River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1890-04-10
LIFE IN THE PINERIES.
FEReus FALLs. Mimi. April 3, 90

az WIN Aoi Didhc piOs.s anu IL YOU
will allow me space in your valuable
paper l would like to give short
sketch of how loggers live, etc.
The camps are about 80 feet square
by 10 TT. high, with an addition 20x30
1T. for kitchen and dining room. The
lights in the camp go out at Or. Nj.
The cooks rise at 4 A. NJ, the team
sters at 4:30, and everybody else at 5
O'Clock. Breakfast is ready at $50,
and at o'clock all hands go to their
work. We had to go miles to begin
work. The men eat their noon meal
in the woods; the cook brings it and
builds fire and makes large kettle
of tea. This is at 1880 A. NJ; dinner
is had at 6 in the evening. The team
sters are half an hour late. The men
were well fed and had plenty of bed
ding, and dry pine provided for fuel.
The cold snap in January supplied
us with plenty of frost-bitten fingers,
noses and toes. We don't feel much
of the wind in the pinery, and winter
passes quickly.
There is little or no pity by the lum-
Der firms or their foremen on either
man or beast, as rule, in any of the
camps. 1t seems that the number of
pine logs is all we are there for.
A more generous lot of men l never
met than the most of those who work
in the pineries, though rough in their
ways. 1t seems they must swear.
They swear if displeased and swear if
pleased. and nearly all of them smoke.
After. supper all who smoke light their
pipes and sit on bench on each side
of the room and extending the whole
length of the camp (Which reminds
one of so many prairie chickens on a
farm fence) and talk over the work of
the day. using many oaths to confirm
what they say. No card playing OF
drinking was allowed. On Saturday
night they usually had a "stag dance
with music on the violin Every body
was happy at the approach of Sunday,
and the men in general danced as il
they had not already worked hard foI
nearly twelve hours. They seemed to
get great fun out of it, too.
Now as to how Sunday was spent.
One way was as general wash day
While some washed their clothes 9th
ers darned socks or mittens, mendeC
shirts or pants or overalls, moccasins
or overshoes; some read, or talked, OF
sang or swore; some made canthoooks
some axe helves, others made goaC
sticks or mended sleds, while thu
black smiths hammer was often heard
from early morn till dewy eve.
Blake Bros. did pretty large bust
ness; they run three camps with &c
men to a camp. Four teams were KEEP
busy hauling feed and provisions. The
hay was hauled 10 to 40 miles, thu
grain and provisions from Grand Rap
ids, our nearest post-otlice, 40 mile:
distant.
Grand Rapids is on the Mississippi
river and at the head of navigation
Two miles below is another small town
Each place has II to Is saloons anC
dens of prostitution; one good schoo
house for the two places; Sunda,
School organized last December, anC
| preaching since Christmas in an ole
log house that used to be a saloon
| The town is a general rendezvous fol
gamblers and cut-throats. Sometimes
there are as high as 500 men (nearl!
all lumbermen) in the place at time
and many a poor fellow is quickly re
lieved of his winters earnings withou
any redress.
Our camp was so miles northwest o
Duluth and about the same distanc,
from Lake Itaska. About one-thirt
of the land is under water, and whel
the pine is cut off the tract is utterl,
worthless and is allowed to go back t.
the government. The earth is all sand
The old pine stubs catch fire quickl,
when dry and burn up entirely.
The logging sleds are from 7 to fee
between the runners and have a plat
form IL to IA TT. wide. To see LOAF
of logs on one of these which woul,
cut between 5000 and 5000 feet o
| lumber drawn by four horses, was al
eye.opener to greenhorn. There ar,
some trees there that will cut up int
1000 it. of lumber.
The Norway pine grows very thicl
and tall. In some clumps the tree
are SO thick it would seem impossible
for them to grow.
want to thank the w. G. 7. U. o.
your place for the reading they sen
Mrs. c. Blake, which came to GU
camp, and if they are not sending thei
papers to any place they would b,
acceptable gifts and do good If sent L
Miss George DeForest, superintendent
of Sunday School twelve miles north
east of here. Address, Fergus Falls
MINI.
Many more things might add but
will wind up by saying that we haC
two missionaries visit the camps, SEN
out by the state, and during services
on two evenings | never knew better
order, and felt their work was not il
vain. Yours, JOHN I. WEST.
Boys clothing cheap at Jenson's.