The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-03-26
A LOGGING
CAMP HERO.

Out in the Musk0ka logging country
a successful minister of the gospel
must comply with n long list of re-
quirements. He must not only pos
sess more book aud spiritual knowledge
than his pa~risioners; he must know at
least enough about farming and log
ging and the tanbark industry to dis
cuss these matters intelligently. Above
all, he must appear to believe that he
knows nothing at all.
But when the MuskOka residents do
take a munster to their hearts they are
loath to lose sight of him; apt, also,
to I" take it out of the man who sue
ceeds HIM, slightly. Which was the
reason why Archer Gallup'n, the young
man who assumed the spiritual care of
about t~wenty-elght square miles of
territory when Providence and the
Bishop saw fit 10 good old
" Father Andrews to Toronto, won
dered why the Muskoka country peo-
pie had been described to him as 80
hospitable and warm-hearted and
kindly.
Everything went against the young
munster from TIE beginning. He was
just scout" from England to men
with-a delicate younger son sent out
to Canada for the sake of the weak
heart which bore testimony to the
failing health of his mothers family;
he had a positive manner, for a second
disadvantage. For a third, the light
trotter and lighter cart which he in
sisted upon purchasing, against the
unanimous advice of his scattered par
%ishloners, utterly failed to meet with
the dire disaster predicted for its first
encounter with the mud of the rainy
s%easons; fourthly-but the list is too
long for %recounting.
The inevitable happened to the
young minister, of course. He found
the first winter 80 e~Xhilarating that,
following the usual course of the
"green Englishman,' he declined to
protect himself sufficiently, and ac-
quired a severe chest trouble, two froz-
en- ears and a frosted nose, which
cleaned brilliantly all the next sum-
mer as a result of his foolishness; he
glorieu in the first summer, shiyered
through the Grst autumn, and only
nerved himself to face the second win
ter by sheer courage and dreams of
the second spring. He fell in love
with the belle of the Rippleville center
and was snubbed and tormented and
detested by all the young men of that
locality in consequence. He approach
ed the "gOod.bye season." when all
the hardy young fellows go off to "the
camps" for the winter, with a sad heart
and a bitter sense of failure. He was
not invited to attend a single "good.bye
party" and when he told some of the
prospective campers that he should
probably visit them before Christmas,
since he regarded the McInness log
glng camp, at least, as within his
spiritual boundaries, they laughed at
him openly.
Ride forty miles to visit us sshanty-
men," jerred Bill Hardness, brother
of the sweet girl whom the young
minister longed after; when L see
you I'll expect you, Mr.. Gallupin, am
not afore!"
Still, ne time came when the min
lister proved his pluck and prowess,
and when, from a logging camp peg to
hang jokes on he was transformed to a
logging camp hero. The manner of
his apotheosis was as follows:
1t was the week before Christmas,
and he young minister, making his
Christmas visits to his Pensioners, had
travered many miles of hard.packed
snow in the light cutter which had re-
placed I'll 3 debated cart. He drove up
the " side road" to the Hardness farm
just about noontime. He had promis-
ed himself to accept the inevitable
dinner I'm INVITATION onI Ia cot thD,.xll,
warm. Duling the second winter the
unfortunate "~greenies" are usually
bone cold" pelpetually. and Archer
was proving no exception to the rule.
But the young minister was not de-
stined to warm himself at the Hark-
ness fire that day.
The %barnyard was deserted. The
kitchen, into which he presently let
himself, after repeated knockings, was
empty as well. From the "front
room" opening out of it came a sound
OF sobs aud troubled feminine voices.
Stretched out on the big bed IN the
corner lay Ben Harkness, the young
est son of the household, white and
unconscious from the force of the
wrongly felled tree which bad fallen
upon him at his work of ''taking out
logs" from the family bark log"
He had dragged himself home, only 10
faint on the threshold. His father
was in Toronto for a day or two, the
older boys up at the McInness camp;
Mrs. Harkness had crawled out of a
sick bed at Nell's summons, and there
was only the pretty object of the young
minister's alteration to care for her
mother and brother and to summon
the doctor, somehow.
"Inl get the DOCTOR" said young
Archer, naturally.
The grateful look which Nell rave
made his heart beat joyously, but it
didn't strengthen the tired horse,
which was presently speeding back to-
ward Bracken, as it did the tired driv-
er. Half way to the village the young
minister was compelled to ask shelter
for his horse and go on without him.
He covered most of his intervening
four miles on the run, and arrived at
Bracken all but exhausted. Yet back
he would go with the doctor. And, on
the whole, it was we'll that he did.
There was a fighting chance for
Ben's recovery, so said the doctor,
presently, but Ben didn't think go,
upon recovering consciousness, and he
wanted his father and broshers. The
doctor would telegraph the elder Hark-
ness from the next village, but the
Mclnness camp lay sixty miles out of
the course he must follow.
There's q very sick woman / must