The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1900-08-10
Bill Blake and the Bear
E Also Two Girls Who Seemed to Need y
Il No Protection.


dant growth OF timber winch Wde ia
lures heritage, any self-respecting log
iobber, if his attention had been d.
rected to the desolate Kettle Creek
region, would have turned up his nose
disdainfully and passed on to greener
fields, says Willamsport (Pa.) cor
respondent of the N. Y. Sun. But the
DAYS when a contractor could choose
his place of residence are practically
past. and so it was that Hank" Bell
man was reduced to the extremity
last fall of erecting his shanty ana
starting operations in the heart OF the
isngle-like forest overlooking Kettle
Creek The camp is fitted into lit
tie patch of clearing ground far over
the mountain top. \ narrow turnpike
winds up to it from the highway hum
dreds of feet below, and beyond it, ex-
tending into the wilderness, great
wastes of fallen trees, stumps and
piles of hemlock bark show what the
woodsman's AK has been doing all win
ter. Directly surrounding the shanty
the trees have not all been removed,
and on the frosty winter nights, when
the snow hangs in great layers upon
the heavy branches and the air is so
crisp and keen that sound travels
through it with as much precision as
though shot from a megaphone, the
panthers and catamounts climb up
into the tall timber and wake the
slumbering echoes of the forest, as
we'll as the boys in the camp, with
their wild and dismal howlings.
One of those nights came about a
month ago The panthers and wild
cats yelled more furious!y. it seemed,
than they had done before during the
winter, and added to their woeful wall
ings was the voice of the north wind
as it tossed the snow against the
beaten sides of the shanty.
For that night the shanty was good
enough for the boys. When supper
was over and the storm showed no
signs of abating they all gathered to-
gether in the big lobby" which is
home, club, society and Sunday school
to them, and prepared to make the
best of night indoors. Now these
woodsmen are not the sort of men who
can spend an evening over book or
enjoy themselves at any tame diver
sion, and on this night even jack
poker had no charm for them. The
fact is that they were just in the mood
to listen to one of Bill Blakes stories.
"Say, Bill" said one of the woods
men. what tarnal cussedness ever
possessed you to leave the good job
you had in the Slate Run camp last
fall and come up to this peslly hole?"
Bill Blake pulled contemplatively at
his pipe for moment, after which he
said:
well, mebby I had purity good
reason, if ]. wanted to tell"
Then he laughed quietly. Nobody
spoke and when Bill had finally gone
over the details in his own mind, he
continued:
You see I'd never have gone to the
Slate Run job in the first place, but
for one thing. Down at the city,
where l had lovely suit as coach
man for rich lady, got knocked out
in love affair. You needn't grin,
Shorty. l kept myself purity spick-
an'-span on that job, an, if l do say
it, they want many han'somer rib
bon singers drivin' down the pike
Wall, who the gal was don't matter,
an it hain't no ones business who
the dude was at cut me out. ! only
mention the incident for the sake of
explainin' why it was at ever went
back to the lumber business at all.
"You see, everything went sort o.
contrary with me in town after that.
! got sick of the whole business, an
all the time while was drivin' them
spankin' bosses through the streets
my mind would keep a-runnin' back
to the old camp life, where I knowed
they want like to be no dudes nor
no gals to play hide-an'-seek with a
feller's heart. So back goes to the
old Slate Run job, where I was well
known an only had to whistle to get
work.
"Wall, the very first night I spent
in the camp l made up my mind it
want no use for me to try to get
away from the gals. Right in that
camp they was two as purity gals as
you'd care to see-nieces of-the boss
wife. guess. a-visitin' thar, they told
me, for their health found out afore
! was in the camp very long at they
was little too healthy for that place
as it was. an you'll see purity soon
what made me think so.
THE damsels started right in by
firth with me. an they was so win
some at forgot all about the city gal
right away. / met 'em half way in
the fiirtin' game an it seemed to me
at was in clover. The other fellows
was all gettin' jealous of the way
the gals was shinin' round me; but
it want exactly my fault if they
want in it. so I didn't. bother about
that. Wall, things went on lovely for
about week, an one night the gals
says to me, they says: Let's go along
down an get some apples.'
"Now the o'chard was quite WAYS
below the camp an it was closed in by
a big board fence about six feet high.
or course, went. We had Jolly time
goin' toward the o'chard an the gals
seemed more loyin' to me than ever.
When we got thar an / seed the high
fence wanted to help the gals over,
but they says: No, you go fust, an
then we'll foller.' So of course went.
put board up to the fence an clumb
over an then waited to ketch the gals.
Wall. it must have been minute
waited thar an didn't hear sound
from the other side.
Yes, says to myself, Il see what
they're at; they don't want me to helm