The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1908-01-09
A Winter in Inc Canadian woods
Br tlnSr


be aud many asrchAnis failed and
AZ result shs road. wsFe fall u tramps
all over our fair land and Iimcs wsr
fally a. bard A. they arr today 4 soi
nauft ~.
foaf commercial trAveiers, usually
called 'draamers. . from Troy, rrprs
seu,ing some 81 the largest houses q
tina. lively city Al the bead ~ nAsign
l.on on The Hudson. found themselves
stranded on The Canadian line between
Rou-s Point and 0sdensburg. y. y.
There Vas no USE trying 10 sell goods
aud IS for collections. they we're out oi
The question for there wSs 30 money
siioai. All four 81 these young men
we're in"ide Of thirty. hearty, stout aud
nugget They received Christmas pre-.
senis from the houses they worked Tor
IN the shape " notices to the effect
thai unlii she panic blea over their
services would NO longer be needed and
for them 10 deduct pay up 10 January
lsi. aud send any balance left into the
home Office by express prepaid. There
was mol dollar balance IA any Of their
pockets and the united cash on hand
was less than 300 10 each drummer.
There was no use gong back 10 Troy
20 after long talk they concluded TO
~ into Canada, as living was cheaper
there aud the chances just rs good 10
find work. So they walked out Of
Malone one fine cold morning aud be-
fore noon we're ia the Queens domin-
ION. and before Christmas they were in
Montreal, They stayed together and
earned aCfew dollars as clerks ia hotels
and stores, but after the holidays had
passed there WAS nothing 10 be done.
One night big Scotchman came 10 the
cheap hotel where they were stopping
and earning their board by doing
chores This Scotchman said he want
some men 10 20 up the Ottawa river
10 big logging camp where he had
big contract 10 cut and haul saw logs
10 the river. He frankly said that
ease Of smallpox had broken out there
and, while most of the French Canadian
choppers and leaders had had the dis
ease when young aud would stay and
finish the hauling and help make the
drive in the spring, every English
speaking man had left and he had but
one man who could read and write and
be was sick with smallpox aud could
not get away 1t so happened that all
four OF these Yankee drummers had
been exposed to smallpox the winter
before at the lee CARNIVAL at Montreal
aud had been vaccinated by the city
doctors and had had varioloid and so
were immune 10 that disease.
The big Scotchman, whose name was
James Mcdonald, talked much of how
il would ruin him If he could not fulfill
his contract, and he said that if the
logs laid in the woods all summer they
would become spalty aud worm eaten
and be nearly worthless, and said if he
could get three or four good men as
branders, counters, timekeepers and
boarding house bosses he could go on
and finish his contract, make money
and pay good wages. The boys talked
/ over and finally asked Mcdonald
What he would give month and that
hey would all go il the consideration
was good. He said he would give $50
4 month to each OF them and driving
ay. or bounty, if they stayed with the
irive in the spring and helped it out.
This lay be said amounted to so TO
zach of them rs it would take from
hree 70 four weeks to make the drive,
,ut il they did not help make the drive
md get the logs out their pay would be
40 a month for the time they worked,
md that il would take five months to
ret the logs TO market, or until about
Iune, making about $3.50 each If they
the job. The outcome Of il
Was the boys hired out aud struck the
rail by rail up 10 the nearest point to
he cutting, then with several spans OF
French horses and sleds loaded with
lour, meal, pork, beef and other com
nissary goods; axes, harness. horse
hoes, and general supply Of mocas-
ins, boots, clothing, medicine and
ther supplies for five months logging
amp. These were packed in six heavy
ron. bound river boats and loaded onto
he sleds and off they went, gang Of
0 men, for the lumber job 100 miles
pstream. 1t required week to get
here AS the snow was deep IN places
nd the road was only trail cut
through the woods beside the stream
yhich was too rapid to freeze solid
nough to travel on. The weather was
old, zero aud below all the time, but
hey had plenty Of blankets and four
A" tents to sleep in and did not mind
he cold, when they got TO the camp
ley found determined feeling among
he men there TO leave in a body, throw
y the job and desert the camp. Me
donald told them a the hard times
utside and the drummers helped him
splain how they had had TO come in
T starve, So finally the man GONZALES
ng from smallpox and four others
BIO bad been hurt or sick took span
nsedup horses and an old pung sled
it'll provisions for two weeks and SO
,eh and left camp for good. The boys
,on worked into the harness and work
ent on finely. One OF them calipered
I'D counted the logs at the river skid
ng place, another attended the brand
x Of each log on two sides and butt,
iother looked after the teams, seeing
at they were cared for, fed regular
I'd shod and groomed. while another