The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-16
TWO MAINE v E
Words They Have Learned Furnish Proof
OF Their Longevity.

WV on AAUI 1Neah
OF Their Longevity.
ALLAaAsH PLANTATION, Me-; Sept. l5.-
There is a tradition among the Indians OF
Maine and New Brunswick that the small
and rusty raven lives for centuries.
In the records kept by the French refugees
who fed from Acadia in 174S is a story Of q
raven hat was a regular attendant at the
outdoor masses celebrated by the homeless
French people when they made their first
settlement at Grand Falls on the upper
reaches Of ST. John River. The raven was
in the habit Of sitting on a limb Of a tall
spruce and croaking forth its responses
to the words uttered by the aged priest,
until it was able to repeat a good portion Of
the Catholic ritual from having heard it
often.
This gifted and pious bird is said to have
left Grand Falls and followed Benedict
Arnold and his men to Quebec at the out
break Of the Revolutionary war, n after
the death Of Montgomery and the retreat
Of the Colonial troops the raven remained
in the vicinity Of Quebec for more than q
century, making itself known from time to
time by following the French-Canadian
worshippers home from mass IN Sunday
mornings and entering houses and re-
! ceiving tidbits Of food from the kindly
people.
At some date between 1880 and 1890 this
holy raven, which was held in high respect
by all persons, disappeared from Quebec,
and the belief was widespread that it had
died from the infirmities of advanced age,
as il was known to have led a religious life
ever since I74e, though the French voyageurs
who had beer trapping for the Hudson's
Bay Company affirmed that they had seen
the bird near Winnipeg frequently and had
heard il croak forth the words from the
Catholic prayer book so plainly that the
sounds could not have been mistaken.
Another ,~onfrmatory story as to the
great age Of individual ravens has come to
light in the diaries OF the late Major William
Dickey Of Fort Kent.
For more than forty consecutive winters
Major Dickey represented Fort Kent and
the adjoining townships in the Maine Legis-
lature. He sat in the Maine House when
Hannibal Hamlin was elected he first
Republican Governor of Maine and was a
veteran legislator when James G. Blaine
and Chief Justice Fuller were reporters for
the Augusta newspapers.
Before the days of the bloodless Aroos-
took war there we're no roads into the
northern country, and Major Dickey lived
80 far away from the State capital that he
was obliged to start for the opening Of the
Legislature on the first Wednesday in jan
uary as early as October Is, or before the
result Of the Kent election, on the second
Monday in September, could reach the
Secretary Of States ofioe at Augusta.
AS a rule Major DiOkey travelled on foot,
joining some BAN Of wandering Indians
who followed the watercourses in canoes
as long as the lakes were free from ice.
In his written record Of the journey which
he made in the autumn of 1885 Major Dickey
says that while he, with a party Of Indians,
was padding up the Alagash River they
were followed by q raven, which was In the
habit Of repeating tho words AMush daw'
at frequent intervals.
Az @Mush daw" Is a French-Canadian
corruption Of the French command arche
donc,' which means Move along" or -Ged-
dap, Major Dickey believed that the raven
had caught the phrase from the French
Canadian teamsters, who we're In the habit
Of driving their horses on the ice Of Allagash
River as long ago as the time when Father
Rale defended his church and converts
against the English in liza, and lost his life
in the battle.
Every woodsman or traveller who Is
familiar with the ALA country between
Chamberlain Lake and Seven Islands has
seen and heard the famous "Mush daw"
raven, which II now elevated into a local
deity by the superstitious residents. The
chances are hat they believe that hat
bird Is the same that caused Major Dickey
10 record its peculiar gifts In his diary nearly
! seventy years ago.