Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-10-09

1t was found to be only harmless
humbug. rT
The Journal representative busted
himself unpacking his sandwich while
Ma Blank and the little Blanks sour
rled about gathering needles. Dad
and Point upon their return from the
rrst hunt made their way to beaver
dam where they obtained sharp stakes
which they used as supports for the
neoilthic style houses they erected
quickly over each bed. Juite the ap-
pearance Of a village the Blank colony
presented when completed.
Preparations. for supper began as
soon as the little houses were made
waterproof, shingled with hellebore
leaves laid bottom side up. Dad went
down to the brook and found a thin
hard stone, sharp on the other side.
He broke off hickory sapling and
after much scraping proudly exhibited
a sharp point on the left hand end of
It, Wading into the brook knee deep
to his waist in the water, he craftily
speared a huge eel. In less than 10
minutes this eel was skinned and Dad
had twisted the skin into long string
which he attached loosely to the north
and south ends Of bowed stick picked
up on the beaver dam. Next he
sought about the dam for smooth
hard square Of wood and very dry
cedar stick about: a foot long. With
his sharp stone he gouged a small hole
In the block of wood and fashioned the
end of the cedar stick so that it fitted
closely in the hole. Some of the cot
tony stuff from the inside of mullen
blossom was then laid about the hole
and across it.
Dad wound the eel skin once about
the cedar stick so that when he moved
the bow shaped stick east and west
the cedar stick revolved rapidly.
Faster and faster the dry stick re-
volved in the close fitting hole until a
thin blue smoke began to rise from
the wood and the cottony mullen bios
som blackened. In about a minute
Dad leaned close to the block Of wood
applied his superheated breath, and a
yellow fame seized the ends Of the
finder. Triumphantly Dad ignited
other finder which Ma and the kids
had prepared for fire and the
problem of heat was solved.
1t took only five minutes to catch a
dozen trout for the first meal and they
were caught in the following manner
simple as any exponent of the simple
life could ask. Choosing place { in
the brook wilere7athe trout were very
populous and where great elm had
FALLEN across the water, Dad stationed
Ma upon the tree and Point about %
yards downstream. He himself stood
on the bank of the brook close to the
elm where Ma. was stationed. Ma
heid an immense angle worm about a
foot above the water and one after
another of the hungry trout leaped for
it. While they were at the top Of
their jump about 10 inches out of
water, Dad struck, them with the end
of along slender pole and when the
llfeless fish floated down to Point he
threw them to P. M. on the bank.
DADS aim was unerring; of the 13
fish that jumped only one was not
prepared for supper and. Dad did not
miss that one. its loss was beside the
Point. .a.
After delicious supper of broiled
trout the whole Blank family retired
for the night and the Journal repre-
sentative returned to the civilized
world. Dad Blank promised to- send
out to the edge of the forest tonight
the story of his efforts to catch par
tridges with pine pitch and the killing
OF a bear by most ingenious method.
This story will be copied from the
birch bark and published in Mondays
Journal. sf