Document text
ORIGINAL MSS. OR FIELD NOTES (Check one)
PUB. Living Lore in New En4land
(Maine)
TITLE Alphonse Martin, French Canadian
WRITER Robert Grady
DATE IDS. PP. 3
CHECKER DATE
SOURCES GIVEN Interview
COMMENTS
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THE LIFE OF ALPHONSE MARTIN, FRENCH CANADIAN, WOODSMAN
(As told by Himself to Robert F. Grady)
"Yes sair, I work on de boom mebbe tree or five summer. Gene Mann was de
boss dere. When I go up dere for job Gene say to me, 'Can you stant on de log,
frienl?' 'Yes sair,' I tole him, 'if she's tie on loot' hends.' Gene laf at
dat an' he say, 'Hokay, my frien', I guess we can use you. Go down on de stream
where de watair ain't so deep, ant tell Tobey dat's his boy I sent you dere.'
I go down dere ant Tobey he outs me on de las' joint of de first beat, an' he
say, 'You go on dere. Dose hemlock doan run so fast today. Doan ya., raft any-
ting but de diamond rabbit track.' Tobey he show me hOw to raft de log, an'
bimeby I can do him just as well as hanybody heise. You grab delog wit' de
pickpole an' pull him over, an' den you wind de rope arount de toe an' pull him
tight. Den you put on de wedge an' drive him in wit' de mallet. If dat rope
ain't tight enough you wind him arounl de mallet an' pull on dat ant dat make
de rope tighter. Dose log, you honderstan",haf to be raf' tight. If dey ain't
de log she's turn over an you can't see de mark. One day I was set on de bank
for smoke de pipe when de hemlock doan run so fas' an Jo Cote he was de cheoker
on dat beat he holler, 'Hey Alphonse, sleep on de night time. Come out here
an' catch dese log. What you expec' for me to go over an raft dose hemlock for
you.' He was make joke, you honderstan; I tell yo- dough, mister man, when Jo
Cote get mad you better look out. Dat man he's fight on de ring sometime an'
he's know whit she's all about.
"One Sunday night dere was a felliw came up from Holetown an' he's fell
pretty good. 'I can lick any son of a b--- in Pea Cove,' he say, 'Yoweel' JO
Cote was light a cigarette an' he's look over at dat fellow an' he say, 'You doan
take in much territory dere, my frienl. Why doan you make dat Penobscot Countee?'
Dat fellow he doan like dat because heverybody laf, an' he go over to Jo Cote an'
he say, 'Hokay, smart guy, I can lick anybody in dese part. How you like date
apple, hey?' He make a big swipe at Jo Cote, but Jo he see dat punch came a
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Living Lire
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long ways away ant he just tap dat fellow wit' a hoppercut an' dey haf to
wake him for breakfast de next morning.
"Jo Cote was great man for joke. One tine when it wa his turn for soak,
he holler to me he say, 'Came on, Alphonse. Can you walk de shore log? Leave
dat piokpole dare an' dose hemlock will raft demselves. Come wit ma an' we'll
get dose stays.' 'Why doan you keep your heyes hopen?' I say, 'an' doan let
doese log float pas'. Sleep wit' your hans outside de blanket.' 'Doan worry
about Jo Cote, my frient, he say. 'MA's not de troubt. De rafters are dead
fro de hears up. Dey doan catch de log when I shove him over.'
"We start back wit' dat stray raft and Jo holler say, 'Come on dare,
Alphonse. Bend dat back. We ain't get all day for get dose stray back.'
was make some more pull on de towline ant Jo he kick de wedge out dat hole dat
on de stray raft ant Alphonse Martin he go into de wataire up to his ankle
wit de head down. Jo laf at dat, but nobody get mad on de boom because his
clothes get wet, for dey dry in de sun in one half hawer. I try to put Jo in
de wataire after dat, but no sear, I can't do it. He gets mos' of de log pushed
out of dat stray raft an' de log is pretty loose, an' when Jo is stall' on de
log which has de towline wit' his back turn, I give dat line a sharp pull, but
cU,t doan bother Jo. He just jomp to some odor log. 'Alphonse,' he say, 'when
you can put Jo Cote in de wataire you will be much older dan yo- are at present.'
I tole you, mister man, it's pretty hard to put Jo Cote in de wataire. Gene
Mann can't do dat.
"Somting I nevaire could learn was ride de log. One time I see de big
one come by de joint. Dat log she's a foot an' a half on de butt. I Jomp on
top of dat lcg but she's curved one, you honders,an, out I can't see dat because
she's ride law in de wataire. Dat log she's turn over very fast, an' when dose
big log roll she's hard to stop. Jo Cote he pull me out of de wataire an' he
say, 'Alphonse, you better stay on your raft. Den if you fall over you doan get
wet.'
IND
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"Dere was a fellow dere dat didn't have moch hair on his head, an' one
night when we was play poker, some one say, lOnzime, de barbair shave you
pretty close in de wrong place, ain't it?' Onzime he say, 'My frient, did
you kn w dat was a sign of hintelligence?' 'If dat's de case,' de fell -w
say, tdey ought to put you on de supreme court.'
"We doan wear moch clothes on de boom in de sommertime. Jest de shirt,
de pants, ant de calk shoe. We doan stop for de rain dere onless she's pretty
heavy shower. Dey wear de gre ser an' de slicker Ait dat keep de rain off.
"Lots of de rafters can ride de log, but dey doan haf to. De checkers,
dough, has got to be able for ride dose log. He's stan' on de jigger when he
work, but if de log come pretty fast he' got to get out dere and work wit' bott
feet and de pickpole besides. I nevaire want dat job, Dose checkers get
twice as much as de rafters, but day earn him.
"Dat boom she's not run now for twenty year. De long stuff she's gone
from di s states for some time."