The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1908-02-08
Logging in the Northwest
ny RAYMOND M,BR1DH.


the North and Southwest which once
produced most of the lumber sup.
ply, are now almost destitute of pine
and cedar, the woods which once
made them famous, and are cutting
timber formerly despised. The we'll
known logging scenes Of the New
England States will 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 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 o'clock in the morn
ing, and work from dawn until dark.
At night their lights are out at 9.
There are no 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
Injuries to the camp of even twenty
years ago, are daily staples.
their hard outdoor life strength
ems these men physically, and when
one sees 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, one 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, lis a 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
men with his whistle, and they 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 O.
doors with the thermometer thirty
degrees below Zero is an acquired
taste.
tits only natural that there should
be all kinds of men in a camp-gar
rulous, noisy men; sullen, morost
and retfcent men. Sometimes sick
ness Or death reveals the fact that f:
man who in camp is known as Johl
Smith really was given a name quit,
Il L