The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-10-07

laughing at his sudden exit, the door
softly opened about a foot, the small
black eyes of Jean flashed into the
room, the little fur hat came gracefully
off the black shining locks that
crowned his little round head, and a
soft, even voice exclaimed in broken
English, Mister Edrude, pardon. I
tink you one pig tam rascal, good efen-
ing, Mister tam seampe Edrude. ;"
The door softly closed, and Jean, his
axe, and the forty pounds of groceries
melted into the shadows on his three
mile journey up the mountain side, to
his little slab cabin, to Mrs. Jean end
to les trois, as Jean called them.
I saw Mrs, Jean, and the three, two
days after coming into town, on the
top of a load of bark. A fine,
strapping Scotch lass was Mrs. Jean.
A trifle of two hundred and fifty pounds
or thereabouts, was distributed about
her sturdy frame that reached full
six feet above her shoe packs, quite
dWarfing Jean as he perched on a cor
ner of the load besire her, while les
tro1s were in force in the persons of
three bouncing four-year boys.
With the broad shoulders of their
mother, and the quick energetic actions
of their father, they gave promise of
being the pride of all the countryside
few years later Yet, strange to say,
none of them had any sign of the
Jumper about them
This was my Introduction in the
Maine Jumper" The next day / saw
another case that appeared to me al
most sad, A ffne-looking old gentle
man was walking beside his sled,
drawn by beautiful gray horse, over
the half-broken road. As he came near
the hotel the landlord said:
"Do you see how much the old man
thinks of his horse; he won't even ride
this morning because the track is not
broken. See me wake him up"
On he came, trudging along with the
lash of the whip coiled around the
stock and tucked under his arm, and
lines held loosely in one hand
When opposite the hotel the landlord
suddenly shouted: "IIit her, hit her"
Instantly the whip stock was raised in
the air and brought down with a re-
sounding crack on the glossy hide of
the mare, and as she bounded forward
under the blow we heard the order re-
peated by the old gentleman. Again he
half raised his whip and then, checking
his horse, threw it down, and turning
toward the hotel fairly cried with rage
and grief as he took the hotel-keeper to
talks for his heartless joke.
He frankly said: you know 7 can
not help it; must do as you tell me-
Yet I would rather you hit me than
make me hit my horse" Fortunately
such were the terms of friendship be-
tween the two that I believe the horse
fully understood that the old man did
not mean the blow for she stopped at
word, and, when he walked to her
head and spoke to her rubbed her head
against his coat sleeve as though she
well understood it all.
During the months ! spent in that
portion of the country I saw many
cases and made many observations of |
this interesting class, and noted the !
following regarding them: The Maine |
Jumper" is only found in Maine or in |
some locality to which he may have |
gone from Maine to make his home, |
generally some of the southern prov |
inces of Canada, for they are clannish /
and do not move about much. He is
always a male, never female. Give
him a short order in tone of command
and he will obey it instantly, repeating
the order as given. His body acts for
the instant independent of his mind
and the action Is committed even
,,,a+ Lit t,,+a r. L.. H.,
any way weak minded or foolish, and
is not easily taken in except in this one
way.
Most of them are surprisingly close
at a bargain, and look a proposed trade
over very carefully before going into it.
The fact that he acts instantly when
an order Is given him may cause him
great distress, but self-interest never
can prevent the instantaneous execu-
tion before thought comes to the rescue.
He is always of mixed French blood,
generally French Canadian, rarely, If
ever, more than quarter blood-usual-
ly half-breed. From all information I
could gather, no full blooded American
or Frenchman has ever been known to
be Jumper"
known for his quiet habits and the fact
that he makes a good citizen, first
class, Woodworking provider for his
family; and save the one failing seems
to be model man. This characteristic
is not always transmitted from father
to son, but may or may not be; four
out of five sons may be Jumpers" or
the reverse may be true. A Jumper" !
may not be able to trace his failing to
any other member of his family, yet Is
born so himself and throughout life is
subject to the trouble.
Quite frequently the failing assumes '
he proportions of an affliction-made
such by unthinking people--as it was in
he case of a poor fellow I found work
ng in a saw-mill near Boyde lake the ;
spring. 1T was his duty to +,
get the logs ready to be pulled out of 4
he lake up an incline into the mill It \
became pastime of the workmen in 4
he mill to go to the head of the incline :
ind order him to Jump in which he
did, until he was spending 4
lalf his time in the water and wanted
o throw UP the job. Such a waste of 4
ime could not be allowed by the mill