Baptiste - 'Tales from Cabin 14'

"Baptist is an Ojibwa and in some respects you could probably describe him as an "old time" Indian. Not the stereotypical "old time" Indian that Hollywood usually portrayed as wearing elaborate costumes and chasing down buffalo or swooping down on unsuspecting wagon trains, but a quiet, generous and thoughtful man who hunted, trapped and fished for a living. He had an ever-present smile and a calm, unflappable manner. As for his elaborate costumes, Baptiste could usually be seen wearing a T-shirt or flannel work shirt, a baggy old pair of jeans and a rather large pair of work boots with as many holes as there was boot.

Baptiste was one of the last of what I would call a "real" fishing guide. Not someone who does it for a few summers so they can pick up a some money for school or whatever, but a man who had lived his entire life on the land, with the result that guiding simply became an extension of who he was and how he lived…"

• 5 pages
• pdf format
• file size 6.17 MB