The Cursed Patois: From "Mackinac And Lake Stories", 1899

In Short

Set on the remote shores of Brevoort Lake near Mackinac, this 1899 local-color novella follows two wilderness guides—a clever Irish-Canadian named Brown and his docile German partner, Frank Puttany—who reluctantly open their hunting camp to Françoise La France, a young French-Indian widow, and her toddler son, Gougou. What begins as a begrudging act of charity quickly softens into a vibrant, shared domesticity. Catherwood’s tale has endured for its rich atmospheric detail, tender humor, and authentic portrayal of Upper Peninsula wilderness life and cultural collision.

The Story

The narrative opens at a secluded camp on Brevoort Lake, where camp cook and woodsman Brown returns from fishing to find his German partner, Frank Puttany, hosting unexpected guests: Françoise La France and her four-year-old son, Gougou. Recently widowed and evicted from her temporary lodgings, Françoise has nowhere else to go. Though Brown initially fumes at Puttany for bringing "cursed patois"—mixed French and Native American locals—into their camp and threatening their reputation with hotel clients, his gruff exterior quickly melts. Seeing Françoise’s innocence and total lack of resources, Brown takes charge with protective warmth.

The men reorganize their camp, giving the sleeping tent to the mother and child while they bunk in the cook-tent. The woodsmen immediately begin building Françoise a small, comfortable log cabin of her own with a puncheon floor and a glazed window. Over the summer, the camp settles into an idyllic routine. Brown prepares gourmet meals, guides tourists, and dotes on Gougou, teaching him woods lore alongside giant turtles, bloodhounds, and a semi-tamed fawn. Meanwhile, Françoise quietly mends their clothes and keeps her cabin in military order, viewing Brown not merely with gratitude, but with profound, reverent devotion.

As autumn approaches and frost colors the forest, Brown and Puttany return from an evening on the lake to a silent camp. Françoise and Gougou are gone, their belongings vanished. Devastated and furious, Brown realizes how deeply he has fallen in love with her. Turning on Puttany and suspecting foul play or a resurrected husband, Brown unleashes his bloodhound, Jim, to trace her scent through the night toward the railroad village of Allanville.

Following the hound to a log cabin near the tracks, Brown finds Françoise weeping and clutching her bundle. She explains that her late husband's brother discovered her living at the camp and declared that the local priest would excommunicate her for staying unmarried with two men. Intimidated, she allowed him to take her and Gougou toward the train, though the child fought and her own heart was breaking. Relieved and resolute, Brown instantly proposes marriage. Françoise tearfully confesses her love, and the two embrace in the moonlight, united beyond the reach of gossip or rigid tradition.

How It Unfolds

The unwanted visitors Brown returns to his Brevoort Lake campsite to find his partner Puttany sheltering a destitute widow, Françoise, and her messy young child. Though Brown worries about their reputation as wilderness guides, he cannot bring himself to turn the helpless family away.

Building a home The partners adapt their camp layout, giving up their best sleeping quarters and constructing a private log cabin directly across the clearing for Françoise. The woodsmen stock up on calico and supplies, establishing a protective, comfortable haven for the young mother and her boy.

Life in the summer camp A idyllic wilderness routine settles over the shores as Gougou plays with the camp's hound dogs, a tame fawn, and a giant snapping turtle named Methuselah. Françoise quietly sews for the household while Brown cooks, drills, and instructs the boy in forest survival and bear stories.

The sudden departure Returning home at sunset in early September, the men find the camp empty, cold, and stripped of all the widow's belongings. Panic and grief strike Brown, who realizes his deep affection for Françoise and immediately sets his bloodhound to track her trail into the night.

Reunion at Allanville The hound leads Brown to a nearby railroad settlement where Françoise is waiting for a train under her brother-in-law's supervision. After learning she was coerced into leaving over fears of church excommunication, Brown proposes on the spot, and Françoise joyfully accepts.

The People

• Brown ("Prowny"): A bright, blue-eyed Canadian Irishman and the pragmatic mastermind of the camp. Capable, hardworking, and fiercely independent, he initially resists taking in dependents out of fear for his business, yet his hidden warmth leads him to fall deeply in love with Françoise.
• Frank Puttany: Brown's soft-spoken, docile German guiding partner. Simple, modest, and easily swayed by pity, he brings his deceased former partner's family to camp out of pure helplessness, remaining a gentle caretaker and playmate to young Gougou throughout.
• Françoise La France: A young, beautiful quarter-breed widow of French and Native American heritage. Raised in harsh wilderness conditions, she is gentle, devout, and endlessly grateful, harboring a quiet, reverent adoration for Brown that grows into passionate devotion.
• Grégoire ("Gougou"): Françoise’s energetic, four-year-old son. A sturdy child of the woods, he thrives under the care of the two outfitters, spending his days fishing, tracking animals, and exploring the shoreline.

In Its Own Voice

“Puttany, you fool! what have you brought these cursed patois into camp for?”

Brown explodes in sudden frustration when he first discovers that his partner has brought a penniless French-Indian widow and her young son to stay at their professional hunting camp.

“Gougou will never be cold and hungry again while there's a stick of wood to be cut on the shores of this lake, or any game to bag, or a 'lunge to spear through the ice.”

Reassuring the anxious young mother, Brown pledges his complete protection and practical woodsman skills to ensure the child will always be provided for.

“Françoise, will you have me for your husband?”

Following his bloodhound through the moonlight to intercept her before she is taken away, Brown discards all hesitation and offers her his heart and a permanent life together.

What It's Really About

Beneath its romantic plot, the story explores the clash between rigid societal conventions and the organic, compassionate communities formed in the wilderness. The central tension pits formal morality—represented by the brother-in-law's threats of religious excommunication—against the practical, generous ethics of the backcountry. Catherwood contrasts Brown's self-proclaimed "silver rule" of cynical self-preservation with his instinctive, unselfish care for the helpless. The story asks whether true morality stems from societal rules and church decrees or from practical human kindness, showing how shared hardship and wilderness survival can erode racial and linguistic prejudices, transforming reluctant strangers into a fiercely devoted family.

Why Read It Today

This work offers an authentic, beautifully preserved glimpse into late nineteenth-century Upper Michigan life, capturing a regional landscape where logging camps, native traditions, and resort tourism overlapped. Catherwood writes with sensory vividness, painting the gray mists of Brevoort Lake, the smell of simmering coffee, and the quiet dignity of backwoods survival. Readers who appreciate historical local-color fiction will enjoy the detailed depiction of camp life, outdoor lore, and regional atmosphere.

The story does present minor challenges for modern readers, primarily through its heavy use of rendered dialect—including German, French-Canadian, and frontier speech patterns—and occasional period assumptions regarding race and social class. However, these elements reflect the historic melting pot of the Great Lakes frontier rather than malice. The novella's brisk pacing, gentle humor, and deep emotional sincerity make it a brief, rewarding read that lingers like the cool autumn air of the Michigan woods.