Written by Greg Tuttle
Edmund Ware Smith’s fourth book, “The One-Eyed Poacher of Privilege”, was the 3rd book published by the Derrydale Press and like his last one, contains some great short stories and some of his best One-Eyed Poacher stories. It starts out with a very nice dedication to Pop and Kate Thornton. They are without a doubt the model for Zack and Sarah Bourne. The Thorntons were the caretakers of Henry Dennison’s camp on Dobsis. Mr. Dennison was Smith’s father in law. Smith’s admiration of them is evident in the forward of this book.
Diary of Death – The first story in this collection opens up with Mr. Usher in his home in Boston eagerly reading the camp diary. Things start out fine. Sarah keeps the diary because of Zack’s obvious disdain for anything that doesn’t involve an axe or rifle. The entries start out fine with observations of nature, etc. Then Sarah writes she has to go to Bangor to visit a sister, who is very sick. Well, things go downhill fast. It seems that Jeff Coongate had taken over writing in the diary. Mr. Usher thought that Zack was tending to it and he can’t believe what he reads. The entries are shocking so he finds it necessary to pay Zack a visit. And the only one who thinks it funny is Jeff Coongate.
The One-Eyed Poacher Conquers Holiness – This is the funniest One-Eyed Poacher tale, and also my favorite. Jeff Coongate has found religion. He has sworn off meat, alcohol and blasphemy. Zack doesn’t quite believe it at first but goes along with it. The intrepid game warden doesn’t believe it at all and has a plan to see if they are truly reformed. When Jeff Coongate finds out about this plan his backsliding is instantaneous and hilarious.
Breath in the Afternoon – Zack is attending a family reunion against his will, but hearing that there would be a keg of whiskey there, he decides to make to best of it. Unfortunately Jeff Coongate has heard the same thing so he shows up, much to Sarah’s disdain. Well the obvious happens and they both drink themselves into oblivion. Mr. Usher is making an unexpected visit for some fishing and he needs them as guides. Jeff Coongate has a new cure for hangovers, but will they get to take it before Mr. Usher gets there? A person can almost feel their pain.
Angler Beware! – Bill Crane is a fisherman. He and his wife Sue have a son, Jud, who is a fisherman. Bill has a friend named George who lives for fishing. Bill Crane has written a book about fishing, invented a fly, etc. Fishing is everything to them. Sue happily tolerates it and is usually on the bank of the river reading a book. It seems that Jud just liked fishing to please his dad. This story has a great, unexpected ending.
Two Eyes That Shone as One – Jeff Coongate thinks his mind is going. It seems he missed a deer, deliberately. The deer is a sort of kindred spirit to Jeff because it only has one eye. Zack knows about the deer and wants to shoot it. Uncle Jeff must figure out a way to let the deer live, but not give himself away.
The Warden, the Rum, and the Preacher – You can tell by the title that this tale is going to be a good one. Jeff and Zack rescue a drowning game warden and bring him back to the cabin where there is a visiting preacher and a moose they shot hanging in the woodshed. Sarah is trying to pass it off as beef, the warden is not fooled. The warden finds their rum, and drinks too much. The preacher is not amused, but Jeff and Zack are.
A Brook-Bank Philosophy – This is an interesting essay that tries to answer the age old question “Why do men go fishing?” Smith tells of his introduction to fishing as a child, catching sunfish. It is a fun piece to read and shows Smith’s insight into this sport.
Grand Opening Night – This is another story with Digsy Jones. They have been dreaming about going camping to faraway places, but end up not too far from home.
Ordeal At the Mopang Fair – Jeff and Zack want to go to the Mopang fair. Once they are in, they head directly for the beer tent. Things go downhill from there, until they are in the right place at the right time.
Round trip to Paradise – Uncle Jeff and Zack take a trip into the backcountry to trap bobcat. It ends up being a miserable trip, but they make the best of it with their imaginations, and some of their fantasy comes true.
The One-Eyed Poacher of Privilege is another excellent book by Edmund Ware Smith. Most of the stories in this book and his two previous, appeared in magazines like Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Saturday Evening Post, sometimes with different titles. It is interesting to see the illustrations that went along with them. This book, published in 1941 in an edition of 750 with the illustrations of A. Lassell Ripley is a great volume of stories. Copies can be very difficult to find at a low price. There was also a reprint done in 1991.
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