:LIMBERLOSTTALES A SUMMER WITH UNCLE JOE Compiled and Edited By: Gareth Cockwell :LIMBERLOSTTALES A SUMMER WITH UNCLE JOE Compiled and Edited By: Gareth Cockwell Limberlost Tales: A Summer With Uncle Joe Compiled and edited by Gareth Cockwell as a Working Draft Copyright 2012 © Limberlost Forest & Wildlife Reserve All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro- duced or transmitted in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including taping or information or retrieval systems – without the prior written permission of Limberlost Press. Other Limberlost Forest & Wildlife Reserve Titles: Limberlost History and Popular Activities Objective Ecology: A Study of Global Warming The Forests of Canada The Summer of Ninety-Eight Uncle Joe’s Nature Chronicles Back to The Beginning Limberlost Master Trail Guide A Personal Guide to Building Wilderness Trails Please submit comments and corrections to: Gareth Cockwell, Project Manager Limberlost Forest & Wildlife Reserve Buck Lake Landing Road, Box 5483 Huntsville, Ontario P1H 2K8 For more information about Limberlost Forest & Wildlife Reserve and for electronic versions of this book, please visit http://www.limberlostforest.com For printed copies, please visit http://bookpod.uoftbookstore This book is dedicated to our Grandmother Daphne, for encouraging us at an early age to record our experiences in the Canadian wilderness, and for sharing with us each year the many forms of life, which flow from the great oceans that meet in front of her seaside home. TableofContents Page Foreword ....................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 The Conundrum .......................................... 3 Chapter 2 A Spring Surprise ....................................... 11 Chapter 3 The Message ............................................... 19 Chapter 4 The Response ............................................. 27 Chapter 5 Discovering Joe MacTeer ........................... 37 Chapter 6 The First Meeting ....................................... 45 Chapter 7 Nature and Life........................................... 55 Chapter 8 Whispering Pines ........................................ 61 Chapter 9 Beaver Tales ............................................... 69 Chapter 10 Living Wetlands ......................................... 79 Chapter 11 Ollie The Owl ............................................. 87 Chapter 12 Poacher Pursuits ......................................... 95 Chapter 13 Wilderness Traps ........................................ 103 Chapter 14 Trail Blazing ............................................... 117 Chapter 15 Forest Conservation .................................... 131 Chapter 16 Deciduous Wonders.................................... 143 Chapter 17 Coniferous Green ....................................... 155 Chapter 18 Timber Wolves ........................................... 165 Chapter 19 Animals at Large ........................................ 177 Chapter 20 Black Bears ................................................ 187 Chapter 21 Thanks Giving ............................................ 197 Chapter 22 Leadership Traits ........................................ 209 Chapter 23 Return to Echo Rock .................................. 219 Foreword This is the second in a series of four nature books set in the Limberlost Forest, which lies next to the world famous Algonquin Provincial Park. The first book was written to interest children between their sixth to tenth years, the second for those who are ten to fifteen years of age, and the third for individuals with a deeper interest in the wonder of nature. The fourth book is an historical novel, as it steps back 150-years in time to record the arrival of immigrants from Europe to settle the lands, which today comprise the Limberlost Forest & Wildlife Reserve. This book traces the experiences of three youths – Teda, Colmac and Thegar – and the lessons they learnt about the wonders of the wilderness from an experienced woodsman while they were growing up in a northern forest with pristine lakes and an abundance of wildlife. A Summer with Uncle Joe | 1 Foreword They came to know their tutor affectionately as Uncle Joe; building an endearing friendship and a deep commit- ment to share their knowledge with others with similar interests in the northern wilderness. Each chapter chronicles a journey to a different area of the reserve to study nature under Uncle Joe’s patient tutelage. Along the way they learn many valuable lessons which help to shape their lives. With each chapter telling its own story, visitors to the reserve can select specific areas to explore, and relive the adventures Teda, Colmac and Thegar experienced with Uncle Joe. Nature books such as this one have helped to establish the Limberlost Forest as one of Canada’s most interesting and accessible wildlife reserves. In addition, trail maps highlighting the reserve’s many unique features guide visi- tors in their exploration of the reserve’s extensive summer hiking and winter ski trails. Other Limberlost publications record the history of the area through words and photographs from the arrival of the early settlers, through to the establishment of the Limberlost Lodge as one of Ontario’s pre-eminent year- round wilderness resorts almost 100-years ago. Hikers, photographers, artists, bird watchers, students and members of the general public are encouraged to visit the reserve and enjoy the adventures described in this book. 2 | Chapter 1 TheConundrum True to their word and the solemn pact Colmac and Thegar made in the summer of 1998, they kept the secret of the Pirate-Trapper’s cave to themselves, only broaching it on weekends when they were working alone building trails on the Limberlost Forest & Wildlife Reserve. They had agreed to re-enter the cave and take greater stock of its contents after the snow had melted and they could approach the cave without leaving evidence of their visit. However, when spring arrived, and with so much to do, it seemed easier to leave the cave and its contents undis- turbed, and keep their secret to themselves. Their greatest fear was that if they told anyone else about the contents of the cave, it would expose the wilder- ness reserve to visits from government officials, university professors, and even worse, have it inundated by a motley crew of claim jumpers seeking a piece of the pirate hoard. A Summer with Uncle Joe | 3 Chapter1 Colmac had made a point of reading everything he could lay his hands on about pirates in the early to late- 1800s. He discovered that to avoid prosecution, a number of pirates accepted commissions from the English govern- ment to hunt down and destroy their former brethren who continued to plunder the Caribbean trade routes. In return, they themselves were pardoned and escaped being taken back to London and in all likelihood hung. Furthermore, the pardoned pirates were permitted to retain a portion of any treasure they captured as a bounty for their efforts. Any pirate ships captured in battle were to be sunk, or if in good order, handed over to the English navy. It was not always as simple as that. The pardoned pirates seldom gave the crown a proper count and naval officers would use this as an excuse to dispute the authen- ticity of a pirate’s written commission, shoot or hang them on the spot and claim a victory for themselves. And even if the pardoned pirates survived this treach- ery, there was always the danger of their enemies or even old colleagues finding them in their retirement in order to even an earlier score, or to take back all or part of the trea- sure that they felt was rightfully theirs. From his reading, Colmac quickly came to the con- clusion that it was no wonder that old pirates did their best to disappear, seeking hide-outs that were a considerable distance from the preying eyes of town’s people. The less people knew about them and the more inhospitable the area 4 | The Conundrum they chose to hide, the less likely old enemies would come venturing back into their lives. This version of history accorded well with the myths that floated around the Town of Huntsville in northern Ontario about a trapper, who periodically traded furs as well as gold coins for supplies. He would then promptly disappear without a trace, sometimes for a year or more. He was reputed to be a par- doned pirate, but no one had been able to prove this and all attempts to gather information on him and track him through the northern forests had failed. Colmac’s research also extended to modern-day trea- sure hunters, which only served to heighten his concerns. Recently he had become aware of an individual, who after many years of searching, located a sunken ship off the east coast of Florida laden with gold coins. The ship had set out during the American civil war from France for North America to make delivery of the coins to the confederate army in order to enable them to secure supplies and pay their soldiers. After the treasure hunter had invested a significant amount of money in his search for the sunken ship, a num- ber of American states, the federal government and even the heirs of some of the dead soldiers laid claim to the treasure. The treasure hunter had played it strictly by the book, having tracked down the insurance company who held title A Summer with Uncle Joe | 5 Chapter1 to the vessel and its contents, and purchased its claim. Even this did not prevent lawsuits being launched and millions of dollars having to be spent