The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1905-01-04
CONTINUED.


even the most petty routine work. He
sat at his desk at 8 o'clock and began
the perusal of sheaf of letters. The
first three he read carefully, the follow
ing two rather hurriedly, of the next
one he seized only the salient and es-
sential points, the seventh and eighth
he SKINNED, the remainder of the bun
Gle he thrust aside in uncomfortable
impatience Next day he returned to
the woods.
The incident of the letters had
aroused to the full his old fighting spir-
it, before which no mere instincts
could stand.
Once more his mental process became
clear and incisive, his commands direct
and to the point. To all outward APP
pearance Thorpe was as before.
He opened Camp One, and the Fight
ing Forty came back from distant
drinking joints. This was in early Sep
TENDER. That ablebodied and devoted
band of men was on hand when need
ed. Shearer in some subtle manner of
his own had let them feel that this year
meant 100000 or "bust." They
frightened their leather belts and stood
ready for command. After much dis
cussion with Shearer the young man
decided to take out the logs from
"eleyen" by driving them down French
creek
To this end gang was put to clear
ing the creek bed. 1t was tremen-
dous job Centuries of forest life had
choked the little stream nearly to the
level of its banks. Old snags and
stumps lay imbedded in the ooZe; de-
cayed trunks, moss grown, blocked the
current; leaning tamaracks, fallen tim
Der, tangled vines, dense thickets, gave
to its course more the appearance of a
tropical jungle than of a north country
brook bed. All these things had to be
removed one by one and either piled to
one side or burned. In the end, how
ever, it would pay. French creek was
not a large stream, but it could be
driven during the time of the spring
freshets
Each night the men returned in the
beautiful dreamlike twilight to the
camp. There they sat after eating,
smoking their pipes in the open air.
Much of the time they sang, while Phil,
crouching wolf-like over his violin.
rasped out an accompaniment of disso-
nances. The mems voices lent them
selves well to the weird minor strains
of the chanteys. These times, when the
men sang and the night wind rose and
died in the hemlock tops, were Thorpe's
worst moments His soul, tired with
the days iron struggle, fell to brooding.
He wanted something, he knew not
what
The men were singing in a mighty
chorus, swaying their heads in unison
and bringing out with roar the en-
phatic words of the crude ditties writ
ten by some genius from their own
ranks.
'Come all We sons of freedom throughout
old Michigan.
| Come all we gallant lumbermen, list to a
shanty man.
| On the banks of the Muskegon, where the
rapid waters flow,
| Oh, We'll range the wild woods FER while
+ a-lumbering we 60"
| Here was the bold unabashed front
of the pioneer, here was absolute GER
| tainty in the superiority of his calling
| absolute scorn of all others. Thorpe
passed his hand across his brow. The
same spirit was once fully and freely
his.
"The music of our FURNISHED ak shall
make the woods resound,
| And many lofty ancient pine will tum
BILE to the ground.
At night around our shanty fire we'll sing
while rude winds blow
Oh, we'll range the wild woods Ger whil
a-lumberin' we go!''
That was what he was here for
Things were going right. 1t would b.
pitiful to fail merely on account of thi
idiotic lassitude, this unmanly weak
ness, this boyish Impotence and desir
for play. He woodsman! He fellow
with these big strong men!
A single voice, clear and high, strucl
into quick measure:
st am a jolly shanty boy.
AS you will soon discover;
To all the lodges am fly,
huStling pine wood rover.
A peavey hook it is my pride;
An ak well can handle;
To fell tree or punch q bull
Get rafting Danny Randall"
And then, with a rattle and crash, tn
whole Fighting Forty shrieked out th
chorus
'Bung yer eye! Bung yer eyer
ctive alert, prepared for any eme
y that might arise; hearty, read
.verything, from punching bulls
.elling trees-that was something lik
. Thorpe despised himself. The son
went on:
al love girl in Saginaw;
She lives with her mother.
I defy all Michigan
To find such another.
She's tall and slim; her hair is red;
Her face is plump and pretty
She's my daisy Sunday best-day girl,
And her front ma me- stands for Kitty