Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/454

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106
Journal of American Folk-Lore.

One I - saac Or - cutt was his name, Who late - ly in - to Westfield came

To cut some tim - ber for a sled; The snow was deep, he had to wade.

One Isaac Orcutt was his name,
Who lately into Westfield came,
To cut some timber for a sled,
The snow was deep, he had to wade

Some forty rods to an ash tree.
The top was dry as you may see
He cut the tree off from the stump
The top was dry threw back a chunk

Which flew and struck him in the head
And stunned him though he was not dead
There the poor senseless creature lay
All the remainder of that day

No search was made by any one
Until the setting of the sun
When Mr. Manly and his son
Alarmed set out upon the run

They soon beheld him with surprize
And gazed on him with stedfast eyes
The blood had issued from the wound
And thawed a passage to the ground

They took him up and bore him home
Put him to bed in a warm room
They washed his limbs and dressed his wounds
And tried to force some medsin down

All useful remedies was tried
Yet in the evening he died

The word "evening" is pronounced as a trisyllable. The verses are sung with a doleful drawl.

The words offer a curious correspondence to those relating to Beckwith. In the latter song we also read of a dry "chunk" or piece of wood, which by falling caused the death of a woodcutter.