The Minneapolis journal., 1901-04-13
FUNNY "LUMBERJACK"
his SPRING VACATION
Sometimes He Is a "Soft Mark" for the CITY
Sharper---Hs Crude Amusements
and Ways.

Boswell-We grow weary when idle.
Johnson-That is, sir because others being
busy we want company; but If we were all
idle there would be no growing weary; we
should all entertain one another.
That glorious idler, that adept at ran
dom advertisements, now prince, now
pauper-the spring "lumberjack"
come to town. Bridge square welcomes
the strangers with open arms, and below
Washington avenue any summer after
noon, they can be found in droves.
The typical lumberjack is something of
a cross between western miner and
farm hand. He has all the yearning to
enjoy himself as the western miner, and
the same methods of gratifying this de-
sire. His purse is as free and his thirst
as powerful, but he lacks the western
miners ability to care for himself be he
in ever so happy" a state. The records
of the police department are ample proof
of this fact. 1t is the strain or rural sus-
ceptibility in the lumberjack that makes
him such an easy dupe when in the city.
The saloons, the gambling joints, the
shooting galleries, the cheap museums,
the pool halls, the barber shops and the
tenderloin all take shy at gullible Jack.
He goes down before them like green
grass before the sharp edge OF the sickle.
How does the lumberjack spend his
time? In town he is a very idle fellow.
With nothing to do, plenty of money to
do it with, and all day long for the doing,
the lumberjack is a devil may-care sort
Of a chap. AS soon as he strikes town
he makes for the cheapest lodging house
he can find, picks the cheapest room,
throws his pack in the corner and sallies
forth with an open and inquiring mind.
He Is Easily Divested.
~
dummy clad in $4 suit to the unsounded
depths of the nickel-in-th -the-slot- machines.
AS he goes along the street he impartially
inspects each show window in the block.
Rarely entering shop, seldom entertain
ing any idea of a purchase, the lumber
jack views intently each window display
that he sees. After an aimless wandering
for an hour or so he brings up against an
iron railing on a sunny corner. there to
bask in idle "reminiscences along with
other transient wayfarers.
The saloon is the real Mecca of the lum-
berjack. Here they all congregate and
earnestly strive to drown the liquor traf-
fic. 1t would be an exaggeration to say
that the lumberjack eats three square
meals a day. He is proud of his thirst,
but seldom does he seek the city with any
gustatory ambition. To eat is minor
matter, bite of free lunch here and there
an apple DOuSuL VI d SlIGCI FCuuOAy q AcLA
sandwich snatched at a lunch counter
these satisfy the lumberjack But the way
in which this class drive the breweries
to running night shifts, is worthier OF a
better cause.
Al Quiet Element.
There is an element among the lumber
jacks fond of retrospection and quiet
games of chess. In the dingy lodging
house offices are found many card play
ers and chess fends. Here they smoke
their corn cob pipes, expectorate at the
sawdust tub near the stove and are happy.
These quiet fellows generally save their
money and eventually buy little 3O-acre
place Of their own while their profigate
brothers spend six months earnings in
few weeks.
I AT police headquarters during the past
two weeks many tales have been told
apropos of the lumberjack and Us roll.
Some have lost their money in bucking
the tiger, others have had an all night
session with the nickel in the-slot ma
chimes. not a few have been mulcted in
saloons and barber shops, and large
percentage meet their fate in the realms
Of the tenderloin.
A Choice Sucker.
One day last week a rural stranger
stood in the entrance of the Nicollet hotel
making a display Of currency that was
pitiful to behold. In the outside pocket
of his overcoat were several layers OF $40
gold pieces. These he would pull out by
the handful and proudly display them to
the rapidly gathering crowd In another
pocket were punches of $40 and $50 green
backs He jauntily wiped his perspiring
brow with these, grinning widely the
while.
Next to making a gratuitous display OF
money on the broad highways, the lum-
berjack loves to frequent cheap vaude-
VILE theater. There he loudly acclaims
the merits of the performance. AT least
twenty variety theaters and museums