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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1938-03-31, Page 6PAGE SIX. THE SEAFORTH NEWS THURSDAY, ,MARCH 31, 1938 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111•111111111111111111111111111111 Bois Brules 1Patil's ,eyes looked up with question of how much. "Five pou,nds a day." This was four more than we paid for the cariboo bunts. Again he stood thinking, then dart- ed off into the forest like a hare; but I knew his strange, silent ways, and confidently awaited his return. How • ,could get two pair a snow -shoes and diva poles inside of five minutes, I do not attempt to explain, unless some of his numerous 'half-breed youngsters were at hand in the woods; but he was back again all equipped for a long tramp, and as soon as I had laced on the racquets, we were skimming over the drifts like a boat on billows. In the mazy con- fusion of snow and undeebrush ITO one but Paul would have Attend and kept that tangled, forest path. Where great trunks had 'fallen across the w Paul planted ,his pale and took t barrier at a bound. Then he raced on at a gait which was neither a run nor e. vralk, but an easy trot common to the eicoureurs-des-bois". The encased branches snapped like glass when we brushed past, and so heavily were snow and icicles frozen to the trees we might have been in some grotes- que erystal-walled cavern. The "hab- itant" spoke not a word, but on we pressed over the :brushwood, now so packed with snow and crusted ice, our snow -shoes were not once trip- ped by loose branches, and we .glided from drift to drift. In vain I tried to discern a trail by the broken thicket on either side and I noticed that my guide wae keeping his course by fol- lowing the marks 'blazed on trees. At one place we carne to a steep, clear slope, where the earth had fallen sheer away from the hillside and mow had filled the incline. 'First prodding forward to feel if the snow - bank were :solid, Pant promptly sat down' on the rear end of his snow- shoes. and, quicker than I can tell it, .tobogganed down to the valley. I came leaping clumsily from point to point with my pole, like a eki-jumping Norwegian, risking my neck at every bound. Then we coursed along the valley, the habitant's eye stilI on the trees. and once he stopped to emit a gurgling laugh at a badly hacked trunk, beneath which was •a mowed- -up sap trough; but I could not divine whether 'Paul's mirth were over a proepect of eugaring-off in the maple - woods, or at some foolish habilant who had tapped the maple too early. How often had I known my guide to exhaost city athletes in these swift marches of his But I had been s-chooled to his pace from boyhood and kept up with hint at every step. though we were going so fast I 'hot all track of my bearings. "Where to, Paul?" I asked with a vague suspicion that we were heading Lor the Huron village at Lorene. "To Lorette, Paul?" But Paul condescended only a grunt and Whisked suddenly round a headland up a narrow gorge. which seemed to lead to the very heart of the mountains and might 'have shelt- ered any number of ,fogitives. In the gorge we stopped to take a light meal of gingerbread horses—'a cake that is the peculiar glory of the 'habitant— dried herrings and sea biscuits. By the son, 1 knew it was long past noon and that -we ,had been traveling north- west. I also vaguely guessed that Paters ablject was to intercept the North-West trappers, if they had planned to ,slip away from the St. Lawrence through the bush to the Upper Ottawa, where they could meet northbound boats leut not one syllable had my taciturn, guide litt- ered. Clambering op th,e steep, snowy banks of the gorge, we found our selvee in th ,e upper teachee of a moun- tain, where the trees fell away in scraggy clamps and the snow stretch- ed op clear and unbroken to the ,hill- ' Crest. Pau,1 'grunted, licked his pipe - stem significantly and pointed ,his pole to the hill -top. The dark peak o•f the of woods Ileelow us. A dozen. ‘evigwams were visible among the trees and smoke curled up from a central campfire. "Voila, Monsieur?" said the habi- tant, .which made four words for that day. The Mote then fell to my rear and we first approached the general camp. The 'campers were evidently thieves as well as hunters; for frozen pork hung with venison from the branches of several, trees. The sap trough might also have ,belonged to them, which would explain ,Paul's laugh, as the 'whole paraphernalia of a sugar- ing -off was ,on the outskirts of th,e encampneent. "iNot the Indians we're after," said I, noting the signs of permanency; but Paul Laracque shoved me for- ward with elk end of his •pole aod a ay, CuriOus. almost intelligent, expression he came on the dull. pock -pitted face. Strangely .enough, as I looked over my should'er to the guide, I caught sight of an Indian figure climbing up the ibank in our very tracks. The sig- nificance of this incident was to reveal iteele later. As usoal, a pack of savage dogs flew out to announce our coining with furious barking. B.ut I declare the habitant was so much like any ragged Indian, the creatures recognized him and left off their vicious marl. 01113' the shrill -voiced children, who 'melted from the wigwaillS, CV/need either surprise or interest in our arrival. Men and women were 'haunches] about the fire, above which simmered several ,p,nts with the savory odor of cooking meat. I do not think a soul of the company as much as turned a head on our approach. Though they saw Os plainly, they at stolid and imperturbable, alter the manner of their race. waiting for us to ,annolince, oureelves. Some of the squaws and half-breed women were heaping bark on the fire. Indians eat straight-b,ack- ed round the circle. White men, van - bond trappers front anywhere and :verywhere, lay in all variety of any ttitudes on buffalu robes and caribou skins. I had known, as every one familiar with Quebec's family historiee must know, that the semi of old ecigneure sometimes inherited the adventernue spirit. which led their anceetore of three centuries ago to exchange the gayeties of the French (mut for the wild life of the new world. 1 was also aware this spirit frequently trans- formed seigneur.- into bush -rangers and descendants of the royal . blood into coureurs-deeabois. But it is one thing to know a fact, another to see th.at fact in living embodiment; and in this case, the living embodhnent was Louis Laplante, a school -fellow . of Laval, whom, to nty amazement, now saw, with a beard of some months' growth and clad in buckskin, lying at full length on his back amorig that villanous band .of nondescript trappers: Something of the surprise felt must have shown on my face, for as Zo.uie recognized me he uttered a shout of laughter. "Hullo, 'Gillespie!" he ,called with the saucy nonchalance which made him both a favorite and a torment at the seminary. lAre you ,among the rirophets?" and h,e sat up making room for me on his 'buffalo robe. "Pei wager, ,Louis," said I, shaking his hand heartily ,and accepeing- the proffered seat, "I'M wager it's pro- phets spelt with 'alt ''1' lbrings you here." )Far thee,young rake had been one ,of the most notorious borrowers at the seminary. 'Good boy!" laughed he. giving my shoelder a clap, "I see yosir time was not wasted with .rne. Now, what the devil," be asked as I 'sur'veyed the motley throng of fat, crearse-faceel squaws and hard -looking men who sorrowed eel hint, "now, what the devil's ,brought you here?" "What's the seine, to yourself, Louis lad?" said I. He laughed the merry, heedless 'laugh that had been solitary wigvvant appeared above the the cilstrae4'°' 'elass-racun' snow. He poineed again to the fringe ''Do y,ou need to ask with sueh a galaxy of nut -brown maidens?" and a,nel pole in hand, loyally, brought up Louis looked with the assurance of the rear of ‘oste strange 'procession. I privileged im,p.udence seraight across shall not retail that .search through the ,fire into the hideous, angry, face of, a big :squaw, who was :glaring at me. The creature was doe to command attention. She Might have been a great, bronze statue, a type of .some ancient goddess, a sy,nebol of fury, or cruelty. Ile T eyes fastened the eelves on mine and held me. wheth I 'would or no, while her whole darkened. 'The lady evidently •Obljects to h ing her place ,u.susiped, 'Lotus,' =eked, for he was watching the • ent duel 'between the native woma questioning eyes and mine. "The gentleman wants to know the Jody obljects to living her pi usurpe.d?" 'called Louis to the sou At that the ,woman flinched a looked to La.plante. Of course, did not on,derstan'd our words; 'be think she was suspicious we eie laughing at her. There was a vind tive Iflas'h across her face, the us impenetrable expression of the inn mine over her fe.atures, 1 noti that her cheeks and forebear] w ecarred, and a cut h.ad laid open upper lk from nose to teeth. "You must know that the lady the cla,ughter of a chief and a feghte whispered Louis in my ear. I might have known she was ab common rank from the extra,ordin number ,of trinkets she wore. Pei ants hong from her ears like the P dulum of a clock. She had a dos necklace of ,polished bear's claws a around her waist was a girdle of . ates, which to me proclaimed that was of a far -western tribe. In girdle was an ivory -handled Ikri which ha.d doubtless given as ma scars as its owner displayed. "What tribe, Louis?" I asked. "111 he hanged, now, if Pm jealous," he began. '"Youel stare la out of countenance----" B,ut at t moment the Indian who had come the bank 'behind us came round a interrupted Laclante's merriment tossing a piece of bethumbed pap between my comrade's knees. "The deuce!" exclaimed Louis, le ging his tongue into one cheek a glancing at me with a queer, •quizzi look as be ,unfolded and read t paper. /1 he had not spoken 1 might n have turned; but having turned could not but notice two thin Louis jerked lback from me, as if might try to read the soiled note his handand in raking the paper di played on the back the stamp of r commissariat department from Qu bec Citadel. Neither Laplanteie suppressed su prise, nor my observations of h movement, eecaped the big squaw. Si came quickly mend the fire in t both. "Give me that," she cenintande holdine out her hand to the ',relic you th. "The deuce I will," he returnee twisting the ,peper up in his clen.che fist, Half in jest, half in earnest, ills as Louis ueed to be ponisbed at th eeminary, elle gave him it prompt ho on the ear. He took it in perfect good nature. And the whole encanipmen laughed. The squaw went hack to th other side of the ere. Laplaote letine forward and threw the paper toward the flainee; hut without his knowledge he overshot the mark; and when th trader wae looking elsewhere the hi -.gnats- etooperl, picked up the covet', note and :dipped it into her ekirt pock et. "Neiw, Louis, nonernee aside," I he gen. "With all my soul. if I have one, said he, eying back languidly with perceptible cooling of the cordialit he ha,d first evinced. T told him my errand, and that wiehed to Search every wigwam In trace of the lost woman and child. II listened with :hot eyes. "It isn't," I explained in it Ino voice, eager to arouse hie interest, isn't in the least, La,plante, that w suspect these people; bet you .knoa the kidnappers might have 'traded ele clothing to your people---' ``Ohl Go ahead'!" he interjected in patiently. 'Don't heat sound the .bush What .do you want of nie?" "To go through the tents With m and help me. 13y Jove! Laplantel thought .at least %park of the man would suggest that without my speak in" 1 Ibrioke out hotly, 'He was on his feet with an ala,critY that Ibrought old IPaul Larocou round to my sisee and the ,sOnew to 'his "Curse you.," he cried out , roughly shelving the ,squaw book. For a mom eget I was uncertain 'whether he were addressing the woman or myself "You mind your own business and, go to your Indian Here, Gilleepie, do the tents with You. 'Get off with you," he muttered at the squaw, rum- bling out a lingo of ipensoaseve ex,ple- eves; and he led the way to the first wigwam. But the squaw Was met t be die - missed; for when, I followed the Frenchman, she ,closed in behind look- ing thunder, not at her abuser, but at me; and Th.e Mute, fearing 'foul. play ro,b,es arid skins and ,blankets and 'box- es, in 'foul-smelling, vermin -infested wigwams. It was fnuitlees. I only re- call the lowering 'face of the big squaw loceleing over my shoulder at teev,derytotedir:w a, shietdh lipsliea,v,ygrliborooiwogs icaoontevracil-, malicious challenge. I thought she kept her 'ha'nds roncomfortahly near the ivory handie.in the agate belt; but Larocque, good fellow, never took his beady eyes off th•ose same hands and kept a grip of the leaping pole. Thus we examined the tents and made a cireuit ,Of the people round the fire, but found nothing to reveal 'the whereabouts of Miriam and the .child. Laplante and I were on 'one side of the robe, Larocque and the .squaw on ,the other. . "'And .why is that tent apant from Oe rest and who is in it?" 1 as,ked La - plants, pointing to the lone tepee 00 the crest of the hill. The .fire cracked so loudly I ,became aware there was ominous silence am- ong the loungers of the camp. They were fisteming as well as watching. 'Up to this time I had not thought ,they were paying the slightest attention to ue. Laplante was not answering, and when I faced him sud,denly I found the s'quaw's eyes fastened on his, hold- ing them whether he would or no. just as ,she had mine, "Eli! man?" I cried, seizing him fiercely, a nameless s.ospicion ,getting possession of me. "Why 'don't ,you an- swer?" The spell was broken. He turned to me nonchalantly, as he ased to lack a,ccusere• in the schooldays of long ago, a.nd, spoke almost gently, with down- cast eyes, and a (mkt, deprecating smile. 'Yo'u know, Rufus," he answered, using the schoolboy name. "We should have told you before. But re, member we .didn't invite you here. We ,didn't lead you into it." "Well?" 1 ,demaneled, e'Well," he replied in a voice too oleo for any of the listeners but the squaw to hear, "there's a very had case of smallpox up in that tent and we're keeping the man apart till he gets better. That, in fact, is why we're all here. You moat go. It is not safe." "Thanks, Laplante," .said I. "Gmad- by." But he did not ,offer me his hand when I made to take leave, ",Come." he seid. "I'll go as far ae, the gorge with you;" and, he stood on the • embankme,nt and waved as we passed into the lengthenieg shadows of the valley. Now, in these ,clays of health offi- cers and vaccination, people can have no idea of the terrors of a smallpox meet mere 51 t he .beginn in g of this cen- tury, The "habitant" is as indifferent to et -million as to ineaeles, and accepts both as dispensations of Ierovidence by exposing his children to the con- tagion 'as early as poesible; but 1 wee not so minded, and hurried down the gorge ae fast as my. enow-eboee would earry tne. Then I remembered that the Indian popula,tion of the north had been reduced to a skeleton of ies farmer !mother, by the ,pestilence in lt7,'t, and recalled that my 'Uncle ,lack had said the native's euperseitiolie dread of tit!: disease lenew no bounds. That rerollection checked my sudden flight. If the Indians had such fear, lied tea. hand camped within a the peet tent? It would be more like Indian character to reverse Samaritan practisee and leave the vic- tim en (lie. This man might, of enttrse, be a French-Canadian trapper, hut would take no risks of a brick, so I or- dered Paul to lead me back to that tepee. The Mete -veined to uncleretanel I had no wish to be seen ,by the camp- ers. He skirted round the base of the hill till we wore on the side remote from the tribe. Then he motioned Inc to remain in the gorge wbile he -rambled op the cliff to reconnoitre, knew lie received a surprise as snon ws his heed was on a level with the top of the thank; for he curled himself tip behind a snow -pile and gave a low whistle for me. 1 was beside 'him with one bound. We were not twenty pole - lengths from ,the wigwam, There was no appearan,ce of life. The teat flaps had been laced em and, ,a solitary watch -dog was tied to a stake 'before the entrance. Down the valley the setting sun shone through the naked trees like a wall of fire, an,d dyed all the glistening sn.ow-drifts primrose an,d opal, .At one place in the forest the Ted light horst through and struck against 'the tent on the hill -top, giving the ,skins a ,peottliar appearance of be- ing streaked with blood. Th,e faintest 'breath of wind, a mere sigh of ITIOV- ing air-corents peculiar to stiow-pad- ,ded areas, came up from ehe woods with far -away echoes of the trap.pers' voices. Perhaps this was heard by the watch-dogoo.rsk may felt th disturbing ,presence of. my • half-avild habitant ankle; for it. sat back on its haunches and throwing up its he,ad, let out elle moat • d,olefeel howlings imaginable. • "Ob..M,onsieur," shuddered the so- peratitioue habitant ,shivering like an aspep leaf., "sick man moan,—moan, moari. hard! Ile die, 'Monsieur, ,he die, he die now when dog cry lak dat," and full of 'fear he eoranebled down into th,e gorge, making silent gestures for me to follow. For a time—ilent not long, I must acknowledge—I lay there aeone, .wat- ching and listening. Paul's ,ears .might heer the moans of a siCle Mon, mine could not: nor would I return to the Chateau' without ascertaining dor a certainty what was in that Wigwam, Slipping ,off theesnoweshoes, 1 rase and ibip-toed over the snow with hhe fell inn tentioof silencing tho e g with my pole; lint I was sudd,enly als rested by 'the distinct sound ,of pain_ rached groaning. Then the brute ,of a clog detected my approa,ch and with a furious leaping that alsnost hong him with his own tope set up a vicious barking. Suddenly the black 'head of an Indian, or trapper, popped through the terir flaps and a voice ebouted in perfect English — "IG,o away! Go away! Go awa,y1 The peat! The .pesti„ "Who has ,smallgox?”. a bawled back. • e1A trader, a ,No'r'-'Wester," said he. "If you have anything for bine Jay it on the sober and I'll come for it." .As honor 'pledged, me to serve Ha- milton until he Ifoderd his wife, I was not pamticularly anxious to exchange civilities at close 'range with a matt from ' a smallpox tent; so 1 ,quickly retraced any ,way t0 the gorge and hurried homeward with The Mute. My ,old school -fellow's sudden change towards me When he received the letter written on Citadel paper, and, the ,big siquaw'.s suspicion of my .erery movement, ,now come back to ine with a significance I .hacI not fele when I waa at the canna lEither .in tuition's like those of my habitant guide, which instinctively ,put out feelers with the caution of an insect's antennae for the presence of .vague, unknown evil, lay .dormant in my own nature .and had been aroused by the incidents at the' camp, or else the mind, by the mere fact Of holding in- formation en solution, widens its own knowledge. For now, in addition to the 'leiter from the Citadel and the squaw's animosity, came the ons roissiog 'faotor—Adderly. I felt, rather than knew, that Loots Laplante :bad deceived me. Had he lied? A lie is the clumsy invention of the novice An expert accomplishes Isis deceit without anything so grossly and tang- ibly honest as a lie; and Louis was an expert. 'Though T had not a vestige of proof I could have sworn that Adcler- ly and the ,squaw ancl Louis were leagued against me for some dark purpose. 1 was indeed learning the first lessons of the trapper's life: never to open my lips •on my owIl af- fairs to aoother man, and never to believe another man When he opened his lips to CHAPTER "Yott A110111(1 ilaVe 1(110Cked that quarantine', head off," ejaculated Me. 'Jack MadKenzie, with ferocious emphasie. 1 had been relating rny ex, perience vvith the campers: and wae recounting how the man put hie 'head out of the. tent and Warned me of smallpox, Rue toy uncle was it gentle - Mall of the old echocil and harl a hut con tenth t for quarantine. "Knocked his head off, knocked Isis head 'Off. Sir." he continued, explbs- ively. "Make it a poiot to knock the head off anything that stands in yottr way, Sir--" "But yent don't seppose," I expos- tulated, about to voice my own 'suspi- cions, "Stipposel" he roared nut. "I melee it a point never to suppose' anything% act on facts, Sir! You wanted, to go into that wigwam; didn't you? Well then. why the deuce didn't you gel, and knock the head off anything that opposed you?" Being highly auccessful . in all his own dealings, Mr. slack MacKenzie could not tolerate 'failure in other people. .A month of vigilant .searching had yielded not the slightest of Miriam and the child; and this fact ignited all the gunpowder of rny un- cle's fiery temperament. We had felt so sure Le :Grand Diable's band of vagabonds would 'hang a'bou't bill the brigades of the Nonth-West Conis pany's tripmen set ,o.ut for the north, all our .efeorts were .spent in 'a vain search for some trace of the rascals in the 'vicinity of Q'ue'bec. His gypsy nondescripts vvould hardly dare to keep the things taken 'from Ivliriant and the ,child. These would .be traded to other tribes; s.o day anel night, Mr. MacK,erizie, Eric ond 1, with hired spies, dogged the •footete.ps of trap- pers, who were awaiting .blie ,breaking up of the ice; ,shadowed "voyageurs", who 'passed idle days in th,e dram - shops of ILower Town, and .scrutin- izeci every native who crossed our path, ever on the alert for a glimpse of Diable, or 'his associates. Diligently we tracked, all Indian trails through Charleaboung forest and 'examined ev- ery wigwam 'within a week's march of the city, Le 'Grand Diable was not likely tee be anvong ancestral en - moles at Lorette, but his half-breed PROFESSIONAL CARDS Medical DR. E. A. MAIASTIER—Graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, Univers- ity of ,Toronto, and of the New York Post ,Griaduate School and Hospital. Member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Office on High street. iPhooe 217. Office fully equipped for x-ray diagnosie and ear ultra iehort wave eleoteic treatment, tiara violet sun lamp treatment and infra red electric treatment: Nurse in attendance. DR. ;GILBERT C. JIARROTT Graduate of Faculty of Medicine, Un- iversity of Western Ontario. Member of 'College of Physicians and'Surgeons of Ontario. Office 43 Goderich street west. Phone 37. Hiours 2-4.30 . 7,30-9 pem. Other hours [by appoint- ment. Successor to Dr. Chas. Mackay, DR. H. HUGIH ROSS, Physician and Surgeon Late of Lbndon Hos- pital, London, 'England. Special at- tention to diseases of the eye, ear, nose acel throat. Office and residence behind Dominion Bank, Office Phone No, 5; Residence Phone 104. e , DR. F. J. BURROWS, Seaforth. Office wed residence, ‘Goderich street, east of the United, Church. 'Coroner for the County of Huron. Telephone No. 46. DR. F. J. R. FORSTER— Eye Ear, Nose and Throat. 'Graduate in Medicine, University of Toronto 11897. Late Assistant New York Ophthal- mic and Aural Institute, Moorefield's Eye, and Golden Square throat ,hospi- tals, Landon, At Commercial Hotel, Seaforth, third Wednesday in each month from 1.30 pm. to 5 p.m. DR. W. C. SPROAT Physician - Surgeon Phone 90-W. Office John St. SeaforO Auctioneer. GEORGE ,ELLIOTT, Licemsed Auctioneer for the County of Huron. Arrangements can be ,made for Sale Date at The Seaforth News. Charges moderate and satisfaction guaranteed. F. W. AHRENS, Licensed Auction- eer for Perth and Huron Counties, Safes Solicited. Terms on Application. Farm Stook, chattels and real estate property. R. R. NO. 4, :Mitchell, Phone 634 r 6, Apply at this office. HARVEY /vIeLLWAIN,, Licensed Auctioneer for County of Huron. Sea - forth, R.R. 5, Phone 228 r 213. WATSON & REID REAL ESTATE AND INSURANCE AGENCY (Successors to James Watson) MAIN ST., SEAFORTH, ONT. All kinds of Insurance risks effeet- ed at lowest rates in First -Class Companies, THE McKILLOP Mutual Fire Insurance Co HEAD OFFICE—SEAPORTH, Ont. 0 F1FI CERS President, Thomas Moylan, Sea - forth; Vice President, William Knox, Londeaboro; 'Secretary Treasurer, M. A. Reid, Seaforth. . AGENTS F. MOICercher, ?.R.1, Dublin; John E. Pepper, R.R.1, Bzucefield; E. R. G. Yarmouth, Brodbagen; James Watt, Blyth; C. F.. Hewitt, Kincardine; Wm,. Yea, Holmesville. DIRECTORS Alex. Broadfoot, Seaforth No. 3; James Sholdice, Walton; Wm. Knox, Londesboro; George Leonhardt, Bornhoilin No, 1; Frank 'McGregor, 'Clinton No. 5; James Connolly, God- erich; Alex 'MdEwing, Myth No. 1; Thomas Moylan, Seaforth No.. 5; Wm. R. Archihold, Sealforth No. 4. Parties desirous to effect insurance or transact other business, ,will be promptly attended to by applications to any of the above named officers addressed to their respective post - offices. followers might have traded with the Hurons; and the lodges at Lorette were also searched. Watches were set along the Sit. Lawrence, so no one •conlel approach an opening before the ice broke ,up, or launch a canoe after the water had ,cleared, .without ouc knowledge, Rat Le IGrand 'Diable and his band hael vanished as mysterious- ly as Miriam. It was as impossible to learn where the Iroquois had gone as to follow the wind. His disappearance was altogether as unaccountable as the lost woman's, and this, of itself, confirmed our suspicions. Place he sold, or 'slain his .captires, he would not have rentain,ed in shiding; and the very ,fruittessness of the search re- doubled Our zeal. (To be contin,ued)