GOSSIP and COMMENTS by Ralph Bice1974
On the front page of the Toronto Star was a news item concerning the death of a trapper who left money to the extent of $180,000.00, to a school near the area where he had been born. It does seem odd that a man who had trapped ever since the first world war could have gathered so much cash, but it is very nice that he should remember where he had spent his early years.
I knew this man very well. When my brother and I were trapping above Sault St. Marie in 1919, we trapped close to this man. Also we saw him a number of times the following year. And the year after that I was buying fur, I spent many nights at his camp. He had been decorated, I believe, in the war, and at times liked to talk about close calls that he had. He was a fine talker, and his stories were always interesting. I believe he was the only woodsman who used sourdough for baking. And when he got a moose he made most of the meat into pemmican. Good, too.
Then he always had an old stove lid instead of a frying pan for making his quick biscuits. Like a lot of others who lived all the time in the woods he was well skilled in making moonshine. He once promised me a real bit of excitement the next time I was going to stay overnight at his camp. He had a quantity of old potatoes from a keep over lumber camp nearby, and he made a mess of mash to feed a bear. Ever see a bear that was inebriated? So much so he could not get over a log? But he had no thought of killing the bear, only wanted to see him drunk.
I could not understand how he got so much money. Last time I was near him he was getting a pension and complained that it was not large enough for a man to save anything for his old age. He was 94 when he died.
Had a train ride and passed through Biscotasing once the hometown of Archibald Belaney, more widely known as Grey Owl. Saw the small church sitting on the side hill, and got to wondering if that was the same church, or at least the bell, that this now famous man used for target practice (while church was in) the times he was on the outs with the Minister (which was often.)
Another place was Metagama. This is where Mike Bates lived when he was active with N.O.T.O. He had some camps there as a sideline, but for years when there was a lot of activity he was the station agent. He is the man who worked so hard to have bears declared a game animal, and also responsible for a bear season in the spring.
I was really on my way to have a talk with Gilbert Clement, the man who started the O.T.A. Lots of us thought about it but this man had the courage to start it. Thirty years ago there were many fur buyers all wanting to buy furs from trappers. Some were independent buyers, some worked with larger companies, but all had the same purpose, making a profit from the pelts they bought from the trappers. Besides the Hudson Bay Company, who still handle a lot of fur, there are only two fur buyers still active, and they market their furs mostly though the sales at North Bay. The dreams of a few dedicated men have resulted in trappers in Ontario receiving the highest market prices for their catch. Then there are the few who worked for ten years to sell the idea of trapping zones, now about the best system in North America.
AT BISCOTASING
There are a lot of people who have never heard of the little hamlet of Biscotasing. Years ago it was well known as a saw mill centre and for many years there were large quantities of pine logs cut into lumber. But the mill is gone as well as the pine. Only a few people still live there, some retired. By the size of the churches they must have had quite a few people who worshipped there. One church still looks well kept, the other sort of run down.
The first time I heard of this place was when I was a very small boy. My grandfather had taken the notion he wanted to trap there and he spent part of a winter not too far from the railroad. I remember him telling us of his visits with the Indians and their surprise at him being able to kill large animals with only a 32 caliber rifle. The Indians had only single barrel shotguns. Mostly I recall that he told us (I mean a group of interested grandsons) that there were no deer and few moose. The only such animals he saw were caribou and he had killed one or two with this small bore rifle. Another incident I remember was when he told us of killing two otter with one shot.
Then my brother was deputy chief fire ranger there for several years and I learned a lot about the lakes and woods there. Too, one of his fire rangers was Archie Belaney, better known as Grey Owl. I saw some paintings done by a local Indian boy and while I cannot by any way be called an art critic these were very lifelike. Best one was a charcoal sketch of Archie Belaney, done before he was to become famous as Grey Owl. The sketch is well done and anyone who ever saw a picture of Grey Owl would say it really looked like the now famous man. Also given some literature about canoe tripping and camping in the part of the province made famous by Grey Owl. I had to sort of chuckle to look at the well kept Anglican Church and wondered how the congregation felt when Archie was shooting at the bell during church service. Then the man who has kept store there for many years told me his most vivid recollection of this man was the morning he came in just as the store opened, produced a sharp knife and demanded money. The appearance of an early customer may have prevented trouble.