Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1907-12-28

maze them famous, ana are cutting
timber formerly despised. The we'll
known logging scenes of the New
England States viii live only in pic.
lures and history, and when the sup,
ply In the Northern Minnesota, Michi.
gan and Wisconsin forests is exhaust,
ed, there is only the Pacific slope on
which to depend on the American
side. Across the Great Lakes on the
Canadian side lies one OF the largest
timber reserves in the world. There
is a great deal of the timber land OF
Canada which has not been surveyed
yet, so, in spite of the tariff imposed
1t is not unlikely that we will be
able to draw from Canada for many
years after our own supply is ex-
hausted. In fact, much timber cut
on the other side of the line has been
shipped to this country. 1t is said
that there is timber belt OF at least
three thousand miles in Canada. Es-
timating the amount of timber still
standing in the United States, and
that which we could draw from our
neighbor country, it will be nearly
a century before a substitute will be
necessary.
OF course the Forestry Department
is not idle in the meantime, and act
i've steps are being taken to maintain
the reserves and plant new trees.
When the immensely of the indus
try forces itself upon the attention, It
is little wonder that one is interested
in the men who do the actual work.
Early in the fall the lumberman
sends out his tote teams. with sup
plies to last for the season, from the
centres of Northern Michigan, Wis
consin and Minnesota, and he gath
ers a heterogeneous lot of men,
known as lumber jacks" compris-
ing men of almost every nation under
the sun, who leave civilized life and
go back close to natures heart" and
to labor as did their forefathers in
the days before luxuries warped their
strength.
Their work, in spite of the many
labor-saving devices OF the day, is
that of the primitive man. The dis
cipline of the camp life is rigid. The
men are up at 4 o'clock in the morn
ing, and work from dawn until dark.
At night their lights are out at 8.
Thore are NJ holidays except Sun
days. No liquor is sold or allowed
to be used in the lumber camp.
The cook and his assistants are
the first out in the morning, and
have breakfast ready as soon as the
men are up. The menu of the camp
is very different from that of a few
years ago. Now coffee, sugar, con-
densed milk and cream, unknown
luxuries to the camp of even twenty
years ago, are daily staples.
their hard outdoor life strength
ems these men physically, and when
one sees a large crowd of them eat
ing their dinner in the open with all
the gusto of a schoolboy, while the
temperature is sixty degrees below
freezing, ~ is disposed to envy
item. The plan of bringing out the
midday meal to the men, instead of
having them leave their work and
trudge back to camp, is recent idea
and saves much time, besides being
very pleasing to the men. The cook,
with his "run-about," brings the din
ner, "red hot" to the nearest open
ing, or clearing space, summons the
mon with his whistle. and thew sit
about on logs or on the snow and
partake of dinner utterly disregard
ing the weather.
1t is at the evening meal that you
see the men at their best. They re-
lax and thoroughly enjoy themselves.
After supper they retire to the bunk
house and smoke.
One might feel a little "finical"
about sleeping in a room after fifty
or sixty ill-smelling pipes of all sorts
and conditions had been filled with
tobacco, the odor of which battles de-
scription, but this, like eating out of
doors with the thermometer thirty
degrees below zero, is an acquired
taste
1t is only natural that there should
be all kinds of men in a camp-gar-
rulous, noisy men; sullen, morose
and reticent men. Sometimes sick
ness or death reveals the fact that
man who in camp is known as John
Smith really was given a name quite
different when he came into the
world, and perhaps sold his birthright
for drink, crime or for some other
reason. A camp is usually loyal,
though, and John Smith he remains
IN hn 4p hn oh hn
sires. Then there is the born enter
tainer, quite a different sort of fell
low, who always has story and who
Is always in demand.
The lumber jack, like the dog with
a bad name, is often maligned in
dividual, not being collectively any
better or worse than other men. It
is said that nine out of ten lumber
jacks are Incorporate, and it is GER
tain that the drink habit is the pre-
vailing evil. The very strictness with
which the liquor law is enforced dur
ing the long numbering season seems
to foster the desire, and in the spring,
when released from the camp, the
majority of the men never get be-
yond the Bowery district of their
home town, always conveniently near
to their landing place, until every
cent of their hard earned money is
gone.
1t is said that the moral status Of
lumber camps has improved in the
past few years, owing to the distribu-
ton of good literature, missionary
efforts, and the infusion of number
of better class laborers, notably Fin
landers.
In every camp there is a general
store" where everything from nee
die to a suit of clothes is kept, and
an account run with every man. Each
camp also has its own blacksmith and
harness shops; in other words, each
camp is small settlement, complete
within itself.
One thing done quite early in the
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