Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-10-06
CLAM.

CLAM.
"Glmn' is a nickname, common with
the French Canadian boys of the quaint
Acad1an settlement of Madawaska. 1t
answers to our BILL and comes, l think,
from the French Guizl0unae, or William.
The Madawaska children pronounced it
as If spelled Gz0rm, very broadly.
But Clam was not a boy, though he
bore boys name. Neither was he a
dog-though I once saw coach dog
named "Bill," Indeed, I am afraid It
will disappoint the readers to learn that
Clam was sheep, Of the gender which
country people call "knock over" a
sheep with great curled horns and a
fearfully hard head.
Boys and dogs are often written about;
but it is seldom, l think, that sheep
has his biography told. Yet CLAIMS life
and exploits are worth recording; and
think that after reading what am about
to relate, the reader will say so.
Clam belonged to little bacon faced
Madawaska lad named Maxine Lizotte.
His father called him "Marxeem,,' or
MARX But his father being lumber
man, was at home but very little, and
the charge Of the little clos, or farm, stu.
ated few miles from the hamlet of St.
Basil, was left mostly to Maxine, the
boy sowed buckwheat and planted po-
tatoes in the spring, and in September
harvested his crop, burying his potatoes,
like squirrel, deep in hole in the
ground, that they might be kept safely
for winter use. The Madawaska people
have no cellars. If they did have them
their houses would be warmer, for the
climate is very severe, and winter lasts
nearly or quite seven months of the wear.
Maxine did the hardest part Of his
farm work with two little .ssparked -
COWS. These yoked to his pillow and his
cart, one OF the queer customs of that
queer settlement.
His pillow would have amused New
England lad, for it looked more like a
dry tamarac root than modern pillow.
But it did its work, with the help of
Maxine and his yoke of COWS, These he
had named "Gadelle" and "Gellette, s.
names which may be freely translated in
to English as opium" and 'sCream-pot;; -
though tits doubtful if either word could
be found in a "Paris" French dictionary.
1t was very amusing to see Maxine at
his blowing, shouting, ''Her1et, Gadelle +!
Mushdaw, Gellettep'
Besides these two COWS. the boy had
owned a flock of twelve or fifteen sheep,
and Clam was the lord of the flock. In
his 1ona6Aood, he had been great pet, a
sort of ''cosset." No doubt he was given
his full share Of provender and other
good things; and this, perhaps, was the
reason why he was so large.
At the age of five years, when the
writer saw him, CLAM certainly weighed
not less than 900 pounds. From the
great length of his wool, he looked even
heavier. It was said that the weight of
his annual fleece was fifteen pounds, which
seemed to me a pretty heayy story.
When lamb, Clam was no doubt gen
tie. like all of his race; but as he grew
older and larger, he became conscious of
the forcible arguments that lay in his
big curled horns and hard head, and used
them to resent familiarlies from strang-
ers He became "knocA -over'' in good
earnest to all the neighboring BOYS.
Maxine and Clam, however, understood
each other, and avoided antagonisms
thai should have no place between
friends
CLAIMS first exploit of note occurred
when he had reached his third year.
Maxlme's sheep pasture was on the
mountains side, above his clos 1t was a.
tract Of thirty or forty acres, that were
only partially cleared from trees and
brush. The public morals of that dis
trict are probably not better than those
of other localities. At any rate, farmers
like Mexicans, who owned lambs, occas-
ionally lost them, and the theft was not
unfrequently charged to their neighbors
and not to the bears and other wild
beasts
Then, too, the "river drivers as thew
passed up and down the St. Johns had
an unpleasant custom of kidnapping fat
lambs that might be found upon it's
shores, and roasting them over their
camp-fres.
During the latter part of May and the
first week of June, when the drivers were
coming down the river, Maxine used to
go to his pasture once or twice a day, to
keep watch over his little flock.
One foggy morning, as he was calling
the sheep together. he was struck by the
appearance of Clam, who seemed to be
standing guard over something red that
was lying on the grou.d at a distance
from the rest Of the flock. Whatever the
object was, it had life; for while he look
ed, it rose partly up, but Clam, drawing
back, at once butted it fiat again.
Maxine ran to the animal, and, lo!
the red object was a red-shirted river
man, who was in sorry plight. He could
scarcely speak, but contrived to stammer
out the words that he thought his back
was broken.
Near by, lying on the ground, was one
Of the best lambs of the flock, with the
tendons Of his hind-legs cut. The would
be thief had a dirk in his hand, with
which he had made desperate efforts to
quiet CLAM, but had only succeeded in
wounding the sturdy animal.
The fellow had little to say for himself.
He had caught and was carrying off the
lamb on his shoulders, when CLAM
charged aim rom behind, striking him
full in the back; and afterward, when he
tried to rise, offered continual objection
by knocking him flat again.
There is little Catholic hospital at St.
Basil. The lamb srealer was taken there