The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1895-03-09
CIRCULATING.
ny Martin HunrEa.

sACome, Ben, let lls have that moose
yarn Of yours. Charley, here. has not
heard it." ssS - 49,
The person addressed as Ben was an
old white hunter Of the Upper st.
Maurice, who was 1t that sn.e,lps.nt
quietly enjoying glass OF gro9. sup
piled to him by some Of his young ac-
quaintances and admirers of the town
Of Three Rivers. -
Old Ben used to visit towns Snce a
year regularly to dispose Of his pelts,
have good time, and go back to the
wilds with fresh supply OF bacon,
tea. tobacco. ammunition, etc.
Nothing definite was known OF the
carly history of Ben; I'm fact, the peo-
pie of Three Rivers knew not his sec
ond name. They conjectured that,
like most men, he had q family name;
but this Zen kept to himself, md he
was known by ono and NIL Of his friends
simply as Ben,
Everyone agreed that he had moved
in good society in his younger days, for
his enrly training would show out at
times in spite of his assumed huF.ter's
English.
On the glasses being replenishcd by
the young man called Charley, Ben
told them the moose story somewhat
us follows: Es
/. well, look here, boys, had very
littlc to do with that particular moose,
or the moose with me; but had q
good deal to do on that occasion to
keep from freezing. Howsoever, here
1t is Just as it happened:
sit was toward the end Of March,
1865. that was canped, alona with a
Wabanalkc INDIAN, on one OF tile large
streams that fall into the west side of
the upper part of the st. Maurice. We
had made our head camp there in the
fall, and had done pretty we'll with
hoN Of hot
we trapped for martens straight along
through the winter. Once only we
left our hunting grounds, and that was
on New Years eve. Nicholas, tho
Wabanalke, my cllum, said: Lets go
into Fort Wcymontachingue and see
the Indians feast and dance;' for on
New Years it is the custom of the
Hudson's Bay company to hold open
house to all comers- So we took a few
marten skins to trade for tobacco and
went, and we saw big Indians eat big
much r.
II had made a bargain with Nicholas.
before leaving Three Rivers, to hunt
together during the fall, winter and
spring and to go equal snoolks on the
furs after tho trapping was over. In
the beginning of spring. or rather, l
should say, the very last part of win
ter, for it was the end OF February, my
partner found q yard OF moose. Says
lie: Now, Ben, we will just let those
moose put on fat till there is a good
sure Of killing them
"'All right, Nick says I; Just as
you think best
"But, as bad luck would have it, be-
fore rain or sunshine came to form n
crust, we got news at one of the luro-
her shanties that there was q party of
surveyors up, running lines for timber
limits. 1 made inquiries in what di-
rection they were then working, and
found by what the shanty men told
me, that they would strike our moose
yard the following day or the day oft
CIR, at furtlaest. Well, I just pegged
home to camp, a distance of about five
miles, and told the news to Nick; and
maybe he was not just hopping.
"'However, Ben,' says he, those beg
gars will brighten our moose tomorrow.
So we may as we'll give them the wind
ourselves, and run the chance of kill
ing one. Let us start at once, and
sleep at the foot of the mountain, SO as
to be ready at the break of day to wind
the critters
with biscuit and pork in our blank
cts, we reached the base of the noun
tain before dark, made rousing fire,
cut plenty of green boughs, laid down,
smoked and teld.Xarns the best part OF
the night for = tas too blamed cold
and. aft & haTI breakfast, we start
ed. we each led a biscuit in our
shirt and fa1t1ssEa tin cup on our belt.
The cup wAs tQ&kH snow in, if pushed
by thirst of course, we
left, as sse Nt8 to be as light as pos
.'Wes1s1klOSt reached the top OF
the md<k6N 114ien Nick said: They
ore OF snuick ear had heard q
dry brA5nN2fN9E01h. We took no moro