St. Paul daily globe., 1891-12-06
As THE TREE FALLS.

its depressing bluenesS to such as have
spent the leisure hours since Saturday
night in riotous living.
For once Franks appetite failed him.
The work-ox beefSteak and delectable
1apjack were not to his liking. His
muscular neighbor noticed it and said:
Better eat sumD'n, or you'll never stand
it till noon." Frank felt grateful for
the consideration, but did not act uDon
the advice; Whereupon his friend piled
him with the coffee pot. saying: Here,
then. drink some o. this to scald out yer
cOppers." But, no, the pains of a rack
ing headache and disOrdered stomach
were not to be soothed by cafe noir-
very much noir and many times warmed
up-sO Frank got up and went out.
He seated himself on the bench in
front of the-eook house to wait for the
others. The morning air was refresh
ing, and ii enabled him to think cohe-
rently of the recent woeful occurrence.
He remembered it all now: the white
frOnted saloon at tho forks of the road !;
the dingy, fOul-smelling bar room; the
cheap mirror and fixtures, and the auda-
ciOuS picture OH the walls; the card
Uttered floor and the reeking spittOons;
the click of the pOker-chlps and the
quaint originality of some of the bias
phemy.
Then the game. How he did win at
the beginning, and how the On-lO0kerS
craned their neckS to see how he dis
carded; and when he went his whole
pile' on three jacks, and some one be-
hind remarked, in a low tone, Hes
blOOda1 Won haf ~ bour faoIiDnr Of
confidence crept over him. There's a
hOme-stake to be won right here and
n0W." he said 10 himself. But the fateS
willed it otherwise, for Lucky Bob
"called" him. and the Showdown" dis
played three queens from the hand of
thea latter, which ended the game for
Frank. Bnt they filed hlm up with
'forty-rod'' by way of consolation. and
he struck out for camp by the light OF
the moon.
The railroad track, he remembered
thinking. must surely be narrower than
standard guage and the ties unneceSsa-
riiy close together, and there was some
thing wrong with the moon, for she hid
herself behind cloud until he reached
the high treste. when. suddenly she
unveiled her peerless light" that, gilt
tering in the creek below, startled and
perpleXed him. He sat down to con-
slider all these matters, and there they
had found him sOlilOQuizing, with many
gestures and an occasional apOStrophe.
to the incOnStant moon. He remembered
their helping him home and putting him
tG bed. Alas to be aroused in too short
time by the footing Of the relentless
horn.
The retrospect ceased as the crew filed
out from breakfast. The foreman stood
4.
tentive memory which many unlettered
people possess, mentally registered each
who went TO work. Among the first was
old Josh. the fileI, who took his position
behind his bench. and W ith arms folded
and matutinal pipe alight, waited for the
sun TO climb little before beginning
his daily task of pointing teeth and
swedgrakers.
The crew, apart from the choppers
and peelerS, was divided into two gangs.
Each gang had its complement of saw
yers, chain tenders and SWampers, and
each had donkey engine to haul the
logs from their beds. where the SawyerS
left them, into the ''snaking roads. :"
The team took charge of them from
there on. hauling from the two engines
alternately. Further back in the forest
the choppers and peelers worked col
lectively for the two ''Outtits."
For one of these "Outtts" Fran k
sawed chunks. A chunk-Sawyershi is
by no means an exalted position in the
wood butcher brotherhood, still it often
serves as stepping stone TO something
better. The duties are to cut into NOV
able dimensions any windfallS or
worthless tree tops that may lie in the
way of the rOadmakers and to remove
the lighter obstTucting debris by hand
He needed a sharpened saw. Josh
must be interviewed. With a long
drawn sigh he arose, and, walking
wearily across the track to where the
bench stood. made known his wants.
"HOw's the country where you're
working nOw?" asked the old man.
STEEP" was the reply.
Here's what you want, them" hand
ing down the implement from its rest
ing place against huge stump-"a stiff
backed saw for a sideling country"
Just then the boss" came and said:
Guess you won't need that today. Big
Johns partners in town, sick or drunk,
or sumthin', an you'd better go an
work in his place"
The opportunity had come at last. To
fell redwood had been Franks aim
ever since he hired out. Dropping the
''stiff-back" unceremoniously and for
getting all his woes, he hurried off to
Overtake his big friend OF the breakfast
table.
1t is eXpedient to adopt, for the time
being aud to a reasonable extent, the
speech and manners of those with whom
our lot is cast. Frank had learned this
by bitter experience, His grammar
and "airs" had been subjected to much
ridicuie when first he came. He had
- 1f-.Ar,z..I -. -
furthermore, he now could wipe his
mouth with the back of his hand after
meal, and chew ''saw-log plug" with
the best of them.
He overlook his big friend at the
brow of the hill among the logs and rig
gingS. The donkey driver, or ''engin-
eer," as he proudly styles himself. was
busy getting up steam, and the pulsing
of the pump contrasted strangely with
the stiffness of the mOrnIng-such still
ness that the smoke from the little en-
gine went straight up III bright blue
cloud. Over the divide. in the region
beyond Jordan, the pure morning light
heralded the sunrise.
Out of breath, he began, with the
eolloquial:
'Say!n
Say it yerself, me son."
Sweet Lip says for me to wOIk in
place of Alec, who amt sbow'd up this
morning" "Sweet Lip'' was a nick
name applied to the foreman on account
of his ability to hire high-priced men
for less than standard wages.
After an inquiay or two concerning
his absent partner, John sad earnestly:
But. me son, did viz ever chop any?"
Suckers for skids, stringers, and the
like o. that"
There's a big difference between
'hackin' down poles and 'fallin' rid
woods
Frank knew, but he said nothing.
The conversation became sparse, as
they had now to walk in single file
along the choppers trail, and all signs
of road work were left behind. The
way was over fallen trees and around
stumps, down one side of 4 canon and
up the other, ending, at last, in the