The St. Johns herald., 1900-10-27

I 4 QUARTER of century ago, wheI "A the valleys and bottom-lands o. ! Pennsylvania were decked in the abun dant growth of timber which was na
 ture's heritage, any self-respecting log ] jobber, if his attention had been di rected to the desolate Kettle Greek
 7egion, would have turned up his nose
 disdainfully and passed on to greene1
 fields, says Williamsport (Pa.) cor respondent of the N. Y. Sun. But the
 days when contractor could choose
 Ais 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 and
 starting operations in the heart of the
 Jangle-like forest overlooking Kettle
 Creek. The camp is fitted into lit
 tie patch of clearing ground far over
 the mountain top. A narrow turnpike
 winds up to it from the highway hun 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 ax 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 O megaphone, the
 partners 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 month ago. The partners and wild cats yelled more furiously, it seemed5 than they had done before during the winter, and added to their woeful vail ings was the voice of the north wind as it tossed the snow against the weather-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 Hobby" 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 a 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 Blake's 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 pesky hole?"
 Bll Blake puffed contemplatively at his pipe for moment, after which he said:
 "Well, mebby had a purity good reason, if I 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 I had lovely suit as coach man for rich lady, got knocked out in a love affair. You needn't grin, Shorty. kept myself purity spick- an-span on that job, an, if 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. I only mention the incident for the sake of explainin' why it was at I ever went back to the lumber business at all.
 "You see, everything went sort O contrary with me in town after that. 1 got sick of the whole business, an all the time while I was drivin' them spankin' hosses 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 feller's heart. So back 1 goes to the old Slate Run job, where l was we'll known an only had to whistle to get work.
 "Wall, the very first night I spent in the camp I 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 airtin' with me, an they was so win some at forgot all about the city gal right away. met 'em half way in the f1irtin' 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 hat. Wall, things went on lovely for about a week. an one night the gals ,ays to me, they says: Let's go along town an get some apples
 "Now the o'chard was quite ways below the camp an it was closed in by , big board fence about six feet high. Of course, went. We had jolly time yuin' toward the o'chard an the gals seemed more lovin' to me than ever. When we got thar an seed the high fence I wanted to help the gals over, put they says: No, you go fust, an hen we'll foller.' So of course went. put board up to the fence an clumb ,ver an, then waited to ketch the gals. Iyall. it must have been minute l waited thar an didn't hear a sound rom the other side. ,....l..A--------