At the age of four years I began to pick up arms against small birds and
animals. At the age of five I began to trap around my father's
corn-shocks. When I reached my sixth year my father bought me a dog and
he was my constant companion for many years. At the age of five years I
began to make Bows and arrows, and cross guns, likewise sling shots. My
first experience was with by bros, George and Lee in killing a
woodchuck. And from this time my adventures began to multiply. All kinds
of small animals fell before my accurate aim.
My adventursome father had crossed the great plains as early as 1846. He
was thrilled to the core with the bold and desperate experiences of the
wild western world. On his way he met and formed the acquaintance Of
several of the noted trappers and explorers, as well as the acquaintance
of the most daring and dangerous savages that ever rode the arena of the
Great American Desert.
My chief joy from in fancy was to have my father tell me his dangerous
travels and exploits in the early west. I was continually begging my
older brother to read about Kit Carson Daniel Boone and other pioneers.
At the age of seven years I took a notion that I wanted a gun. Bows and
arrows, cross-bows sling-shots knives and hatchets were too tame for me.
I sought an occasion when my father was away, to get from my mother the
needed information, how to load and discharge a gun. One day when all
were away I stole my fathers gun. It was a double barreled muzzle
loader, one barrel shot and the other rifle. I had quite an
experience--I saw a partridge just as I entered the woods budding in the
top of an old birch tree. I leveled the gun up against an old ash tree
and fired I had never before fired a gun, I held it rather loosely
aginst my shoulder and the recoil lamed my arm and bloodeyed my pug
noose. But this was soon forgotten when I saw I had plugged my meat. In
haste I began to load to prepare for another bird--I seized The patch
put mr ball on the patch took mr ramrod and rammed home the ball alas!
just as I was pounding her home I remembered I had forgotten something
quite necessary in loading a gun--it was the powder. I was in a
terrorable fix then--I first thought I would hasten home put up the gun
and let father get out of the fix the best he could. But after taking a
second thought I concluded that I would not be a whit behind the Father
of his country--but while I had stolen I could not tell a lie--so I
repeated the reckless boy's adage--Scolding don't hurt you whipping
don't last long killing they dare not"--After considering the whole
predicament--I concluded that I rather have a flogging than deny my
pluck and luck by killing my game. So I related to father my deed; he
simply laughed and took the gun in the back yard pricked some fine
powder in the tube--put on a cap and shot the ball out slick and easy.
The winter of my sixth year I had planed on trapping small fur bearing
game--but my parents had planned on me going to school. So they bought
me some books and the first of October I was drilled off to school. I
soon got into trouble at school and the third day traded off my books
for an old gun. the next day I started for school as usual, but after I
was over the hill I turned from the path of duty and education for the
adventurous path of hunting and trapping. I would go to the place I had
hidden my gun the night before and go into the woods and spend the day
returning as school let out. I worked this for about three weeks without
being discovered. I had an older brother who suspected me and finally he
found me in the woods, took my gun from me and broke it around a
tree--he did this because the gun was unsafe it was all tied up with
wire and strings to bind the barrel to the stock--my first gun was a
bloomer.
The following fall I killed my first coon. My brother Lee who is two
years older than myself and I were shooting at a mark in the wood-shed
one rainy fall day, and lo and behold to our surprise a coon came
walking in on us--instantly we flew at the fellow, I, with an ax he with
a club--the coon lasted about two seconds--the yells and disturbance
brought my father and brother to the scene, I was declaring that I had
killed it and my Brother Lee was making the same statements both of us
were talking at the limit of lung power--when my brother who was older
discovered that there was a ribbon around the coons neck and a gold ring
attached showing us this he said "this is a pet coon." At once we
reversed our arguments each declaring that we did not kill the coon.
The beginning of my eight year I coaxed father to allow me to spend the
winter trapping with a man named Walker on the head waters of the
Manistee river. finally he consented and I was the happiest boy on
earth. Hastily I made my toilet for the winter and set out on snow shoes
the middle of November. After several days of brisk and difficult
walking we reached Wild goose creek. Here we made a camp and began to
set traps. I had no gun for it was intended that I was to cook and skin
game. This proved to be my first experience with larger game. Five days
after we struck camp we caught a black bear in a deadfall. It was here
at wild goose creek that I first began running trap lines under an old
rocky mountain trapper. And here where I also learned to skin, bait
traps, make dead falls and cut and sew up my own clothes, make snow
shoes and paddle canoes, build camps and learn the various tricks of
indians and trappers, also how to doctor myself when sick and to avoid
the dangers of the wilderness. All too soon the mid-winter came and
there being no high line game to trap The trapper made up his mind to
move homeward. On the sixteenth day of January we began our march for a
town called South Boardman. We had to pack about thirty pounds apiece it
was thirty five miles to our destination. The first night we camped in
the snow the next evening a half hour after dark we reached town; here
we took a train for home and reached it about mid-night. My father
divided the fur taking my share for his pay. The balance of the winter I
hunted and trapped near home--and when spring came I hunted ginseng and
later picked huckle berries meanwhile I learned to speak the Chippewa
language.
I sold my gingseng and berries for more money than my father knew of and
bought a good gun and two revolvers together with considerable
amunition. This year I was in the Company of my Brother Lee and
to-gether we practiced with guns and revolvers till we thought we were
the best shots in the Co. Our rapid firing often aroused the settlers,
and they began to talk about us saying "we were growing up to be
outlaws." This greatly pleased us. Just befor I was nine years old my
folks got it into their heads to send me to school agin, thinking I
might be Henry Clay or Govener Mud or some other larkie--as usual I
raked up a row and the teacher had us expelled for carrying six shooters
in our dinner pails.
When we came home that day my father and mother held a long council over
us and finally called us in and father said--"I have tried to make
something out of you but you will never be anything but a
blockheads--and I might as well make good indians out of you as poor
ones." so he allowed us to use our guns smoke and chew rag-weed to our
hearts content. My next experience was with two of the best trappers
that ever bent steel in Michigan. Solitary Parson and Frank Johnson. We
were out three months and made good hauls, they gave me one fourth of
the fur, which was a neat sum. I then spent several weeks at target
practice, my daily stunt was splitting bullets on the bit of an ax forty
feet away. I soon became the crack rifle shot in the country. One
evening I tied two hills of corn together while father was milking and
when father started for the house his toe taught in the loup up in the
air went the milk down on the ground came Father with about twelve
quarts of milk running down his back.
This was enough for father he had ben out of patience with me many
times: but now this act provoked him so he ordered me away from home. I
had few clothes and no satched. I was the baby of the family, yet not A
very delicate sample of a baby. I had the fire burning for adventure in
my young bosom, I bade my mother good bye as I went to bed, she never
knew how long it would be till she kissed to sleep those black marbles,
as she used to call my eyes; I arose at about one oclock in the morning
and roused up my brother picked up our kit and set out for the Twin
bridges of the Boardman fifteen miles away.
I was still in my ninth year and my brother was eleven, we camped up in
the swamp nearly all summer then in the fall hunted and trapped on the
Cedar river. When spring time came in we sold our furs for $200,00 and
took the Train for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
We stopped at the mining districts where there were scores of Cornish
Miners. There was a widow there with whom my brother lived and worked
all the time for about two years. He was quite a musician this widow
bought him a high grade Stewart Banjo and then she fell in love first
with his playing and then with his banjo and lastly of all with him.
Love stole my partner. I have had many but none like Lone Lee The
Mountain Musician. After loosing my Pal I began to learn to face the
wilderness alone. Nero my Dog, my associate from infancy was killed by a
wolf and I was left alone.
When whiteman seemed to fail fate overcame me in the form of an indian.
This indian was the famous Shopnegon. We trapped together on the Indian
river following down into lower michigan we also trapped the dead
stream, Ausable, Tobacco and into the Houghton lake country here
Shopnegon christened me as Black Beaver for I had actually trapped one.
this was the only Black Beaver Shopnegon had ever seen and the only one
I ever saw and I have seen some.
This was the winter of my tenth year I was big healthy and strong. I had
never been sick except having the Pneumonia and occasionally a bad cold.
Early in the spring we broke camp bid each other goodbye I loaded my
pack and furs weighing about forty pounds and started for Fife Lake. I
had no intention of seeing my folks but in Fife Lake was another
attraction which I will come to later. I had to get home about fifty
miles to cover. the way was beset with tangled forests, swollen streams,
melting snows not a blaze to mark the way. I had lived on mushrat for
forty days and the first day out I shot a doe, and added about ten
pounds to my load, this meat was quite an improvement on rat. the
evening of the third day I camped on Hopkins creek under an old hemlock
tree. My dogs kept me awake nearly all night with their barks and
growls, once I was awakened by a twig falling in my face, in the morning
I was at once attracted by a sliding noise which I soon discovered to be
a Lynx bracing to leap, I slung my gun to my shoulder and the lynx was
past danger instantly, I afterward learned this Lynx had killed a boy in
the neighborhood by the name of Harrison.
Adding another pelt to my pack I reached Fife Lake just before Sundown
and waited for dark before entering town. After dark I went straight to
the home of My old friend who was not so aged as I.W.O. Clark. his
mother had died meanwhile the only thing which had restrained him from
joining me the year before. I did not wish to show up in Northtown so
Willie sold my fur for me and we equiped ourselves for the Lewis and
Clark Expedition. In august of that same year after our money was all
gone but eleven cents: and I had not been seen by anybody who knew me
Clark and I walked over to Kingsley ten miles away carrying our only
possessions in the world, we had decided to go westward where we might
hunt trap and enjoy ourselves unmolested, the evening found us waiting
for a freight train which we were to take; hoping to hobo our way to
Denver Colorado.