Posted by She Who Tracks La Longue Carabine on February 20, 2000 at 16:24:30:
In Reply to: Re: Bounty Notice Posted at Bumppo's Tavern posted by Hurry Harry on February 20, 2000 at 13:18:22:
: : Dang, if it isn't old Hurry Harry! Glad to see ye in this part of the colony! I see yer still of an inquirin' turn o' mind when it comes to the relative gifts o' the creaturs and the Christians - never did git that settled in yer mind, did ye, Hurry? Well, suppose ye jist come on over to the cabin, an' we'll do a little philosopherizin' on the gifts of a grey squirrel in a pot o' stew afore ye head out into the howlin' wilderness agin. Wouldn't be thinkin' o' goin' after some o' that bounty money, now would ye? What do ye hear o' the whereabouts of La Longue Carabine lately? Seems like I been trackin' that dude forever!
: : She Who Tracks La Longue Carabine
:
: Ms. She,
: Them that has more than a passing acquaintence with meself know that I seldom pass on the offer of a meal, and squirrel is fine enough for me. You from these parts? Have they been holding their own against the French and Mingos?
: You've asked me a pretty question about a man who is known by many names. Longue Carabine is what they call him up in the Canadas, though those who've known him well enough to call him friend might call him Hawkeye, or even Pathfinder. Before I answer, perhaps ye'd best relate the reason ye be lookin' for him whilst I'm busy with yer stew.
: H.H.
Okay, jest come on in and set yerself down on that log by the fire, Hurry. Nothin' like a bowl o' fresh squirrel stew and a jug of Bumppo's finest ale to warm ye on this wintery night.
Now, ye're askin' about why I'm lookin' for La Longue Carabine. True, I know he goes by a lot o' names - more names than some folks care to hear him reel off, in most cases. Got a string o' names, myself, and some of 'em not near so flatterin' as those bespeakin' his reputation - but that's another story. Have some ground red peppers with them chunks o' squirrel, Hurry? - helps to cover the rodent taste a bit. Like you, I knowed him by the name o' Natty long afore he collected all those fancy Delaware names, but don't too many folks call him by his real name anymore.
As to why I'm lookin' for him, I come across some information a couple o' years ago that's like to warm the cockles of his honest and upright heart. So I traded in my settlement skirts for a suit o' buckskins and a good huntin' shirt, sold my piano and bought me a good rifle and canoe, got some provisions from the Mohicaan Bountyess and set off from Kinderhook up the Hudson and the Mohawk to start trackin' him. Fill yer ale mug agin, Hurry? Goes down right smooth, doesn't it! By that time he had made himself famous in that hoohah up at Fort William Henry, but he was long gone from there by the time I got that far. Howsever, I knowed he was now called La Longue Carabine by the French and the Mingos, and then dropped the Bump and used Poe for a last name. Does seem like he's tryin' to avoid bein' found by changin' his name all the time, but I just gotta find him and tell him what I know. Have some more o' that stew - plenty left, and it don't hold over right well to a second day. I went out by the Glimmerglass in the company of The Old Crone last year and hung around a while, but no sign of him there either, although his old hut is still standin' by the lakeside. So I came back and settled down here in Mohicanland and thought I'd stay a while to see if I could pick up any rumors of where he might could be huntin'. Sorry, that's the last o' the ale, but I got a jug of spruce settin' back here behind the barrel o' cornmeal. That do ye? So what have ye heard of old Natty, Hurry? I'd be beholden to ye for any new trails I can set off on the find the younker.
She Who Tracks