The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-22
A HERMIT OF THE FOREST.
or THE AGED MAN VINO
SCtRED WICKED LOGGERS.

Known for Thirty Years Rs the Clearwater
vboopcr- Lumbermen Converted by
rriobts Given by Him-A Man CraSed
nv EriiEion-MJstery OF His Existence.
u,,rsrowS. n. D.. Jan. 19.-One OF the fea-
,rres Of life in the lumber woods is the telling
- upcanny tales OF dreams or visions OF
ghnsts and other unnatural beings. Little
harm results from such things. but the matter
Incomes serious when u camp receives an ac-
tual visitation. Queer lights. 1t may be. are
s.on and wild. weird noises are heard for
ybIch no adequate exclamation can be given.
=, holn,ed canister rushes into camp and de-
,i,res that he and his team have been pur-
.nol nv some strange monster on the tote
.ood The man is 80 manifestly terrified that
40 one questions his sincerity. The more
courageous OF the crew equip themselves with
~ axes. and lanterns and organize q sortie
In, tho outer gloom. They find no trace Of
rho mysterious visitor in the mounded snow.
IN, perhaps hear terrible. human-like screams
,iorcinp the stillness from a distant ridge.
Thn st1rv ,,1ses- nnthlng of it's horror as told
aud retold by the men on their return, and there
IA no sleep for any one that night. The camp
benceforth is practically In n state OF siege
and no one ventures out after dark. j. has
evep happened that a crew vi men have been
.o manic stricken by some apparition OF this
Kind that they nave uSbcItCu nv ohhp AZ ~
body and fled to the nearest settlement.
Some OF the most impressive legends that
have found credence among the loRgers OF the
Miramichi forests have related to a strange
monster known as the Clearwater whooper."
The Cayorite pastime of this creature was to
,eveal himself to hardened sinners and. Incl
dentnllv, TO t~errorize lumber crews by his UNI
earthly ;elIs. These we're never heard until az
fer rundown and were said to cease promptly
n, midnight. On stormy nights the whooper
Uns sometimes heard quite close to the camp.
causing the horses In the howell to snort and
,luppe In their terror. Two men only, George
scott and Bill Carson. evet declared seriously
that they had seen the whooper. They diff
fered widely In their decription but agreed in
regarding the vision as a monitor OF future
woe, and so became as men to whom a mes
sage had been sent. and led pious lives there
after. Some OF the younger men living at
Pleasant Ridge and Hayesville. who treated
,he matter as q joke. also affirmed that they
had seen the whocper. but 1t was soon OBJ
served that bad luck attended them. One OF
them, Dan Mum, cut his foot badly the first
day in the woods and was laid up all that win
ter. Another. Donald Mccoy, was upset In his
canoe and nearly drowned while shooting the
Big Louis Rapids. The wife Of a third. Bob
Mccoy, had twins nat displayed an abnor-
nal tendency to whoop.
The old people say that 1t was during the
winter following the Saxby gale of 1889 that
the whooper first appeared on the Clearwater.
a branch OF the Sou'west Miramichi. He re-
manned in that neighborhood for about five
years. His den. or residence. was believed to
be a large cave OIL the head OF Clearwater.
This cave is located In the side Of a high blum
facing the rushing stream. 1t has two COM
So. - ., apIa aonh fha aizn Of IN n We apa room
with a narrow passageway etween. When
the water rises in the spring the floor Of the
cave is covered. In the spring Of 1874 there
was a remarkably high freshet In all the
streams flowing into the ou'we Miramichi
and when. in the following winter. the whooper
failed to appear in the logging works. the cur
rent belief was that he had been drowne in
the cave. Some of the stream drivers in the
spring mustered up courage to examine the
cave. They found nothing except some bones
which poIcupincs had gnawed and some tat
tered fragments of cloth which George Scott
identified as the coat he had thrown off when
chased by the whoc per two years before. The
MIllcete Indians OF Saint Mary's have many
legends OF this cave as the residence of their
god. Gloscop. when on earth. 1t is believed
that Jim Paul. the chief OF the tribe. who ac-
rompanied DR.. Heber Bishop of Boston on a
hunting trip in the Clearwater country last
fall. was the first red man who ever dared to
enter the inner cavern. All he found there
was the remains OF an old brass kettle.
After the year 1874 the whooper was never
seen or heard In the Clearwater region. For
fifteen years he was absent from his former
haunts. The younger generation OF choppers
and river guides who had grown up In the
meantime were skeptical as TO any such mon
ster having ever existed. The whooper was
believed. at most. to have been some wander
Ing panther that had strayed from the wilds
of Quebec. All at once the mysterious crea-
ture reappeared on the adjacent wasers Of the
upper Dungarvon. a branch OF the Renous
River. He was heard by the men who were
fall-logglng in that region uttering wild
shrieks. as OF a woman in dire distress. He
was frequently pursued with guns. but never
seen. His habits at this time would seem to
have undergone q radical change. for while in
the Clearwater country he never actually WIS.,
tied thecam ps, he had now grown much holder. !
and frequently. when q camp was unused or
temporarily empty. he went right into the
shanty and took away articles OF food. such as
pork and Goldfish. He devoted special atten- !
ton to the depot camps where provisions were
stored in the summer season for the follow
Ing winters operation.
The loggers working In the Dungarvon
WoouS were mucn less SuperetltlouS tnah thelr
fathers. yet in the face OF such unmistakable
proof OF the whooper's being among them they
lived In a state Of much anxiety and alarm.
Few OF them were bold enough to travel the
tote.road alone after shutdown. 1t some
times happened that the portage team
sters. who were hauling In supplies on their
sleds from the settlement. were unable to
reach the camps until after dark. One very
old teamster, Thomas Hunter. who knew no
Tear and handled the English language In u
reckless way, had a very close call from the
Whooper on the high bank of the Dungarvon.
at the mouth OF Mcconnell Brook. 1t was
about an hour after dark. on a rainy night in
October. that Hunter. lantern In hand. was
urging his tired team over the roots and rocks
oil the portage with q blisterinE volley OF ad-
!eetiHes, when suddenly a selies Of blood
curdling yeils saluted him right ahead In the
road. Hunter rushed to the back of the sled
Tor his axe. when the horses bolted, Slowing
the sled with all its contents over the river
oallk, which was there about ten feet In
height. The teamster was carried over the
lnnR too anl ,-k - A. Id III $500. |