<TITLE>03. Par 10-14</TITLE>L-10 But I was way up in northern New Hampshire, and I was fishing for those little brook trout in the native home of the white-tailed deer. And I was three days back in the mountains with a pack on my back, and I'd put me up a little tent, and had a stove in there where I could keep warm a little at night. It was early spring.
And so I'd been fishing up along the stream, a catching plenty of fish. And I... That morning when I left early, befo--way before sunup, I took my fly line and went up. And I took a hatchet so I could cut some of (a little hand axe), so I could cut some of the willows away. I couldn't... A big hole down there where I knowed some big trout was laying, and I couldn't whip that fly into it just right.

L-11 So I'd caught a nice mess of fish, enough for breakfast, and I was on the road back, and--and I heard a noise. I--I looked around the little bushes I was coming around, and my little tent was torn all the way to the ground, a little pup tent. And there were... An old she bear, an old sow, and two cubs had got in there. And they had rim-wrecked that tent till it was just torn to pieces. It isn't what they eat; it's what they destroy. And I had an old stove pipe in there, and the old mother bear would just hit that to hear it rattle, you know, just... And I noticed they'd just tore up everything.

L-12 And she heard me when I come around the corner; the ground had a little frost in it yet. And she looked up, and she cooed to her cubs, and she run off. Well, one little cub took off with her, just little fellow, you know, just a little bitty guy, cute. And so he run off. And she... Because the other cub didn't come, why, she kindy stopped, and she went to calling to that cub, cooing to it, kinda sounded like a bird making a noise. And she... And this other little cub set. He had his back to me all humped up like that. And he was doing something; I thought, "Well, he must have found something; he's tearing into it." So she cooed again and act like she was coming back towards me.

L-13 Now, you know, you go to fooling around their cubs and sometimes they'll scratch you. So I had a hand axe in my hand, an old rusty pistol laying in the tent, but it was tore up. And they... I didn't want to kill the old mother; it would leave two orphans in the woods. And I didn't never want to be guilty of that. Well, I looked for a tree to see how I could get up that tree right quick, you know, if she come.
So I thought, "I'm going to see what's the matter with that little fellow." And he was just so interested, doing something; and he had his back to me so I couldn't see him. I kept my eye on her, 'cause she kept cooing. So I walked around sideways till I got to where I could see the little fellow. He had my bucket of molasses open. And so I...

L-14 I love pancakes. I know I got a lot of brethren and sisters out there that love them too. And I--I had me a bucket of molasses, and... You know, I don't believe in sprinkling; I baptize them. I'm a Baptist. I really pour it on, a plenty of molasses, you know.
And this little fellow had opened up that bucket. They love something sweet anyhow. He had his little paw in it. And he'd sock his little foot down like that, and lick like that as he brought his paw up just over his face. And he'd sopped that bucket out as clean as it could be. He was molasses from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. And I hollered, "Get out of there!" like that. And he turned around and looked at me, and the molasses was in his eyes; he couldn't see. That was one of the cutest sights I ever seen--no camera, of course, at that time.


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