The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1917-08-04
Logging Camp Keepers
Lead Life of Comfort
During Summer Days

Lead Lite OF Comfort
During Summer Days
No set of men in the world have
an easier or happier life than do
the camp keepers" Of northern
Maine They toll not, neither do
they do much thinking, yet on in
comes not exceeding 500 cash a
year they really have comfortable
and enjoyable existence. These
happy men are the keepers, or care
takers of lumber camps during the
five months of the year that logging
operations are suspended and the
camps are deserted.
When the work of cutting the
winters crop of logs has been CON-
pleted and the last of the crew has
gone down the river to Bangor
somebody must guard the camps,
the provisions that have been left
over, and all the valuable outfit
and must see that the property Is
not burned up or stolen by woods
tramps or careless sportsmen. For
this purpose the owner of the camp
hires one Of the queer, happy go
lucky characters always to be found
in the borderland between the deep
woods and civilization.
No Family Connections.
These men havve no fixed place
of residence and generally no fam
lily connections that they care much
about. and they have a constitutions
al aversion for real labor. They,
are good fishermen. good shots, and
good woods cooks. They do not
need or care for many clothes and
have not the least ambition to be-
come wealthy. AL they want is
comfort, plenty to eat plenty of
tobacco, a good chance to hunt and
fish. and nothing whatever to do in
the line of work on regular sched-
ule. This is the life of the camp
keeper, and it is always easy to get
a man to take the Job.
When the last logger is gone the
kekeper comes in and takes charge.
He falls heir to all the dime novels,
illustrated papers. old clothes and
tobacco that may be left behind.
There Is always enough flour, pork,
molasses and tea in the camp to
supply a dozen men for a year, and
the keeper has his choice OF fifty
hunks to sleep in. He has a rifle,
fishing rod, big jackknife, lots
Of clay pipes. a complete knowledge
Of the woods, and dreamy indiff-
erence to all that goes on In the
outside world.
Don't Know Of War.
It often happens that the camp
keeper doesn't know who is presi-
dent Of the United States, and,
what is more, he does not care
rap. There are people in the north
woods who haven't yet heard of the
United States going to war with
Germany and are not likely to hear
of it until after the fuss is all over
with.
An Austrian whom the Bangor
ponce arrested the other day on
suspicion of being a German spy
when asked what was his attitude
toward the United States in the
war looked bewildered and asked,
What war;" He had been in the
deep woods for four years and had
not heard of the big clash. The
world is bigger than many people
realize. especially in the deep
woods. where news penetrates
slowly.
Sets Camp In Order.
For a week or two after the de-
parture of the logging crew the
camp keeper is busy-overworked,
in fact, for he has to "pick up the
camp"-that is, set everything in
order and take a mental inventory
of the stuff left over for his dis
posal. Having completed this la.
borious task. he settles down for a
rest of a few months. which rest
is interrupted only by fishing trips
or excursions into the woods to
look up places frequented by moose