The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1910-11-17
/, MINNESOTA THURSDAY. NOVEMBER II, 1910

get real uuugFy ID Ut dt LII
thoughts travel back to that old
cook shanty and the danties it con-
tanned. The up-to-d ate logging
company Of today provide their men
with the very best rations obtainable
and W b at is equally important
the man in charge of til is de-
partment is usually one who under
stands his business.
The shanty boy as a rule is not
generally bad sort. Of course
there are always a few who are
prone to lord it over the less fortu-
nate members but they are the ex-
ception rather than the rule. There
are few places where the personal
rights of others are more carefully
considered b an in the logging
woods. The disputes that arise from
time to time are usually settled in
an amiable manner. Any one de-
tected in molesting others personal
property is always punished in some
manner peculiar to shanty life,
which punishment may consist in
anything from ducking in nearby
creek to being suspended feet up
ward from the rafters, and besides,
the remainder of his stay in camp is
seldom a pleasant one.
The popular conception of a lum-
Der Jack seems to be that of a man
of lower order, devoid of the high
er impulses of the more refined
members of society and lacking in
the many human traits which make
him akin to his fellow man. Moth
ing could be more erroneous. Jack
is human and in my opinion is more
sinned against than SHINING. The
conditions under which he labors
are not such as would tend to culti-
vate the better side of his nature.
His life might be said to be almost
entirely free of the moral influence
which tho more refined members of
society enjoy. His only creed may
be described in these few borrowed
words: Six days shall thou cut
and slash and on the seventh day
sew and patch" Still, beneath the
rough exterior of the shanty boy
there often exists wealth of good
His ever loving spirit of fun often
conceals a noble nature, worthy Of
a better calling. The lumber camps
are not, as supposed, filled with the
rifrafs of society. These men ir
many cases are the sons Of well-to.
do farmers, or the heads of large
| families from the cities driven thith
er by the stress of hard times anG
the hopes of earning a little extrs
money. Then there are those whose
many years under those condition.
have made it necessary part of thei
lives, men who never miss winte
| in the service and would seem los
under more refined circumstances
This latter class, as rule, amour
to little. Impelled by force of hab
it, they are first in camp in the fall
but as soon as the sun shines on bot
sides of the fence again they are Of
their way to the nearest town, wher
in a few days they often spend tn
entire earnings of their winter
work.
With the return of spring all log
ging Operations are suspended an
few of those who have spent the en-
tire winter in camp are sorry whe
!. they again take up the trail ths
leads to civilization.
! Life in the logging woods is in
deed hard one. Still, | think th
: happiest months of my life wer
: spent under these conditions. Th
! free and independent life of th
: shanty boy is one which many migl
envy. He lives on the best of every
: thing and is free from the worrie
and cares of the bitter world. Still
: like my companions, l can comics
to my pang of remorse, when 0
that bright spring morning | agai
, turned my face toward civilizatio
> al my first and last experience
), the logging woods was ended.
81
r, The ame sof our accommoda
s ing librarian, Mr.. V. d.. has spres
ri beyond the walls. The Mounta