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Oak Openings by James Fenimore Cooper
page 12 of 582 (02%)
who found their way into that trackless region, firstly on Gershom
himself, and secondly on his residence. These names were obtained
from the intensity of their respective characters, in favor of the
beverage named. L'eau de mort was the place termed by the voyagers,
in a sort of pleasant travesty on the eau de vie of their distant,
but still well-remembered manufactures on the banks of the Garonne.
Ben Boden, however, paid but little attention to the drawling
remarks of Gershom Waring. This was not the first time he had heard
of "Whiskey Centre," though the first time he had ever seen the man
himself. His attention was on his own trade, or present occupation;
and when it wandered at all, it was principally bestowed on the
Indians; more especially on the runner. Of Elk's foot, or Elksfoot,
as we prefer to spell it, he had some knowledge by means of rumor;
and the little he knew rendered him somewhat more indifferent to his
proceedings than he felt toward those of the Pigeonswing. Of this
young redskin he had never heard; and, while he managed to suppress
all exhibition of the feeling, a lively curiosity to learn the
Chippewa's business was uppermost in his mind. As for Gershom, he
had taken HIS measure at a glance, and had instantly set him down to
be, what in truth he was, a wandering, drinking, reckless
adventurer, who had a multitude of vices and bad qualities, mixed up
with a few that, if not absolutely redeeming, served to diminish the
disgust in which he might otherwise have been held by all decent
people. In the meanwhile, the bee-hunting, in which all the
spectators took so much interest, went on. As this is a process with
which most of our readers are probably unacquainted, it may be
necessary to explain the modus operandi, as well as the appliances
used.

The tools of Ben Buzz, as Gershom had termed these implements of his
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