The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-06-17

y y stead on Big Fish Lake, II
NON the north woods Of Mime
sofa. We went up there, not to farm
but TO raise ginseng. Doris had beer
employed in a wholesale drug house
and so had learned the possibilities Ol
ginseng culture.
The ginseng root grows wild on th'
hardwood lands OF Minnesota, Doris
believed that we could start "planta
tion" from these wild roots, which
were worth So n pound.
We lived in pine log house and ON
nearest neighbors-two bachelor
woodsmen-were two miles away
across an arm OF the lake. Our visi
BILE resources were provisions enough
for few months, a yoke of old oxen
one COW and a wagon and plow.
On the whole we had good times
Fish and game and berries were abund
ant, and we rigged sailboat from q
four-oared skiff which had been left
at an abandoned sawmill Doris and
Edith, like many Minnesota girls, were
good lake sailors.
We spent much time i'm open seasons
hunting for ginseng plants. As we
each carried a tin bucket and butch
er knife with long blade, we were
able TO take up roots with plenty of
earth and TO transplant them success
fully.
"We had rival Sang diegers" in our
woods, too. The Pillager Indians,
whose reservation line was but few
miles away, were energetic hunters of
the root. There was one band Of sew
eral men and women that we used to
meet frequently. The women would
scowl and mutter angrily when they
saw the green leaves of the Sang"
root in our pals.
One day in our second season Doris
and Edith met four of these squaws,
who boldly attacked them. took away
their ginseng roots and beat them with
switches. This was too much for me.
and despite Nora's entreaties, got my
gun and went after the Indians.
knew where their camp was, and !
went first after the Crosby boys-our
bachelor neighbors.
When they heard my story they also
sook their guns. Then we rowed across
the lake and made those Pillagcrs
pack their wagons. We drove them
six miles over logging road, to the
line Of their reservation, where we
bade them never again to set foot on
our lake shore.
When | got home late at night Doris
and Edith were both crying. i'm fear
that something dreadful had happened
to me. Doris admitted that the In.
1ians should have been punished
But she said, eve shall have more
trouble with them, they're so vindic-
tive"
In September one of our oSen-thc
latest one-disappeared under circum-
stances which made il certain the ami
NAL had been stolen. We were sure
that Hawks band" MS our Pillager ri.
walls were called, had taken the OK and
killed il for beef.
The next spring the band again
camped in our vicinity. this time pitch
ity of Big Fish Lake Several times
Doris and Edith, while sang hunting.
met the squaws who had punished
them with switches; but the women of.
fercd no hostile demonstration, and the
girls would not let me take any often.
sive action.
But all that spring and summer we
were careful not to leave our house
and our growing ginseng patch unpro
tected.
The next spring, however. as the In
dlans had offered us no further mis-
chief, and there came on beautiful
weather for the ginseng hunter. W,
were less careful. We had now. neat
ly fenced, n profit paying plantation
of nearly 1000 seed-bearing roots.
Then Little Hawk and his three wo
men descended upon our plantation
and robbed us of 100 of our choices
plants.
If we had not returned early that NJ
ternoon our three years work woul,
have gone for nothing. As il was, W
caught the scamps at the beginning o
their foray.
They saw us or heard us rs we cam
mp the path TO our house. and we say
them-four scuttling iigures-as the
plunged into the bushes at the opposit
edge of our clearing. They ran towar
the main shore of the lake. We kne,
that they had a canoe i'm hiding dow
there, and that we could not hope {
catch them on foot.
Doris, thoroughly angry. propose
that we should chase the rascas i'm OF
Eailboat. and recapture the stolen root
The Mallard was pulled up in the ba
back of our house. with n quarter mi
OF rushes in her path TO the lake.
It seemed TO me hopeless unde
taking, but we ran 10 the boat, an
while Doris and Edith rugged the sa
I poled the Mallard through the rus
field and out upon the rough wate
of Big Fish The wind was blowing
stiff breeze straight down the eigll
mile stretch OF open water, but the
dim canoe was already n mere spec
going into the teeth Of the wind an
bobbing like a distant water fowl.
Doris handled our sheet rope, Il
tiller, and Edith. who was a llgh
slender girl, stood 1T the mast. whe
sbe could watch the quarry aud repo