New-York tribune., 1901-11-24
IN THE MAINE WOOns
THE WORK OF THE GUM p1cv,
HOOP POLE MEN, SHIP-KNEE NEW
AND TRAPPERS

Auburn, Me-, Nov. % (SpeciaD.-Onlv n.o,,
have poked around up there more or less .As
how many persons make living out of the We N,,4
woods. This reference is not to the Imhs-A'a
and the pulp stuff choppers Their prszs..1a
the woods is matter of course. This 10
about the army of specialists" One rni,h.~
that they the cleaners who follow tba
shirted reapers whose harvest is the giants 49,
forest
The side issues of the Maine woods feed 49,.
mouths. And speaking of mouths there ara
course. the gum pickers. They are lust gs,-t-.V
their work in the woods now. Some peorlo <
an idea that spruce gum is gathered in the -.
by the 1umbermen at odd jobs 1t NAV ~
marked in passing that from $50 O'CLOCK =, -
morning until dark the Maine loggers have 80
thing else to do. They haven't anv bank.-
to climb trees. Practically all the spruce sn,
commerce is gathered by men who make it ,,s.
business and work at il as steadily as a ma.
a factory. You will find the snowshoe tr,T
these busy chaps zgzaggins through patS,~
stretches. and if you happen to be I'D thar =,
you will see their campfres glowing deep in n..s
a lonely glen But few people behold them AZ 80
work The constant supply of gum in store ~
dows shows tnat they keep busy. however
There is more or less excitement about gum Dt.
ing. The standard price for gum is 81 por.
and fancy article OF clear nuggets brings 81
Some days when lucky strikes are freeuenr =
gum picker clear from s. to SO The r
picker sell even the scraps and clippings =
patent spruce gum maker boIIs those down T.
eral medicine firms also make d spruce gum eo,.
balsam
Maine gum pickers usually travel in pairs 3d.
go their hook. others are employed ;
wholesale druggists. Usually they range over vss
territory, sleeping here and there in the dese,.,
logging camps that sprinkle Northern Maine ,
few fresh boughs OF browse iE the blnkS ~, /
some strips of bark over the hI5itable corner #
the camp make the place comfortable home
If city happens to be ordered iuto u,
woods by his physician he would do well to take m
gum picking for his pastime. even if he does ma,
for the money. There is just enough aetiv,v
about it to keep a mans mimi clear and his mus,
cles healthy II takes him abroad through rhs
crisp winter air and gives him an excuse sor
'hucking it
A gum picker's equipment comprises warm eIots
ing. snowshoes. climbers. such as telegraph Ina
men use. a curved chisel In the handle of which a
pole may be set a good jackknife and gun
These are the necessities And almost a necesitv
is a good supply of plug tobacco For if you can
imagine a gum picker sitting down Of an eveniu,
by the camp fire and CLEANING his days pick a,
gum without clouds of smoke about his head yuur
imagination pictures a very cherries scene
There is a special thing about gum picking-th,
daily expenses are small. The men cannot register
at hotels patronize saloons 1t is either De.
a
And as they are obliged to tote their Household
supplies on a moose sled they are frugal in thar
diet. With plenty of pork. few bushels OF beans
-four and moIasses. gum picker is fixed nicely for
a long and cold winter He figures that ii costs
him about fifty cents week, and if he is handy
with his gun he reduces expenses materially
OF course it is rather lonely sometimes in the
deep woods. But there is a pretty bright side 10
the picture the gum picker makes. He rolls OF his
him in no o-T1iup M
green SAVIOR OF the spruce boughs that rusrled be-
meath his head all night long He fries his bacon.
warns his beans and sloofs at his steaming TN o.:
tea Then he has leisurely smoke before the
sputtering embers OF the fire. gets his kit on his
back and his gum bag under his ties lunch
of biscuit and gingerbread in his Handkerchief,
straps on his snowshoes and trudges away into the
forest, his pipe trailing blue clouds behind in the
sparkling air OF the winter morning.
The gum picker must have good eye for trees.
A careless and nyopic would travel over acrss
of territory and miss the dollars right along. Ths
shrewd picker. the experienced man, runs bis
practised eye along every trunk Here and there
he sees tail spruce marked by seam through
which its life blood has oozed for years The
bubbles have crept out, and have been Clarified
day by day in the and the rain They have
absorbed the odorferous breath Of the forest Tasrs
they are at last. amber and garnet nuggets. ready
for the pickers chseI and for the teeth Of ths gun
chewing girls far away in the city. Sometimes
the picker goes up his climbers and taps sno
ticks and picks like a giant woodpecker. sone-
times the tree is felled
The gum king" of the Moosehead region s
rather cranky old chap. who has been at tae 0usi-
ness ever since he was youth He roams IL ''si
that section and has reduced the thing
science At regular intervals he makes UP
through some remote section, and wounds -
spruCeS with mis- and ChIsel- linen. aIlel -
years. he travels around that way ana sdln7i'~
gum Irom the c-eVlceS-
IL is only in Maine that the great gum nussss'
with centres like the red of a dying coaL ss5 y,
tanned. and the folks who chew gum say Ilal ~
''yanking" qualities this gum beats the Woria
The Maine hoop pole man makes even osIiee
wages than his brother the gum picker Inc a0o'
pole man follows along in the wake OF tne IUSse
He BARRIERS the face of the hisides of stun thaI ~
one sIse wants He is after the second growth
as the young birch and ash are called ihese So
up around the rotting stumps OF the sIsas i IN hs
The hoop pole man takes horse WIN nili - -, -
tours. He cuts the poles, and the Holse H,. - -,an
them camp by daylight Evenings the ;,,ng pUe -
side a roaring fire and quacking at his oiach ptE
Sometimes the poles are sold rouIls' z.as rhs
harvester who trims his own stun ana 81 Sna 80 tb-
hoops receives two or three cents So soon an uos
finished producI-and that pays Inc hoUe g,ings E
business Is pretty steady wqrk. pI' ~ tbe shaves
are pleasant. after all with the ssn OF t If story
the Crackle of the fire and the runlolS " r,oEs In
through the windows at the HSht anu anu ;nin tbs
wasgles his ears. and wishes ne HisH' JUN
group --,-ts5
AS the hoop poles are sold each = -hs % and
across with red chalk a little way IIoli rs-sons
For some time in certain sections OF MAe ,+ noga-
did snug business by stealing pC.es P- S-er thus
days no dealer will buy any that have eecn nts Of
marked. Yet sometimes the canny tiie whi1s ago
the ends that bear the chalk mark MHnaarks5 49,
sold his hoop poles 10 dea!sr WY nba seller
them and laid them in his shed Inen en- liS rem Of
came around by night. stole the poles guy fn- haIt
and sold them to another dealer as hoop, hp, t5s cy
barrels 1t may be seen. therefore s Shae esntsrprs
doesn't know all the tricks II tnlS 80 once
ing hoop pole man could have got the noog agn5 dis-
more he could have trimmed them down anu -
posed of them as hoops for nail kegs -, ,5s ash
Then there is the handle man ne Hsssnings.
of a larger growth than the hoop poIe sssn 1y
The trees are chopped in the 1all. ana l. ronghy
means of '.froe'' and axe each handle = fhsy
blocked out Then they are buried so tnaa [s nrs-
may without cracking As an adaird brnsd end
caution against parting of the nbreS tns 49, the
of each handle is daubed with sort Of pant oss I
principal ingredient of which Is grease ,hs axe
to pieces easily Ii the gets at H. ans anu me