St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1900-06-23
gg&v5assA@A3a aGawa'&
s Bill Blake and the Bear =
& Also Two Girls Who Seemed to Need y
Ne Proteetfon. 4,
&s&Ss5s Ca ca Ga Aa.@A@ A@ASAS

A QUARTER of century ago, when
III the valleys and botton-ands of
Pennsylvania were decked in the abun-
:tlant growth of timber which was ma
:tlre,s heritage, any self>respecting log
jobber, if his attention had been di-s
rected to the desolate Kettle Creek
region, would have turned up his nose
disdainfully and passed on to greener
fields, says a WilliaEasport Pa.) cor
respondent of the n. Y.Sun. But the,
days when a contractor could chooses
his place of residenoe are practically
past, and so it was Shat Hank" Bell
nan was reduced ito the extremity
last fall of erecting his shanty ana
starting operations in the heart OF the
jangle-like forest overlooking Kettle
Creek The CAMP is ittedi into a lit-
lie patch of clearing ground far over
the mountain top. A narrow turnpike
winds up tao lit from the highway hun
dreds of fest below, and beyond 1T, ex-.
tensaing iarto st4he wilderness, great
} wastes of fallen trees, stamps and
pixies of hsmleek bark show what the
waodsmanss RS!has been doing al WIN
ter Directly surrounding the 'shanty
tue trees hsveanot all been removed,
and on the frosty winter nights, when
she snow hangs in great layers upoa
the ksavy branches and the air is SO
crisp and kkeen that sound travels
athrough4f9 With as much precision as
though shot from a mcgaphone, the
panGhers aafd catamoHnts climb up
into the tall timber and wake the
slum berfug echoes of the forest, as
we'll as the boys in the camp, WITH
their Svi4d and dismal howEngs.
One yss5f those nights scaEne about "a
month ago. The PARTNERS and wild
cats yelled more frErTously, it seemed,
than fShey had done before during the
winter, and added to their woeful wall
fngs was the voice of the north wind
fas f. tossed the snow against the
weather-beaten siaes of the sfsenty.
For that night the .shanty was good
enough for the Eeyys. When supper
was over and the storm showed no
signs of abating fsaey AL gathered to-
iaSne, club, society and Sunday school
to them, and prepared to make the
;rgest of night indoors. Now these
proodsmen are za@t the>sort of :Men WHO
can spend an evening over a book or
enjoy themselves at any tame diver
zion, and on this night even jack
poker had no charm for them. The
zfact is that they were just in the mood
so listen to one of Bic .Blakess stories.
Say, Biil,'' said one of the woods
r4nen. what tac-nal eussedness ever
lpessessed you TO leave the good job
YOU had in the Slate Run camp last
-5all and come ap to 1shis pesly hole?'
Bill Blake pulled contemplatiyety, at
This pipe for 8 1n8ment, aftgr which he
ssaid:
well, mebty I 'had a purity good
treason, if wanted to tell
Then he laughed quietly. Nobody
spoke, and when BIT had finally gone
sgver the details in his own mind, he
<eontinued:
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 / had a lovely suit as coach
man for rich lady, got knocked out
III "a love affair. You needn't grin,
saorty. I kept myself purity spiclf-
All 4llspan on that 5sh, an, if do say
it. .sheysswa MT many thanssomer rib
bon singers drfvin' down the pike.
WY11.,5wbo the gaa was don't matter,
am it hain't no ONES business who
the sdude was AT cut me out. only
mention the incident for the sake of
exp1ainin' why it was 'at I ever went
back to the lumber business ait 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 drfvin' them
,spankari t,hosses through the streets
my mind would keep a-rnnnin' back
so the old camp life, where I knowed
they want like to be no dudes nor
no gals no play hide-arl7-seek with
fefler's heart. So back l goes to the
OLD Slate run job, where I was well
known an'xonly had to whistle to get
work
"EFall, the very first night 1 spent
in the camp made up my mind it
want no suse 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 ia the camp very long at they
was a little too healthy for that place
as it was, an you'll see purity soon
what made me think SO,
"The tamsels started right in by
flirtin' with me, an they was so win
some at forgot all about the city gal
right away. / met 'em half way in
the firtin' game an it seemed to me
'at was in clever. The other fellows
was all gettfn' jealous of the way
the gals was shinin' round me; but
it want exactly my fault if they
want in it. so / didn't bother about
that Wall, things. went on lovely for
about week, an one night the gals
saws to me, they says: Let's go along
down an get some apples.
'sNow the o'chard was quite a ways
below the camp am it was closed in by
a big board fence about six feet high.
Of course. went. We had jolly time
goin' toward the o'cfard 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,
but they says. No, you go fust, an