The Opelousas courier., 1900-04-14
Old F~ransway's Hate.
Encounter With the Remnant OF a 1Tt0e'

q shot, and there was Fransway fol-
lowin' her into the brush. He'd been
right on to me, and he didn't mind
letting me know, or else he wanted
that meat pretty bad. I swore some
then. I made it a practice not to
bring a gun into the woods with ME.
There was enough stuff to tote with
out that. But I wished then I could
try q little bird shot, fred off at ran
dom, you know, just to show I wasn't
wantin' company.
swell, about two hours after that,
when I hadn't half got over bein' mad
but was foolin' with my grub appara-
tus in a slam bang sort of way owe a
smoking fire of half green stuff,
Fransway came out of the dark and
walked straight up to me pointing his
gun.
Now, Charley Snow he said,
me shoot YOU
"He'd picked up my name in some
loggin' camp, I suppose, and 1 thought
he mean! business. The fire was be-
tween US, and I stood up and looked
at him and his dirty gun, which was
no kind of a weapon God ever made,
I suppose, though I knew it could do
for me. Hooked him straight in the
eye, and I talked fast. What was he
going to kill me for, 7 said.
you come here and spoil my
game. Me shoot you.'
ST told him I didn't want his game,
and I asked him what he'd been fol-
lowin' me round for if he couldn't see
that.
No, but you bring men here and
cut down all my trees and spoil my
game. Now, me shoot YOU
"That Indian had it in for me; his
face was just loaded down with spite;
he'd been savin' it up all these weeks.
I kept talking, and Fransway said:
my game, my game and meanwhile
I tried edging round the fire o little.
I mistrusted his eyesight wasn't good.
Then the smoke from my fire whirled
round the way it will in the woods
where there's never any steady place
for the wind to blow, but just a sort
of corkscrew current, and the smoke
took him right in the face, and I
jumped for him. We both went down,
and Fransway's snowshoes held him
SO that I got away and grabbed up his
gun. / was tickled. you bet, and said:
Nov, Fransway, me shoot YOU.
Fransway worked himself to his
feet sulkily, and then stood still, with.
ont saying anything.
"'S'pose we let you go, Fransway,
I said, will you promise not to bother
me again; keep away from me-under-
stand?'
"Fransway thought a long time.
Then he said:
"tMe not shoot you now. You
come back next year and me shoot
YOU And that was all I could get
out of him, and as there wasn't any
thing else I could do without going to
an everlasting heap Of trouble, I gave
him his gun and let him go, and fol.
lowed HIM, quartering down the ridge
to see him steering for a cedar bog
he'd have to cross to get out of my
neighborhood.
"Well, before winter they'd run a
'tole road all through that country
a 'tole roads used for haulin' supplies
to loggin' camps, and it has to be a
little better than the ordinary kind in
those woods-and my parties had be.
gun to log all over the place where
Fransway said the game was his. ]
thought he must have taken a fit and
kicked the bucket, but it wasn't long
before ( saw him right after me, ap.
parently not a bit discouraged. There
was q pond between US, and I made
for the new road house, where I struck
up with a crowd, and we waited te
see what he'd do. Pretty soon he
] came right in and squinted round the
h.oom, trying to pick me out. He was
Ebigger man than any of us, but al
dsawn down with old age, and his
hs art was broken. Quick as O wink
thSAAboss had him a good hot supper
ready. I don't think there was a mar
AZ the place-and they were q hare
flot, toe-but was sorry for Fransway.
ri slapped him on the lack and led him
up to his treat. Fransway never made
a sign; he saw that the crowd was toe
ssmuch for him. The next month {
party of sports found him dead in {
cedar swamp.
"Now, I never forget that business
with F~ransway. There's nothin' il
/ the world SO Jealous as an IndiaT
when he thinks you're gettip' a deer,
Every old trapper will tell you So"