Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1912-12-03

Id mining regions, the miners;
and in the timber regions, the
lumber jack. While the work of the
lumber jack is not So spectacular as
the round up and 'broncho busting
of the cowboy, he is an interesting
and picturesque character who is rap
idly disappearing with the vanishing
of our forests. In the time OF his
glory he is the fellow well met who
has labored all winter in lumber
camp, saved a few hundred dollars,
gone to the city in the spring and per-
haps in less than 4S hours after land
ing is minus his roll of bills and has
nothing to show for it except head
ache and very indistinct recollection
how he came by that. With the lum-
Der jack will go the lumber camp, the
camp cook" the turnkey" the boss"
and other worthless
From Michigan to the Pacific coast
are found the lumber camps, employ
ing at seasons of the year thousands
of men. These lumber camps, small
communities in themselves, have their
unwritten laws and regulations, DIFF
fering more or less in the several
states. -F#
A few years ago the writer with a
crew of men was sent out early one
fall to lumber camp to cut Eastwood
for a bedding firm. The cook with a
few of the lumber jacks had remained
in camp during the summer to load
logs. but all the formal customs Of the
camp were preserved. We looked up
on this excursion into the woods for
the purpose of cutting wood as a sort
Of late summer vacation, and were ac-
cordingly In high spirits. When the
horn blew for the first meal we rushed
boisterously into the cooks shanty and
seating ourselves at the table began
to talk and joke The lumber jacks
looked at us with sort of awe and
then glanced at the cook.
Cooks Commands Obeyed.
mo talking at the table," the cook
fiercely called out as he glared upon
us. This command, so sudden and un
usual, was strictly obeyed during the
meal. At first we took it to be a re
Duke for our noisy way of entering the
cook shanty, but after the meal was
over we were informed that talking
at the table was a serious breach o.
the regulations and that we had better
abide by the rule.
The privileged character in camp l!
the cook. Within his domain his au
thority Is supreme. The saying tina
the way to reach mans hear
is through his stomach holds good II
the lumber camp, and a cook cal
make or mar the efficiency of ;
crew of men by the quality of hi
cooking .,t..
In Wisconsin and certain parts o
Minnesota the lumber jacks enter TIL
cook shanty" at meal times with
sort of reverence. Next to the boss
shanty," 1t is the holy of HOLES. Whel
the door is reached all conversation
ceases and the men silently file Il
and take their places. The head
the table is always reserved for tn
boss. Not word is spoken at mea
time except when victuals are aske
for Meal time, instead OF being
social hour as it Is in society, Is wit
the lumber jacks time of silence,
not of meditation. The origin OF thi
rule has been variously explained
The most plausible explanation is tina
the lumber jacks might inadvertentl
drop some remark rejecting upon tn
cooking, and thus insult the dignit
of the cook.
In Washington, at least In some
the camps, no such rule exists. A
meal time the men indulge in all kind
of railleries, not even excepting tn
cook. ,.s.''
r. 81 Where They Sleep. q
In all camps the meal hours are al
: nounced by blowing a horn, or, NOR
, generally, by striking large triangl
made especially for this purpose
the signal the camp swarms with me
rushing from the bunk houses to tn
cook shanty.
The lumber jacks sleep In bun
houses. During the evening they 8
along their hunks smoking and CO..