry and I could not understand it. We
stopped their lazy horse and laughed at
them as they came up, but they only
pointed at Long, muttered something in
mongrel French and shook their heads
seriously. One of them had struck on
his head and sprained his neck.
"Well," said Long "I'd no idea those
fellows were jumpers"
"Jumpers2" asked; "what's jumpers? 2"
"Why, didn't you ever hear of jumping
Frenchmen
Never in my life"
''These are jumping Frenchmen. They
tumbled out of that's just because they
saw me tumble, and they couldn't have
helped it to save their lives. This coun-
try is full Of Jumpers
Cant they control their conduct in
any way2" ...
"Oh, yes; in most ways, when they are
not jumped; but you jump one Of them
and over he goes" II
Jump one of them! Come, explain.
You'll have to make your joke palmer"
''No joke, pom honor. By jumping
one of them I mean surprising him.
Startle him in any way and you set him
going at once. I'll show you lot of
them when we get to Greenville." ,.
We were in the upper half of Maine.
Greenville is at the lower end of Moose
head lake, which is the source of the Ken
nebec river, and is the center of a vast
lumber region. 1t contains some fifty
houses, among which are two large hotels
which are filled with pleasure seekers in
men employed in the woods in winter, 1
learned from L., are Canadian French, or
half-breeds-unkempt, half clad, and so
ignorant that not more than one in two
hundred can read, print or write his name.
Most of these, he said, are jumpers
rNow follow me into the dining -room,"
he added, as he hitched the two horses in
front of a small hotel, through the win
dows of which we could see dozen red
shifted men at supper. I followed him
in. As he catered the room he raised his
hands suddenly above his head, pointed
his fore fingers at the ceiling, and said,
''Sh-hp' so as to be heard by all. The
men around the table instantly sprang
up. pointed their fore-fngers at the cell
ing, and every one said, "Sh-h!" One
knocked over his chair, and some crock
cry was broken by the jog that the table
received. The two Frenchmen who had
followed their employer also repeated the
same gesture, and said, "Sh-h!" The
men around the table flushed, and then
turned pale as they resumed their seats.
They recognized Long as he saluted. them
in their peculiar French Indian patois;
but they were surly and indisposed to
talk. We soon withdrew.
SWELL" said Long, sthey,re jumpers
"What did they do that forS" asked.
"They couldn't have helped it if their
lives had been at stake"
wanted TO investigate this strange
phenomenon, if, indeed, it was genuine;
but l was to start next morning for Ban
gor.
II have never seen any of these queer
creatures down along the coast said.
"No," said Long, s'they are confined to
Canada and the frontier----mainly in the
numbering region. There are thousands
of jumpers in Maine. By the way, you
are coming back in April. Just make
stay of fortnight, and I'll show you
more jumpers than you can count, and
more odd and exciting tricks than YOU
ever dreamed of. Jumpers come in out
of the woods in the spring, ana thew will
be loatng around here in April, drinking
whisky and spending their winters earn
ings.''
promised would do it. and did.
| stayed there nearly month. What he
told me is fact. Jumping Frenchmen
are as thick as frogs, and they are not
much more intelligent. Jumping or
shouting, or moving suddenly when start
ed, is peculiar to most of them. Il have
seen as many as twenty five jumpers to-
gether. Touch one Of them when he was
not expecting il, on the neck, or even the
hand, and he would cry out, trembling,
turn pale and catch his breath, and his |
crying out would be pretty certain to start |
the others.
There are MANY different kinds Of lump