Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-02-16
Jewels for Wood-Cutters.


Red-shirted and blanket-suited men
throng the streets OF the cities of the
Saginaw Valley. and north-bound
trains bear boisterous crowds of lusty
woodsmen, many OF whom are cele-
brating the occasion by freely circUlat-
ing bottle, which is passed from
hand to hand, or rather from mouth
to mouth. The majority of these men
are rough but jolly set. whose life IS
made up Of a yearly round from the
camp to the drive, from the drive to
| the mill and from the mill back again
to the camp.
The life is one of the hardest toll,
and is fraught with many dangers, as
| IS atteSted by the records of the hos
pitfalls in the Saginaw Valley. The
! typical woodsman is ever prodigal
when he lands in town after several
months Of toll. His ore object in life
| seems then to be to yet rid Of the
money he has so hardly earned, z re-
suit which he accOmplishes most OK
peditiously and effectively by at once
inaugUrating grand spree that lasts
as long as he has money or effects.
One Of the first of the latter to 90
into the paWnshOp is his watch. and it
is seldom redeemed. 4 watch and
tiashy chain used to be among the
earliest purchases OF Il woodsman, who
has just cashed his pay check" But
it is SO no longer. Nearly all the
watches now sold to these men are
sold in the camps b. dTummers from
the various jewelry stores in the local
ity nearest which the camps are stu
ated.
This trade has become prominent
feature in the iewelry business, espe-
cialiy near Saginaw, Mich, where every
jew eII'y concern has one or more men
in the woods during the entire lumber
ing season.
Most OF these drummers are familiar
with this class of trade. Some of them
have regular routes, with the eXciu-
slve privilege Of selling goods in GER
tain camps. These privileges they OBJ
tain from either the foreman or the
owner, and as many OF the camps give
employment to 400 or 500 men it is
easy to understand the value of a priv
ile@e of this kind.
The drummers carry Il stock rang
inc in value from 5000 to $4,000 on
each "trip. They can only sell at the
close OF the working hours and after
supper when the men are gathered in
| the large camp about the bio stove.
The gNttering trays are spread out to
admjring eyes, and the seller has to
be sharp indeed to keep track OF his
goods as they are handed about for
inspection. At the same time he must
stand rafting fusillade OF questions
while driving sharp bargains. The
men, in the consciousness Of the cred
its that they are lying up against their
account on the GQmpany'S books, and
melted by example, prove very liberal
buyers. 1t is not an uncommon thing
for drummer to sell $500 or $500
worth of stock in an evening. Most
of the watches sold are American sill
| yer watches, or American movements
in filled cases. If the salesman num-
bers among his accomplishments the
ability to sing good song, tell good
story or dance a jig, it will greatly add
to his success and popularity in the
camp.
As Il large percentage of the watches
thus sold find their way to the pawn
shop the first time their possessors go
to town and indulge in their usual
protracted sprees, the men get into a
nabit of buying new ones every winter.
There are good prospects, therefore,
that this branch of the jewelry bust
ness at least has entered on an era of
long-continued prosperity in the log
ging regions of the great Northwest
Je2CeLer,S WeekLu.