The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1923-09-20
nm HUNTER ELLIS
=. Dr. Patten "reminiscences
10" 81 Veteran Maine
WOOdsman

for the Lewiston Journa)
yen r,Iis. Old Hunter Ellis, as he
= ' L called, was born in the
a lnnw city) of Waterville. Me-,
.n nor 1888. When a young man
yaa to Smithfield, where he
~ u'' and reared a family of ten
~ ~ After the death of his first
~ s~ married a lady living in the
rs Mercer, where he resided till
y 1s44. when he moved to Gull
p ppiscataquis County.
rss a small, Witty man, less
a height, would weigh
,so mounds. His complexion
,o rid hair reddish, had a small
'v ,etreating, nervous eye, and a
.,nance beaming with good HUI
- though he had just told a
story, or was about to tell one.
NJ early boyhood he manifested
and aptitude for roaming for
md hunting game. He was
ant of his teens when he visited
.,oad Lake and its environs, and
N traverse the interminable
IN pursuit of the wild animals
.honnded there, and which, hi
had only been disturbed by
ans and shots of Indians, who
nadisputed possession of the
repion roundabout. On the
N shore of this now famous in
.ea and at a place known as
.sr bay he built a camp, which
syer after called Ellis Home
and from which he made excur-
sometimes to places far away
90 remote as Chesuncook and
.herlain lakes and the head wat
# the Penobscot, Allagash and
]chn rivers.
I"hably more than half of every
from the time he constructed
,ude and homely hut in this then
region of northern Maine, till
40 and age obliged him to re-
At home, was spent in these dis
solitudes, far from the noise and
! Of men," waging a deadly and
sssful war against the denizens of
forest, which were about him on
hand.
rst knew Mr.. Ellis about the year
On his return from his hunt
expedition to his home In Mercer,
klyays called ON my father, who
then merchant in Skowhegan,
offered to sell him hfs furs.
Is advent TO the village was the
al for the boys to come together.
ee and listen to this oddly-dressed,
Incorporating, unique character;
there was no limit to the pleas
be afforded us as he told of his
INJURIES, and hairbreadth escapes
Ing his last hunt, Of his meeting
Indians as he was going to visit
Traps and of their frequent calls
hin, and his visits to their wig
" After he moved to Guilford,
b brought him about 80 miles
N the scene of his operations, l
lm often, as. soon after, was
nd In that vicinity, engaged in
Etive practice of medicine. I
frequently to meet him at Mon
Shirley, Greenyille, and in the
hies and numbering camps which
snded in this region, and some
rs far up the Lake, and on the
Branch of the Penobscot. He
ned always the same cheerful,
|d.natured storytelling fellow. ever
|t TO joke, and laugh, and tell his
|E."
\ you CHANGED to meet him, as he
Nurnng from one of his hunt
expeditions, his peculiarities
ld show themselves in a marked
F@
|nst picture to yourself a man, such
have partially described, starting
from his camp for his home, af-
4 residence of four or five months
he unbroken forests, whittier he
y as he had been wont for years,
ne pursuit of game. He perhaps
y Nj. kineo, and On his way down,
LAKE., calls at the Sand Bar, Deer
lha House and finally reaches
FhSlle and stays for the night.
ayOody is glad to see him. for who
not know the old hunter and
pRr, whose look and laugh and
ns nave come to be as familiar,
al The region about Moosehead
as household words.
MS feet were moccasins, old
u may be, possibly new and just
EaSed of the Indians, and orna-
q on the upper side; an old dill
aed fur cap covered his head,
~ hardly anything around his |
MS coat is ill-fltting and much |
and his pants are too short and |
" loosely around his legs. AS
w near him you catch the odor
* Forest, or to be a little more |
' should say, it is the mingled |
70 Oh The pine and cedar with that |
= by the muskrat and beaver. |
y uowd In the Office of the Lake
% ore attracted to him as he talks
;, "uo MS adventures and yarns"
y nls last hunt-how he circum-
~ 'ne cunning of this animal and !
nov with his rife and sure aim
''Ougnt down at long range, the
, A'ibou, and stately moose, how
WY, a monster bear and
i ~, him at last, barely escap-
!, ~ teeth and paws.
-, .nis and much more is told in
Aaultable style. so full OF ANNA
',o svo'ure and exclamation, as to
's ..i enjoyed by all.
,o .sn some of you had been with |
nv. said Ellis, land seen me
a. trout from the Lake. AS