The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-12

frets about the house. Lon" Bishop takes
great interest In his country seat howev-
er. He has lived there many years and
brought up his family of three daughters
rounded his place with 4 magnificent
lawn or scrub spruce trees, and year
after year he make an addition to the
house. when collects rough slabs enough
sAs a result Of his labOrs he now has a
beautiful slab structure. one-story high
and some rs feet long; 1t Is not exactly
cold or water proof, and you could proba-
bly, take II all to pieces and haul It away
In a double OK cart. but II gives him a
splendid place TO range about in.
Lon took to the woods when he was
IL years old, and has stayed In them until
now he is 81. In summer he wanders
around and catches q few trout. but II is
only IN winter that the serious business
OF life begins, when the sticky juice of the
spruce tree hardens into gum. Then Il is
the village maid at close of day sees
Alonzo armed with scoop and Ratchet,
pair of snowshoes and a pair OF creepers,
and proVisioned with an occasional noun
tain biscuit. II doesn't sound much, but
there rs great deal packed away In one
of those biscuits. You can tell that by lift
ing them He finds the best gum on the
exposed nights of the mountains. he says.
where the big trees strain and seam In the
heavy wind. The juice exudes through
the gaps and gathers in little amber mug
gets along them. Bishop used to reach IL
by climbing up with creepers. but now he
gets most Of It with scoop on the end OF
a long pole, which he pushes up under the
Jumps. He ranges all the way up the hills
to Stratton mountain; he knows the nIace
by heart and very often is gone days at a
time In the winter, sleeping on a bed OF
fir boughs spread under the lee of some
protecting ledge. Naturally he has
cleaned out the gum considerably. But
the supply Is good still, and the prices are
much better than they used to be. When
he started out he could gather easily 500
pounds winter, where now he can get
only 100 pounds or so. But then he used
70 ger out lzl5 cents a pound, where now
he gets 81. He sells it in bulk to druggists
ana regular customers, and sometimes re-
talls II in little barrels, but he generally
disposes Of all he gets easily. The biggest
day maui ne ever made, he says. was
worth
Lon has occasional windfalls Of other
Kinds, however. He carries a Colts re-
vvoiyer on one hip, and every now ard
uen nc runs across some fresh meat
ranging up from a partridge to bear.
he has made two particularly good hauls
OF pears with his little gun, one time get
ing four and the other time three at once
lie is in the woods in winter, and ha
catches what bears he runs across in a
drowsy state in their dens The fonr he
IOunQ IN January were cooped up under
ledge-tWo old ones and two two-yea ar
Odds. The ledge slanted up and when he
had dug out under il he fred in right
INFO the face of the bears and each con-
siderateiy rolled out. leaving the next one
in full view. Three were DISPOSED of IN
this way with three chambers, but the
fourth cr2wled out and made Bishop use
two cartridges before he killed HIM The
group Of three were tracked into their den
IN early winter and disposed of in much
the same way. Mr.. Bishop says modestly
he IS quite a good shot with revolver
lie has Killed nine bears with IL ana trap
ped eight, making quite good thing out
OF pears altogether. He meets other
strange things in the wo ods-occasionaiiv
a lynx, and one time a panther occupied
herseh several hours stalking him. He
inally turned on her and scared her away
but e wasn't a pleasant experience PM
then even Searsburg "gummess'' life
can be one round of unalloyei pleasura
Ferhaps lnat panther viii get him vet
one of these dark nights, or he will fail
off a spruce tree and be missing until The
snow melts off in the spring Then by his
haiS they VIII know him.