FOR OUR BOYS & GIRLS

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 190, 10 August 1895, Page 3 (Supplement)

FOR OUR BOYS & GIRLS

'Kig and 'Wig.

The Legend of Two QOEERi_y-_N TAHED

Canadian Lakes.

By Edward William Thomson,

In 1890, when I was one of a party hunbing iv tbe greab bract of foresb, stream and lake tbab lies in Ontario, between bhe Ottawa River and Georgian Bay, we camped for some days at the head of a small lake called Kahwaywaßwigamog. Scarcely had our tongues gob command of bhis Ojibway string of syllables before we moved nine miles northward across a rough, ridgy counbry, and pitched our tents at the head of a lake which much resembled bhe other. To our astonishment the guides called ib Kahwaywaekigamog.

After we bad clearly made out bhe little difference in bhe names, We called the lakes reßpeebively 'Wig and 'Kig; but we had nob long left bhab region before we were doubtful as to ' which was which.' Even now I am not quite sure that'Kig is the northerly lake and 'Wig the southerly, though Frank Rattray, one of our guides, bold me a queer story which mighb well have fixod the location of each- in my memory.

Frank is one of bhose long-legged, squareshouldered, slab-sided backwoodsmen who seem constructed, like bhe moose, for travelling in a region of swamps, boulders and much wind-fallen timber, over and through which he moves, again like the mooae, as if with the inherited experience of generations. His faco seemed abbot fifty years of age, and bis legs about twenty. He bad lived there all his life, as his father, grandfather and great-grand-father had done in their time.

Frank was, indeed, of the opinion bhab hie greatgrandfather's fabher had occasionally found his way into bhab wilderness while it was still nominally an appanage of the French crown, bub be had no aubbenbic reporb of bhab problematical ancestor.

Ib was in a laber time—probably during our Revolutionary War, cerbainly afber the Hudson's Bay Company had come southward and established trading posts on bho Obtawa River and on Georgian Bay—tbab his greab grandfather must have trapped about 'Kig and 'Wig.

'One time,' said Frank, after he had long silently overheard our Speculations abouS the similar names, 'my grandfather's daddy gob kind of mixed up, same aa yOu men are. I mind well bearing my grandfather tell aboub ib.

' Id them days the old man Was trappin' in round here with his partner—tho name of him was Jeremy Callback (Kaulbach, probably), or some such name. They were both from somewheres 'way south'—l guess maybe, from New York Province—and holy terrors on Injina bhey bobh was. My grandfather used bo tell how his old daddy would ba a-peekin' round for Injins when he couldn'b much more'n hobble. I guess likely he'd killed so many of 'em bhab they kind of ha'nted hia old age.

' Whab the Injina had done to hitn and old Jeremy I never heard bell rightly, bub they was all for Injin huntin', and thab's why they wouldn't jino nary side when the Yankees and the British was fighbin' in York State, or wherever ib was. Jeremy and Zekle—Zekle was my greabgrandfabher's name—wasn'b bhe kind for solderin'; they were too fond of their own ways. 1 guess ib wasn'b thab bhey were acareder of bullebs'n some that jined the army.

' Ic'a true my granddad used to tell thab Zekle and Jeremy would sometimes geb mad at tho king's crowd hirin' lnjihS atid fightin' on bhe same side with 'em. Bub then again they'd get mad at Gen'l Waabingbon'a crowd when they reklectcd theb thoy waa fightin' on the same Bide with a lob of French. ' French wasn't Injine— bub then, Injins wasn'b French, 1 Zekle'd say, and French was more interfertr.' with white trappers aornebimes.'

'Ib hurted Zekle and Jeremy's feelin's bad to ;think of reg'lar Christians all atangled up thab way with pagan Indians and jabberin' French, when the reg'lar Christians duty naturally was to've turned in and had real good old bimes wipin' oub French and Indiana bo's beaver could breed more in peace and couiforb like, and be ready for the only righb kind of trappers ab the righb seasons.

' Both on 'em lived like Injins, and dressed same's Injins, and foub Injina wherosomer they'd meeb 'em, and so bhey waa always ia vbhe mind bher' waa Injins lurkin' round for their scalpß. All the same, bhey was for trappin' in this horo Injin country, and by all accounts bhey done pretty well ab ib, for all they was always peekin' round for lajin sign. ' Well, as 1 waa aayin', bhey trapped all round about bins region one year, and I guoßs it muab 'a' been their winter furs they was wantin' to swap for ammunition and supplies. So, saya bhe old man, 'Jeremy,' says he, "a'posin* we trap righb round aboub Kahwaywaßwigamog and Kahweywaskigamogagin another winter.' ' " S'poain' we do,' says Jeremy. '" S'poain',' says old Zekle, only he couldn't'a' been old then, 's'poain' we set ib to meeb at tbe north end of RahwaywaSkigamog about the first day of October,'— or elao, he said, Kahwaywaawigamog. Anyhow, Jeremy says, 's'poain' wo do,'and so thoy agreed. They was separatin' you'll bear in tnind. •Jeremy, he was goin' south wibh bis fur bo the tradin' posb on Georgian Bay, tnaybe a hundred miles away, and Zekle he waa goin' north 'boub tho same length to the tradin' poab somewheree on the Grand River—as they used to call the Ottawa in bhem bimes. Likely bheir notion was they'd get bebbor brade for bbeir trappin' if bhey didn'b go together; or maybe bhey waa bhinkin' 'bout Injin-huntin'. Maybe bhey waa like two men goin' oub for to geb partridges—bhey knowed they'd geb more if bhey went separate ; and again, they'd have somothin' to toll one another in the fall. • I never hoerd cell whab they waa doia' all summer, bub whabever it was, my grandfather used to say ib couldn'b 'a' been agreeablo to the Injina. Finally, 'long 'boub the firsb of October, old Zekle he come along somowheres round here with his winter's supplies in hia canoe, and bo camps for maybe a couple of days ab the head of Kahway waskigamog, keepin' bis eye peeled for Injins aa ushul. • Bub ib wasn't Inji^fl bhat was troublin' his mind—ib was the nobion he'd come to bhe wrong lake. If ho was wrong, hod! have bo go back down to bhe out end, and paddle round by way of bho creeks 'boub bhirby miles, as you knowj and make three long portages of all bin stuff before he could get bo bhe head of Kahwaywaswijramog, if bhab was where Jeremy would be expecbin' him. ' " Whab was ib I did tell Jeremy?" says old Zekle to him»elf. ' I know I meaiib Knhway waskigamog, but* darn bhe names of 'em, ntnvbe I said Kahwnywapwigarhogj Darned if I don'b disremdrhber. Maybe he's a-waitin' over yonder for me ; far more likely the reds has raised his hair ab last; If they've killed my old pardner. Bub 'fore I say whab I'll do, I guess I'd better go 'Croat and see.'

. 'So be dps one morning and sets Ottb with nothing but bis rifle and powder-born add a few bullets, keepin' a good lookout for Injin sign, you may depend. ' Well, now, bhe cur'us thing was 'bout Jeremy—be'd got mixed with them names same as hia pardner. Jeremy he'd gob bo Kahwaywaawigamog all righb, and he'd waited a couple of days, ahd then he 'says' bo himaelf ■•. '"I'm dead sure," says Jeremy, "that .Zekle app'inbed to meeb me righb here, on'y maybe he didn't. Maybe ib waa Kahwaywaskigamog he said—scalp me if ib mustn't 'a' been 1 Or else I reckon they musb baVa gob Zekle's hair—it was overdoo—or else bo's a-waibin' for me over yonder about) nine mile. Bub I gueßs they've wiped him out; he's been gettin' keerlese and reckless stenst we come up here Where Injina is 86 easy. Ib'd '&' beon bebber for Zekle if he'd gone sojerin', thaybe, On'y! who's a-goin' bo be bossed and ordered round 1 I'll go 'crosti to Kahwaywaakigamog, ahybdw." ' So Jeremy he" sbarbS for 'Kig 'bout tbei same time Zekle starts for 'Wig, and ydh'tt understand the insides of 'em both was jueb burain' up with the notion bhab maybe the Injins had wiped oub his old pardner. And so I kind of see 'em Workih 1 through the woods, with each of 'em bis rifle ready, and both of 'em a-peekin' in hopes of catehin* first sight of some murderin' villain Of ft Injin, and addin' him to tbeir string. * Well, sir, the forenoon was gettiri*' along, and old man Zekle was movin* mighty cautious somewhere hear where he minded he'd lefb a Injin lying in bhe Spring, When up flies a raven a piece ahead of him, 'croab a little sort of natural clearin'. Zeklo he knoWed he ainb scared up bhab raven. So he knowed a Injin done it, add ho acrounehes down 'bout flab, hopin' tho raven wouldn't notico him. ' Accordin' tb Zekle's way of bhitikin,' bhe Tnjin Would be wabchin' bhe raven ; and if the raven see Zekle, ib'd rise higher Or go aside like's if ib was scared again, and bhen the Injin would know bhere was a gun lo'okin' for him. So Zekle Scrouehea down, hopin' bhe raves Wouldn't p'inb him. oub to the Injin, and then he'd have things all hia own way. ' Bub bhe raven flow righb sbraigbb to'rds the old man, and then rises up higher audi flies to one side ; so Zekle, he kind of folk hit scalp a-crinklin' t tor bhe Injin was warned, and bhere Was no tellin' which at 'etn,A be proud in the end. He'd teebobally forgob Jeremy—ib was all Injin and Zekle in the old man's mind. ' There Was a big boulder 'bout a rod Ift ' fronb of bhe old man; bed knowed ib from last year. Ib had v kind of corner gone dnjr of One up side, ahd bhe old man works along the ground ao's he'd get bhere and pedk ahead with all bis body purtected, hnd on'y hia eye and gun lookin' out. •So he got theie, and be raised up very Careful With his rifle jusb id the COrtier, and thab same instant he seen jusb a kind of glifcb beside a bree 'bout Seventy yards fe.croßb the libbla clearin', and Whang/ Atthat the old man leb fly—ahd whang / th& tfther bullet came. •lb apabbered onto bhe bouldet, And glanced agin the bar'l of the old man's gun, •and knocked ib clean oub of bis hand—and wasn't he rip-bearin' mad ? for He knowed 'bhe crack of Jeremy's rifle as well as Jeremy knowed bhe crack of bis 1 ' " Whab you been doin' to yerself !" yells the old man, very insulbin'. 'Seek 'shoobin':!" ' "Sbootin'!" yells Jeremy. " You missed clean. If I couldn't shoot betber'n that, I'd !go for a sojer." • "I'll chow fou if I can eboob!'"' yella the old man, madder'n a horneb, and loadin' again as fast as he could pelb ib in. ' " Bound bo murder me for my • traps, eh ?" screams Jeremy. " I'll teach you 1" and he rams his bullet down. « " Waylayin' your pardner !" yells Zekle. " You're worse than a redskin !" '"Yes, you'd V murdered me if you 'could bib a barn, doo,r!" shouts Jeremy. " Waylayin'! Wfco'a a waylayin' yOu?" '"Who's a waylayin'?" The old man was priming his lock. " Call this Kahwaywaskigamog ?" says he. ' " You 'pinted to meeb at Kahwaywaawigamog," says Jeremy., "I been waifain' for you thia three days." "' I didn'b—l 'pinted Kabwaywaskigainog." aays the old man, madder'n a wolverine.' .'*.'" Kahwaywaswigamofc i" yells Jeromy. 1 "Kahwaywaskigamog!" says Zekle. ' And jesb how bhem two did come to an undoretandin' I never heotd toll rightly,* observed Frank ; ' bub they did. On'y after thab thero was a kind of coolness betwixt 'om, and they didn't go partners another year, for the both on 'em hao. ]gob into a great conterhpb tot the dither feller's srioobin'.'