The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-01-02
TALE CT a SILVER FOX.
An adventure In n Hunters Paradise o
Northern Maine. KS

party of sportsmen at Grand Lake, Il
very peculiar experience befell me-
Grand Lake forms part of the bound
airy between Maine and the province of
New brunswick in Canada, aud is or
was then, a veritable hunters paradise.
All my life long have been Il victim
to insomnia. and even life of incessant
e%ertion in the open air did not alto
gether exercise the nocturnal demon of
unrest that possessed me. One night,
after tossing for hours on my camp bed,
wakcful and feverish, / got up deter
mined to take 4 smoke and stroll rs n
scdatlve for my excited nerves A full
moon rode in u cloudlcss Sky, and the
lake and Wilderness about our camp
were as light as city thoroughfarc. A
few yards away u small rowboat that
was part of our outfit tossed ut her
moorinSs. and suggested that an hours
practice with the oars would probably
bring me sound sleep for the remainder
of the night. A little inlet on which
we frequently went pot-hunting, rs it
was alive with rabbits lay about half IL
mile from the shore just opposite our
camp, and struck out for it simply to
have an objective point.
As | neared it l saw something that
looked like n small white streak darling
here and there through the low shrub
berry which grew to the waters edge.
silver fox had been seen on the islct,
and each and every one of us were mad
to get hold of it. Could that be the
coveted prize? l quickly determined to
do all that II man may do to find out. I
had no hopes of capturing him unarmcd
as was, but if l could get clcw to
his burrow should possess consider
able advantage over the rest of nv
party. The wind was blowing toward
me- 1 would creep as near to him as I
could and note in which direction he
started away.
1t is needless to say that | did not get
very near him before being discovered
lie dartcd off in the direction of a shed
that some fishermen had built for shell
ter and which was now uninhabited
From the cmincncc on which I stood /
could trace his line of flight quite plain
ly until he ran into the shadow of the
hut when he vanished. Could he be in
1T? The idea sent mo tearing mad to-
ward it. AS l nearcd it moderated
my pace and crept as silently as posi-
bic through the doorway. There were
two windows in it which gave sufficient
light to show that the animal was not
there. and just as turned 70 come out
! received Il violent blow on the back
of the head. Sparks flashed before nv
eyes; then l seemed to be whirlinr
around in darkness and complete uncon-
seriousness overlook me.
When came to myself it was well on
toward noon of the next day, and was
sitting on a bench in what was evil
dainty small city park. The place
was wholly unfamiliar to me- / felt
very weak and dizzy and guessed inn
mediately that had been kept for
hours under the influence of some vii
famous narcotic. remem bered every
thing distinctly up to the moment when
l was knocked down in the shed. After
that, hazy "reminiscences of n lamp-lit
railway car and of Il woman bending
over me We're all could recall.
few yards from where | sat DO
liceman was pacing up and down near
one of the entrances, and from him |
found that | was in the city of Quebec,
Canada / Immediately decided to ap-
ply to the American consul for help.
Luckily for me he resided in the vicinity
of this very park, and found in my
pockets, from which my watch and
money had been removed, some old let
tcrs that would prove my identity
After hearing Il por ton of my story
the consul. to my great surprise and de-
light, seemed to take the keencst in
terest in it. When had told him every
thing l knew and surmised of my
strange adventure he shook hands with
me and amazed me by declaring that
while he realized how very unpleasant
its immediate consequences had been
for myself he congratulated me, be-
cause he believed that it would be the
means of locating the headquarters of
band of smugglers that the revenue
officers had for months been vainly try
ing to catch at their illegal business.
There is n standing reward of $500 for
their capture" he added with n smile,
land if they are caught through your
nocturnal chase it will be yours. am
going to send now for the proper au.
thorities to come and hear your tale, as
you are evidently unfit to go to them
and in the meantime you must be nv
guest.
Under the kindest care and treatment
! recovered my wonted vigor in a few
hours, and that evening, in company
with a party of revenue detectives,
started for Grand Lake
We reached our camp about o'clock
the next morning, in the guse OF an ac-
cession to the party already there. 1t
was empty. My friends, as | after
ward found, were still securing the
woods in search of me. The rascals
into whose hands fell had carefully
replaced the boat on the spot where it
was always kept when not in use. con.