Humberside Collegiate Institute - Hermes Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

Page 8 text:

X 'dwg Hemmgfr' t'ousand dollar in de bottles for de deposit, keepin' co'ple hondred dollar or lettle mor' for de grand hooraw on de village. Nex' morning Bateese get de bottles from un'er de bed an' we start to put it in ol' pair rubber boot, dat Bateese d'ont wear no mor' an, beside have two, t'ree hole on de toe. Mabee you t'ink de gol'-dus' run out. Non, Bateese soon fill dem hol' up wid piece of ol' shirt, dat wa-s no good for not'ing. Bimeby he is all in de boots for sure an' we're off for de village, Bateese he carry one, and me, I carry de odder. Well, wlen we reach dat town de place deposiment is close on de door wid Bateese an' me in de middle of dat street, an two boots of gol' dus' in our arm. Purty soon long come beeg man mus- But dere ma frien's, I cannot tak, de tam' tonight for to tole you w'at trouble we have in dat town, how we meet dat fella in de street, go on de hotel, mak' de beeg hooraw wit' Whisky Blanc, an' loo-se all de monee in dat gam' w'at you call roulette. It is indeed a strange worl', comrades, an' some day I'll tole you for sure, 'bout our adventures in dat hotel, dat you may see for yourself, how easily it is for to be de poor man today, de rich man tonight, an' de poorest man on de ,hole worl' tomorrow. Wall, wid money all gone, an espirit also, its not fonny ting we're homesick an' Bateese say to me, jacques, I'm purty lonesome for de ol' folk, an' leetle habitant farm is plenty good 'nough for me, so, if you say, ma frien', it's hooraw for ol, Kebecf Wit' just two gol' watch lef, an' leetle dus' on de poche, Bateese get coupl' fine Indian poney from w'at you call de beeg Chief an' de nex' day we start to cross de beeg Rocky Moun- tain. 'fWall, everyt'ing go 'long fine for coupl' day w'en, w'at you t'ink, one of de pony go purty sick, an' I t'ink ba gosh he have w'at you call de consomption, I t'ink also de Indian geeve heem purty beeg ball lard to keep heem on hees feet. Wall, bimeby dat pony w'at you call kick de bucket, and begosh I'm nearly tak' de fit. Affer dat Bateese any me tak' de turn on top of de pony we have lef', till we come by de leetle cabane near de nice leetle reever, w'ere we stop for de night. VV'en Bateese hitch de pony to de handle of de outside door I tell heem hees Sapre fou', w'en dat pony be lot better off inside de cabane. Wall, ,bout t'ree, four nex' morning, we hear de beeger row dan you never hear befor' an w'en I pass on de outside door if deres anyt'ing lef' of dat pony you don't need for to blam, de wolves. Mus' be purty hongry to mak' de beeg mess lak' dat, an, I t'ink ba gosh, I could almos' eat dat pony mese'f an' not be satisfy. f Affer dat I t'ink me 'bout de charm dat Pierre Leduc tol' me for to keep de wolves away wlen I'm leetle fella. So I tak' de beeg onion, cut heem t'ree tam wid de jack-knif' an hang him like de crape outside de door, an' den I go coucher wance more. It's only leetle wlile w'en Inateese say to me, '-Iacques, do you hear dat noise P' I lis'en for two, t'ree minute an' say ba gosh it soun' lak tonder. Bateese say 'Pardon, I'll be very moche surprise if it isn't de mountain coach'. ' So we pass on de outside door, an' sure 'nough long come dat coach nearly run right over Bateese, he get 'J

Page 7 text:

tai -we V1EV'2fVlE-lf Xa evealed in an Old Habimni Inn The snow, which had fallen inces- santly during the day. gave way to a driving sleet that furiously lashed itself around the corners of the Beaver's Head Inn. VVithin the quaint old French-Canadian tavern the cronies seated about the hreside dis- cussed old times between pipes of Tabac Canadien and hookers of VVhisky Blanc. The bitter wind without penetrated even the heavy log walls and made old Jacques move his armchair closer to the hearth. The landlord arose from his accustomed seat by the tire and cast a huge log on the greedy llames. Unsuspected by the company, a man partly concealed in the shadows stole into the furthest corner of the room, as tramps were wont to do at the expense of the land- lordys good nature. A deep and sullen silence had fallen on the group, broken only by the crackling of the logs and the rhythmic tick of the wig-wag clock. The landlord shifted his position and drew from his hip pocket a great red handkerchief with which he blew his nose in all solemnity. Bedacl, me lads, is this a morgue? Faith and I'm thinkin, after drinkin' me wines all evenin' y'ud not be tung-tyd. Wliaat ails ye, Jacques? Has the starm and me vintage throttled ye, too? How would a hooker of ywheesky blanc p!! strump a story . The individual thus addressed accepted the proffered hooker, quaffed it to the landlord's good health, and having stimulated the atmosphere with volumes of Tabac Canadien, he stared thoughtfully into the flickering flames and began to speak. ' It's long tam' ago. I'm purty healt'y fella, meg 'bout twenty year or so, beeg and strong, no care in de whol' worl', an' lookin' for de grand adventure. Purty soon I t'ink its tam' to geeve up de Courier-de-Bois beezness, plenty beeg tam' sure, but no monee, de place for me is in de wes' w'ere deres all de gol' in de worl' also. Bateese an' plenty more Trineau, a good frien' by ine, t'ink de sam'. Bateese was de mos' bes' frien' den you're not I ever have. I s'pose very moche su1'prise w'en Bateese say to me, jacques, I have it all tix sure for de grand tour of de gol' ru-sh on Colouzbiu I?rifa1111iq1fv. Here he paused to re-light his pipeg the figure in the corner stirred per- ceptibly. VVell, continued Jacques, we go on de gol' rush an' no sooner we reach dat place dan we start to work, an' work de harder dan you ever see two fella' work befor , making de beeg fortune sure for poor man lak' Hateese an' me. Tings go long all ri't for long tam'. till one day Hateese say to nie. 'jacques I t'ink its tam' for mak' de de gol' dus' in de bank'. hees crazee on de head, feller in de bank get hol' w'en it's lot better off in deposit wit' I tell heem for let dem our moneeg dc- w'iskey bottles wid good cork in, onder de bunk in our leetle cabane w'ere its been dees las' two, t'ree year. But w'en Bateese tell me 'bout de t'ree percen' on de monee and de beeg chance for Indian fin' it w'en we're workin' in de reever, I t'ink its good idea to mak' de grand depositment. IVe t'ink deres 'bout two, t'ree

Page 9 text:

THE H Erewlft' XX so excite, ronnin' an' jonipin' lak' honder devil. IVall! ma frien's w'en dat driver fella' say 'Non, non, m'sieurs, I cannot tak' you on de coach for de reason dat Ilin full to de top. Bateese get more excite dan ever an' swear he'l1 kill dat fella, if he don' tak' us wid heem. I tell you, ma frien's, dat coachman is purty smart man, for hrs' t'ing we know, he say I'll toss de coin to see w'ich one will go wid me to de mission ,but feefty mile 'way to get two t'ree horse an' return encore. I'm not so sure 'bout dat idea, but Bateese say correc' right off, so de drivernian toss de coin an' I win. Par Dieu, but I'm not very glad for leave ma' frien', but de coachman say its tres correc' an' he's leave leetle grub and plentee shot for de gun. So at wonce we shak' han, Bateese an' me, de driver climb upon hees box, crack de horses an' we're off for de mission. Le bon Dieu is de only wan dat know w'at happen to Bateese alter dat, for me I never see heein no more. For the love o' God, ejaculated the landlord, Ye don't mean t'say ye didn't go back fer th' poor devil? Iacques' eyes filled with tears as he addressed himself to the landlord. You see ma frien', it was dis way. W'e11 we're ,bout twenty mile or so from dat cabane, long come de beeger pack of Blackfeet dan I ever see be- fore. Dey were on de grand hooraw, an' niakl de beeger mess of dat coach dan de wolves mak' of Bateese's pony. Dey cut de head off dat coachman an' de oders befor' deres tam' to t'ink. An' me, wall, dey look me over, feel ma beeg muscle, for you mus' know I'm still de young man, an' talk togedder for so long dat, ba gosh I t'ink dey're all out of breat'. Den day ax me -- Crash, the table in the centre of the room overturned and a man stag- gered into the ring of astonished faces, an old-fashioned service pistol hung from his limp fingers. .Iacques! His voice shook with emotion. Bateese ! The old Courier-de-lilois came to his feet upsetting the arm- chair other's hand. To his utter astonish- llateese fell back a pace and in his eagerness to grasp the ment refused to compromise. Non, non lXI'sieur. I cannot tak' your han' for de reason I am not deserve to be your frien'. Wuen I come here tonight, I tak' de chair in de corner, sam, place I sit me t'irty year ago for de reason dat l'm very tire' on de long trip from de coas'. I sit back on de chair an' t'ink of de night we lef' for de gol' rush, of de monee we're mak', how we lose it on de hooraw, an' den I t'ink of de way you desert me in dat cabane waitin' t'rou' de long night for your return wid de horse, Ma blood boil w'en I t'ink of de way you leave me for de wolf to eat, an' den I laugh de bitter laugh w'en I t'ink of de day I fin' de gol' dus' un'er de floor of dat cabane hid by de ol' miner who die dere long tam' befor . Waiice more I grin me w'en I t'ink of ,nother day I fin' de leetle reever behin' de cabane runnin' away wid gol', more gol' in wan day dan we tak' t'ree year to mak' on de claim. 'ISO los' I am in de t'oughts of de pas', dat I don't notice me right off a voice dat was so dear wan tam'. But it's only leetle w'ile till I'm positif dat it's your voice, and I say to mese'f its tam' to mak' de grand revenge dat 100