The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-07
SURPRISE OF PETER pARIN.
A Race Tor an Unconscious Hunter Rotu esn
n Panther ana n ToboEEan.

sURPRISE OF PETER PARIN,
A Race for an Unconscious Hunter Rotr ee,
n Panther and n ToboEEan.
"Talkin' bout s'prises," said Moot Rivers. tho
old Maine guide, TO his accustomed audience,
gathered on boxes and barrels in the little back.
woods grocery sto-r. II ~calc'late none on YOU
ever hcerd toll how oil Petcr Parin. the French.
Canuck trapper, got kind NV upset in mind and
body on account OF n lectle s'prisc | gin him,
away back In the 'arly sixtiesl
"Nyal, it happened in this way. Twas long
toward spring. and l had bon down to 'Scoggln
with a big t~oboggan load o furs, cause it was
easier to drag 'em over tho mounting on an
lnjun sled than to pack EN- out on INV back
arter the snow went. I'd sold my furs and was
comm back with only a few pounds O. camp
supplies dashed onto the toboEgan. Long late
in tho nrt'noon l crossed the ridge NV old Hog.
back ycndcr. and was a-snowshoein' it kind O.
easy down this side O. the mounting when, as I
came out into tho big clearin' whar the land
slide was In 80. l see oil Peter Parin stagger
Out o the woods, bout half a mile below mo.
draggin' a big buck deer. The OIL man had the
critters hind legs over his shoulders, and was
snakin' it along through the deep snow, maxim
a trail that you could "a seen two miles away.
"Ez 1 stopped, kind O. amused, to watch tho
oil man founder along in the snow, like a steam
milne buckin' q drift. suthin' else caught my
eye that 8 bered me up In n jiffy. Thar.
stealth along the edge o. the woods,
in the trail made by OIL Parin and his buck.
was a long, slim, yallcr, hungry-lookin'
painter! l knowed by the way he crep'. stop
pin cvry now and thon to lash his sides with
his tail, tibet he was on the warpath for either
Parin r his buck. one r t'other-on the prin.
ciple, probly. of fust come to fust sarved.
I'm the material order O. things he would "a
come to the buck fust, O. course. of OIL Parin
hcdn't stopped to rest out in the middle O. the
clearin'. and goin' around to the opposite side
O. his %critter. stood admirin' tho head and
antlcrs O. the buck. When he stopped. l saw
the painter begin to glide along on his belly in
the snow, rapid like and still. and 1 knowed
tibet, onless Parin should happen to turn around
and see the c~ritter-which want likely-in
crouchin' to jump on his back.
Now eff the oil man hedn't ben or deef ez a
post. l might a yelled, to him and put him on
his guard. But l knowed well enough tibet the
same to the OIL Canuck ez tho chirp NV a cricket.
you see. / might "a skcered him and / might
not. And OF didn't and the hungry ,yarniint
trail, it would be too late to carry out another
plan tibet he'd come into my mind the minute I
see the %critter steal out o the woods.
NO, boys. thar was only one thing fer me to
do. and done tibet thing quicker'n t would
take 81 Mudgett to haul out his tobacker box
snowshocs. tossed EN- onto the toboggan. jumped
s sI;9a steerin, fashion and let 'er 60 Town thSt
snamm liFe boys q s' hoM she U did Kiddo s z ilsh'niH' By
Wal, Of farin stood with his hands on his
hips. admirin' that. buck deer. while about
kind NV critters bead on his back, and half a
mile above him a heavy toboggan was shootin'
BY gosh. boys, 1 never seed a better example NV
the onsartinty OF life than tibet. oil Frcnchman
standin' thar all unconscious in the midst OF
tween me and the painter to sec which one got
thar fust, although, l don't s'pose the painter
knowed l was comm. fer he hadn't once looked
The nearer the yaller beast got to oil Parin.
wouldn't stand thct way much io f%ep But
every second my Of toboggan got a bigger head.
i was, to see tibet / was goin, at least a hundred
me so't could hardly sec to steer. Thar was a
do to ketch my breath. I was goin' SO fast. I
remember seem the painter crouch to spring.
didn't stop to make any lengthy explanations to
him jest a leetle southeast NV the calf NV tho
left leg, and the WAY he tumbled in on top o me
to Sscogsin. when it's hit by a ball. 1 hov a
over US. and I think tho painter Jumped jest be-,
fore l struck oil Parin, an come down on the
blinded by the time OIL Parin j'ined me tibet l
wal, boys. BY, some kind NV Providence we
stuck to tibet slide all the way down oil Hog.
through the woods down into the. valley, and
ev'ry inch NV the way was ez steep ez the roof NV
a house; Along towards the bottom. however.
the slide want more than a hundred yards
wide. and I'm blessed eff / know how we KEEP on
II. fer was ez blind ez n bat before. we reached
on his back in front o me. with his heels up over
the dasher. and his hands grippin' the lashin's
Il don't believe we was more than two
minutes Roin' the two miles from whar l picked
up Peter to the bottom o the slide. The first
thing | really senscd, .rter takin my passenger
aboard, was goin' through IA ten.foot snowbank
at the base NV the mounting. We lit into it
FIVE feet below the surface. cuttin' a hole ez
slick ez a candle shot through q half:inch board.
II Stacked us up a leetle, tn ugh; and when we'd
fence-the only fence in the hull valley then-I
niles an hour. Lucky ePyn fer 70; US w s?d' e eo%e DOWN DOWN
squar into Browns clearin,. and arter ~scootin'
brought up plum agin' the OIL mans plepen.
Peter rz into the air and como down. on to an
with u force tibet knocked the senses out o. me
When come TO. Caleb Brown was bendin,
over me an rubin snow in my face, and OIL
Peter Parin. standin' back NV him. was iabberin'
Canuck and thrashin' around with his arms like
SO mad; and 7 want till I'd got my senses back
enough to tell Brown what he'd really happened,
and Brown he'd hollered it into Peters ear. tibet
the oil man stopped his cussin' and caperin'.
"'Wal, bah gosh!' he hollered. 'Ah dunno
which All lax bes'. dat Injun-devil jump on nah
tex me down dat slide on nah back lax All was
grct mud.turkle. Sdcrt! All was mad. seh!'
But when. a week later, Brown and 1 shot
the painter and showed it to oil Peter, he come
around to my way O. thinkin' that even n tobog,
gan on a mounting slide was a healthier kind o.
s'prise than q hungry Iniun.devil stealth up
and 9umpin' on q fcller's back
BROKEN UP ny II SPOoK.