The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-10-21
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PERCY the GUIDE NARRATBS A
ROMANCE or THE WOODS.
How Misplaced Love LED to the Downfall and
Death OF q BIRD OF Rare Piumage-His
Faithful Heart Thrown Away Upon an
Wheeling aud Thank ess Little sap,ucker.

Death OF a BIRD OF Rare Piumage-His
Faithful Heart Thrown Away Upon an
Wheeling aud Thank ess Little sap,ucker.
FIVIFLD. Wis Oct II Ii the cold ashes OF
the mornings fire Fergy the guide was trao-
ing an intricate pattern with "A stick This
pattern contained squares. trlangles. circles.
oblongs and a lot Of other geometric figures.
He had been detailing the visions of a crazy
Frenchman he had known two winters before
The Frenchman averred that he had made
frequent visits to he'll and brought back cir
cumstantial accounts OF the wav In which It
was laid out Fersy's pattern was a ground
plan OF the Internal regions.
Right here" he said. pointing to u small
triangle. were Furnace No 9 Pierre he useter
say II were intended fr said my name
were writ up over tn door E'v'y time he went
10 hell he come back lookin' more peakeder
an gallery. but he never changed none in his
plan an alters he hunted me up an said the
furnis- were waitin' fr me | got Z feelin'
like ! owned it He drawed III plan o. tn place
on a piece O. birch bark fr me 'Yo' keepIn
dis. he says. Wen yo' die an go dere mebbe
80 yo' gittin' los he says. jus foller de plan
he says, an yo' IAN at nombre nine To- sho'.
says he It's sorter comfble IT a man to know
were he's goin' l ain never lacked a home
on this here yearth an I'm glad to fin out that
I'm TO hev one wen I'm daid II gives a man
som'p'n To look forrerd 10 Mebbe they's
room fr more'n one In tn hole reserved fr
me. he added looking tentatively at the other
man. an II so be's you ain got no place to
stay wen you git there all you gotter do Is TO
rap on IN steel door an I'll let you In You've
sllers paid me fr my euidin' an | wanter do
III fair thing 20
Thanks. said tho other man briefly Per-
haps I'll call Where's your Frenchman now?-
wy" Fergy responded, Il guess he's gone
there fr good Anyways he went out on thi
Flambeau las winter arter Ia fls' freeze an
laid down on tn ice Said he'd just got back
an were so hot he hadder cool of Til ice
we're rotten were he made his bed an he went
through an under They foun' wat were lef'
O him in tn spring, three mile an four rod
blow Were no went down Seems T. me that
arter pa~Sin' out like that a man'd need con-
sid'ble warmin'
Through the heavy trees on the right Of the
camp a hoarse heavy cackls sounded, rising
and falling and far prolonged II had al
eldrttch quality and was followed by a number
Of rapid blows. made apparently by striking
two light boards together The other man
looked up inquiringly and Fergy answered.
"Giint woodpeCker Amt many o EN-
lef'. Woods useter be full o 'em, but they
got skeered ur som pm an went away. Harm
less birds they be, an primarily they got sense
{ throw at pos holes. Sensitive. too. Knowed
one onst wat druv his hill so fur inter a hem.
lock he couldn' pull IL out an JUS hung there
an died o. mort'fcashu They's crazy folks
like Pierre | been telIin' YOU bout an they's
crazy an'muls. but tn cradles thing I ever
see. human ur an'mul, were one o. them birds
like that one YOU heard hammerin' JUS now.
He weren't vilent crazy didn' try t'kil nothin'
nur butt down no trees nur nothln' like that,
but he JUS went daNv an stayed dary untell his
silTerin's was relieved by death. TIL giint
woodpecker, youknow, Is mos a. big as a crow,
He's jus like the smaller kin In color. black
an white With his back turned. he looks
like he's got on a long. tailed coat with n billed
shirt His haid Is red as blood an he's got a
topknot wat sticks M like a balsam to'ch-
His bill IL a inch an a quarter long.
an they don make no iron watts harder. It's
a bird wat primarily tends to It's own hlznis.
bur sometimes Il gifts mad AT som'p'n ur other
an then they's trouble fr w'atever kin o.
mother bird happens = he erlong. knowed
a gi'int woodpecker onst 70 kill four gro'beeks
an a iAv jus cause some sort n caterpiller
he'd caught bit him on tn tongue. That don
happen of'en. h~owsomever. Mos times they
goes quiet an keeps theyse'fs 70 theyse'fS
Il were walkin' through tn woods one spring
monln' lookin' fr spruce gum. wen I run
acrost n pair o sapsuckers wat had jus gone
10 honsekeepin'. They'd built n nes' In a daid
mapul bout s-foot Rom tn groun,' ur mobile
foot three inches Both on 'em was sittin'
outside hillin' an Cooin' wen I come long
wouldn paid ~ tention to EN- ef il hatn'a
been r. m actions o. IN he bird. He stopped
kissin' his wife fr a mint an begin 10 hop W
m down. aIrpagtn' ont his wings and sftCkir' ]
hs haii an maxim a hissin' Mise like he
bonn' ", insult somebody. He were shore
lna7. ' lOOkt 'rOu'G an scttlu' on n limb /
twenty foot away were q he gl'nt woodpecker.
his hait on ono s. .. his feathers all Gragglv
no snrter heei to IN fissv one. bur we're do
votin' his whole time to ~tarin' AZ m woman
sapsucker. Bimehy he begin to aiHge a leetle
IN Teller wat wante FIGHT dove ~ him an hit
him on m 81" % m haid with his wing I
'Sp"ctei 10 heer a rippin' SCUM an sec III air
~,lemul-like an hike fr 'nuther ,
Tree, hyin' heavy. Now, a sapsucker as YOU
Gel speck ur two on tn hal1. an ii ain no
bigger'n blackhirt. This Teller " at were roin'
his laigs hobhle J. but he jus diem hev no
soul m him. were SO curious bout II that
t Isla n nE1Ih, : sb log an wet ,bins T. Longs ! 'tayyei
inch his way back 10 a. place were he
could git a gpog look at m female nm tn
lee5le ono bin him an he he'd sqpawk an
l'ANt llN y 80 % - hNA'A hI "
week art"rwar. paSSin' that way, seen tn
sapsuckers come out'n they hole, III day bein'
bright an sunshiny. an begin 10 play 'roun' in b.
m leaves. They ha n been AZ II more'n Ave
mlHlts wen heer come this sick gi'nt agin an
N same performance we - went through.
| think ] motifs this time. howsomeever. that
N big Teller on xiv grOun' so easy. lie n
try To- hit back, but II took two ur three pretty
smart raps to Kit him goin' an then he on 20
90 fas' a. he mout lie JUS fiewe way sorter
k~eerl"ss. like he liCn' give a whoop w'uther
he went ur not, an he liz on a limb not moren'
ten foot fur er on.
4 -aSs to m'se'f, SAYS |: This feller's got
crazy 'nough to love tn leetle lady sucker, an
regard fr her feclin's he's lettin' that
leetle squirt slap him Toun'. He don wantcr
make no trouble saws |. cause he's wilin'
{ be- hit jus SOS he kin stay 'rnun' an look at
her, But his patience IL wearin' out SAYS !.
AN I'm mi-toOk ef they won he some trouble
heer fore long lie ain dom no harm jus scttin'
an lookin'. | says Then sapsuckers don
all the woods. | says. a cat may look
a king | says. Tn big Teller ain never
said a word To IN lectle lady. an damme. ef
he amt in tn right o. IL, says | I begin to
-ympathize strong with III big Teller. | DO hate
10 soc ANYBODY, big ur l~eetle, thurnped 'roun'
fr nothin'. Vile ] were squattin' benin a
an talkin' 70 m'~.'f. tn he sapsuCker
d hit tn gi'nt a couple more bifs. He'd w'ack
side N haid an then fly back to his
wife an dance roun' her with his bill cooked
gidaWise, much az to say. Ain q wonder?