The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-10-21

E1AhtA anu HNdpptu
scenes of childhood days and renewed
asquaintances in general. One of the
most interesting of these groups was
that of which Alonzo Bishop was the
central and entertaining figure. Lon
as he is Familiarity called, is child
of the wooded solitude and perhaps
knows more forest lore than any other
man in the state of Vermont. He took
to the woods when but u years of age,
and has STAYED in them constantly ev-
er since with the exception of an oc-
caSional day when he goes to market
with the products of his labor.
Lon is professional GUNNER, he
having undoubtedly gathered and sold
more spruce gum than any other one
man that ever lived, but he also has
another source of income absolutely
unknown to the rank and file of man
kind. lie has for many years had an
assured income for merely sitting
around and letting himself grow. When
he was but young man he began to
let his hair grow winters to keep his
ears and neck warm while in the woods
hunting Soon, however, it dawned on
him that there was demand for this
fleece by others who were less fortu-
nate than himself. Young women "who
didn I know what was the matter with
their hair" single maidens of uncer-
tain age who were anxious TO conceal
the fact that they had reached the
molting stage and elderly women who
did not care TO have it known that they
were actually bald, took decided in
terest in Ions locks, and were willing
and anxious to part with good gold
coin for the silken fleece.
For over 80 years Lon has gone down
from his home in July to some town
at the base of the mountain for his
annual hair harvest and goes back
again shorn, carrying with him a lit
tie bundle tucked carefully under his
arm. In former years before the raw
| ages of age made n change, the crop
was n most beautiful one, fully a foot
! long, black as a coal, soft and THE K
and twisted up in the most enhancing
| curlS imaginable. Tn later wears the
/ color is tinged with gray and the length
of the texture has materially shortened.
| The price of the shearng has contin-
uallv advanced from s. for the first
one sold up 10 $50 or more some years.
Mr. Bishop takes great care to keep
his hair clean and has no more com
FUNCTION about selling it than a farmer
would in selling crop of corn OF
hay after he had raised ii. 1t is q
he hesitate to take the reward of his
labors.
In the summer time Lon fishes
more or less and raises a little garden
"sass. - but in the fall and winter
when the sticky juice of the spruce be
gins to harden into gum he begins the
real work for which he feels best fit.
ted and from which for so many year.
he has derived the larger part of hi,
livelihood. lie finds the best gum on
the exposed heights of the mountains
he says, where the big trees strain an1
seam in the heavy wind. The juic,
cxudes through the gaps and gather.
in little amber nuggets along them
Bishop used to reach il by climbing NJ
with crcepers. but now he gets mos
Of il with a scoop on the end of lon.
pole, which he pushes up under tn
Jumps. He ranges all the way up tn
hills to Stratton mountain he know
| tlr place hy heart and very often i
gong days ut a time in the winter
sleeping on bed of fir b0ughs sprea,
onder the lee of some protecting ledge
Naturally he has cleaned out the gun
considerably, but the supply is goo,
still, and the prices are much bette
than they used TO be- When he start
ed out he could gather easily so
pounds a winter. where now he ca
: only get 100 pounds or so. But the
lie used to get but II ID cents a pound
where now he gets ST.. He sells il i
bulk to druggists and regular custom
ers and sometimes retails it in littl
barrels, but he generally disposes O
all he gets. easily. The biggest dav
haul he ever had, he SAYS was abou
so years ago, when he struck $50 wortl
Lon has occasional windfalls o
other kinds. however He carries
Colt S revolver on one hip and ever
now and then he runs across som
fresh meat, ranging up from par
, ridge to a bear. He has made tw
particularly good hauls of bears wit
, his little gun, one time getting fol
and the other time three at once. II
is in the woods in winter, and he catcl
; cs what bears he runs across in a droy
Sv state in their dens The four
. found in January, cooped up under
!. ledge, two old ones and two two-yea
olds. The ledge slanted' up and whe
: he had dug out under it he fired rigl
into the faces of the bears. and the
: each considerably rolled out. leavir
: the next one in full view Three we
: disposed of in this way with thr
chambers, but the fourth crawled o.
! and made Bishop use two cartridg
!. before he killed him. The group
!. three were tracked into their den
/. early winter and disposed of in mu
the same way. Mr.. Bishop says mo
. cstly he is quite a good shot with
revolver He meets other strange thin
: in the woods, occasionally a lynx, a
} one time panther occupied hersC
: hours stalking him. He finally turn
/. on her and scared her away. but
. WASH Z a pleasant experience. But ev
+. a Searsburg gunner 50 life ca
: not be one round of unalloyed pleasu
: Perhaps that panther will get him y
. one of these dark nights, or he W