The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-12-21


ahI cSM@H French. Nowhere
SMEV else in the United
20 VNS States is there
7 SA4 ~IN community such as
W. w tn s in language
and customs. Des-
pite the fact that their ancestors have
| lived there for century and a half,
| they speak English that is barely intel
ligible to the average citizen, while
their French, it is said, is totally be-
yond the ken of Partisan. In one re-
| spect they are particularly notablesN
that is, in their ability as story-tellers.
The Detroiters understand them, and
the mushrat French know it, so that as
raconteurs they are not at their best be-
fore them, but let them get hold of
/ guileless Fastener and they will fill
| him full of the most marvellous tales of
hunting and fishing adventure that ever
! came from the mouth of a man. AS
means of earning money they hunt and
fish, selling their prey to the markets.
I Their own staple food article is the
muskrat, called ''mushrat," which
| abound out there; hence their name
| mushrat French. Against all ridicule
they will maintain that no beast, bird
or fish is more delicate, sustaining and
healthful than this animal.
Take eem fat" said one of them to a
New Yorker, who spent part of his va
cation on the flats, take eem fat, stoff
eem up with ARB (herbs) an speece
(spice), put eem on fire an roast eem,
an sh! what will you? He is pairfect.
You shall not tell eem from a duck.
Gentilman Of New York come ERE to eat
duck. We give eem mushrat cook COM
me il faut. He say: 'Ah, heaven! All
God! Nevaire, nevaire have I eat such
a duck! He thought it for a duck, that
mushrat."
This same New Yorker made cuff
notes Of some Of the hunting and fish,
! ing stories which he heard during his
7 stay in the region of the flats, and pre-
served some of the more notable of
them to turn over to reporter. At
first he essayed to set down data in a
note book, but the mushrat French
viewed this process with such open dis
|
his subsequent note taking surrepti-
tiously. Every night number of the
dWellers on the flats would assemble in
the little saloon kept by "BeeP' Chris
tened William) to play pedro, drink
| whisky and swap stories. It was in
BeePs place that the New Yorker heard
most Of the stories. The evenings per-
in
| First, the game of pedro, in which all
| the players would become wildly ex-
cited. Presently some players would
make full score, and crazy with jubi-
lation at his good fortune, would rise
and shrek:
'Beel, Beel, make fou'teen. I make
re score. Bring wheeskey. Antoine!
Henri! Taydo (Theodore)! Drink"
All would drink, and presently some
one else had streak of luck or one
side run the game out and there were
more drinks. Now, two drinks of Beel's
whisky are enough to set the volatile
French tongue Gathering, and presently
the stories begin.
"You have any feesh this week,
Taylor" one of the others asks.
"Feesh? Did I not tell you? Non?
Dieu! but have re adventure to raise
re head of hair. Friday George and I,
we go out with re sail. We feesh and
get good luck. But come re squall. 1t
strike us. Bong! We are ovaire. We
struggle in re water. George he swim,
but I, I have re long boot to the waist.
I sink. Mon Dieu! sink!'
At this point Taydo's voice becomes
broken with emotion. His face wrin-
kles up like that of a child about to
burst into tears. His whole attitude is
one of deep pathos and suffering, and
from time to time half sob breaks into
the otherwise continuous wall of mar
rative
"Once sink. I see re feesh we have
catch swimming aroun' me. I say,
'Taydo, poor Taydo, you are food of re
feesh.' Twice I sink All is green. I |
feel re suffocate. I str-r-r-rangle. I !
str-r-r-rangle. Ze boots! Ze boots!
Zey bear me down. Three times I sink. |
Zen think. All, it is Taydo that think
then. I rest on bottom. Queeck! |
pull off boot; empty him out; pull off |
othaire boot; empty him out. I come
up to top. On way up I see feesh. |
seize zem, one, two, six, an sweem to ze
shore. Hurrah! I am save! Taydo is |
saver
He stops, gasping for breath, and
reaching for the whisky. bon, bon!' |
sjaculate the others, and Taydo, quite |
worn out with emotion, sinks back in |
mis- chair, while Henri, inspired to he
roic .recitals, contributes his mite to the |
cause Of general iAterest