Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-02-04
SACHEM GABE,
Chief of the MiIicete Indians,
New Brunswick.
A Noted Hunter and Trapper Who
Has Seen Ninety Summers Pass.
Ne has Austed With aoyaIty aad Mas Crossed
the Great wstess-

/
fuli name Is Gabriel Acquin. and he lives
a, the village OF st. Nary's opposite Fred
ericton. Ninety wears have tingei the once
raven locks Of the sycamore with gray, but
he Is still a fitniiiar figure On the streets of
the latter city. He IS truthful ami honest
in all bis dealings. aad few white men can.
be trusted 80 implicitly
Thirty Years ago, when the royal
princes. Albert and Alfred, visited the
province, Gabe was their constant atten-
Iaut. He taught them bow to hsh and
shoot and manage IA bsrk canoe. and on
one occasion hraYely rescued the Prince OF
Wales from drownIag in the St John
rirer. In I-s3. whca Gabriel visited the
International Fisheries. Exhibition in Lon
Ion, all the members Of the royal family,
except the Queen. waited upon him ami
gave him a cordial welcome. tube has i'll
his possession massive autograph book,
on the cover of which Is inscribed:
"Dpiutnat, and state correspondence Of the
MiAeeie Indian, Gaiar.
Together viih "a Fecord of visitation- and
leyeo. held by the chef during the great interua-
ti0nal Fisheries Exhibition, I-si-"
The volume is a most interesting one. 1t
contains hundreds of tire autographs of the
royalty and nobility of England. and OF
military officers with whom Gabriel has at
vrrious times chased the moose and caribou
in this province.
The sachem has been a mighty hunter in
his day, and many are the perils of the
chase which he has survived. ON one oc-
casJon Gabc was calling moose for Ma jor
Blame of the Royal Scots Regiment. A
monstrons bull moose answered the call
and came laundering through the forest,
SO closely did he guage the horn that he
charged right over the bush where Gabc
was concealed and broke the sachems leg.
The moment was u critical one for Gabe.
Had he uttered sound or attempted to
move, the infuriated animal would have
jumped upon him and killed him with his
lancelike hoofs. But, though suffering in
tensely, Gabriel gave no sign. and the
moose soon walked away.
As snnlple of the sachems wit the fol
lowing story Is told He was once camp.
ing out with u young tenlerfoot who had Il
remarkable sense Of his own importance
The tenderfoot had lost his pipe AMI asked
the chief to lend him his. Upon receiving
the pipe he wiped the stem very carefully
with ais handkerchief before he would
trust himself 10 smoke it. When he re-
turned the pipe Gahe quietly broke off and
threw away the end of the stem, and then
went on with his sInoke.
The chief talks with equal iiuency in the
English, Millcete Miemuc and Penohscot
tongues. By means of pale-face smagu-
ensis he carries on an extensive correspon-
dence with his titled friends in the old
country.
"Tnlkins about moose" said Gabe, II
believe in fifty years like the Indians, they
viii all be gone. The loggcrs and settlers
Kill great many in the deep snow IN win
ter. Moose feed mostly on greenwoods,
those that taste bitter, saeh as maple,
moosewo ood green hemlock and cellar.
That is the reason they often
lie If YOU try to tame them. They want
thcir proper feed at the proper time, and
If ii is prepared for them it does not seem
To do them so much good as if they browse
for themselves, The calling season is
about the full moon in September aud that
is the time to hunt for them il you want
good heads, Every year they have a new
crop of horns. Thcs. begin to sprout the
first Of April aud increase in size until
August. Up to August they carry the vel
vet hords. Then the fur commences
to peal off and the mating season be-
EttT. Nb'uN tltt tiiSt Va ANp'ttHptl ttitg
begin to shed their horns They may he
six feet across, but they are only one sea-
sons growth. After the running season i.
over a kind of joint grows near the root of
tue horns aud they drop off without any
trouble Before that time they are so
firmly fastened on the head that YOU could
only get them off by saving them. The
antlers of a moose are Just like flower.
81. h,
summer, and in the fall. like the leaves,
they die anl drop TO the ground"
Can you tell the age of moose by his
horns?" From TO years oil | they carry
the most branches As they get older
fewer branches grow and when they are
very old their horns are almost straight,
like a goat. You can tell whether moose
is old or young, bHt not his exact age
What about caribou" They are in
crcssing every wear. They are often
driven off their grounds by fire, because
their farorite feed white moss, will burn
like tindcr. Ii is very dry, and there is no
, tast, to il, bus it makes the best alcohol in
the worll. The season for sbooting carl
hou is from the frs, of August till the last
( of February, and then you have six more
Jaws to baul them in. Carbon aud deer
net iHst tlNt llif ulbVSt III tilt luHHliig SEA
son. hut II is harder to call the caribou be-
cause the voice of tue COW is so low. Red
deer are coming into the province from
Maine and Canada quite fast nov. Fifty
wears ago, near Fredericton junction, |
killed 60 deer in fortnight. But the
( wolves followc, the deer and wiped them
q completely out
( Bears are getting thicker all the time
Z A. a
cunning of all the animals we meet. |
/ have known them. when they think they
arr heing follow ed. to double back on their
tracks for hall u mile till they see Il good
chance 70 jump out Some people are n
good dead afrail Of bears. but the bear is a
/ good deal more afraid Vt them. | have
s.,eH aore viii animals than anybody, and
( ll'.y viii Ill rnn away from d, man unless
( they are badly cornercl.'
Are there uuy Indian devils in the
pros incrs nuw - Il DON'T think so. 1t is
!, good many years since killed one. Some
thluk the lynx or .iacifee' is the Indian
devil snl some think it is the painter
panther or catameunt. But the regular
indian eevil Is bla:k anil tmnk it is the
wo3rer.ne The different notes of owls IN
the 'rools scSre = gooi niany people.
Whether Christian OF pagan. the Indian
still ciings to the faith of his fathers. In
MS spiritual wofli tite great and ~lse goi
Glosseap. is the central figure. MANY
,eany vvays ago" sati GatIisl, '-tilosseaI
rs.a- troia III s9pit worIl To eare tho
wrongs of hi4 peepie. lie tol'l th~ui to lire
.,; .-..cv. an, hos 70 hun, anil fish AMI wha
70 ksii fAr fool AMI cio'siag. lie pssse,
izoss isijc Io tribe, pointed eu' their bat
habits, a9.a advised ;hciu TO live en- tbei
- lands ami respect the lands OF then
i,r 4the-s. All the snimal- were, hyonghf be
fore hin and tcli that nun was shsir a,as
i..r. None of the animal. Frbeliei At ti,i
es,,epy lhe red sqgirrei. who flew fgTieu>ll
AT 4, stump and tore IL 10 pieces in has anger
the squirrel vas then one of the largest %
tie aairrsls. ard, seting that he was dan
. aus. GIosseap deereed that he slivulI b.
=, t.gced to his present size. But he coal
~ .iop the rel squirrel from s,.oliiug, an
Ia. has .c'lded ever sirce
are You Figure sssier
Rosrox, F.i,. a--The National Anna
ftsur Stating Association will lohf It's an
uEsl figure skating cs,ampieu.hip under tn
suspices of the New Easlsn,l Skating Asso
cation at the covered rink of the Ssler