Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-04-24
AT BO0TJACK CAMP.
RIlI Nye Unfolas his store of Sad TX
perience in the Lum Der TX e2ions.
Denver Opinion.


Denver Opinion.
put up at Bootjack Camp. on the
raging Willow River, where the CAV
plumaged chipmunk and the spruce
gum have their home.
Winter in the pine woods is flaught
with fun and frolic. 1t is more
fraught with fatigue than funds, how
ever. This winter a man in Michigan
and Wisconsin lumber camps could
arise at Al A. NJ, eat patent pailful
of dried apples soaked with young
Hyson and swcetened with Persian
glucose, go out to the timber with
lantern, hew down the giants of the
forest, with the SNOW up to the pit of
his stomach, till the gray owl in the
gathering gloom whooped and hoo.ed
in derision, and all for $12 per month
and stewed prunes. | did not try to
accumulate wealth while / was in
camp. | Just allowed others to enter
into the mad rush and wrench a for
tune from the hand of fate w. lie
studied human nature and the cook.
/ had a good many pleasant DAYS
there, too read such literary
works as l could find around the
camp, and smoped the royal Havana
smoking tobacco Of the cookie. Those
who have not numbered much do not
know much of true joy and sylvan
smoking tobacco.
They are not using a very good
grade of the weed in the lumber
regions this winter. When | saw
lumber regions l do not refer entirely
to the circumstances of weak back.
(MoBkey wrench, oil can, and screw
driver sent with this joke; also rules
70. wor king it in all kinds of goods
The tobacco used by the pine choppers
of the northern forest is called the
Scandinavian. | do not know why
they call it that, unless it is because
you can smoke it in Wisconsin and
smell 1t in Scandihoovia.
When night came we would gather
around the blazing fire and talk over
old times and smoke this tobacco.
smoked it till last week, then | bought
a new mouth and resolved to lead a
different life. l shall never forget
The evenings we spent together in
that log shack in the heart Of the for
est They are craven on my memory
where times eGacing fingers cannot
monkey with them. We would most
always converse. The crew talked
the Norwegian language, and | am
using the English language mostly
this winter. So each enjoyed himself
in his own quiet way. This seemed
to throw the Norwegians a good deal
together. 1t also threw me a good
deal together. The Scan@inavians
soon learn our ways and our language,
but PRIOR to that they are quite clan
nish.
The cook, however, was an Ohio
man. He spoke the Sandufky dialet
with a rich. nut-brown flavor that
did me much good So that after | had
talked with the crowd a few hours in
English and received their harsh,
corduroy replies liz Norske, / gladly
fled to the cook shanty There |
could rapidly change to the smoothly
flowing sentences peculiar to the Ohio
tongue, and while ate the common
twisted doughnut OF commerce we
would talk on and on of the pleasant
days we had spent in our own alive
land. talked to him of his old home
till the tear, would unbidden start as
he rolled out the dough with a com
mon Budweiser beer bottle, and shed
the scaldlng tears into the flour bar
rel. Tears are always unavailing
but sometimes | think they are more
so when they are shed into a barrel of
flour He was an easy weeper. He
would shed tears on the slightest
provocation or anything else. Once |
told him something 50 touchful that
his eyes were blinded with tears for
the nonce. Then took a pie and
stole away so that he could be alone
with his sorrow.
He used to grind the coffee at 3 A.
NJ. The coffee mill was nailed up
against a partition on the opposite
side from my bed This is one reason
did not stay any longer at the camp.
1t takes about an hour to grind coffee
enough for thirty men. and as my
ear was generally against the pine
when the cook began, it rutfied
my slumbers and made me a morose
man.
We havo three men at the camp
who snored. If they snored in my
own language I could have endured
it, but it was entirely unintelligible to
me as it was Still, it wasn't bad
either. They snored ON different
keys and still there was harmony IN
it-a kind of chime of imported snore
as it were. | used to lie and listen
toit for hours. Then the cook would
begin his coffee mill overture and
would arise. When / got home !
slept from Manday morning TIL
Washington's birthday, without fooe
or water.
Killing Made Easy.