Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-11-28
THE WO0DSMEN,
Those Who Live Deep in
Names Wilderness.
Gum Pickers, Hoop Pole Men, Ship
knee Men, and Trappers.
The Small Army Of Specialists in the Trail
Of the lumbermen.


| persons make a living out Of the Main.
| woods. This reference Is not 10 the
| luinucrmen and the pulp stuff choppers.
| ih"Ir presence n tae woods is 4 mat
| ter Of course This is a word .tb0u,
III" army Of specialists" one misnt
say that they are the cleaners who fol
low the red shirted reaprrs who's. har-
vest is the giants of the forest.
| The side issues of the Maine woods
! feed many mouths. ARD speaking OF
| mouths. there are. Of course. the gum
| pickers. They are just getting al their
| work il the woods now Som. people.
| have an idea that spruce gum is gath
| cred III the forest by The. lunb.r,ncn al
odd jobs. II may be remarked in pass
| ing that from 430 O'Clock in the morn
| ing until dark the Main.. loggrrs has,
something else to do. They haven't
any hankcrihg 10 climb trees Practi-
! caily All thu spruce gum OF commerce
| Is gathered BY men who max, il their
| business and work III it as steadily aS
! 4 man in factory. You will find tn"
| SnoTshoe trail Of these busy chaps zig
ZdgginS through painless stretches
ana If YOU happen 10 be up that way
! Won will Sc" their campfir-s glowing
| deep in many lonely glen But lew
people behold them It their work. Tn.
constant supply of gum in store win
iows shows that they Keep busy. how.
ever
There jr more or iess excitement
| aboit gum picking. III. standard
| price for gum is 81 q pound and q
fancy article Of clear nuggets brings
$50. SOhl- days when lucky strikes
ar" frequent the gum picker can Clear
from 81 to 80. The gum picker can
sell even Ill.,. scraps ana chipping. In.
patent spruc" gum maker boi~ thus.
down. Several medicine firms also
make 4 spruce gum cough b.Is.,n.
Maine gun. pi'hers usually travel If
pairs. SOM 90 on their own hook.
others are employed by Wholesale
druggists. Usually they range OYER
wide territory. sleeping here and thcr,.
in thu deserted logging camps that
sprinkle Northern Maine. A few fresh
bouShs OF browse" in the hunks ana
some strips of bark over the habi,ahle
corner Of thr ca1hp max" H., place. :,
comfortable. home.
Ii 4 city man happens Ia b. w dci.ci
INTO IN NbtltS ny ..!S lIls SitluI. lit
would do we'll to take UP gum picking
for his pastimr, even if he does not
care FOR The money Their. is just
enougt. activity about il 70 Keep 4
mans mind clear ana his muscles
h.aIthy. IL takes him abroad through
the crisp winter air and gives him IN
excuse fer "hucl:ing it,
\ gum picleTs equipment comprises
warm clothing, snowshoes, climbers
such as telegraph linemen u.s., a
curved chisel in tie handle Of which 4
pole may BE- set, a good jackkNifr ana
q gun. Thes. ar" the necessities. And
almost a necessity is Il good supply Of
Ilu" tobacco. For if you can imagine
q gum picIler sitting down Of IN even
ing by the camp fire and cleaning his
days pick OF gum without clouds of
smoke about his head. your :marina-
ton pictures Z very rhecrlcss scene.
There is q special thing about gum
pcking-the daily expenses are small.
The men cannot register ut hotels or
patrnniZr saloons. 1t is either a de
serted camp or the lee side of L trr"
at night And as they are obliged Ia
tot" their household supplies on a
moose Sled they are frugal in their
diet. With plenty Of pork. Few bush
!, Is OF beans, flour and molasses. q gum
picker is fixed nicely for a long and
cold winter. He figures that il costs
him about fifty cents a week. ana if h.
is handy with his gun h. reduces az
rensas materially.
OF course it is rather lonely some
time; in the deep woods. But there is
Il PRETTY bright side to the picture IN
gum picker makes. He rolls of his
bunk in the morning. his nostrils full
of the good green SAVIOR OF the spruce
houghs that rustled beneath his head
warns his beans and sioofs at his
stpaIning tin OF tea. Then H. has
Ieisurelv smoke before the snuttrring
,.mberS of the fire. gets his kit on his
back and his gum bag under his arm.
ties Il lunch of biscuit ana gingerbread
in his handkerchief straps on his
snowshoes and truGges away into the
forest. his pipe trailing blue clouds be
hind in tn. sparkling air Of the winter
morning.
Tie gum picker must have good
.y,. for trees. \ careless and myopir
man would travel over acres Of te'ri-
tory and miss the dollars right along
TIL" shrcWd picker. the experienced
man. runs his praCtised eye along ~
cry trunk. Here and there. ne s,.es I!
tn spruce marked by a seam through
which it's life blood has oozcd 70"
wears. The bubbles have crcpt out. an ! /
have been clarified day by day in tn"
sun ana .he rain. They hay. absorbed |
III. odorifcrouS breath ri the forest /
Their. they are at last. amber and gar
net nuggets ready for the rickcrs /
chiscl and for the teeth Of thc gum
chewing girls far away in Ire city. /
Sometimes the picker goes up on his I.
climbers and taps and ticks ana picks I
like giant woodpecker. sometimes (
the tree is fclied
The gum king Of the Moosehead ,
region is Il rather cranky old chap. (
who has been at the business ever f
since he was a youth. HI. roams all
over that section and has reduced the
thing to a science. AT regular inter
walls he makes a trip through some re (
mote section. and wounds the spruces
with his axe and chisel Then. after
a few wears. he travels around that .
wa, and gathers tn" gum from the .
CreviceS
L is only in Maine that the great ,