The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-07
THEY TELL GREAT STORIES.
Warming as IL Is Practiccd by the
Mushrnt French.
From &c New York sun.

From the New York sun
Cut IN the region of the St. Clair flats,
near Detroit, lives a peculiar tribe known
In general as the mushrat French. No
whore else in the United States is there
a community such as this in language
and customs Despite the fact that Their
ancestors have lived there for a century
and half they speak English that is
barely Ineligible to the average citizen,
while their French, it is said. IS totally
beyond the ken Of a Partisan. In one re-
spect they are particularly notable
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
guneless easterner and they Will fill him
full OF the most marvellous tales of hunt
ing and fishing adventure that ever came
from the mouth of man.
AS u means of earning money they
hunt and fish, selling their prey to the
markets. Their own staple food article
abounds out there; hence their name
mushrat French. Against all ridcule
they will maintain that no beast, bird. or
ish Is more delicate. sustaining, and
healthful than this animal
Take eem fat said one of them to
New Yorker who spent part of his va
eem up with arb (herbs) an Specie
(spice(, put eem on fire an roast eem,
an all what will you? He Is pairfect
You shall not tell eem from duck. Gen
tllman of New York come ere to eat
duck We give eem mushrat cook CONNIE
II faut He say 'Ah, heaven All, God
Nevaire, nevaire have l eat such a duckr
He thought It for duck, that mushrat."
This same New Yorker made cum notes
of some of the hunting and fishing sto-
ries which he heard during his stay in the
region of the flats, and preserved some of
the more notable of them to turn over
to Sun reporter. At first he essayed to
set down data in a note book. but the
mushrat French viewed this process with
such open distrust that he quickly gave
over doing his subsequent note-taking
Surreptitiously. Every night a number
of the jewellers on the flats would assem-
BILE In the little saloon kept by "Beel"
(christened William) to play pedro, drink
whisky and swap stories. The evenings
Performance was usually in three parts
First the game of pedro, in which all the
players would become wildly excited
Presently some player would make a full
score, and, crazy with jubilation at his
good fortune, would rise and shrek:
'Beel, Beel, make fourteen. l make re
score. Bring wheesky. Antoine Henrii
Taydo CTheodore)! DRINK
All would drink, and presently some one
else has streak of good luck or one side
run the game out and there were more
drinks. Now. two drinks of Beers whisky
are enough to set the volatile French
tongue gathering, and presently the sto-
You have any freesh this week. Tay-
dor one Of the others asks.
teeSht Dld not tell you2 Non?
Dieu! but l have re adventure to raise re
head of hair. Friday George and l. we
go out with re sail. We feesh and get
good luck. But come re squat. 1t strikes
us Bongi We are ovaire. We struggle
in re wafer. George he swim, but L
have re long boot to the waist. 1 sink.
Mon Dieu, l sinkr
At this point Taydo's voice becomes
broken with emotion. His face wrinkles
up like that of a child about to burst in
to 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 narrative.
once sink. see re feesh we have
catch swimming aroun' me. l say, 'Tay-,
do, poor Taydo, you are fond of re feesh.-
Twice l sink. All is green. feel re sor-
focate. / str-r-r-range. l str-r-r-ruggie
Ze bootsi Re bootsl ley bear me down.
Three time l sink. Zen l think All. il is
Taydo that think then. l rest on bottom.
Queeck! pull off boot; empty him out:
pull Off otharie boot; empty him out
come up TO top. On way up l see feesh
seize zem one, two, six, an sweem to 81
shore, Hurrah. 1 am savei Taydo is
saver
He stops gasping for breath and reach
ing for the whisky. bon bonr ejaculate
the others, and Taydo, quite worn onr
with emotion. sinks back in his chair.
while Henri, inspired to heroic recitals,