Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1902-04-16
A STRANGE EXPERIENCE
in THE MAINE WOODS.

know considerable about the storie
of the Maine woods. If it were 10
Vouched for so eminently would no
tell it. 1t would be too much for cred
ulity and wouldn't be worth the tel
ing. l believe it, for know the mel
VINO tell it to me, even though the,
cannot explain it. They believe
aud do not try to explain it, for the.
feel they cannot. Hero it is. If th'
thing seems too much to believe, ther
don't believe it. But the facts are JUS
the same.
On the north side of Boarstont
mountain, in the town of Elliotsville
in PiscatauQuis county, Maine, live:
Trustrum H. Brown, who calls himself
"The Mediator" He entertains th>
harmless vagary that he is the media
tor between man and God. For some
Is years since his retirement to the
wilderness of northern Maine he has
been writing what he calls new Bi
Bile, and he has mass of manuscript
piled foot high. BY the way, have
| examined the "Mediators" manu-
script considerably, and it is far from
being balderdash. Much of his writ
ing indicates real thought and consid-
cradle ability. The Mediator is in
no sense of the word crazy man, de-
spite his hallucination on the subject
of religion.
Brown has a bit of a farm and
raises potatoes and vegetables enough
to last him through the winter. He
traps little and hunts bit and
never goes hungry.
Early in December, Just after the
first snow Of the season, he discovered
one morning the fresh tracks of a
moose near his house. BY the man.
ner in which the creatures great feet
had splayed into the snow, Brown
saw that the moose was a big one.
In his capacity of Mediator" ne as
serts that there are 10000 spirits
about him all the time. He alleges
that he asked one of these spirits to
tell him how big the moose was and
that the spirit skipped along aheal
AMI then came back and rendered him
the information that the moose was
none other than the Ambajejus Giant
that had iefied the rifles of hunters
for years. The spirit further 1e-
clared, so Brown AYERS, that the
moose didn't have much of start
So the Mediator" tied on his snow
shoes, grabbed his rifle and a bit of
a snack, and started away on the
lope into the forest. This was early
in the morning. Well, the Mediator"
scuffed along till noon without COM
ing up with the moose. But the
tracks still continued fresh and his
spirit guide, so he says, kept breath
iag iate h sTs IFS
cold venison as ne walked, for in a
stern chase of a moose no time is to
be wasted. His keen woodsman's eye
noted that the clouds hung low and
! were massing darker and darker. Had
he not been so confident that the
moose was just ahead of him and
would yard" at the coming of night
fall, he would have abandoned the
chase.
At 4 o'clock it was dusk, and still
the splay tracks were stretching on
ahead of him. Then ne could see them
no longer, and regretfully he brought
to in a ravine and abandoned the
chase for the night -
He had not reckoned on the ing
pursuit and therefore he had notpro-
vided himself in the usual CAUTIOUS
manner. Above all, he ha not
brought his woods axe.
Only a man accustomed TO the
woods realizes how serious n omls-
sion this is. The "Mediator'~as able
to collect some dry kye or .mbs that
had dropped from the tres and he
hewed off some low brancts with his
hunting knife. He kinile a bit of a
fire at the foot of tree. He did not
dare to go to asleep, for he cold was
raw and piercing. So le stood and
turned himself before tie ire like
an animated spit, moving costantly
to keep awake.
In the morning there waslothing
left of his provender exceptne fiat
chested biscuit. Had he noteen un-
duly fired with zeal to can that
moose he would have retced his
steps. But he felt that prably the
animal had yaried little ~ ahead,
and so on he went. Hdld come
across the trampled plac"here the
moose had spent the nip and with
its great teeth had ried OH the
twigs and bark. By thtlghty reach
the Mediator" saw Il the animal
was a monster, and oe aroVe eag-
erly in skurry of U" from MS
broad shoes Still lose monster
splotches in the sn kept trailing
away ahead of him.
Then some unki. weather sprite
ioggled the cloudVerheal The
snow commenced .oiHe III tne nne,
driving flakes hatlicate protract-
cd storm .Thenld not till then,
did the reckless sshter turn about.
But before an hau passed tle
snow, driving r anu laster, COW
cred his tracks, ;sht came on again.
Ones more bShted his fire, and,
1izzv for wa'f sleep, staggered
about it, str ing 10 Keep awake.
The "Me hats nearly 70 years old,
but his uth,de form is Injured to
bardcbin hwy years of woods life. {
A less exp.eeu man VI one with
less vitalit"'' nave "uccuHhped.
The sno anne down damp AMI c
beavv ane sagging boughs above t
kant dro; clumps onto mis- shoul- t
49, his neck
A. ~, t tightening that showed t
that ms was approaching, he ate c
th., u. .umbs of his biscuit and a
stort oay. But the snow drove /,
bar, face. He was weak with
"u d sick for s1oen Hic 1in,bc r