The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1894-04-06
SHELTON MASON COUNTY, WASHINGTON. FRIDAY APRIL s. 1884,
The Timber. Cruiser.

va WIZ liohtIeI Vi advancing c1VlllZa
tlon there is species of livelihoo,
called cruising for timber" Th
slmlle Is an apt one, for the woodsmal
who seeks new timber-regions ami,
the trackless wilderness, in which th,
sun is hidden by day and the stars b,
night, is as bold navigator as hi.
brother who tolls on the painless vast,
of the sea-
The timber-cruiser is even more 4:
child of the forest than the native HI
succeeds. He is the precursor of the
lumberman and the the saw-mill, two
important factors in our progressive
civilization. He is untaught. Gener-
ally. he knows nothing of astronom,
but the suns course and the polar
! stars, because the heavens are so often
wholly out of sight in the tangled
forests that he relies OH other guides
The mysterious secrets OF terrestrial
nature, handled down to him by gen
erations of pathfnders gone before,
keep him informed.
On the prairie he knows that the
tips of the grass always incline toward
the south, and that they are less green
on the nortward SHE. In the forest
the slender twigs on the boughs bend
soutllward, it may be, that only the
trained eye can detect the detection
yet it is there. The moss on the tree
| trunks is always on the north side, the
bark is smoother and more supple ON
the east than toward the west, and
southwark the mildew never comes.
Thus does this unlettered savant box
the compass in the wilderness.
The timber-cruiser is a hero. He is
a forest-king. The wealth of the
woods is his. He always travels alone
His acts of courage. endurance, and
skill are never witnessed by others and
are never boasted of by himself. In
deed, his success or failures are never
talked about, save to the directors of
the lumber companies who employ
him, and to whom he makes a minute
ly detailed reports. He has probably
the best memory known to man, for
he will return from a two months
"cruiSe" and be able to locate accur-
ately every tract of valuable hemlock
timber in hundred square miles of
worthless woods and tamarack.
He undertakes the most arduous
journeys without providing more than
blanket and few days provisions; !;
he confaonts all kinds of dangers,
mindful of their inconvenience, but
fearing them not, because he studies
nature on commercial basis. In
brief, he is a true philosopher; always
prepared for the unexpected; happy,
because ignorant of the relative values
of comfort and discomfort, and brave,
because he is an egotist who believes
thoroughly in his own abilities.
His is the task Of locating the land
scrip that capitalists and large corpo-
rations have purchased from the gov
eminent. He precedes the woodsman,
the ak and the saw, just as the
post-trader precedes the teacher and
the preacher. He is to the advan cling
lumberman what the Don Cossack is
| to the Russian host.
The location of a choice tract OF
timber is a secret to be guarded with
mis- life. Weeks, even months, may
intervene before the lands can he
staken up" and entered upon the re-
cords at Washington. The painless
forests is his home, solitude his COM
panion, and, like his brother on the
"multitudinous sea-" he often dies
alone, and his unburied body becomes
part of the elements of nature he SC
intimately courts. He is new to lite
rature, unknown to song and story
julius Chambers, in the March Cen
tury.