TheShantyBoyOrLifeaLumberCamp 10480157 PDF

E nta
rod aowrdz ng to A ct o 0 mm
’
f 0 1
By J W H
. . MM
A URI CE '
,
N ovember 16 1888
, .
FAC SI MI L E RE PRI N T
P u b ish
l ed a t C ent ralMic higan U n iversit y b y t he U niversit y
P ress f rom t h e orig inal in t he C a rk e H ist oric a L ib ra
l l
M
ry ,
ou nt P l easant.
O N E T H O U S A N D C O P I E S P RI N T E D .
4 27
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PREFACE .
I have prep a
red th is little wo rk with two sp e cific p u rpose s
in view viz : to tell the story of the l um b er woods wh ere it is

, .
least kno wn and to instruct and am u s e th e class of m en I

,
have m easurably strive n t o represent on these p ages . Ne arly

eve ry phase of labor has been written sung and told save the
, ,
labor of the pine woods Here I have found a field totally

.
unpre e m pted a nd ha
,
ve endeavored to so prese nt this life as ,
t o sho w h ow m uch could be do ne by a m ore ve rsa tile wri te r .
Much of the m atter in these pages has form ed m y editorial c o n

t rib utions t o t he col u m ns of the Ti m be rm a n o f Chicago a
,
nd a
,
ll
is ta ken directly fro m shanty life as I beheld it I gratefully
.
dedicate the work to the m en I h ave received so m uch kind ne ss

from th e Shanty Boys
— .
T H E AUT HO R .
TH E S H A N TY B O Y
L I F E I N A L U B E RC A M M
P
.
C H A PT E R I .
T um -
s now I Pom n war no m Wow s—T m: 0 m m0m m or
m Sm " Bot — La
m as m m cm om a flow m Barn cv m
Mam
.
Saw-L oo m F ouom h - Mm m
c nom Du c m r rt vn '
a.
Throw ph l h d I l l f i
’
ys c to t e ogs none o. t .
Y es, you a re rat her run down for a fac t

“
.
Y ou a re right Doctor, b u t what is t he reas on?

“
M
S pl y too m u c hofi ce w ork , sir .
Well , what am I to do? ”
Try some thing else or you a re a de a d man inside of a

”
y e a r
.
“
What el se c an I d o Doc ? I have to work for a l iving and
m y w ork is in a ne wspaper offic e .
Do? Wh a a i a d b
’
y th e re s
,
nyq u nt ty of t hi n s
g you c n o e
sid e s dying How he avy are you?

.
”
“
Abou t 140 pounds I th ink .
Well try a winter in th e w oods a nd you wil l c om e out

'
forty pounds h e avier in the spring ”

.
6 TH E S H A N T Y B O Y ,
B ut what c an I do the e I never was in the woods in m y

r ?
life a
”
, nd k now no thing abou t the wo rk th e re .
“
I ll tell you what I ll do with you Y ou knew I am running
’ ’
.
a hospital for th e m en in the woods? I ll pay you sixty dol ’
lars per m onth and expenses to visit the lum b er cam ps and ,
sel l tickets for m e What do you say Fitz?

.
“
I ll try it for a whil e Doc b u t I fear you have m ade a rash
’
,
bargain .
“
l l l risk it old boy whe n c a n you sta rt?
’
Well if I am going the soone r the be tter , .
That s th e id e a b ut you ll want a woods rig C om e with

,
’
.
nd we ll soon m ake a sh a
”
me a and you c an
“
nty b oy o f you
’
tak e the train north t o m orrow m orni ng

- .
”
“
A l l right Doctor I m your m a
’
n ,
.
The above conversation took plac e on the steps of the B

hou se in a certain Michigan town in th e fall of 1880 The
, , .
a rtie s in t he dialo u e we re D r H
g a m an of c o nside able
p r .
professional skill brim full of bu siness and m yself O f the

, , .
l atte r individ u al who will ac c om p any the reader throu ghthese

,
p ages it need only be said that along term of rathe r c lose

,
c o nfinem ent in a n ofi c e a s aportion of the e ditori a

, l staff of a
daily paper had re sulte d in the general prost ration of ahit h
,
e rto heal thy sys t em for the tre atm ent of whic h I had c on
,
su l ted D r H . with the above re sult H aving intelligenc e .
e nough to belie ve what t he physic ian advised I at onc e c on ,
se nte d to take up what was to be t o m e an e ntire l y new line of

living and ac ting by becom ing his representative am ong t he m en
,
worki ng in the lum ber cam ps in the c apacity of what is kno wn ,
A s I sh al l have o c c asion t o m ore

”
as a n Hospita
“
l Age nt .
fu lly deline ate and desc ribe the origin and val u e of l u m ber
m en s hospita ls further on I will b u t state that the m orning
’
fol lo wing th e ab ove c onversation beheld m e boarding a train

on the Michig a n C e ntral Railway bou nd nort h as one in a , ,
c ro wded train of cars filled with m en for the l u m ber woods .
Eve rything was new to m e and while m y literary work on a ,
newspape r lo c a t ed in a leading lum ber town had long pre

, ,
viousl y tau gh t m e the theory of life in th e woods and eve n a ,

OR, LI F E I N A L U B E R CA M MP . 7
l ittle o f th e p ractical , through frequ e nt ass ociation with woods

m en wh en in the discharge of m y reportorial du ties , still I had
“
n ever before felt called upon to term m yself one of th e red
sashed brigade ”
.B u t su ch was now the case with m e t o a ll ,
ou tward appearances at least I was dressed for the part and .

,
”
my ma “
ke up consiste d of good warm woolen pants known , ,
”
as Canadian gray blu e woolen shirt Germ an so c ks walking
“
, , ,
ru bbers stra pped abou t th e ancle Fre nc h he ad cove ring of the ,
variegat ed night c ap persu asion and a he avy overc oat A dded , .
to this was the ine vitable red sash e m ble m of the woods
“ ”
, ,
and b adge of t he sh anty b oy

“
A s the wa r u pon king pin e
.
would be fearfu fly void witho u t the ac c e ssorie s of the gre at

,
A m eri c an god I wa , s ple ntifu lly su pplied with Ni m rod pl u g
tob ac c o and abrier root pipe

,
.
T he sim ple state m ent that the c a r wa s fu l l wou ld b u t faintly
convey a com plete sense of the re sponsibility resting upon

Condu ct or John Sugars I t was fu ll in every form of the
.
“ ”
word . The se ats intended for t wo held t hre e and fo ur The .
aisles were j am m ed wit h he aving surging ro aring swe ari ng , , , ,
laughing h um anity ou t of nearly every kindred nation people

, , ,
n h
”
and tongu e . A l l we re fu ll a
“
nd eve ry m a ad abot tle It .
was the last dru nk of t he seaso n and it was abo uncer The
“ ”
.
m en we re boun d for the woods a nd along se a son of hard l abor

was before the m This was sim ply a good bye t o c ivilizatio n
.
,
and c onsiderable e xc use co uld be had for a c ondition of exhil

o a w w as ofi for lo ng d a Th
'
r io
t n hi c h the c u t - ys to c om e e .
sh a nty b oy h as bee n see n at his worst by those who h ave

“ ”
ende avored to desc ribe him Usu ally he is m ade the hero of
.
so m e to wn or c ity e sc apade in whichhe is c a u sed t o figu re as

,
the drunken fighting bu m S u ch ho weve r is ave ry wrong

,
.
, ,
e stim ate of a c haracter abo unding with indic ations of the be st

ph ases in our h um an natu re althou gh freq u ently e xhibited in
,
a c ru de form .An d right he re I wa nt t o record t h e fa c t
gath ere d from the expe rienc e of ye ars of personal association

withthis class of our popul ation that if I wanted a trul y sin —
cere frie nd one who would stand by m e withm oney and per
,
sonal assistanc e thro ugh thic k and thin when in trouble I , ,

8 TH E GH A N T Y B O Y ,
woul d turn t o the shanty boy c lo the d in h

“
is ackinaws ,
“
M ,
in preference to th e sl eek sm oo thsp e aking sci on of th

-
, e city ,
cl a d in bro adcloth occupying a plac e in refined so cie ty

,
and a cush i oned p e w in som e fa shionabl e churc h I have .
tri ed both a nd pro ved wh

,
ich is the true gold .
Acc ordi ngly were I to h ere lab or in striving to enu m erate

,
“ ”
m y first i mpre ssions o f th e shanty b oy as re ceived from th e ,
observation of that crowde d c ar fill e d with drunken swearing , ,
swelte rin g h um ani ty I c ould e asily place m ys el f in th e l ist of

,
t hose who only know the w o odsm an as they kno w th e c ow

— “
”
boy or th e arm y sc out— sim ply as a l ow depraved drunke n ,
blackguard B e it m y labor in th es e p ages to strive to sh o w

.
the better side of th e m en form ing the great pioneer arm y in

th e m arch of civilization .
B ut to re s um e The picture p res e nted in that train l oad of

.
m en going to th e woo ds was a laughably strange c o m binati o n

,
of the drunkenly sublim e and ridiculo us The co m binati on .
wa s m ade u p o f Am ericans French Germ ans Swedes Irish , , , , ,
English Poles and Indi ans A l l were m ore or le ss filled with

,
.
“
b udge and al l were hilario usly noisy Every m an was u sing
,
”
.
h i s m othe r tongue in snatches of so ng joke a nd wild a rg u m e nt , .
Every one was gl oriously h appy and the b ottle passe d from ,
hand to hand and m outh to m ou th with wonderou s rapidi ty .
As fast as one bottle was em ptied thro ugh th e window i t we nt , ,
and anoth er took its place I since le arne d that the gathering .
of bottles along the railroad trac k is no s m all m eans of a

livelihood for the lum bering towns s m al l b oy The reek of .
tobacco sm oke fill ed th e c ar and the roar of lewd song and ,
vil e words in al m ost every kno wn langu age form e d an invisibl e ,
atm osphere in fu ll keeping with the surroundi ngs am id which

, ,
John Sugars the cond uctor calm ly m ade h

, i s wa y in the
, col ,
lection of fares a work of no little m agnitu de am id su ch a

,
a n de m o niu m
p .
It is ne edless for m e t o waste ti m e in describing a drunken

caro usal The intention of this book is to pre sent the tru e
.
aspe cts of life in th e woods which certainly d oes not consist ,
in the expenditure of labor a s above e xp resse d I quickly found .

OR, LI FE I N A L U B E R CA M MP .
m ys el f ful lye c ognize d as a m em ber of th e guild and was soon

r ,
hail fellow well m et with th e m ost of the sober men at le ast who
, ,
were th ere as forem en or scalers b ound for cam p I had one

, , .
gre at failing however I could not drink As a c om p rom is e I

, , .
,
had to accept a chaw from over twenty profiered plugs of

“ '
tobacco When it was learned that I was an hospital agent

.
“ ”
,
I was m ade w elcom e on all side s for the woodsm en know the ,
valu e of these instituti ons and afiord them every consid eration
'
in the pe rsons of the nu m erou s a g e nts that visit th e ca m ps .
Of this m ore anon .
The trip was along and te di ou s one A t eve ry sta tion .

,
”
however our hu m an freight becam e less
,
“
With turkeys .
(cloth es b ags ! sl u ng a c ross the sho u lde r the m en co u ld be s e e n ,

”
ma “
ki ng for the several taverns where the tote te am the next ,
m orning woul d take their l uggage a nd they wo uld tra m p th

, e
ten or twen ty m iles inte rvening betwee n to wn a nd c a m p This .
was anothe r fe ature in m y exp erience that I had not taken

into consideration— nam el y the tram p to cam p B u t I was
,
.
and proposed to face t he m u sic with the

”
now a shanty b oy
“
,
rest .
The hotel at Roscom m on wh ere I pu t up was u nde r ordi ,
na ry circu m s t ances agood one b u t I stru ck it u nd er ext ra , or
dinary conditions It was s wa . rm ing withre c rui ts for the great

“
arm y of the pine and I m ight add from s ubse qu ent evidenc e
, , ,
wa s swarm ing with wh a t the del icate p hrased shanty boy

“ ”
“
designates Mic higan crum bs The night was m ade hideous
.
by drunke n m en b u t at l ast tired nature sank into oblivi on

, ,
and I becam e u nconsciou s of the row in the b ar room ,
and the snoring of the “

ch u m in bed with m e ,
assist ed by the othe r four robust woodsm en occupying the two

be ds beside m y own in the room I had left word to be calle d .
early and certainly I was It did not seem to be t en m inu te s

,
.
from the tim e I had cl osed m y eyes before a lou d p ounding ,
on th e b e d roo m door a rou se d m e It was yet dark b ut I .

,
tu m bled into m y clothes and hurrie d down stairs to have a

washand bre akfast The latter was serve d by a cross looking
.
ma iden not over co m ely or tidy who jerke d t he hash at

,
“ ” “
,
”
the table full of m en as though every di sh served was under

,
prote st and as a spe c ial com prom ise and c oncession on her
p art However the m u ddy c offee and toughb e ef c0 110 ps
.
, ,
call ed by courtesy beefst eak being di sposed of we settled our

, ,
bill at the rate of p er da y lighted ou r

, pipe s a nd p repa red
to take the tote road
“
It was a c old c hilly m o rning in
.
,
N ove m b e r .A sligh t fl urry of snow had fall en a nd t he ro a ds ,
we re very b ad Lord how those shanty boys did walk whe n

.
, ,
they got started ! Talk abou t pedestrianism there are lots of ,
m en in the w ood s t o- da y w h o c o uld do u ble di sc o u nt som e o f
the leading professionals Ho wever I did m y best t o keep it

.
,
”
u p whil e so m e fo ur or five
,
“
tote te am s heavily lo aded with ,
cam p supplies l u m bered slo wly after u s

,
The stars were .
still shining and akee n north wind direct fro m Mac kina w was , ,
bl ow mg . Aft e r the first five m il e s I began t o fa ll behind and ,
finally wa s glad to accept asea t beside the d ri ver on alo ad of ,
oats B u t the ro ad was terrible and suc h riding I had never

.
,
before endured til l at l ast I was glad to again hoof it

, ,
“ ”
if ,
onl y for relief fro m the intolerable jol ting I alre ady began .
e
to r gr et— like the tailor s t hree day app re ntic e that I had
’
—
ever le arned the trade B u t I was in for it and al l t he Irish

.
,
in m y com position c a m e to th e s u rfa c e i n a d et erm i na , t io n t o

keep u p appe aranc e s before these toil harde ned woodsm en ,
who would o c casionally wa it for the t ote wagons t o c at c h

“ ”
u p to th e m and then c hafi m e as a t e nderfoot “ ”

'
Soon we stru c k the woods throu gh whic h the tote road ,
m eandered ove r st u m p a
,
nd thro u ghswa m p on it s slow c o u rse ,
to c am p The woods we re arelief to m e I had e ver be en a

. .
lover of nature and the be au t if ul Mic higan forest c am e t o m e

,
as thou gh exte ndi ng a welcom e t o awande ri ng c hil d returning

hom e to find akindly shelter within it s le afy enc losure To the .
su rp ri se of the m en I u nc onsc io u sly b u rst i nto so ng :
S om e l ove t o roa m o er th e da rk seafoa

’
m ,
Wh ere t he wil d winds wh ist le free;

B u t ac h osen ba nd in aforest l a nd
A nd al ife in t h e woods for m e
”
.
Wel l done chu m m y shou ted abig B av City spiked b ooted

”
, ,
aristocrat of the c am p .
By c h i m eny h e hash a g o ot w oioe for bo rk undt pea

,
ns ,
rem arked afat D u tch b oor .
“
C ough it u p a gain de ar an we ll gi ve it t o the c ow yell ed
,
’ ’
another .
B owly Mose s b u t the owl d m a n s got a go od c hanther was

“ ’
, ,
the criticis m of an Ital ian from C ork .
“
Hold on pard till we get you in c am p and we ll have som e ’
m ore of tha t sounded alittle better from t he team ster b u t

”
, ,
t his sm all enc o uragem ent was dro wned in the sneering state
m ent
“
Pshaw ! Y er ort ter hear Ro llway Di c k sing You ng C har ‘ ’
lie Monroe if ye want t er hear asong When I war u p on the

,
.
A u Gre s five wint e rs a g o I ,
“
0 cheese the rac ket til l we get to c am p the n ye c a n slin
g ,
”
it out o yer Peg ou t boys peg out
’
.
,
.
Thus m y first Operatic e fforts were receive d bu t before ,
winter was ove r I c o uld hold m y own with the b e st whe n I

‘
had le arned the pe c uliar m u se p atronized by th e shanty b oy .
This re m inds m e of the reply m ade by A lbert Higgins agent ,
for th e D e troit S anit ari u m to a big cam p b u lly

, Al bert had .
j u st arrive d in cam p one storm y evening and as soon as he

entered the bunk room he was a c costed b
y a gig anti c shant v
b oy with
‘
“
See he re strange r the rule of this cam p is that every galoot
,
com m in in has t er sing asong or te l l a story or we pu t him up

’ ”
.
n u p is t o thro w h a w
”
P u tting a m a i sto ch d nwards
“
( m m o , ,
over one of t he b ig girth be am s e xtending across the shanty ,
and while one holds his he ad and t wo othe rs his feet anothe r ,
pou nds him on t he distended bosom of his pants with a boot

j ac k It s an ext re m ely ple asant operation whe n you are
.
’
ac custom e d t o the gentle re c re ation ! .
Hi ggins was at first d um founded at the re qu e st and replied
“
Well chum my I can t sing any m ore than a crow and I
'
’
, ,
ne ver co uld re m e m ber a story longe r than t en m inu te s b u t I ll

’
tell you what I c an do I ll j u st fight you half a string for t wo

.
’
pounds of tobacco for the cam p .

This wa
s a poser for the hustl er and he pause d as th ough
und e cid e d The boys go t onto the situ ation in a m om ent and
.
bega n t o yall
“
Go in pard and wax him !
Why don t you take h ’
i m up?
There s a chanc e to get yer work in ol m an
’ ’
.
I n th e m ean t im e Higgins h ad di ves ted h i m se lf of his ou ter

garm ent and th ro wn hi m s el f into p o siti on nu m be r one in th e
s
noble sci enc e wh en th e b ully m ad e u p h
,
is m ind th a t he had
hit ofi m ore than he could ch e w and in the parlanc e of th e
'
“
c am p to ok wate r .
Higgins was p erm itte d to transact his busine ss without

furth er m olestation but the fun of it was that there is not a
,
m ore com ical m a n or be tter story teller on th e tote road than
T he re iss ally som e b ul ly in every cam p and he is

u u
“
,
general l y an arrant coward when it com es to the pinc h O ne .
in a cam p I was accusto m ed t o vi sit wa s very cruel to al a d of

ab ou t sixteen whos e fathe an ol d m an badly u sed u p with
,
r—
rhe u m atis m — was sitting by the b oy one night in the b u nk c am p .
The bully cam e u p and j erked the young fellow 0 5 th e seat I n .
a m om ent the old m an struck the b ully a t elling blo w b e t ween

the eyes causing him to m eas ure his length on the floor where
half a dozen solid kicks took all the fight ou t of him Th e .
old m an was the hero of the cam p fro m that h o ur whil e th e ,
cowardly ru ma n was the bu tt and l aughing sto ck of al l hands

ever after .
B ut s uch ch a racte rs are not t he rep res entati ves o f the tru e
shanty boy who is u su ally generous brave and a natural

, ,
gentlem an .
OR, LI FE I N A L U B E R CA M M
P . 18
C H A PT E R I I .
T un 81m m F oncns or N s w ab —T un F E E DI N G PLACE — N a

n M
am am ’
s
B rom r—
'
A Gm or Cu ms wrrn S ATA N — H OW N a
n Sam H m snnr .
The sun was now up in all its splendor and the grateful ,
warm th c a m e to u s with a cheering w elcom e Silenc e was .
supre m e ! Th e wo ods had taken on the variegate d tints of

au tum n and shone in al l the gorgeousness of a Michigan
,
fore st and the sil ent forces of nature were at work on every
,
ha nd . Wh at c an b e m ore s u blim e than a stroll throughour

Michigan wo ods where th ese forces are at work?
They are re cogniz ed in every stage of ac tion from the infant ,
gro wth of the baby tree to th e t op m ost tuft of gree n that

see m s to brush the skies on th e giant pine towering two hu n
dred fe e t above you M
ark the work of distil lation going on
.
by which th e life j u ic es of the e arth are extracted by the tiny

te ndrils and sent co ursing th
,
e f u ll le ngth o f t hat mighty trunk
til l it reach e s th e top m ost nee dle of t h e fe athered c rest What .
aforce is he re sil ently at work ! Or note the gigantic grasp

th e roots of yonder m apl e have upon that boul der around
which they circl e The bo ulder requiring th e forc e of fifty
.
st a lwart m en to m ove is l ifted a hair s bre adth at a ti m e til l ’
, ,
as t he years roll by it also is rolled from its original bed by a

,
sil ent force we c an not com prehend the po we r of C r behold .
th e l ong le aves of each tre e as they see m to wave aim lessly to

and fro with every zep h yr They are drinking in atm ospheric
.
life to mingle with t h e vital esse nce cli m bi ng the tru nks and
branch es .
L ife life t h
—
,
at strange m ystery is at work in voiceless
- ”
p ower alike u pon the existence of the mighty pine as well a s

t hat of th e fragil e l ittle wild flower you carele ssly tread to

de ath B ehold around you th e silent battl e in the forest
.
wage d betwee n life and de ath ! There you be hold prost rate
som e m ighty m onarch that was a fair green tree long ye ars
e r e th e G e noes e adv e n t ur e r had fo u nd thes e sho r e s. T o day
-
it lie s prone and you stand u pon its rapidly de caying c orpse ,
”
striving to find the blaze which le ads you to som e l um ber
“
m an s c a mp Besid e th e prostrate pine sm itt e n by de ath

’
.
, ,
ou see li fe a nd vigo r b usy in seeking to m e nd the inroads

y
ma de by the destroyer With c easeless battl e th e co nflic t is
.
waged betwixt life and d e ath The sil ent forces of nature are
.
b usy with both the living and the dead Back into its original
.
elem e nts th e dead is being fast resolved whil e the life bestow
,
ing force is l a boring witho ut a m o m ent s cessation in e xpress

’
ing vitality fro m e arth a nd a ir to susta i n th e l i vi ng Al l this

.
com es with startli ng force to t he observer and whe n the iso ,
lated scope of his locality and vision is m ul tiplied ahundred

m il lion of m illions a l l ove r this old e a rt h o f o urs ,
the silent
forces of nature at work c om es t o him with such m agnitu de
,
and power that he fe els his own insignific anc e so thoro ughly
that he is l e d to ask how m uc h greater in constructio n or life
am I than yonder pine whose destiny after a thou sand ye ars
,
of living wo ul d s e e m to b e o nly to m ake a board fence around

a m ossback s shanty! If then these silent fo rces are so sub
’
l im el y great and grand in powe r what m ust the po we r be t h

, at
c o ntrols th e whol e?
N ow all that m a y so u n d ve ry
“
high fa l u ti ng to the pr a c ti
cal reader bu t su ch were m y gathered im pressions whe n for
,
the first tim e I tram p ed for twenty m iles thro ugh a Michigan
woods Surely where these pages are s pri nkled prodigally
.
,
with com edy and farc e a dash of the s ublim e m a

, y be pe rm it
te d .
“ ”
At noon we re ach ed the fee di ng place in the m idst of the ,
forest and the horse s kne w the stopping place as well as did
,
th e drivers Soon th e tired ani m als were vigorously fe edi ng

.
a fi w a a d i
'
a n d fir e b e i ng ki nd l e d c o,
ee s m ad e n w th ple nty of
br e ad b eef
,
pie a
,
n d cooki
,
e s w e m a de a h e arty dinner followed,
OR LI F E I N A L U B E R CA
. M MP . 15
by a rest of an hour for th e h orse s whil e we sat sm oking and ,
yarning beneath th e trees .
I had m ade the acq u aintanc e of a fine sp e cim en of th e w o ods

ma n on this trip one Ne d
,
adigan who as his nam e im plies was
”
M , ,
a native of the owl d dart Ned was engage d as tinker for the
“
.
cam p we were going to and he and I had struck up qui te a neigh ,
b orly association on the cars There we re two things Ned .
wo ul d not do he would neither play at cards nor drink

,
whisky .
While we sat resting bene ath the trees during th e nooning

spel l the eve r pres e nt b ottle m a
,
de its regular ro u nds p art aken ,
of freely by all save Ne d and m yself Com plyi ng with the .
inqui ry as to why the d “

l he coul dn t take a snorter like ” ’
the rest of the boys h e re m arked in a rich Irish brogu e ,
“
Is it why I do b e ke epin away fro m the bl agard c ards an ’ ’ ’
the di vil s drink the whisky ye d be wantin till k no w? Faith

’
, ,
’ ’
thin boys if ye care tel listen while the hars as do he aitin

,
”
their bit or corn I don t m oind telli n ye ,
’ ’
.
“
Fire away Ned we re all l ist ning , ,
’ ’
.
Well boys this wil l be the forth wi nther sinc e I t uck a

, ,
card in m e h and and its m esel f wor t he lad c u d play anythin

,
’
widin t he pas boords from draw til l fives an forties

’
,
‘ ’ ‘ ’
“
B ud its m esel f that got a lesson at last that will sarve m e ,
m e l oife in c a l a a a c onsa
’ ’
rd
p y i n y th t n obly t u ck the t e,ou t ,
n fo reve r c ured m e ov t h e cards a

”
ov m e a n th e whisky
’ ’
.
,
H ow wa
“ ”
s that N e d ? ,
Sh t Op boys till I fil l m e bit ov a poip agi n I c a n a l ways ’
, , ,
t alk b et he r whin I m shm okin H ave any ov yes a wee b i t

’ ’
.
”
ov t il b ac key .
Ned sele c ted my pouch from t he nu m ber of p ape rs of Nig “
”
e Head p rese nt e d co nclu di ng it m ight b e a t rifle su erior
g r p
, ,
and aft e r getting a good ligh t began

“
I had jest finishe d workin for T om Nes ter an the S ugar ’
,
’
River whe n the cam p bru k u p fo ur years ago nez sprin an

,
’ ’
with Nester s tim e c he ck for $190 in m e pocket 1 sho ul e red

’
m e turkey a n m ad e for Oge m a w Springs bo und for E ast

‘ ’ ’
, ,
aginaw till c ash m e check an have a bit ov a t oim wid the

gy
’
o s .
16 TH E S E AN T Y B O Y ,
Th e divil a sup or tast e ov whisky did I have till I got til l ,
Ogem aw Springs whe re I j ust had toim e till ge t ou tside ov a ,
c oupl e ov snorters before I wor an the cars fur Bay C it y ’

'
‘
.
Th e cars wor fil l ed wid th e boys from cam p an every m o ther s

o
,
’ ’
son ov thi m had a bottle so th a t by the t oim I re ach ed East ,
Saginaw I wor purty full .
“
I put up at John S c anl on s an Wathe r stree t share ye all ’
, ,
know J ohn T roth he s the b roth ov a boy an a fu nny divil

.
,
’
,
’
t o boot Well I we nt u p to T om Nester s ofi c e an got m e

.
,
’ ’
‘
stake al l in crisp new foive d ollar noats an thi n I stharted
,
’
, ,
’
out wid La rry Hann on a nd T im M el loy till take it all in as , ,
th e boys do b e call in it an begorra we got as full as twe nty ’
,
’
fat ganders Well abou t twil ve o clock that sam e noight I

.
,
’
, .
found m esel f el egantly c onne cted wid a gam e ov owl d sledge ‘

,
’
in B a rney Sim ond s sa loon an Genesee avenew I had along ’
,
.
,
lank black m ugged m ossback ov a lookin fello w for ap ard

-
,
‘ ’ ’
ner— faith boys a n I ha ve reason til l rem e m ber him al l the

, ,
’
days ov m e l oif B arney an another chap we re ove r fornenst

.
’
us a , n the ga m e wor a
’
gi nst u s fro m the s h t art till we w or ,
stu c k for all the dhrinks Well m e p ardner and m e we .

, ,
a rra I l a sc ho re u po n h
”
l a d fi bego ded the whole i
’ ' ’
p y o n n ,
m , .
Ye play a shtifl han ov sivin u p siz he ” ' ’ ’

‘
.
,
I do that siz I an divil a m an in town c an get away wid

, ,
’
m e siz I takin do wn a nothe r dh rink

’ ’
.
, ,
I wish I had ye in so m e quiet place by m e sel i siz he I cl

‘
,
’
.
‘ ’
sho w ye what sivin u p sprung fro m whe n i t wor first ‘ ’
invinted
’
.
The di vil ye wod siz I t he n I m yer h uc kleberry

‘
,
’
,
‘ ’
,
’
where c u d we go an e njoy alittl e quiet devarshion for I m

’ ’
‘
,
jest b elly achin for a chap ov yer size t el l teac hm e the gam e ?
-
’ ’
There s a big lam p b urnin an Genesee street bridge siz b e

‘ ’ ’
,
’
.
‘
There s no wan cressin now an I daur ye tell co m e do wn
’ ’
,
’
th ere by yersel f an t hry m e a whirl at adol lar a gam e ,

’
.
’
“
I t hought ov m e m oney bu d bad scran to hi m wasn t I , ,
’
l
p y a in all noight wi d
’
him an I k ne w I an d bat e hi m I m ,
’
.
‘ ’
wid ye siz I
’
.
,
That s right siz B arne y go an for I do be b avin till

‘ ’
,
’
,
‘
,
’
TH E S I I A N 7 l B OY
' '
I looked at m e c ards T he fo wer ov he arts wor turne d up .

,
an I had the j ac k t en and tray I ll st and siz I l adi n a

’ ‘ ’ ’ ’
.
, , ,
”
sm a l l sp ad e .
H e c l app e d the ten ov sp a des a an le ads bac k the

’
n it ,
u e e n ov t h ru m s a e a a a h
’
t m I t m t y Ho w t at ‘ ’
q p n pu n e r s , .
for l o w s iz I
’
? .
I ll sho w ye siz he pl ayi a the king ov thrum ps at m e

’
,
’
, .
“
T hat tu c k m e ten sp ot B egorra ye h ave m e siz I .
‘
, ,
’
.
”
P u t yer j ac k an that siz h e sh l appin down t h e a

’ ’
‘
ce , , .
I had tel an he l ed b ac k at m e wid the j ac e an m ed fo ur

,
’
,
’
ti m es an m y st hand ”
.
Ye c an t pl ay c ards ali t tle b it siz he h andin m e the

‘ ’
,
’
,
’
”
cards .
“
Me blood was u p ! I ll l ay ye fifty doll ars I c an siz I ‘ ’
,
’
sh
”
l appin do wn t en foive doll ar b il l s
’
.
Done siz he pu ttin down foive tens

‘
,
’
,
’
.
It wor m y d ail an I t u rned a j ac k an had a whol e han ,

’
,
’ ’
fu ll ov shm al l thrum ps .
‘
Give m e wan siz he an I had til m ake him foi ve til m e ,
’
.
’
wan .
“
It wor the owl d gam e o v si vin points we we r pl ayin an ’ ’
divil s c u re till m e if h didn t l ead the ac e at m e t he first

’ ’
e ,
whirl a n fol lo wed wid t h e ki n a t a whi h w h gh a

’ ’
i
’
, g n r y c or n ,
l ow a n ou t he went wid m e m oney

’
.
,
“
O c h! bu d ye aught til l have seen the ugly gri n on h is m ug ,
as he rake d in m e fty wan doll ars I d earned so harc

fi
’
-
,
‘
Ye c an t pl ay c ards wort h asent N ed M adigan siz he
’
, ,
’
sh u fliin t h
”
e ca rds
’
.
Be m e so wl siz I if ye say that agi n I ll b e afth er ’ ’ '

‘ ‘
, ,
th ru nni n y e o ver the b ri dge ye b l a c k swe ep si z I

’
It wu d sh u te ye b e tte r t o he wi nnie m e m oney N ed M

.
, ,
ad
’
‘
,
igan siz h
’ ”
,
e .
‘
Here s another fifty that I hate ye t his t oim e
’
,
’
a nkin do wn a not her t e n fe ives

’
p l .
‘
D one siz he c overi ng it ,
’
,
.
I m av h ere say that al l t he t oim e I we r pl ayin the little ’
hag an m e b reast k ept hating l oike m ad b ut I wor wild wid ,

, M MP . 19
the dhrink an the passion an if m e dead m other were standin

’
,
’ ’
fornenst m e I d have pl ay d the cards all th e sam e

,
’ ” ’
.
“
Begorra b ut th e se cond gam e wor worse than the first for
, ,
divil a pint did he let m e h ave ata l l ata ll a n tu ck m e m one y

’
wid a grin .
“
Tel m ake a long sthory short boys I ne edn t tell ye that I , ,
’
sa t forne nst that bl a ck d estroyer ov m en te l l he had al l m e

m oney m e wa tc h m e ring worth t en doll ars an whe n he had
, , , ,
’
all he sat an jiet grinne d at m e lik e an organ grinder s m on

’ ’
, ,
key .
“
Siz he I tell ye what I ll do Ne d Madigan I ll ax ye tell
,
‘ ’
, ,
’
sign this c onthrac t agreeing t ill work for m e for a ye ar an a ,

’
da ro m t onoigh a a k a a a h
’ ’
y f t n I ll st e it gl n l l y e h ve l
, os t .
’
What kind ov work is it siz I c are fu l loike

‘ ”
,
’
, .
0 , not m u c h to do siz he only til at e a n dh rink a n have

’ ’
, , ,
all the devarsion ye want so th at ye do n t go till c h urc h nor ,

’
bothe r wid the p riest for wan year an aday ,

’
.
’
Where s the m oney t il c o m e fro m ? siz I

‘ ’ ’
.
Ye ll h ave al l the m oney ye ll want if I win this gam e

’ ’
, ,
’
siz b e bu t as we hav n t pin ink or p enc il ye ll h ave till sign

,
‘ ’ ’
, ,
’
this agree m ent wid yer bl ood .

’
“
A t this I thou ght the ho wley relic on m e brist wu d b ate a
hole in m e wid it s thr um pin ”
.
H ow a re we to get t h e blood ? siz I

‘ ’
.
I ll j eS t tie this bit ov string abo u t yer th u m b and p ri c k

‘ ’
it wid apin an whe n there s alittle dhrop ov blo od ye c an

,
’ ’
p re ss yer t hu m b an this p ap er an say: I Ned Mangan agree .

,
till thi s c onth ra

’
ct .
Well boy s de ye k now wh at wid the dhrink an t he e xc ite

, , ,
’
m e nt I wor so bewildered loike th at I wor on the pint ov

, ,
agreein whe n at hou ght sthru c k m e

’ ”
.
L ay down yer p a
‘
p er an the b oords be fore m e till I lu c k ’
at it siz I
’ ”
.
,
T here ye are siz he l avin down the paper

‘
,
’
,
’
.
I jiet sb l ipped the stri ng ov the little b ag fro m arou nd m e

ne c k a nd p u lled ou t the reli c a
,
n la id it an t he paper whe n ,
’
wh i z ! it we nt off loike ab l a sh t ov gu n powdh er .

20 TH E S I I A N T Y B O Y,
What m ed ye do that? the bl ack wan roare d ’

.
I f ye be m an or devil siz I hittin him a swoipe wid the ,

’
,
’
b ag in the nam e ov God an all the blisse d sints I hid ye de

,
’
c la
"
re yersel f .
“
Well boys I ll never forget wh at h appe ned thi n He m ed
, ,
’
.
ad ashat m e wid aro ar an a yell like at ug whistle an I hit

’ ’
, ,
him be thu ne the t wo eye s wid m e fisht an k noc ked him ov er ,

’
the b ridge intel l the river where he fell wid a spl as han a ,
’
his h l oike hot iro n an I fell bac k widou t si nse or m otion till
, ,
’
,
”
I woke u p an it wor broad daylight ’
.
“
Where wor I do ye ax? Wel l begorra I wor in the c oop
‘
, ,
‘
,
’
an at 9 o c lo c k T om Olivar tu c k m e before owl d F ay the po

’ ’
l ac e j u stic e an ac h arge of dhru nk an dishorderl y B y t he

,
’
.
po wers if t he owl d D u tc h b ook bee r go at didn t foine m e ten

,
’
doll ars an would n t l ist hen tell m y st hory the divil a m inu it
,
’ ’
.
Th e na rrara h a d I l eft a d if Jo h S a l h ad t p a i h
’
p n n c n o n n ,d t e
foine I d have gon over the road for n inety d ays

,
’ ”
.
“
Did I ever afth er m e et t he b l ac k c h ap a g i n dc
ye a s k ? I ,
did n t th at n or did I want til B from that day til l t his I

’
u t .
,
have never handled ac ard nor drank asu p o v whis ky S hure , .

,
boys an if it h ad n t b een for the ho wl ey relic I ha

,
’ ’
s] th e o wl d ,
b oy wud av had m e b ody and b o nes th at awful no ight B ut .
prase be til t he sints I esc haped an e ver si nc e I ve tryed till , ,

’
atte nd to m e du tie s an keep out o v b ad c om pany

”
.
“
B u t wh at t he divil are yiz al l grini ng t b ou t as tho ugh al l ,
m e c o nve rsa tio n wor apac k o v b al derdash? I t wor b et ter for

ye t eam st hers t o hitc h u p t hem harses an l et u s git til c am p ,
’
before t he dark ”
.
We m ade c am p t hat night in tim e for s up per and as it was

M
,
one of t h e b est p rovided c a m ps i n ic higan I wil l here pre ,
se n t it a s aspe c i m en of wh a t life i n a l um ber c am p i m plies .
S u tfic e it to sa y i n c lo si ng t hi s c h a ter th a
p t I w as w el c o m ed ,
to the fello wshi p and c heer of as good al ot of woodsm en as I

eve r had occ asion to m ee t before t hat at C harlie Fi el d s head ,
’
q uarter c am p .
OR . LI F E I N A L U B E R CA M MP . 21
C H A PT E R I I I .
Or mm m UP A N ew Pwc aor Put s — H ow C AMPS A nn B um r— T nn N E C

E SS ARY A nrrc nns non A SE T or C u — e m A L tm nnn C am
'
A Ps '
T nn Rom a
n or r un P IN E T RE E .
“
al l ye sons of freedom t hroughout ol d ic higa
C om e, n M .
C om e a l l ye ga l la
nt l um berm en l ist to ash anty m a n
M
. , .
On t he ba nks of t he uskegon wh ere t he rapid w at ers flow .

,
O h! we ll ra nge t h e wild woods over wh ile al um beri ng we go

’
.
Before proc eeding furthe r with any personal re c olle c tions of

life in the woods it wou ld be wel l to give the ge neral re ade r a
,
synopti c a l revie w of the ope ning u p of ane w l um bering terri

tory and a pic ture of life in c a m p I n t his de scription ro
,
.
ma nc e wi l l be left ou t a nd t h e se nsa ti onal be relegated to

re a lm s of the u nreal while t he re ade r is invited to p ass a brief
,
half hour in a visit to aMic hi ga n l u m ber c am p I n the recipe .
for c ooki ng ad uck you are first direc ted t o c a tc h t he d uc k so ,
in ord er to see a l um be r c am p i n al l it s p ri sti ne glo ry you ,
m ust first be d irec ted how to get t here L u m be ri ng i n the .
abstract p art ake s of so m uc h si m ilari ty that adesc riptio n of

one ca m p will do for a l l so pl ea se i m a gi ne John C B ro wn of
, .
.
,
East Saginaw- a well -k no wn Mic higan l um berm an- tell ing

one of h is m a ny fo rem e n — Joh n D Eat o n to take agang of
— .
m en and bu ild aset of c a m p s on the O c qu eoc ri ver Pre squ e ,
I sle co unty Mi c h and p re p a

, ,
re t o l u m be r ten m ill io ns To .
p u t in t hi s a m o u nt o f ti m be r in wh at is c alled “
t he se aso n
”
,
exte nding from Septe m ber 1 t o A pril 1 re quires ac am p of 100 ,
m en a nd t welve te a ms Of co urse the leng thof the log road

.
,
”
or h a ma kes all the diflerenc e in the world b ut a two m ile
'
ul
“
,
h aul wi l l serve our p resent pu rpose .

To pierc e the unbroken forest with the nec c essary s upplies

for acam p of th e a bove dim e nsions is a work of no s m all m ag
,
nit u de . The growing s c arc ity of tim ber has driven the l um ber
m en u p on the h e ad waters a nd tribu tary stream s of the l um
”
b er regio ns and m any a
,
re oblig e d to
“
tot e th eir su pplies from
a distanc e of fro m thirty five t o fift y m ile s So the reader will
- .
kindly im agine the ab ove ga ng of m en to ha ve found alocation

in the pine woods on t he opposite sid e of the cou nty fro m
whe re they we nt in for the winter s Op eratio ns The first ’
.
thing ne c essary in th e lo c ating of a set of cam ps is water ,
shelter and convenienc e to the c u tti ng gro und so th at the

“ ”
,
tim e of the m en in going and c o m i ng to and from their work

ma y be eco n o m iz ed This
. bei ng th u s p ro pe rl y sele c t e d t he ,
first thi ng is t o start the cook a nd bl a cks m ith to work These .
are pl aced u nder a te m porary shelter of boughs while the

work o f building t he c am ps goes on All th e i m m e di ate sup
.
plie s for living together with the t o ols require d for b uildi ng
,
cam ps h ave b e en brought along with th e m en The tote “

.
ro a d t o c am p has been c u t ou t and bl azed from the front to

”
”
ca mp a
, nd the
“
tote te am s are se nt back for m ore and from ,
the tim e the m en go in till cam ps b re ak up in t he sp ri ng not ,
less than thre e tote te am s m ake the daily jou rney t o the
“ ”
“
front for supplies for the men and beasts in the woods The
”
c am p usu a
.
lly co nsists of fou r princ ipal buildings viz c o ok ,

.
,
and e ating c am p 65x3 5 feet ; the bunk cam p 60x30 fe et with

, , ,
sleepi ng roo m for 100 m en; the b a rn a nd stable with stall
roo m for eigh tee n team s and room for hay and oats for the
sa m e ; abl a c ks m ith a nd tinke r sh O
p wh e re t he m assi ve sleigh s
are m ade and all the tool s ne c e ssary for the wood s are m ade
,
and kept in repair The bl ac ks m ith and tinker (wood

.
“ ”
worke r! are u su ally go od workm en a nd m u st b e c a p able o f

doing any kind of j ob in their line I n addition to these
.
b uildi ngs there is wh at is kno wn as the van or o ffic e where

“ ”
,
the fore m an and seal er b unk and where the clothing tobac c o
, ,
and tools of the cam p are kept S o m e ti m es the fore m an has

.
his wife with h im whe n a little m ore efiort at c om fort and

'
s ecl u sio n is m ade in fa vor of th e lady .

It takes from t en to twelve days to get the cam ps in condi

tion to live in during which tim e the m en live asort of Robin
,
Hood life u nder c onvass or he m lock bou ghs B u t m any hands

, .
m ake light wo rk a nd nothi ng in the wa y Of l u m be ring is done
till the c am ps are all u p and the m en and horse s are m ade
co m fortable The shanties are b uilt in the m ost su bstantial
.
ma nner of the stra ightest logs ne atly sc arfed to fit into e ach

othe r c hinked and plastered in t h
“
,
”
e int erstises till all c old is
b ade defiance t o Lu m be r is necessarily scarc e and the roof

.
and floor is abo u t al l that sho ws t he work of the m il l saw all ,
else is form ed fro m the trees of variou s sizes m anipul ated ,
withno other to ol save the axe c ross -c u t saw and t wo-inc h ,
auger Here for six m onths are c o ngregated aheteroge neou s

. .
c o nglo m e ra te ofh u m anity of al l age s and rac e s withh ard wo rk ,
in ple nty and b u t li t tle t o am u se A giga nti c stove wa rm s u p .
the b unk c am p and t he c ho re boy has the be st owal of the

“
,
”
he at in the c ords of dry Norway he fire s u p with Ple nty of .
warm blankets sp re ad on a bed of ha y fi l l the b u nks w hi c h ,
are b uilt one above t he other alo ng both sides of the c am p , .
A c o u ple of h eadless flo ur b arrels let throu gh t he roof fu rnish

ventilatio n and natu re s swee t restorer bal m y sleep gi ves
“
,
’ ”
,
b ac k t he he alth and stre ng thsubtrac ted by t he toil of dail y

‘
labor The m en are u sually wel l fed T he se c ret of su c c e ss

. .
’
in t h e woods is well fed m en c o m f ort a bly hou se d T he follow .
ing ro ughe sti m ate s will show t he q uantity Of p rovi sions c on

su m ed b v ac a m p of 100 shanty boys for m en ea t te rribly in ,
the lu m ber woods

Flo ur per week 6 b arrels; beef 2} barrels; pork 2} b arrel s ;
, , , , 1
potatoes 8 bu shels ; onions 3 b u shels; pi c kles 1 b arrel ; sugar

, , ,
»
,
1 ba rrel ; t ea 25 po unds; c o f fee 16 p ou nds ; b u tter 50 pou nds ;

, , ,
l ard 40 pou nds

,
.
T hese together with pru ne s dried fru it salt peppe r m u s

, , , , ,
tard S pic es s au sage m e at and fre sh be ef al l go to sp re ad a

, , , ,
bou nteo us table .
T wo gre a t requ isites go to m ake alu m be ri ng j ob asu c c ess

in a dditio n to those m e ntioned ab ove vi z agood c ook and a ,
good fiddler A l l el se m ay go wro ng b u t good grub and a

.
,
good tune b efore turning in s m oothes over the rude exc res ,
enc es serving
,
to m ake the toil of the woods a b urd en There .
fore the cook is au tocrat per as of the cam p and the fiddler
, ,
first lieu tenant Th e cook cam p is also the dining cam p where
.
,
at one end two im m e nse cook stoves are placed and through
the rem aining length of the room two tables furnished wit h ,
bril li ant tinware are stationed where a dyspeptic wou ld fai nt

,
with p ure astonish m e nt at the appetite s e volved from b re at h ,
ing a piny atm osphe re a nd rolli ng sa w logs al l da y .
Y es ! It is a life o f toil b u t also one of he a , lth It is vir .
tu a l l y kill or c ure The m en are ou t of their bu nks by four

.
o c loc k every m orning Hal f an ho ur later the horn blows for

’
.
bre akfas t By five o clock the day s work begins and the m en
.
’ ’
are at their several st ations all bu sy at work long befo re the , ,
m orning st a rs have finished their song The cam p force is .
divided into sawyers choppers swam pers skidders te am sters

, , , ,
and lo aders The c hoppers go ahe ad and c u t a ni c k into a “ ”

.
t ree abou t fo ur inches ; t he s awyers follo w and from the oppo ,
site side saw the tree d own ; t he swam pe rs tri m O ff the li m bs ;

after the sa wye rs have c u t the trunk int o log leng ths t he skid ,
ders snake the l ogs t o the skids whe re they are piled u p
“ ”
twe nty feet high re ady for the loaders and te am sters whe n ,
haul ing begins to be take n to the b anki ng grou nd on t he adj a

,
cent river where the spring floods start them on thei r jo u rney
,
to the m ill .
Th i s the n in b rie f is t h
,
e wo rk fro m
, da y t o d ay r ai n or ,
sh ine till the j ob is done T he horn b lo ws for noon and

,
.
another inro ad is m ade u po n the c o m m issari at ; whe n afte r .
fiftee n m i nu tes re st the work for afternoo n b egi ns

’
, Withthe .
c lose of the da y the ti

,
red m en ret u rn t o c am p a n d afte r su p ,
rsa
’ ’
er the eve ning till ni ne o c l ock is theirs Co nve tio n
p , , .
,
c ards stag danc i ng stories and reading fil l in the tim e till

,
“ ”
,
the c hore b oy tu rns do wn t he light and within t en m inu tes al l ,
are asl eep T his is the m ere rou tine of c am p l ife ho wever
.
, ,
frequ e ntly varied by acc ident and death The Ro m anc e of “

.
”
the Fore st is daily ac ted ou t in the every -day life o f these
me n. They go i nto the battle of t he sa l og wit h their live s
w -
26 TH E S H A N T Y B OY ,
still the weeds are fill ed with rom ance b u t so closely

A nd ,
allied with the ridic ulou s as to be l argely robbed of its senti

m e nt and poetry The woodsm an stands and gazes u pon the
.
m assiv e pine nor stops to thi nk of th e ages of ti m e it repre

,
se nts . He o nly thinks how m any saw logs it will m ake A nd .
yet what volu m es of ro m anc e attac hes to th at m a ssive pine !

Let us t ry alittle picturing by way of a cha nge which m ay be ,
”
term e d the Rom anc e o f King Pi ne
“
.
C H A PT E R I V
T i m RO MAN CE or KI N G P I
NE— THE V ICTORY or run F RE N CH SH ANT Y B ox
.
This is t he spot t he c ent er of t he grove ,
H ere st nds a King Pine , the m onarc hof t he woods .
OT E L OA D F I R
T T H E S UB L I ME ST —
.
The glacier period had p assed The fruc tifying warm t h of .
the su n shone down u pon the rich allu vial deposits form ing ,
wh at is now kno wn as Michigan T h e sea retre a ting to its

.
,
destined pla c e sm ote with feeble forc e the s hores of the ne wly
,
born western world Upon its bosom we re tossed the se ed

.
lings of the fut ure m ighty forests From som e far away c lim e .
in the east c am e drifting a lo nely pine cone holdi ng in its

, ,
boso m th e prom ise of an u nborn life .
From the te m pest toss e d wat ers it was cast u pon th e strand ,
and the winds lift ed it u p and here it u pon t heir wings til l it ,
at last found l odgm e nt by the b ank of a rapidly flowing river ,
whe re it re sted for m any days .
A nd th e strange a nd su btle ge rm of li fe hidde n within the ,
folds of th e scaly cone he ard the voice of natu re speaking, and

,
OR
, LI F E I N M
A L U B E R CA MP . 27
responsive to the whispered invitation it reach e d down its ,
thre ad like tendril s and fo und for the m a hom e in the c on

-
genial bosom of Mother Earth .
A nd the ye a rs p a sse d by till th ey had res olve d the m selve s

into ce nturies and the centuries fade d away till num bered by
, ,
ages Still the l One pine by th e swi ft flo wing river gre w and
.
re w till his m igh ty a rm s stret c h ed ou t in royal

grande u r a n d
g , ,
his green feathery pl um ed cro wn b ru sh e d the skies

,
.
SO h e cast fort h his seed in du e se a son while the ages

'
roll ed i nto eternity till the great valley was peopled by th e

,
chil dre n Of th i s m ighty forest king a nd his race m ultiplied

,
and sp read t o al l the su rro unding lands B u t above the m all.
towered in su blim e m ajesty the pioneer m o narch who gav e

the m birth .
A nd h e s a id : I am King Pine ! N or did any gainsay him .
A nd b e ruled su p re m e nor did the othe r t rees of the forest

,
dare t o intrude u pon the do m ain whe re King Pine reigned .
A nd 10 ! t h i s m ighty m ona rc hof the fo re st waxed p ro u d ,
and p re s u m pt uou s and e xc l ai m ed in t he m a

,
jesty of his
power:
“
Who is like u nto m e or who is m ightier than I
,
A nd the Storm Ki ng a nswe red this l ordly c h a ll enge and ,
sh o ut ed forth :
“
I am the rul e r of the te m pest and am stro nger th an tho u !
,
I who b ol dest in mi ne h and t he lightning and the c rashing

,
”
b O l t c anst l a w
°
, y thee l o !
The n l aughed the Pine King and de fied t he o nset of the
Storm K ing .
A nd the te m pe st ra ged and sm ote u po n t he waving arm s of

th e pi ne b u t h
,
e bo wed not h i s fe athe re d c re st t o t h e te m pe st .
A nd the lurid bol t shot it s de athdeali ng blo w 1n v ain for the ,
Pine Ki ng al ike defied the te m pest and the lightni ng Still .
on high he to ssed his b ra nc he s a nd co nti nu e d to gro w in
strength and stature .
Then th e Storm King and the King Of th e Flood entere d

into acom p ac t together to bring down the p ride of this a
, n
dac ious m ona c hof the fo e st Ki ng Pine
r r — A nd the m igh
. ty
r iver arose in its p o wer and assaile d th e roo ts of the m onarc h

,
— the little te nder rootlets o f the lo ng past ages now gro wn

, ,
strong and stu bb orn in their grasp upon Moth er Earth A nd .
th e te m p est howl ed ! Th e thunder ro ared ! Th e lightning shot

in its fury ! The floods b e at u pon the roots a nd before the ,
co m bined forc es Of the Storm and the Flood m any of King ,
Pine s chil dre n fell pro ne til l the m aw of the m ighty river was
’
,
fill ed with the bodi e s of the sl a i n and ve ry gre vi ons was the ,
b attle The n the spirits of the Storm and the spirits of the
.
,
Flood clapped hands in gl e e and shou ted :

,
”
“
The vic tory is ours !
B ut when a l l wa s ove r the Kings of th e Storm and the
,
Flood sadl y shook the ir h eads and dolefully exclai m ed : ,
“
He c an never be m oved ! His life is as the stars that gl is ,
t en th ro u gh the plu m es o f his h

”
el m et .
A nd t h e ages passe d a way till final ly these western lands

,
were peopled by a race of m en before whom th e storm fled ,
su bdu ed and th e lightning be c am e a dray hors e A nd yet

, .
u po n the b a nks of th e m ighty rive r Ki ng Pine stood u nsca thed , ,
and l aughed in the greatness Of his m ight at all po wer s ayi ng ,
“
A m I not istil l th e m ighty m ona rc h of th e forest ? Who is
”
like u nto m e?
I fancy I see a shanty boy on a S unday afternoon lying
“
, ,
in his bu nk a nd readi ng the fo regoing He quietly swe ars to .
him self if he be profane and if not ye l ls rats !

, ,
“
B ut my ,
de ar boy this 18 the re al rom anc e of the forest you have bee n
, ,
re a
”
ding and 18 what 18 term ed the su bli m e ! It i s the history
,
“
of Ki ng Pine Therefore do not be c om e im p atie nt for the re

.
,
is still another side t o this rom anc e which we m ay term the ,
“
ridi cul ou s .
Listen chu m m y
Good boy m y m odder I go ieehigaun dis c om fan] to

, , M , ,
woark in lo m bar vood 1 c om b aae Cannada nex spring I

’
. .
ma k lots m onie a n bing you a n Jo sephine niec e new drea

’ ’
, s .
Good boy m odar; you wat ch your Bapti ste m ak som sm ok e

,
dis tiam Y ou k ee s B apti ste m odar he k ee s you an Joseph

’
.
, ,
OR, LI F E I N M
A L U B E R CA MP
. 29
ine; den go lo m ber wood s wi ng axe pull saw eat greaat

, , ,
p l en t ee pea soop ,get fa s t B o.n jo ur m on m a

,re b on j o ur , .
Josephi ne I go gaat twe nty dol l air m ont

,
”
.
An d 10 ! there c a m e ada y w he n B aptiste stood at the base .
o f King Pine and looki ng up s aid :

“
I tink he mi ghty dam fin pin tree He m ak ten t wenty
.
,
da m beg sa w loog
- .I tak hi m doown by tiam horn blow
for pea soop . N oow you watc h m ae m aa
, k som sm oke .
W hoop l a
A nd B a ptiste l aid his axe to th e tru nk of King Pine and lo ! ,
he fell and the spirits of the storm and flood gazed with
,
astonish m ent and excl aim ed :

“
What m ighty power is this that overth roweth King Pine ?
A nd the l augh
”
i ng chore boy replyi ng s aid :
“
“
H ah
,
a! it is a little Fre nch m an hired at twenty dollars
,
”
e r m onth th a t sl ayeth Ki ng P in e
p ,
.
Ho wever we h a
,
ve had enough n onsense for the present and ,
now for ac h a pter m ore seriou s .

80 TH E S E A N T Y B O Y ,
C H A PT E R V .
T H E S HA N T Y B ox rN H rs H ons — T an S TO RY OF A C narsrn as I N CA MP
C nA a POR TE R AND DA rsx— Vl erssrru nns or Woons LI FE .
when u pon the l ong hid soil the tall pines disa
A nd ppear ,
W e will c ut the forest t rees and sew where er we c lear

.
’
O ur grain sha ll wave o er valleys ric h our herds hedOt t he hills

’
When our feet no m ore a re hurried to t end t he driving m ill s .
It did not take m e very long to be c om e ac c ustom ed t o the

ro ugh a nd tu m ble c haracte r of ca m p life in a l l i ts p h ases I , .
su cceeded in m aking friends in every c amp I visited so t hat ,
to d ay the nam e of t he au thor of this book 18 tolerably well ,
known throughou t Michigan and Wisco nsi n S til l I m ight .

,
m ake two exceptions to t h e a bove state m e nt and even then ,
th e ru de ness I re c eived was m ore for fu n th an t o i nsult or ab use

me .
I re m e m be r the big sno w storm in February 1882 when a , , ,
g en era l blockade o f M i c higan took pl ace I had arrived at a .
ca m p of sixty m en in the neigh b orh ood of Piper Oge m aw

‘
, ,
c ou nty a bou t 8 o c loc k at night I was totally exhausted and

,
’
.
,
had with m e two heavy satchels The c ook kindl y gave m e .
som e s upper and afte rward I rep ai red t o the bunk c am p

,
“ ”
.
It lo oked as thoughhades had let out for noo n Eve ry m an .
”
see m ed on it and ape rfect fu silade of revolve rs was going
“
,
on . Fort unately no one was hurt b u t the horse pl ay was a

“ ”
,
trifle t oo m uch for m e and so shoulderi ng m y satchels abo u t

, ,
9 O clo ’
c k I sta rted
,
for Pip e r I n o rde r t o shorte n the t wo
.
and a half m iles by the traveled road I determ i ned to m ake a ,
short c u t throu gh the woods to the m ill boardi ng house at

Pipe r distant abou t a m ile The sno wwas thirty inches deep
,
.
,
OR , LI F E I N A L U B E R CA M MP . 81
and had I not been sc ared ou t of m y senses I wou l d never ,
have atte m pted to wade through it witho u t sno w shoes B ut .
”
do it I would and did re ac hing at l ast the b anki ng ground
, ,
“
,
on t h e edge of t h e l ittle l ake ac ross whi ch I c o ul d see the

,
lig hts of t he bo arding hou se There was abou t a m illion o f .
logs de c ked u p fo u rtee n tie r h

“ ”
i gh a nd I c l am be red o ve r ,
the m and do wn t he fac e bringing with m e a perfe c t ava

“
,
l anc he of sno w H ow I e sc aped bringing do wn the logs on

.
t O p of m e is t o m e a n e nigm a b u t I m a naged to get down to,
the l ake .
Previo us t o t he gre at fall of snow t he frost had been c om ,
p ara t i vel
y lig ht a n d t he re wa s not m u c hm ore th a n six i n ches
of ic e on t h e la ke be aring u p that tre m e ndo u s body of sno w
,
.
Th e woodsm a n wil l a t onc e see t he da nge r I wa s s u bjected to ,
althou ghI neve r stop ped t o c o nside r it b u t st arted ac ross the ,
lake T he weight of t he sno w had be nt t he ic e do wn in the

.
m iddl e so th at fu lly a foot of wa

,
te r wa s b et ween it a nd t h e
sno w on t op H ow it was that m y additional weight did not

.
bre ak the whole thing t hrou gh is another p u zzle If it had ,

.
,
no one wo u ld h ave k no wn of m y fate t ill next S p ri ng and this ,
i nc ide nt wo uld neve r have bee n writte n A s it was every step .

,
I took left m y trac k in the snow fu ll of wat er so that when I , ,
fina l ly a rrived a t the b oa rdi ng ho u se I wa s soaki ng wet A , .
kind l and l o rd agoo l fire and bed soon m ade m e fo rget m y

,
tro u ble b u t I shal l al ways dee m that the ne ares t c all t o de ath
,
I e ve r had and to am erc iful G od I al one asc ribe m y p re se r

,
va tio n .
A gain , in t he winte r I had a rather singu l ar exper

of 1 883 ;
ienc e m ore l augha

, ble than serio us I had walke d 1 4 m ile s .
o ver a tote ro ad le ading t o a c am p abou t t en m ile s so u th

“
,
west of H u bb ard L ake wh ic h had not been traveled since a

,
p re vio u s fal l of abo u t eightee n inc he s of sno w O n th at trip .

,
for t h e first a nd l ast ti m e I h ad t ake n with m e abou t $600

,
worthof watc hes and je welry t o sell t o the m en in c am p .
A bo u t 7 o clo c k th at eve ning I re ac he d the c am p of abo u t

’ ‘
thirty m en and saw at once it was ah ard nest It was one

,
.
of t hose c am ps whe re al l the supplie s are t ake n in in the fal l ,

and no toting“ ”
is done throu gh the winter Aft er su ppe r I .
exhib ited m y stock o f jewel ry and wat c hes Op ening u p th e ,

”
A big fello w who
’
whole lay ou t
“
. Then the fun began .
,
was t h
”
e
“
cam p hu stler frequ ently a m an in cam p bigger n
— ’
the push — took full possession o f all m y stock in trade and

“ ”
,
proce eded to apportion it into thi rty little he aps on th e bench ,
that ran arou nd the cam p T he m en gro up e d the m selves

.
abou t the stove while h e was c are fully sorting out the goods
, ,
and I w ell I sat in a c orner of ab unk and philosop hic al l y

—
s m oked Whe n the work of s orting was com pleted he b egan

.
,
the distrib ution

“
Phil l Martin turn yer b ac k
,
.
Who shall h ave this pile Phill ? ,

”
Josh Greer !
Who shall h ave this pile Phill ? ,
”
Bob Spangles l
Who shall h ave thi s pile Phill ? ,
S andy J ohnson !
Who shall have this ?
B en the chore boy
,
A nd so on till a l l had rec e i ved his a l l ott m ent A s each .
na m e wa s called th e pa
,
rty designa ted coolly stepped u p and ,
took his portion of the goods and at once pro c eeded to exam
,
ine it piec e by piece with ach , ildish curiosity Th e fore m an .
sa t there a nd s a
id not a word I felt for s ure I had se en the
.
last of m y goods and t o c ap the clim ax I was told I cou ld

,
bunk in with the big land pirate who had looted m y pl un

“ ”
,
der . It was al l shanty boy s hors e play however and before

“ ” ’
, ,
I was u p the next m orning everyt hing was gathered and placed
,
in m y grip witho ut loss or inj ury

, That day at dinner tim e I
.
sold the sam e cre w $75 worth of hospital tic kets and over $200
in wa tche s .
I shall ne ve r forget th e Christm as of 1883 spent in a lum b er ,
cam p By som e fatality m y b usiness had so shap ed itse lf

.
that in place O f be ing c om fortably at ho m e with m y fam ily ,
during the holiday se as on I was far in the interi or of North ern

,
84 TH E S H A N T Y B 0 Y ,
felt m yself dra wn toward one whom we will te rm Ch arlie ,
Porter who in m y e stim ation was the very ide al of a shanty

,
“
,
boy .
”
Porter was j ustly c onsidered one of the be st m en in the
ca m p witheith
,
e r te am axe saw or hook He was a yo u ng , , .
Herc ul es in stre ngth and an A pollo in p hysic al be au ty A bou t

, .
twe nty-six ye ars o f age and standi ng fu l ly six fe et in his sto c k

,
i ngs c l usteri ng brown h air witht wo gre at d ark bl u e l au ghing

, ,
eyes bri m m i ng full of l ife and vivac ity prese nts t he pic ture of
, ,
this yo u ng woodsm an Indian like we had sm oked apipe of .

,
pe ac e together in the shape of st rong nigger h ead and we re

,
“
,
thu s p rep ared to swe ar eternal friends hip for e ac h othe r for ,
sh
”
in pe ac e a s well a s wa anty b oy is u su ally im p ulsi ve
“
r the , ,
and verv m u c hd epends on how a stranger strikes a c am p “ ”

,
for eithe r c o m fort or a nnoy a nc e .
I p assed m ost of the aft ernoon and e veni ng in c onve rsation

withPo rte r abrief rel ation of whi c h as m y m e m o ry retains i t
, , ,
will exhibit one fe at ure ofthe vi c issi t u des of c am p life servi ng ,
t o tell t h e sto ry o f t h e ba ttle of the saw l og .
Fro m C harlie s t alk I soon le arned th at t he gre ater portion

’
of h is life h ad bee n spent in t he woods H e was now on his .
l ast win te r in c am p t o m ake his l ast stake

“
,
”
and gat her ,
e nou gh m oney t o pay on his little farm in S anil ac c ou nty ,
whe re withh
— is fa the r and m other his yo ung wife of le ss
—
th an aye ar was living .
The loving adoration with whic h Porte r spoke abou t h is

wife was a som ething refre shi ng in the m i dst of folly and
, ,
vu lga rity e spe c i a lly whe n rem e m bering that the fe m ale asso
,
c ia tes of the shanty b oy are not al ways of the gilt edged

“ ” “ ”
variety .
Reac hing b ac k in his bu nk Ch arlie p roduc ed the photo ,
g pra h of a ve r y p retty girl o n w hi c h he g azed wit h fo n d look

, s
of a d m iration telli ng m e it was D aisy his wife

,
“ ”
, .
“
She s awaitin fer m e ove r yonder p ard she is ! O nly one
’ ’
, ,
m o nth in t h e woods a n m y na
’ ’
m e s De nnis ! Then good by
’
lizaJane t o c am p an rahfer ho m e with agood stake in m y
,
’ ’ ‘ ’
”
tu rk ey .
He c ertainly was anoble spe c im en of m asc uline h u m a nity ,

and I thought th at tho ugh like O thello rude in spee c h any , , ,
m ot her or wife could be j u stly p rou d of su ch a son or h u sband .
H is fa c e wa s fairly radi ant withjoy as he told of his c o urt ,
ship a nd m a rriage with the little wom an a waitin o ver yon

“ ’
der and t he p ure visio n of his wife see m ed t o pe rvade the

”
,
s m oky surrou ndings of the ru de b u nk c am p as he dwelt in ,
e arnest tho ughhom ely l ang uage u pon t he be au ty and good

n e ss of h is D a isy It was to m e sim ply reflex happine ss t o .
sit and liste n t o him .
“
See here c hu m m y he feelingly whispe red I j es thi nk
,
“
, ,
’
I m bo u t the ha piest g aloot alive I do t i d h w

’ ’ ’
i
’
p n m n s o n y ou .
,
b u t I don t want to give it awa

’
y t o the boys he re s a bible ,
’
Daisy give m e when I left hom e l as fall She s hefty on reli

,
’
.
’
a is ! See whe re she s writ m y na h a f ’
g io n D ,
isy m e o n t i s
y e r le
‘
To m y de ar husb and Ch arle s Porter fro m his loving wife , ,
Daisy S he s asc oll ard t oo u sed ter te ac h school and j es

.
’ ’
, , ,
’
for D aisy s sa ke I kinde r like ou t he re in the woods t o re ad

’
, ,
this book I wor a lying in m y b unk afte r b re akfast this

.
Ch ristm as m ernin a re adin abo u t t he birth of Je su s an t he ’ ’
,
’
angels a singin t er the s hep he rds an so rt 0 thinkin how

’ ’ ’ ’
Daisy an the Old folks wo u ld be ahol din Ch ristm as ove r yon

’ ’
der in Sanil a c a n wh ethe r she s sort 0 lonesom e arte r her ’ ’ ’
gre at rou ghshanty b oy .
“
N o do u bt C h arlie she has tho ught abou t you ahu ndred
times to day- .
Y ou bet she h as an re adi n this de ar old book kinde r

’ ’
, ,
brings u s c loste r to one another see m s like ”

, .
“
It c ertai nly does and I only wishI were with m y own d ear ,
ones t o day Charlie It is aday like thi s that m akes one feel
- .
”
there s no pl ac e like ho m e
’
.
“
Right ye ae p ad have anothet pipe of t erb ac ker— j es
r r —
,
’
get onto this tu rkey (c lothes bag! an see all the so c ks an

‘ ’ ’
,
’
shi rt s a n t o wels D a isy p t i f an h ahaha— she pu t

’ ’
,
u n or m e —
,
in afe athe r piller too he roari ngly adde d “

Th e ide a
, r of a , .
fe ather pille r in ab im k c am p ! B u t I like t er look af it p ard , ,
tho I don t u se it
’
My s weet D aisy s head re sted on th at
’
.
’
the re pille r a n as y er t er s
,
leep wit h m
’
e t o -n ight I ll let ye ,
’
h ave D aisy s piller ter sleep on an if yer dre am s are a

’
s i nner
’
'
ce nt as m y litt le wom an s ye ll sleep well ’ ’

.
“
Thank you Charlie l I am rather b ald he aded and an
, ,
ove rcoat m akes rathe r a h ard pill o w so whe n you write to

M
,
nk h er fro m m e for the u se of h

”
rs Po rter th a ,
er pillo w .
“
I ll do it c hu m m y ! I ve got a lette r m ost finished u p an
’ ’
,
’
will se nd it in by the tote te a m d ay a rte r t o-m orror I hav .

’
writ to tell D aisy I ll soon b e ho m e H ow in t hu nder she ever

’
.
fanc ied a rou gh he m loc k knot like m e I c an t for the life of ,

’
It b usts m y bindin c hai n every ti m e I think

’
m e diskiver .
”
abo u t it .
“
I gu ess she could tell why if she wanted t o Charlie , I , ,
sa id looking at this unc u t diam o nd with afac e and form fitted

, ,
for a n A pollo .
“
Well I du n know m ab y B ut one thi ng I do know an
,
’
,
.
,
’
that is th at that there li ttle wife of m ine will neve r kno w what
want is or lac k aco m fortab le ho m e while Charlie Po rte r s on
’
de c k I give ye astraight t ip on th at partne r

,
”
, .
A nd so t h e e ve ni ng p assed away till the c hore b oy turned

“
,
the lights down and all t u m bled in and soon were i n t he ,
dre am less repose e nge nde red by honest toil .
The next m orning long before daylight the c am p was astir

Te am sters in the stable ; the fore m an A rc hie M
.
c G innl e
y g oi ng , ,
abou t wit hh is la nte rn giving directions a bo ut t he d a y s l abo r; ’
m en getting on their wa rm c lothing ; c ooks bu sy with the

m orning m e a l wh i le the l ea
,
ders having a lre ady e ate n sto od ,
”
re a dy for the word to get to the roll way whe re the te am s
“ “ ”
,
woul d soon be waiting for the m It was awierd pic ture by .
sm oky lam p li ght in blac k and white and I l azily l ay in m y

, ,
b unk thanking m y stars th at I was only an am ate u r sh anty

,
“
boy and didn t h ave to

,
” ’
.
“
Good bye pard good by ! When we m eet again twill be
, ,
’
over yonder in Sanilac c o unty when the spring ti m e co m es ,
gentle A nnie ”
said Porte r warm ly sh aki ng m y h
, , and as ,
he stood wi tha dou ble bitte d axe on h i s shou lder ready to ,
start for the cu tting gro und .
“
Re m em ber yer pro m ise to com e an se e m e an the l ittl e ’ ’
w om an nex su m m er We ll be th ar a lookin for ye an

’
.
’ ’
,
’
r a s so m e one els e ha h a ha h
’ ’ ”
p p ! S O lo
, ng c u m,m ey , , .
After bre akfast eaten in the gray of the m orning I lighted

, ,
m y pipe a nd sat down to wait for su nrise b efore p roc ee di ng
on m y jo urney to the ne xt cam p .
The m orning b roke cle ar and be au tiful Not a zephyr .
stirred the stillness of the kee n frosty air Th e rising su n j u st .
b egan t o shoot its rays athwart th e tops of the frost silvered

pines The silence was u nbroken save for the m e asured echo
.
of the distant a xe as it fell u po n the tru nk o f th e doo m e d pi ne

,
or the m elodiou s song o f a team ste r on th e ice ro a d with his ,

”
load to the banking ground
“
co m ing m ellowe d by the di s
,
tance .
Th ere is agirl in S a gina w ,
Sh e l ives withh er m ot h r; e
I defy a l l the world
T o find suc hanother ,
B un yer eyeg , bu ng yer eye .
Throu gh the long avenu e s of pine the filigree work of the

Frost King had silvered every tree and t wig with a net-wo rk
of l ace th ou gh which the new bo rn su nbeam s flashed with
r ,
-
ten thou sand scintillatio ns of pri sm a tic be auty T he c am p .
”
was deserted save for the sle epy c hore b oy lazil y s weeping
,
“
,
ou t the b u nk c a
'
m p or the c la tte r of the tin dishes in t he

,
kitche n The ryt hm ie thu d of the blacksm ith upsetting a

.
“ ” “ ”
,
pevey hook kept ti m e t o the stroke of the cam p tinker l abor

, ,
iousl y hewi ng ou t a sled ru nner fro m am aple root Th e

p i c .
tu re in light and shade tou c hed here and t h ere wi t h bril liant
,
colori ng was one of ench antm e nt worthy the bru sh o f aT u rner

,
or aCh urch I stood drinki ng in the varied be au ties of t his

.
lu m ber woods winte r landscape and felt kee nly and warm ly ,
the elevat ing inspiration it affo rded .
My reverie was ho we ve r ru dely intru ded upon by t he ap

proac h fro m the distant c u tting grou nd of an ex sled aec om ,
a i d b a b e r of m en of the c a p a d b a ri ng s o m ethi g
p n e y nu m m n e n ,
re sti ng u pon abed o f he m lock bou gh s Instinctively I felt .
th at som e terrible accident had oc c urred and m y worst fe ars ,
we re fu lly established whe n on app ro ach ing the c om ing c aval

,
88 TH E S E A N T Y B O Y,
cade I m et a sight I shall ever re m e m ber while li fe shall

,
l ast.
Upon the bed of bou ghs saturate d with his fast ebbing life ,
blood lay the form of Charlie Porter m arred and disfigu red
, ,
beyond re cognition .
“
Good God ! m en wh at has h appene d ? ,
”
Rather b ad ac c ident sir ,
.
“
Is it is it Porter
—
Yes al l that is l eft of him He has p assed in his c he c ks

,
.
,
replied the fore m a n b ru shi ng the m oist u re fro m his eye s with
,
the sleeve of his Mackinaw .
“
How in the nam e of he aven did it happe n ?
0 the old story c au ght by afal ling tree a
, , l most the first ,
do wn this m orning Get him to cam p as fast as possible boys

, ,
while I hu rry t o start the chore boy for the doc tor
'
and the fore m an ran on ahe ad .
“
I s b e beyond a l l help boys I asked , ,
.
Help ? I sho uld say so Why he s s m ashed t o a p anc ake .

’
.
Get him into the cook c am p boys and l ay him on the table , , .
I have som e kno wledge of surge ry and will do al l I c an for

him .
”
We soon had his c lothing gently re m oved and t he blood

washed fro m his fac e b u t I saw that there was no hope Ne arly
, .
every bone in his body was b roke n and his labored bre athing ,
sho wed where the b reast bo ne was sm ashed in His m om e nts .
we re nu m b e red .
A hor e a nd c u tte r wa
s s at the door t o d ri ve thirty m ile s for
the ne are st do c to r .
“
It is u sele ss A rchie I sai d
,
I n a few m om e nts h
, e will .
”
be beyond al l h u m an hel p .
Th e m en stood arou nd t h eir dying c om rade weeping like ,
c hildre n for Porter wa

,
s a u nive rsal favo rite .
A littl e sti m u l ant a dm inistered ca used the departing spirit

to stay its flight Porter slo wly op ene d his eyes fast glazing
.
,
with t he fil m of death and recognizing m e m ade a faint m otion

, ,
as tho ugh to sp e ak .
“
\V ha t is it Ch a, rli e ?
OR , LI F E M
I N A L U B E R CA MP . 89
Write t D ai y tell her

o— s— — —
I will Charlie wh at will I say ?

, ,
Tell her I died hO p in to m eet m y darl in

— — — — —
’
he ave n T hey
— . w ont b e e ry ha d ou a poor shan
— - v r —
— — — —
ty boy D a
— — isy l eved — o
A nd with t h e trem bli ng ac c e nts of hu m an love and tru st

on h is lip s t he ru de sh
,
anty b oy we nt hom e t o G od
It was asorrowful day in that c a m p I wrote t he lette r t o .
th e lo vi ng wa,
iti ng wife that afternoon e nc losing the u nfin ,
iehed letter of the devoted husb and blotted and m isspel led , ,
b u t bre a thing the love of his m anly he art forever still ed I ,

.
labore d t o m ake t he blo w fal l as lightl y as possible upon the ,
affli c ted one B u t al l was in vain for the yo u ng wife and her
.
,
p rem atu rely born b abe were l aid t o re st in t he sam e grave

with h i m sh e loved so well They we re l oving in life and ’
.
u nite d in de a th!
This is no fanc y sket c h b u t ab solu te tru th save in nam es
and lo c ation M
, ,
en be c o m e ri c h a
. nd t he wea lthOf our coun
,
t ry gro ws ye a r by y ea r till i t s e xpe ndit u re

, ca u ses a polit i c al
strife b u t t he noise of the real fight seldo m reac he s the front
,
“
,
”
and t he sighand c ry of t he wou nded rarely re st u pon the ear ,
and eve ry l u m ber c am p has its tragi c sto ry of disaste r and

de ath as abo ve desc ribed B ut it is in the lu m be rm an s hos
.
’
pi tale whe re the wo unded gath ered fro m the gre at b at tle field
, ,
of the pine c an be st be behel d in their m ultifari o us c onditions

,
of su f feri ng telli ng t h
,
e ba t tle of t h e saw l og .
C H A PT E R VI .
A N OT H E R PM or W O O Ds W onx — B nnA e e our A JA M— H ow T m nnn

LO D GE D I N T H E RIVE R I s RE MOV ED — A S CE N E or A c rI vI rv B na
'
vnnr'
,
A N D D AN GE R Dnm c rnn
'
.
The m usic of ou r b u rnis ed h ax sha

ll ma
ke t he woods resou nd ,
A nd m an y alofty anc ient pine will t u m ble to the ground ;

A t nigh t rou nd our sha nty fire we ll sing wh il e rude winds bl ow
’
O ! we ll ra nge the wild woods o er wh ile al um bering we go

’ ’
.
Did ye ever go u p on the j am c hu m m y ? ,
“ ”
N o I did not
,
.
N or com e down on the d rive ?

”
“
Not any .
Well ye h ave hal f of yer woods life to live yet an do n t ye ,

’ ’
”
forget it .
This was part of aconversation I once had with a noted

rive r m an in the sp ring of 1888 on the no rth branc h of th e ,
A u Sa ble I accepted his ab ove advic e and subsequ e nt

.
guidance to the driving c am p of whic h he was the fore m an , ,
from the experience of which trip the follo wing des c ription of
breaking ou t a j am o f logs has been gathered
“ ”
, .
Am ong the various branc hes of lu m b eri ng al l m o re or less ,
interspersed with danger pe rh aps no one featu re possesses

,
m ore excite m e nt d angero u s sit u a

, tions or opportu nities for the ,
e xhibition of dare devil disregard of death or ac c ident on the

-
"
,
”
part of the river driver th an does the breaki ng ou t o f a
“ - “
,
”
”
rollw ay of logs in r esponse to the spring floods which sweep
“
,
do wn the vario us inland rivers and their c o untless tributaries ,
toward our inland se as .
T o p roperly u nd erstand what a roll way te chnically m e ans

“
,
the work e m oving th e j am logs th e m ore difi c ul t and ar “

of r
d u o na B u t the work has to be done and that q u ic kly

. If , .
advantage be not taken of the flood wate r wh i le at its height , ,
the m ass of logs m ay rem ain hung u p for a whole ye ar

“ ”
.
C onsequ ently in response to the welco m e rush of the flood

, ,
the drivi ng crew are on deck arm ed and uniform ed for th e

“ ”
,
fray The l atte r e qui p m e nt c onsists o f close -fit ting c lothing

.
,
knee boots h eavily spiked on the soles to hold the m an on the

-
,
logs and pike lever with h ook atta c hed for h andl i ng t he logs
,
- .
It is si m ply wonderfu l to witness the feat s of agility s river “
drive c r
”
an a c co plish po
m u n a a
flo ti gn s aw-l og on the back of ,
wh i ch he is as m u ch at ho m e as an o rdi nary m orta l wo uld be

I n short the driver on al um be r river is asort of
”
in aboat .
“
.
am phibian and c an li ve all day in water filled with floating

,
ice ; yes and sleep sound in the sam e wet clothes the portion
,
o f the night given h i m t o re st It is si m ply an a wful life fill ed

.
in with ac c i dent dange r dise a se and death B u t t o the b re ak

, ,
“
.
ing of the j a
”
m .
Al l is now hu rry a nd co nfu si on Th e rapidly i nc re asing vol .
u m e of wat e r is rushi ng on wit hre si stles s forc e Thro ugh the .
i nterstic es of the m assed tim be r and over the su rfac e of t he

u pper logs the flood s weeps to p o u r ove r a
, nd th ro u gh the
,
“
j am m ed bre ast with the sulle n roar Of a m ad ning deluge ’
.
The ac ti ve c rew are at their several stations wieldi ng axe and ,

”
pike leve r on the face of the bre ast
-
,
“
Th e pouring waters .
have for these m en no terrors and with th e agil ity of squi rrels ,
they j u m p from log t o log where afals e step would be instant , ,
hopeless de ath Across the rive r o ver the bre ast a strong
.
“
hawser is stretche d A ttached t o this is a he avy do uble b loc k

.
and t ackle to wh i ch a l a
,
rge hook or skidding to ngs is fa ste ned
by wh i c ht he ja m logs a re seized The fall is passed throu gh a
snatch block on shore an d t wo fo u r or even six team s h au l , ,
u pon it till som ething gives way generally a rope hook —

, ,
ch ain or she ave and t he work has again to all be done over
, .
Finally one by one the j am logs are p ull e d out and sent float
, , ,
ing down the river as the even t c o uri e rs of the m ighty m ass
so soon to fol low B u t still the j am re m ai ns i m m ovabl e
“
.
”
.
The waters incre ase in vol um e and force ; th e roar of the flood
d rowns ou t the hoars e voice of the fore m an and the wild adj ec ,
tives in E nglish Fre nch Germ a

, n or S we di sh that a
,
re howled
on every h a nd c re aki ng bo u ndi ng pou nding tim be r be a

, ts a ,
terrible b ass t o the roar of the waters it is a Noac hi an delu ge

i n m i ni at ure it is ch aos c o m e a gain!
A t th breast waist deep in th e surging c hil
“ ”
e foot of the , ,
li ng wate r h em m ed in on every side by the dancing rolli ng ,
logs and t he p ulverized m asses of sno w and ice are seen t he

, ,
b rave st of the c re w seeking to sep arate the j am logs fro m

“ ”
the i m p ac ted m ass to wering highabove the m If they su c .
es ed t h ey will bri ng the whol e bre ast do wn upon the m with

“ ”
c e rtain de athas the result B u t re c kless and careless they

.
l abor on O n yonder l og setting u t t wo thirds of it s le ngth

. o -
,
from t he bre ast and two feet in dia m eter see that m an
“ ”
, ,
wieldi ng t he axe with skillfu l h and and rapid stroke t o c hO p it

in twa i n F or him death has no app are nt terrors T he sev
. .
ering of that l og is ce rtain de ath if he fails t o j um p wh en it ,
suc c u m bs t o the last stroke It be nds and goes do wn while .

,
he li ghtly springs t o another and is safe It was to u c hand go , ,
b u t eli c its no c hee r for on e ve ry hand are be held equ a

, l
instanc es of brave dari ng B ut the re is m ethod in this m ad
.
ne ss .The se m en k now at a gl anc e where the wedging key “
s to ne of this m ighty arch of overh anging tim be r has it s posi

tio n It m ust be re moved for eve ry m o m e nt the m ass be hind
.
,
it i ntensifies its i m pact Logs are squ eezed into p ulp by the
.
awful strain Into the b anks on eithe r side of the rive r t he

.
,
ends of the tim bers are drive n down deeper into the bottom ,
of t he s tre am the S pu rs sink givi ng inc h by inc h b u t o nly

.
, ,
be c om ing m ore firm ly wedged T he s urfac e wate r inc re ases .
in po we r The top tie r of logs are afloat and com e t u m bling

.
,
do wn ove r t h bre ast end on t o still further strengthe n and

“ ”
e , ,
re nd er i m p regna bl e the im p ac ted m ass The d ange r from t he .
hu rtling logs to the m en worki ng below is fast b e

co m ing m o re awfully re al T en hou rs of consta nt .
labor have p ass ed and so far have fail e d to break t he “
j am
”
. M en a nd b e ast s are alike exhau sted ! Mo re
44 TI I E SH A N T Y B OY ,
than one s erious casualty has already tak en pl ac e A .
m ore po werful forc e than a ny yet tri e d will have to b e called
into action ere th e j am gives way ! Th e breast m u st be m ined !

“ ”
Who will dare to place th e giganti c cartridge of dynam ite b e

ne ath the i m prisone d m ass Logs are rolling over the face of
”
th e breast in awfu l rapidity and the chanc es are fearft
“
,
sm all for the m an ever returning alive from su ch a forlorn

hO pe attack B ut it is not a qu estion of orders b u t of vol un
.
,
t eering . No forem an would take t he responsibility of

ord eri ng a m an t o su ch a task W ho will pl ac e t he c ar .
tridge? Half a dozen of volunteers a t o nce respond O ne is .
s el e cted He re m oves his su perflou s clothing whispers a

.
,
”
qui e t word or two to his chu m of good bye or the possi ble
“ -
,
”
di sposa l of his turkey tak es a fresh chew of tobacco and
“
,
prep ares for wh at m ay prove his last task on earth as coolly

as though abou t to fall a tree The dynam ite cartridge (or .
Herc ules powder! has a three m i nu te water-proof fu se attac hed

-
.
With this in one hand and a pie c e of lighted p unk in th e

“ ”
other he wades ou t to where the j am logs are firm est set

,
“ ”
.
The cart ridge is on a pol e ten or twelve feet long T he o bscu re .
h ero exam i nes coolly where t o pl ac e it and ha ving selected ,
the spot bene ath the archway he lights the fu se and c al m ly , ,
inserts th e destru ctive engi ne where it will do the m ost good ,
and as c al m ly seeks th e shore Every one flies from the ex .
p ec t ed u phe aval It co m e s
. with a fo rCe that belittles for a
m om ent th e m ighty ele m e nt it c onte nds with The air is .
filled with l egs ic e splinte rs a

, ,
nd s m oke Whe n it c le ars away .
a large chasm is beheld The j am is broke n and every l og is

‘
re leased ! Down they go into the ab vss till the river is fill e d
with flo ating tim b er for m iles .
S uch hurried ou tline d is the bre aking-ou t of a rollway or

, ,
“
“j
am in spring Only a few of the featu res of this dangerous
.
and e xciting t ask c an here b e given b ut th e re ader is assured ,
that the sig ht is well worthy of seeing and wh ene ver possible ,
”
sho uld be witnessed Bringing down th e drive follows th e
“
.
”
“
bre aking up of the j am I n this th e m o st of the tim b er im
.
prisoned floats down b ut the flood washes a great qu anti ty on

,
OR , LI F E I N M
the shore all the l engthof the lum beri ng rivers To gath er .
this and float it ou t is te rm ed bri nging u p th e re ar which

“
,
is a work in itself worthy of asp e c ial c hapt er on lu m bering

in this prese nt volu m e .
C H A PT E R V I I .
BRI N GIN G DO W N T H E R E A R
“
L I F E ON A L UM B
— E I
R N G IV
R E R TH E
— H AR
V E S TIN G or u m W I N T E R L ABO RS G LE AN IN G u m: L AS T or ru n
— ’ “
s L OG
C ROP — TI MB E B T n m vns .
L et apital shake ha
c nds withl abor ,
L et t he poor h ave t he bread that they ea

rn
F or su rely t hey need every penny ,
I s al esson quite easy to l earn .
A ft er the drive has b e en st art ed as des c rib ed in the pre

“
,
ce ding c hapte r the work of bri nging up the rear c lose s the
,
“
se aso n s Ope rations u pon the l u m bering rivers and is sim ply
’
th e ga thering of the sc atte red tim be r whic hhas drifted for pos
sib l y si x ty m iles a long the shores of the river thro ugh whic h , ,
in re spo nse to t he sp ri ng flood the dri ve ha

”
s pa
“
,ssed D u r .
ing t h e conti nu a nc e of high wa ter the lu m bering river bo u n

daries a re not ve ry c le arly de fined and for m il es inl and the
,
wate r c o ve rs the lo wl ands a nd m a rshes u pon whi c h t he e rratic ,
ti m be r is drifted t o re m ai n high and dry u pon the su bside nc e

,
of t h e floo d I t will th
. e refore be seen that the work of b ring
“
i ng u p the re a r or in othe r word s getti ng the stra

, nde d logs
afloat is awork of no sm all p reportions Thou sands of doll ars

,
.
worth of ti m be r is frequ e ntly th u s left from h aving drifted ,
beyon d the re ac h of the rear m en whose work of se tting

“ ”
,
dereli c t logs afloat will c onstitu te the su bje c t m atter for this
,
art icle O n a lu m be ring river fifty diflerent firm s m ay be b ank

'
.
46 TH SE A N T Y B OY ,
i ng th eir l ogs All th ese have a brand or m ark by which t o

.
di stinguish th eir tim ber from that of their neighbors j u st as ,
on the plains th e vari ou s brands o f cattl e o wners t ell to wh

, at
ranche th e a ni m a l b el ongs .
”
Wh en the drive takes pl ace these logs mi ngle p ell m el l with
“
e ach o ther at least to s u ch an extent that no effort at separa

,
ti on is m ade till th e logs reac h the boom ing gro u nds at th e

,
m ou th of the riv er H e nce one m an is g enerall y given the

.
,
”
“
drivi ng of all th e ti m b er there m ay b e in th e whole l ength
of the river Whe n the j am is broken and the drive begin s
.
“
,
it m ay hav e from forty or fifty to a h undred m iles to com e

”
b efore re aching th e boom ing gro u nds very m u ch ofthat di s
“
,
tance b eing over water of all degrees of breadth t ot afly oh ,
sc u rm g the norm a l channel of the river A s the flood does .
not last ve ry long a full thi rd o f th e drive is frequ e ntly le ft

,
stranded as above related whi l e th e driving c rew attend to

,
“
,
”
th e m ain body of th e tim ber le aving behind wh at constitu te s

,
th e re ar
“
. When th e river has re c e de d to its nat ural dim en
sions the su m m er is Ofte n p assed in the work of floati ng
,
th e strand ed tim b er and ve ry frequ ently from the lack of

, ,
water large portions of th e tim be r is hung u p till another

,
“
season s flood wil l start the m s ailing

’
.
We have to be thu s prolix i n order to c onvey to the m ental

”
vision of the ge neral re ade r what bringing up the re ar reall y
“
m ea ns . Th e term sim ply im plies bringing the re ar gu ard up

with th e body of the ti m ber whi c h form ed the spring drive “
.
”
The rear c rew co nsists of abo u t eighteen ri ver m en under
“
,
the captaincy of an exp erienced m an who thorou ghly u nder ,
stands river driving in all its variou s phases The crew sle ep .
on b o ard a fla t bo at while another of th e sa m e size is used

,
for co oking a nd e ating Thes e t wo scows follow the crew day

,
after day as they c le an b o th sides of th e river of the stranded

,
logs and the whol e season is frequ ently spent in this work on
su ch rivers as the A u Sable of Mi chigan and the e nom i nee M
of Wisconsin The work is very labori ous that these m en
.
have to perform The tim ber will b e found scattered far from
.
the river and the logs half buri e d in sand and driftwo od It .
OR, LI F E I N A L U B E R CA M MP
. 47
is no infrequ e nt sight t o s ee eight or t en m en carrying a saw

l og on th eir pevey ho oks for twenty rods to get it to the river .
They have t o often work waist deep in liqui d m ud to b e wash e d

of ,
f within the ne xt t en m inu tes by a plu nge h e ad over heel s ,
in the river Th en again the tim ber will b e found strand ed

.
,
in im m e nse piles in e ve ry form a nd c onfu sisn that driftwood
mi ght a ssu m e a nd the wo rk o f b ringing orde r ou t

,
of s u ch
a chaos m ay be surm ised t o som e extent Th u s for inst anc e .
,
the bre aking of the dam at Frem ont Wis this spri ng of 1888 , .
, ,
l e t loose of l egs whi c h were scattered all over the

,
m arshes a nd l a ke and their recovery was atte nded with

,
e at t rou ble a n d e xp e n se
g r .
B u t not only h as the lum berm an t o suffe r the loss o f m u ch

” ”
of his winte r s work b v the re a
’ “ “ “
r being hung u p b u t tim ,
”
b er pirates get th eir work in m ost effe c tu ally u pon strand e d
tim ber A s stated each lum be ring firm has its own m ark
.
, ,
ma de with the m arking ham m er in the end Of th e log Som e .
firm s have several m arks t o de signate the qu ality of the tim

The ti m be r thieves c u t ab out two inches ofl of the end
'
b er .
of the log with a fine c ross c u t sa - w and either bre ak the thin ,
piece be aring the m ark i nto fragm e nts or thro w it into the ,
river . This leaves the log free t o be m arked over again and
so stolen This is generally the work of som e u nscru p ulo us
.
“
jobb er who b oldly c om es to the boom i ng grou nds and cl ai m s
”
, ,
the logs as his own and gets them at si m ply the cost Of driv
,
“
ing . Thi s trick is m ore ge nerally done ho wever when the , ,
logs are ne ar to m il ls and th u s m u c h tim ber is lost in this way

,
to the tru e owners I n addition to this every boo m ing ground

.
,
has ye arly large qu antities of logs for which no o wner c an be

found generally accu m ul ated from neglect of m arking at the
,
banking grou nd “
Bringing u p the rear is therefore far dif
.
”
ferent from com ing do wn on the drive

”
“
The logs set afloat .
a re u su a lly water s oake d as well as gree n and float very sl u g ,
g is h l y in the we ak c urrent T h e log m ay fl o at a. m ile and

again strand or sink and soon another j am is form ed which re
,
quires the drivers t o releas e it T his wil l engage a cre w travel

“ ”
.
ing back a nd fo rward a l l day to keep t h e l ogs m o vi ng The m en

, .
48 TH SH A N T Y B OY,
a
re perfe ctly at h o m e a saw log and th e wri t er has ft c
on -
,
qu ently s ee n a river boy stick his pike l ever with his hat
“ ”
,
on it into a log a
,
nd li e do wn on the b ro ad o f h is b ac k on the
sam e and c om fortably flo at a mi le or t wo down the river T o
, .
”
“ “
b ir a log is a favorite am u se m e nt of th e river driver T wo .
of them wi ll stand on a log ou t in d eep water and by tread

, ,
ing it violently with their S piked bo ots s e t it rol lin g with t h , e
gre atest rapidity The ga . m e is won by th e one wh o s uc c e eds

”
in birling the o ther i nto the river
“
.
I n the u pp er p ortio ns and bra nc hes o f l um be ri ng rive rs a ,
su c c ession o f da m s a re b uilt by wh i c h th e wa ter is retained

su ffic ient for a flood which ge nerall y t a
“ ”
, ke s plac e twice a
da y si m ul ta ne o u sly with all the d am s T h e se d am s. are s o
plac ed as to wash down stranded logs to de ep wat e r where ,

”
they c an be regularly driven t o their destination
“
Ve ry ,
ma ny tho u s a nds of dol l a rs a re i nvested by l u m be rm e n in the se
d am s witho u t which it wOu l d be im p ossible to se c u re the ful l

,
“
log c rop . This i m p rove m e n t in river driving is one of c om
paratively recent date It is not so long ago that the S pring
.
freshets were the sole depe nde nce for bri nging do wn t he logs .
Freq u e ntly this failed and the rear was hu ng u p for l ack
,
“ ” “ ”
of water N ow the whole su m m er c an be passed in washi ng

.
“
which how
”
ou t ti m be r by the m edi um of thes e m ethods ,
—
ever c ostly in constru c tion have served the ir p u rpose

—
full y and it is o nly in co m p aratively sm all creeks and stream s

,
”
th at logs are now h ung u p“
.
A nd so th e long su m m e r pa re a
“
sse s til l the r is b ro u ght u
p
with the drive u s u al ly get ti ng th ro ugh in ti m e t o fu rnish a
“ ”
,
fres hsu pply t o the m ills Th e we athe r be ate n b unk and

.
“
cook bo ats with their canvass c overs have arri ved at the
”
boom ing ground The m en are p aid off and after aweek s
.
,
’
carou se are away again t o the winter s work in the woods A nd ’

.
so t he l abor in all its form s goes on from ye ar to ye ar and the ,
insatiable m onst e1gm il l s are fed with the p rod u c t of the forests ,
till th e day to com e shall co m e whe n the pevey hook the pike
, ,
leve r and the saw S hal l alike c e ase labor and c ities and towns
, ,
— fil l ed wi th happy ho m es a nd gla d he arts — S hall take the

preportions and witho ut exception m erit all th e confidence

reposed in the m by the owners o f ti m ber thro u gh th e ir havin
g
fu l ly and faithful ly di scharged the onero us du ties devolving u pon
the m This fac t is here allu ded to sim ply be c aus e any neg
.
le c t of the work of sorting out and rafting timbe r c an e asily

l e ad to vexatiou s com pli c a tions and litigation I n order t o .
m ake this fac t fu l ly ap pa rent the business of boomi ng and

rafting tim ber will he re be presented in detail as servi ng to
S ho w in so m e degree th e patie nt l abor required fro m the boom
com p any m en from th e p resident down to the h u m blest rafts
man .
The re ader will therefore please im agine the drive of

, ,
“
to be down at the boom ing gro u nds of t he Menom inee ,
Titt a ba wassee Thu nder

, Bay Muskeg on Al pena, , ,
or O scod a Boo m Com p any s boo m s

’
Of co urse there .
,
a re no b oo m ing gro u nds cap able of holding su ch

an a m o unt of tim ber at once and the “ ”
drive wi ll b e
'
strung for m iles above the lim its of the com pany s ’
sce ne of Operations This latter is us ually so m e land

.
lo c ked bay c los e t o the m ou th of the river or where wide , ,
enough on one side o f th e river its elf

,
H ere by m eans of .
long boom st ic ks well chained together the tim ber is e nclosed

and su bj e c ted to the sorting and rafting crew Thes e m en .
a re gene rally selected for their intellige nc e a nd sobriety as ,
well a s for th eir ability to ride a sa w log do wn the river It is

- .
not ev ery rive r driver ho we ver go od that will m a

, ke a raft s ,
ma n for a boom c o m pany he nc e only the choic est m en are

,
em pl oye d as very m u c h depends u pon their honesty in dus

,
t ry a nd s agacity Th e l atter instinc t serving to m ake a good

.
rafts m an is a n i ntu i tive abil ity to disc ern the m arks on a log
designating its o wnership and also the variou s qu aliti es Of

,
th e tim ber whether for l um ber or shingles

,
Of course th e .
cre w have a fore m an to overse e the work bu t u nl ess the m en ,
u nd erstand their b u si ne ss tho rou ghly inextricable confusion ,
wou ld b e sure to ensu e This wi ll be fully appreciated wh en

.
re m e m b eri ng that e a ch b oo m com pany has to su p ervise the

sorting and safe d elivery of m any m illions of tim ber during
OR , LI F E I N M
the season to hu ndreds of cu stom ers T he work of th e boom .
ing c re w bei ng thu s gene ra lly u nderstood it will only be nec ,
e ssary to tell a little abou t the work do ne in detail .
When it is e e be ed th t f lly t o thirds o f the ti m ber

r m m r a u w -
c u t in Mich i g an go es through the s e vera l boo ming grou nds of

th at state som e ide a c an be had of the m agnitu d e of the
,
pie c es h andled T o get a .t thi s c learly the followi ng table

shows the a m ou nt sorted ou t rafted and delive red by the va , ,
ri ou s b oo m co m p anies o f Mi c higa n duri ng 1887 ,
River . F eet aftcd 1887

r .
T itta wa
ba ssee
Ca
ss .
Au Gres
A u Sabl e
Ma i n stee
P ereMaq r u ett e
Mk g us e on
Whit e .
G rand
B ut o urse this was nothi ng like the am o u nt of lu m be r

of c
c u t for Mich igan whi c h indepe nde nt of sh

, i ngle s a
, m ou nted t o ,
feet for 1887 The c re w of a l arge boo m i ng gro u nd

.
like the T it t ab awassee will u su ally c onsist of from sixty to one

h undred m en The s eason for d eliveri ng logs e xtends fro m
.
”
the c o m ing do wn of the drive t o l ate in the fall or th ro u gh
“
, ,
the su m m er and fall m onths The rafts are fastened together .
by lo ng rO pes ru nning the whole length o f the raft and e ac h ,
s ep arate log se c ured by a we dge shaped rafti ng pin of h ard

wood with afork c ut ou t of its c e nter by whic h it s tra
, ddles ,
the reps and is then drawn do wn into the soft pi ne l og Whe re .
logs have to be delivere d at a distanc e the to wing is done by ,
tugs b u t us ually a cre w of fou r m en is s uffic ient to take araft

,
down ariver to the m ill it belo ngs to withou t m u c h tro u ble .

Of c ou rse these dry platit udes are of no gre at int erest to the
exp erienced lu m b erm an b u t th ere are hu ndreds of m en t o -day
,
handling lu m ber who kno w b u t littl e abo u t how it is m anipu

lated in its vario us m ove m ents b etwee n the stu m p and th e m ill .
”
While on the su bject of raft ing and boom ing a word or
“ “ ”
t wo m a u t what is k no wn t o boo m m en a
“
y be said abo s dead
”
”
h e ads or logs ownerless
,
D ead head logs are the derelicts
.
of t he lu m ber woods Usu ally they are am ong the best tim ber
.
”
in the drive b u t t hey got in th ere surreptiou sl y
“
,
Th ey are .
the property of no one and in th e boo m lim its they drift a bou t
,
laden with c urses from th e boom m en who roll the m o ver and ,
over lo oking in vain for a m ark That is the trou bl e with the
,
.
“
dead head he has no m ark He m ay be a good log cle ar
,
.
,
st uff at that b u t he belongs to no one He caus es m ore trou

,
.
ble than twenty inferior sticks Th e boom m en get m ore wet

.
ti ngs through th e season hu nting for 0 m ar on a dead

“ “
.
he ad than from all the rest pu t toge ther A nd he keeps it

'
.
,
u p int erm inably It is not once or twice b u t a dozen of ti m es

.
th at th e dead h ead pu ts in an appearanc e to again fool the

“ ”
,
unh a ppy boom m an He m ay be shoved off into a corner but

.
,
h e wont stay shoved and h e com es up again and im pu dently

,
gles with t he legitim ate s till at last when the seaso n is over
and all the logs properly m arked a re d e liv ere d the n co m es th e ,
“ ”
day of reckoning for the dead head He has m ultipli e d
.
hugely; and now there is from twenty t o fifty thou sand of him
in eve ry b o om lim it in Michigan a nd Wis c onsin He is s e .
c ordingl y pu t u p at a uction a nd like an i m pounded st e e r s old to

, ,
pay the expense of his keeping Seriously the care in m ark .

,
ing l egs at the banki ng gro und c a n not b e to o gre at Th e .
sh ortage in a winter s lum bering is largely due to carel e ssness

’
in the u se of the m arking iron a nd th e d e ad head log is th e

,
C H A PT E R V I I I .
S AT URDAY N IG H T IN C AM P — A . CH APTE R or S H A N T v B ov F UN — S ONGS

DA N C E s— S TORIE S A N D RE L AXATION GE N E RALLY .
F or t he ol d l ove is the best love

ll find it so in truth
Y ou
’
T here s no love l ike t he Ol d love

’
,
Th e fi rst l ove of our you t h .
Th oughm a ny t ies m a y bind you boy s

Y a forget the pa
ou c n t
’
st ;
F or the ol d love is the best l ove ,
T is the only love will l a

’
st .
S at urday night in cam p like its nam esake at sea is ge ner , ,
ally one of relaxatio n The work of th e week is do ne and the

.
,
working m an s day of rest the blessed S unday co m es sand

’
, ,
wiched in bet we en the ho urs of toil It is tru e that acrowd of .
m en left to the m selves for long m onths of isolation a

, nd with ,
ou t th e p u rifyi ng i nflu e nc e s Of wom an to softe n the aspe rities
of ru de natu re will soo n b ecom e in agre at m e a

, su re vul garized ,
and frequently e ven bru talized There is no b etter pl ace t o .
stu dy the variou s phases of h um an natu re than in a l arge l u m

b er c amp There m ay be beheld the c o ward the b u lly the
.
, ,
sne ak the genero us the virtu ou s and the dep raved A ll are
, , , .
m ixed together a nd depe nde nt u po n e a

, ch other for not only
assistance in lab or b ut also in m ut u ally helping to wile away
,
the few ho urs allotte d to re c re ation and rest The visit o f a .
stra nger a ,
nd m o re parti cul a rly an hospital age nt to a c a mp , ,
especially if it be on a Saturday night is u su ally looke d u p on ,
as a sp ecial pro vide nce Possibly the m ost s uccessful hospital

M
.
agent in Michigan is r George Sta

,
rrs ag e nt for t he North
.
,
'
west ern Hospital C o of Che b oyga n

. Starrs is a born m im ic ,
,
.
a good co m ic singer and d anc er, and as a story teller is si m ply

ini m i t able Th ese are the social requisites for a Saturday
.
night in cam p , a nd fre qu e ntly the fu n gro ws so fast a

“
nd f u
”
riou s ,
that all restraint is c ast aside and fre e licens e given to ,
eve ry descri ption of m onkey -shi ne arid rou gh horse play

“ ”
.
A s thi s c h ap t e r is intended to give a pi c ture of a Sat urday

night in c a mp a s I have repe a
, tedly witnessed it , the lib erty I
h ave take n in the prese ntation of s e veral songs not m y own,
wil l b e condoned by the au thors k no wing their efforts ,
”
are so well appre c iated by th e shant y boys
“
A s I have writ .
t en anu m b e r of so ngs m yself, for the boys in c a m p , I hav e

take n the prese nt Opportu nity of here presenting them not ,
be c au se of any spe c i al worth b u t as sho wi ng cam p life T hese

,
.
ma rked witha n asterisk bei ng m i ne own .
Janu ary 17th 1888 I find b v refere nc e t o m y note book

, , ,
wa s a n o c ca sion in which I was m ade p artaker in acam p S at “
u rda a
”
a w re m e m b e r w i l
’
y n ight th t I ill lo ng It s n B B Mi ls . . .
Rifle river c am p Mich whic h like a singed c at

,
.
, ,
was m u c h better th an it looke d It was bu ilt u pon .
the ol d-fashio ne d style with wh at is known as a ,
“
ca
”
b b ose in place o f a s to ve
,
The bu nk c am p was
“
.
c o sy
, and with b u t li ttle roo m one wou ld i m agine in , ,
whi c h to gi ve a variety th eatre e xh ibitio n Still in that .

,
sam e cam p was c ongregated m ore diversified talent than I ,
h ave m et at one tim e before or S inc e in th e woods I S inc erely .
re gret th a t I have forgotte n the fore m an s nam e b ut he gave ’
m e aright royal wel c o m e whi c h s a m e wa ,

s we ll s u pporte d by
every m an i n cam p .
Am ong thes e l atter were several good m usicians so ng and ,
danc e m en and ge ne ral utility actors all from St Cl air Mich

, ,
.
,
.
A few of these nam es stil l re m ain in m y m em ory as follows

Jam es and John Adam son Ja m es Beatie J oseph Edm u nds
M M
, , ,
Tho m as Marrion Wil liam c C ol l u m and arion B atsford

,
.
A ft er s uppe r th e fu n began a nd a regular Vau de vill e pro

,
w a w w n t o t welve O cl o ck
’
a m s p resent e d h ich last e d ell o
g r , ,
and I have fre qu e ntly paid a d ollar for far l ess enj oym ent than
, M MP . 55
I had that evening There w ere songs seri ous and c om ic and
.
, ,
d an c es fro m all nati ons Th “ ”

e Mu lligan Gu ards was give n
.
,
re re se nted by twe nty fou r m en arm e d with p e v ey stocks wh

- o
p , ,
w e n t th r o u gh th e m anu al o f arm s with perfe ct p re cision a nd
b u rl esqu e sp ee ches on l e adi ng topics, O ne b righ “

shanty.
b o y gave s e veral e xcell e nt repre se nta

”
tions o f pro m inent actors ,
an d all concl u di ng with a grand pl antatio n finale I don t ’

.
b e li e ve I ever l augh ed so in m y life a nd m o re partic u larl y at

,
t he i ngenu o usne ss m a nife s te d i n a dap ti ng any a nd e ve rythi ng
i n th e wa y o f co st u m in
g to fi t t h e part .
Let m e th erefore give th e re ader an ide aOf a Satu rday night

i n c am p not e special ly th e one above m e ntioned b u t si m ply
—
,
an id eal picture which will b e instantl y rec ognized by any one

,
who has e ver lived in t he woods .
S upp er is over and the spirit Of lazy abandonm e nt and to

“ ”
b acco takes poss ession of the bu nk ro o m til l the team st e rs ,
have retu rned fro m the work of attending to their horses and
o xen The n the fun begins usu all v with a gam e of hot
.
,
“
back in whi c h one m an be nds o ver with his fac e hidde n in a

”
,
cap and the rest all gathe r abou t hi m and strik e one at atim e
, ,
with all the possible fo rce Of the Ope n hand u pon the boso m
of th e victi m s p a
’
nts If he can gu ess who struck the blo w
.
,
the p arty thu s caught has to bend over and take his plac e .
Th e ga m e is arou gh one b u t seldo m or never c re a , tes any

trou ble while affordi ng lots offun
,
“
Sh .
”
ufi e th e b rog u e is a n
O l d I rish ga m e well kno wn a

,
s
“
hu nt the slipp er and is ve ry ,
pop ular in c am p B ut the c am p fiddler begins to tu ne up

.
,
which is asignal for a stag danc e T he l adies rep rese nted

“ “ ”
.
,
by rob u st S h anty boys tie a h andkerc hie f abou t their arm and
,
ofl they all go in a well d a nced set of cotillions with a zest

'
an gd u sto in dicativ e of the po w e r m usi c c a n pu t i nto l i vel v
heels It is abitter col d night o utside with a b owling storm

.
,
beating u pon the b unk c am p B u t within all is warm th c om .

,
fort and m errim e nt Im agi ne a l og b uilding 60x40 feet in size

. .
A round thre e sides a re tie rs o f b unks for eighty m en A gig a n .
tic five foot sto ve is fil le d with Norway pine and the whol e ,
bu ilding is pe rspiringly hot O n pol es strung around th e .

,
stove pipe is hu ng th e wet clothing of the past day Bunches of

,
.
socks strings of boots and shoe p ac e h ang pendant in all dirc e

,
-
ti ons. Up on the raft ers are pevey sto c ks and axe handles
seasoning Tw o sm oky lam ps cast a sic kly glare u pon the
.
scene A rou nd the room close t o the bunks ru ns one contin

.
, ,
u ou s l og be nc h filled with m en o f nearly a

,
l l nationa hties .
Al m ost every m a n is s m oking m a lodoro us nigger head tobac c o ,
which mi ngles with atho usand othe r odors A t one end is .
plac ed the orch estra usu ally aviolin and possibly a m ou th

“ ”
,
organ Th e pl aying is m eri t oriou s m ore for ze al than skill

.
,
b u t is cheerft given till all who want t o danc e have had

,
ful l satisfaction Finally order arises S lo wly fro m ch aos and

.
, ,
som e one S hou ts

“
Silence for a song !
The physical action now gives pl ac e t o t he m e ntal and
Te rpsichore s ubsides and C alli op e reigns T he cam p u su a
,
lly .
has a nu m be r of good singers and t o night there is to be a

-
,
“
singing m atc h of one side of the bu nk c am p against t he
” “ ”
other Thi s is pre c eded by a few solos by the favorites rendering

.
special songs c alled for

I m ove D an M
.
c G inniS gi ves u s the Flo we r of Kild are !
The m otion is vo c iferously appl auded and good nat uredl y ,
com plyi ng afine you ng Irishman steps ou t on the floor and in

a sweet tenor voice S ings
I m th
’
inking of E rin, tO ni
-
ght ,
l le white cot by the sea

A nd the itt ,
Where Jennie m y darl ing now dwell s

, , ,
The fairest and dearest to m e .
I k now that she waits for m e da

y after da
y
My hat
,
l g be there
e r ever on s to ,
T o m eet her m y darl ing m y own

, , ,
S weet Jennie th e flower of K il dare , .
CHORUS .
I k now that she s wa

itin
’
g for m e
My hat
,
g be there
e r ever l on s to ,
T o m eet her m y darl ing m y own

, , ,
S weet Jennie th e flower of K ilda

re , .
58 TH S HA N T Y B OY .
The applau s e is lib eral and in th e inte rim th e violin strikes

,
”
up u nbidd en in that clas sic known as the
“
,
Devil s Dream ’
.
F or the next ha lf hour the b est dance rs in the shanty t wo ,
and two e xhibit their proficienc y in j ig and reel st eps Then

,
.
th ere is another call for a so ng and the forem an being present ,
is warm ly solicite d for his favorite ; Biddy siz I m Daddy of

“ ’
them al l .
l l g
A itt e son I l l sin to-ni
'
g ght ,
I f you wi end a n ca
ll l
r
A s encoura g em ent to sh a
n t bo y ys
Th l
eir one hearts to cheer;
ly
I ts a
ll about m y o s I ll sin , j y g
’
WithB iddy m y dea r wife;

,
Th e childer tha t we bot hh ave got ,
I n the yea rs of ma rried life .
Os onus — Mati T im ad Da
F or t here s
’
r n, n n
B a y Pat ad S a
rne m n
Math w Mak L k J h a d Pa l
,
e ,
r ,
u e, o n n u
S usannaa nd Rosa nna

W ho pound the b ig piano
A nd B iddy siz I m daddy to them a
’
ll .
W hen I first struc k al um ber cam p ,
L ord boys b ut I wa s green ,
Th ey pu t m e in a s chore boy ,
T he sh anty to keep c lea n;

T o trim th e lam ps and c u t t he wood ;
Th e sta ble to attend ,
F ull eighteen h ours of sol id work ,
Ea
c hda
yI ha
d to spend .
C noaus— B ut l
’
ve Mati r n, T im and Dan , etc .
N ow a
l l you hustl ing sha nty boys ,
A lesson ta ke from m e;
Work steady in th e l um ber woods ,
A nd don t go on aspree
’
.
Save up your sta ke a nd b uy afarm .
A nd bring aB iddy in ,
Then boys l ike m e you soon will see ,
Th e com fort you will win .
a
C no ns — With Mati r n, T im a
nd Da
n , etc ;
The chorus to this son I g heard in the woods . The rest is ori ina g l .
The song was re ceive d with shou ts of app roval .
“
Good hau l for the pu sh !
M ore po wer to ye boss !
Cough it out o ye 0 1 m an ! ’ ’
Th e se lf co nstit u ted m aste r o f c ere m o nies ag ain m ade his

v oi c e heard in dividing the c a m p into
,
two singing se c tions ,
ra nged opposite each othe r a nd each with a capta in ,

The .
co ntention of the woods trou b adores c onsisted of song and

danc e or solo as the artist m ight feel disposed a
, nd wa s both ,
S pirited a
”
nd rapid There were no tedious waits
.
“
and as ,
fast as one song was finished another began The songs were .
largely of the sentim ental charac te r s uc h as White Wings“ ”

, ,
” “
“
The Ship that Never Retu rned Call m e Back A gain inter
”
, ,
spersed wi th t he serio com ic su c h as the following spe c im en

-
,
by T om B arnet afine singer and danc er e ntitled the Hat

— — “
”
m y Father Wore .
I m Pa
dd
’
yM iles a n I rishb oy j ust c om e a
, c ross th e sea ,
F or singing or for da nc ing boys I th ink t h at I l l plea se ya

’
. ; ,
I ca n sing a nd da nce wit ha ny m a n a s I did in t h e da ys of yore ,
A nd on Pa t ric k s da y I l o v e t o w
’
ear t he ha t m e f a t her w ore .
CHORUS .
I so
t l
’
d b ut ,
it s b eau t if u l —’
th e best you ever seen ;
I wa s worn for m ore th an ninety years in t hat l ittle I sle so green

" ‘
,
F rom m y fa th er s grea t a nc estors it desc ended withga lore

’
I t s arel ic of ol d decency is t h
’
eh at m e fat her wore ( Dance !
, .
I bid you good evening— good l uc k to you I say

al l
A nd wh en I c ross t he oc ean I h ope for m e y ou ll pra y ’
.
I m going t o my h
’
appy land in apla c e called B allym ore , ,
T o be welc om ed ba c k to P addy s wit ht h e h at m e fat her wore ’

.
It s ol d,
’
b ut it
’
s hautiful , etc .
(Dance !
A nd wh en I do ret u rn ag a in t he bo s and ir s to see , y g l ,
I hope t h yl y
at wit hol d E rin s st e ou k ind we com e m e
’
, ll
’
ly l
Wit ht he son s of dea
g r ol d I re a
l nd to c heer me m ore a nd m ore , ,
A nd make m e I rishheart feel gl ad . wit ht he hat m e father wore .
I t s ol d, b ut it s beau t if u l Da
’ ’
, etc .
( nce !
The m irth and fun grew fast and furious in which young and
old took equal part Old Dan t he fath er of the cam p ih a
— —
.
60 T M SH A N T Y B O Y ,
cracked baritone voic e express e d his s entim e nts as foll o ws

, ,
which if not sweetly sung was c ert ainly good advi c e in

,
th e boys their du ty :
Plea
sant m em ory brings to m ind
Ma y y a n e rs ago
Mth i
,
o
’
er s vo c e so ver y kind ,
Gentle , so ft and l ow .
N othin g everm ore can be

Dearer than her words to m e ,
As I sat upon her k nee

M any years ago .
CHORUS .
l y y
A wa s do ou r du t y boy never go ast ray
, , ,
L ife is one grea t ba t tl e b oy fight it a

,s you m a
y , ,
Keep the right on your side wherever you m ay b e .
A l wa ys do your duty boy were m other s words to m e

, ,
’
.
A s I struggle on th roughl ife ,
A l l th e skies seem c l ear ,
P ushing forward in the strife ,
N ot hing c a n I fear;
Thou ghI sa il the bou ndless m a

in
N othing seem s to m e in va in;
C om es to m e th e ol d refrain
M
,
ot her s v oi c e I h ea
’
r .
C nonu s— Always do your duty boy etc , , .
Ea rt hly t reasures al l are naught

I f you go a stray ,
B et ter lesson ne er wa s taugh

’
t ,
H a
eeds you m a
it y;
Th oughth e words a re very few ,
Th ey will profi t bri ng to you ,
T est t hem al l you r j ourney th rou gh .
E verm ore I pra y .
Boys c ried the c am p fil er is anythi ng original allowed

, ,
he re t o night
-
Ph wat the di vil s that ?

’
“
Why asong I m ade m ysel f .
Well dot m u st b e von goot one if he m ake him like he

, ,
'
”
fil e saw re m arked a Swede so t to voic e
, , .
”
“
Fire away ch u m m y crie s the m usic al director
, , .
OR L I F E I N A
. L UMBE R CA MP . 61
Its a little s ong abou t th e saw and that s the nam e I ve

,
’ ’
”
giv e n it
. A fte r cl e ari ng his th roat th e fil e r s u ng the follow
”
ing So ng o f the Saw to the tune o f the Bra
“
,
“
ve ol d O ak
A son g asong for the shanty boy s saw ’

,
Th at pul l s withanoisy vim

B ringing work a nd wea l thto the sons of toil ,
W ithits busy whir a nd spig ;

!
Th oughoth ers m ay sin g of t he l oom o r t he pl ow ,
We value them not astraw ,
F or our da ily strife in t h e ba ttl e of l ife ,
I s fought wit hth e woodsm a n s sa w; ’
I s fou gh t witht h e woodsm a n s sa w ’

.
I t offers no them e for poet s drea

m,
’
N or l ove sic k ta
l e does it m ean;
B ut t he sha y boy s saw in t he forem ost rank
’
nt
O f the world s grand m arc his seen
’
.
The forests so b rown a

t its st roke go down,
g up where they fell ;
A nd c it ies sprin
Wh ile work well done a nd wea lthwell won ,
I s th e story it l oves to tell .
I s the story it l oves to tell .
S o asong for the sa

w t he shant y boy s boast ’
Our em b em honest a
l nd ood g
W e sing to the din of its c rashing spin ,
O ur l ay as w or k ers in w ood ;
Th e sl ave of th e la m p th e forge or t h e m ine
M
, ,
ust foll ow wh ere ever we dra w;

F or ours th e pl ac e to be fi rst in t he race ,
Th a t is won by t h e pull of th e saw;

Th at is won by the whirl of the saw .
Bu lly song and well sung was sho uted while the sta m p
, ,
ing a nd c l apping would h ave done honor to apolitic al m e eting “
B ut the song pa r exc ellenc e that c aught the boys was a

highly c olored love ditty by one o f the te am sters e ntitled
, ,
“
Bu ng yer eye ! ”
The whole c am p with ayell j oined in the , ,
e xpressive c horus form ing the c aption t o the song

,
.
I m aj olly sh
a anty boy ,
A s you wi ll soon discover
To al l the dodges I a m fiy ;
A h ustl ing pine woods rover .
A pevey h ook it is m y pride;

62 M SH A N T Y B OY
T ,
An a
xe I wel l can handle;
T o fell atree or punchabul l ,
G et ra
ttling Da nda
nny Ra ll .
( moans— B ung yer eye, bung yer eye!
I love agirl in S ag inaw ,
She l iva withh er m oth r
li M
e
I defy a ichigan
T o find sucha nother .
She s tall and fat her hair is red

’
H er fa ce is pl um p and pretty ;
She s my da isy S unda y best day girl ,
’
,
H er front na m e stands for Kittey,

B ung yer eye bung yer eye .
I took her to adanc e one night

A m oss ba gave the bidding
“ ”
ck
S il ver Jae bossed the shebang ,
A nd B ig Da n pla yed the fiddle .
We danced a nd dra nk t he livel ong night

Withfi gh ts between t h e da ncing
T ill S il ver Jac k c lea ned ou t th e ra
nc h
“ ”
.
A nd sent th e m ossba c ks pra ncing ,
B ung yer eye , bu ng yer eye!

Th is winter in the woods, m y boys .
Will be the la st for Da nny ,

I l l build al og h om e withmy sta
’ “
ke,
A nd b uy agra nd pia no
M
.
y K i t w ill sing an d pl a
y al l day,
A nd I l l rock t h e baby ;
’
I ll a lways be ashanty boy,

'
B ut Kit will be ala dy .
B ung yer eye bu ng yer ey e

, .
Th e s ong brought great applau se and gave s everal p oints in

,
favor of th e side th e team ster was u pon B u t the Opposition .
als o trotte d out s om e thing original from th e big fat blac k

,
sm ith who aft er considerable solicitati on cons ente d to sing his

,
song : The Darl ing Old Stags — stags l e t m e say are the cam p
“ ”
nam e for old sh oe s m ad e f

,
ro m w orn ou t dri vi n
g b oots and ,
us e d as slipp ers in th e b unk cam p As genius is proverbially

.
m od e st I give th e el egant p rodu cti on a

, s sung by th e camp
”
“
Tu bal Cain in its entire ty
,
.
OR LI F E I N A L U B E R CA LI F
, M . 68
Y ou m a y sin g o f y o ur r ose c o ve red bow ers ;

Y ou ma y r a ve of yo ur h ill s a n d y our val e s o
Y ou ma y t al k a bo u t sw e et sc e n ted fl o wers ,
Or tem pt withA ra bian night tal es;

A ll a re feebl e a nd wea k to m y song ;
All a re only tnt ters a nd ra gs;
I ve ath em e th at c l ings to m e strong
’
,
I is this dea r pa ir of old l ea th sta

" ‘ “
er ge .
Wh en m y day of h ard l abor is done,
A nd m y su pper is stowed nea thm y bel t

’
Wh en the b unk ca m p is brim m ing wit hfun,

“ ”
A nd the fire in th e stove woul d you m el t
0 its then withm y pipe smoking free,

I list to the shanty boys gags ’
I join in the frolic and glee ,
Withm y h oofs in m y darl ing ol d

“
st a
ge .
These
“
st a
gs they w
”
ere onc e l ong top boots
The tops I long ago c u t ofl
Th ere s noth ing now left but th

’
e roots ,
S till t hey re handy to wear or to t hrow

’
,
A t som e sha nty boy snoring in bed ,
O r awa tchpeddl ing son of a — va

g
I c nsa hy them a at ahea
so ne t d
t tim es is a sta
a g
“
F or c onvenient .
This brought down the hou se and m ade the honors e ven .
“ ”
The im m ens e size of th e b unk cam p enabled littl e groups ,
to congre gate here a nd th ere by the m s elves E spe c ially did .
the non-English sp eaking part gather to talk of hom e and

friends far away One y oung Swede whose English consiste d
.
,
wholly in the sim ple afiirm ative yes 0 yes and which he
“ ”
, , ,
used to e v ery inte rrogati on is b e held s e ated b et ween tw o m is

,
ch eviou s y o un g lads who a re plyi ng him with qu esti ons su ch

, ,
a s the foll o wing

“
Wasn t your father h ung in the old country for sh eep
’
”
stealing O l e ?
,
“
Yes 0 yes ! with a lam b like sm ile
,
.
“
And you r m o th er was b urned for a witch?
“ ”
Yes 0 yes l
,
“
You re a poor l ousey m is erable c uss am t you?
’
, , ,
”
“
Yes 0 yes ! with a c ourte ous bow
,
.
6! TH E S H A N T Y B O Y ,
S te al socks don t you ?

,
’
Yes 0 yes ! e m phatic ally nodding his head

,
”
.
Your fathe r refused to m arry your m oth er?

Yes 0 yes ! very e arnestly e m phasized
,
”
.
A nd so this i nte resting dialogu e keeps on int e rm inably th e ,
fun being in t h e poor Swe de s reply in th e a fiirm a

’
tive t o the
m ost horribl e charges in the qu estio ni ng , .
B u t the ni ght is fast we ari ng a wa y Num b ers of the tired .
m en have tu rned in b u t still e no ugh re m ain t o keep the fu n

,
going and a serie s of story t e lli ng is intro duce d whic h serves

, ,
to vary the m onotony or rather sam e ness of the program

, .
Still we would rather b e exc u sed from reprod uc ing the narra
,
tions as told although fro m the shou ts of laughter with which

,
they are re c eived evi dently in fu ll harm ony with the spirit o f
,
”
Saturday night in cam p being o f the very l ow ne c ke d
“
,
variety B u t a favorite ca m p song has yet t o b e sung and the

.
,
sea l er is c alled upon t o wind u p the eve ning s pe rform anc e

’
.
Eve ry cam p cre w love s the songs of hom e F ew of the m b ut .
who have the lo neso m e ho ur in thinking of t he friends far ,
away and Th e Old L og C abin

,
“ ” “
Hom e Sweet Ho m e ” “
My
, , ,
” “
Mother s Grave ’
The Ship th at Never Retu rne d
,
” “
White ,
Wings and all that c lass of sentim ent find ready he arers with
”
, ,
th e shanty boys .
The rich voices of a full q u artette are now heard joining in

the following well known song whic h as sung brings the sigh ,
and the tear from m ore than one heart or eye As this is pre .
sum ed to wind up the e vening s perform ance so with it we will ’
finish this chapter as a fitting concl usi on t o Saturday night in

,
cam p .
S om e da y I l l w
'
a nder ba c k a gain
T o wh ere th e ol d h om e sta nds ,
B enea thth e ol d t ree down th e lane ,
A far in ot h er l ands .
I ts hum ble c ot will sh el ter m e
F rom every ca re and pa in,

A nd l ife b e sweet a s sweet c a n be ,
Wh en I a m h om e a gain .
C H A PT E R I X .
S ou s I ur a
ovm m u rs '
m L tm m mm e Ma n
r eDs— T ns O ur c om c or E XPE R
IE N CE — H OW T H E W A R on K m e Pm r . rs F O UG H F — CLE AB I N G LUMBE R
m e Rrvnus— A C H APTE R s ornn
'
E xc w srvnnr ro W ORK .
The forests so brown a t ou r st roke go down ,
A nd c ities spring up where th y ll

e fe ;
Wh ile work well done a nd wea lthwell won ,
I s th e story t he shanty boys tell .
The l ast ch apter c losed witha Saturday night in c am p and ,
the p res umption now is that Sunday has passed and t he work
day week has begun It will therefore be in order to show
.
so m e o f the m ethods u sed in lu m beri ng togethe r with th e ,
gre at im prove m ents in instru m entalities u sed in the past ten

or twen ty years in th e pi ne woods of Mic higa
, na nd W i sc onsin .
This c hapt er is written from personal observation of the author ,
d uri ng t en ye ars clo se asso c iation with l um bering interests ,
b oth a s a write r on a l u m be r jo u rna l and thro ugh actual

expe rie nc e in the woods .
F or t hous a nds of ye ars m a n h as fou ght the b attle of king“
log with b u t trifling variations in m ethods fro m the time of

”
, ,
Solo m on Hiram C c wh o lu m b e red exte nsively in the cedar
M
.
, ,
fore sts of Leb anon and rafted their tim ber alo ng the ed
,
it erra nea n coast t o JOpp a till within the p ast t we nt -five

—
y
ye ars Th e only m ethod was t o h ack do wn the tre e as best
.
they m ight and drag the tru nk t o the nearest water to float it to
,
its de stinatio n These m e t hods were as ru de as was the labor

.
o f th e m en engage d therei n The axe from tim e im m emorial .

,
in va rio u s form s wa s the p ri m a

,
ry tool th e i nc li ned pl ane th e , ,
leve and he rude sh ped

r t a t w o-wheeled tru ck the only m ech an ,
OR . LI F E I N A L U B E R CA M MP . 67
i c al forc e s known am ong t he anc ients as we gather fro m m on ,
am ental deline ations T he p atie nt ox go ad ed on t o c o ntinu

.
,
anc e of toil was t he onl y assistanc e m an had in the re m oval

,
o f the tim ber from it s native fore sts A nd still these anc ients .
h ave left u s in the im perish able reli c s of their arc hite c tural
,
skil l lessons in stone of what m an s persistenc y and ind ustry

,
’
c ou ld do B u t li t tle im p rove m e nt in the work of getting l um

.
b er fro m the na tive tree c an be trac ed in al l t he c entu ries of

the past apart from tho se above stat ed and it has fallen t o
, ,
the l ot of t he A m eric an woodsm an in i nnu m erable instanc e s

to m ake of ne c essity t he m othe r of so m any i m p rove d to ol s ,
m et h ods and m e ans for si m plifying and fac i l it ating the su c c ess
of wood c ra ft that to day whe n c om pare d with the p ast t he
-
, , ,
work of the woodsm an has bee n tot al ly revol u t io nized and

red u c ed t o asyste m i ndi c a ting the fu l l u ni on of e nte rp rise and
,
intel lige nc e It woul d be b eyond the sc ope of this artic le t o

.
d well u pon the detail s of the se im p rove m e nts They m av be .
al l s u m m ed u p in b rief by say ing th at the axe t he saw pike

, , , ,
leve r pevey hook skidding tongs binding ski dding and l oad
,
-
, , ,
ing c h a in tru c k sled dray etc have al l in seve ralty be en su b

, , , ,
.
,
j c et t o the evol u tion t heory and h ave c o m e down to u s to d ay

“ ”
in t hei r h u m ble u ses a s pe rfe c t as is t h ,e h um an em bo di m ent
of ni netee nth c e nt u ry intel lige nc e wh o u ses e a ch and a l l in , ,
th e p ri m a ry p rod u c ti on of l u m be r .
B u t i m prove m e nt in l u m be ring fac il it aties had t ak en aradi

ca l ch ange whe n t he ste am loggi ng road was first i ntro du c ed .
Lu m beri ng m ethods of the p ast disappe ared withas rapid an

exit as did the styl us and tablets whe n F au st gave t he world
the pn nting p re ss and to day it is safe t o c onc l ude t hat im
-
,
rovem ent s in m et h od s for ra pid l u m b i n hav e rea h d t h

p er g c e e
ac m e and c an go no fart her It m u st be ful ly thi rty years

,
.
si nc e the first tra m ro a d was u sed in Mi c h igan H ow l ong .
previo u s t o th at it was in u se in t he N ew E ngl and l u m b eri ng

state s t h ,
e write r d ee s not know I t s u se was t h e hau li ng for .
c om pa ra tively short di stanc es of logs fro m the skid s to t he

banking gro u nd b ut as at th at d ate su m m er l u m bering was
,
“ ”
an u nheard of thing the tram road was b u t a hi nt of wh at

“
,
TH E S H A N T I B0I
’ '
68 .
was to com e in a near s ubs e q u e ntly B ut weak and fe eble as .
was the hint thu s conveyed , it served t o rais e the q u estio n

“
m ore fully to the surfac e Why c annot l u m beri ng be do ne as ‘
,
”
well in su m m er as winter ? Then cam e the pole ro ad and “
the revol ution rolled sti l ne are r to its goal

l Lu mbe rm e n at .
once saw the possibilities in the c ase and twe nty ye ars ago ,
e very fou ndry in Mi c higan and Wis c onsin was run to its u tm ost
capacity to furnish she ave wheels for t he pole roads
“ “ ”
F or .
a season they served the p urpose well til l the lo ng slim N or , ,
ways form ing the track began t o we ar out and soon the woods
, , ,
were filled with broke n trucks and wheels Som ething bette r .
m ust b e had The ide athat logs c o u ld be banked by rail was

.
now fu lly e stablished a nd a ll that wa s wa nted wa

, s a bette r
su bstitu te for a trac k and horse power This tho ught d em and .
,
ing areply evolved from its i m m ediate wa

,
nt the pre se nt sys
tem of iro n trac k a nd steam lo c o m otio n It is apity th at the .
nam e o f t h e ma n wh o first i ntrod u c e d the stea m ro ad in the

lu m be r woods is fast being lost in obs c u ri ty The writer does
,
.
not kno w h im a nd c an o nly st a

, te that abo ut 1874 S c ott G er
rish a n en terp ri si ng Mich
,
i gan l u m berm an first i ntro d uc ed a ,
ste am railway system in Clare c o unty The su ccess attendant

Mr G errishs work that seaso n started o thers in
.
’
u pon .
,
the sam e di re c tio n and withi n t he 70 s the shriek of the lo c o

, ,
’ ’
m o ti ve wa s he ard in s eve ra l Mic higan l u m bering ce nte rs I n .
t his connectio n m ust b e m entioned the na m e o f T ho m as N es

t er form e rly of East S a
,
ginaw now of Baraga Mich who had , , .
,
a large tract of pine in Gladstone Rosc o m m on and Oge m aw ,
counties Mi ch and who e qu ipped h

,
.
,
i s roa d tho roughly and ,
”
“
toted alarge loc o m otive t we nty m iles to work u pon it Then .
follo wed Tho m as Lyons B G Pe ters C anfiel d , C om pany

. .
, ,
Blodgett Byrne Alge r Sm ith Com pany and sinc e then

, , ,
t he m a n l u m beri ng a l a rge t ra c t of pi ne c uts the railroad ,
trac k be fore he c u ts the tree .
Of course in all the above there is m ate ri al e nough t o form

,
th e basis for twe nty c hapte rs su ch as this It is very e asy to .
j um p from inception to co ncl usion b u t th e read er m ay rest ,
assured that su c h satisfac tory concl u sions w ere not reached

OR . LI F E I N A L UMBE R CA MP . 69
withou t m any dishe arte ning fail u res Days of toil were fol .
lowed by sleepl e ss nights oi i nte nse thou ght Hard -gathered .
we alth wa s lavishly exp e nded with b u t ap ro bl e m ati c al p ro m is e

,
o f return More than one m an went do wn in this revolu tion

.
”
in which king pine was assailed by king ste am a
“ “
nd sic k ,
ene d h e arts gre w faint over h0 pes deferre d B ut the c onc lu

, .
sion is to day in the fu ll flu sh of it s trium ph and as the self

-
, ,
binding reaper lays l ow the vast field of grain so the l oc om o ,
tive is sweepi ng thro ugh ou r pineries as the repre sentative for

anew syste m of l u m be ring before which al l p revio u s m ethods
,
are as reli c s of the forever p ast Withthe introd u c tion of the .
loc o motive c am e its c oj oiner the st e am skidde r and lo ader

“ ”
,
“ ”
.
It wou ld be difiic ul t t o desc ri be t o the general re ader these

ma c hi n e s—
or ra the r co m po u n d m a c hi n es — witho u t drawings !
T heir u tility is still l a rgely q u estio ned by experie nc ed l u m be r
m en and they h
,
ave not yet c o m e into u niversal u se The first .
one the wri te r sa w was in 1883 on the Lyo ns Lu m ber C om ,
p any ro ad Mic higan It was lo ading c ars and plac ed t he

,
.
,
do uble pile of logs on the regu l atio n pl atform c ar in t en m in

u tes. I t wa s fed by twelve
“
big whe eled t ru c ks hau ling half
”
,
m ile dist a n ce a nd they c erta

, inly had al l they c ould do to keep
it suppli ed O ver a high derri c k ran awire rope wou nd on a
.
,
b arrel by steam power To t he other end of the rape was at.
tec hed large skidding tongs by whi c h the l og was grasped in

th e c e nte r a nd like a fl a sh was hoiste d and s wung t o its plac e
”
on the c a A s a skid der it s work exte nded in a ra
“
r . diu s of
abou t sixty rods and si m ply dragged the l og t o the roll way “ ”
-
,
by the tongs R G Peters of Manistee has his skidde r

. . .
, ,
atta c hed to tre e s l eft st anding for that purpose and t he l og ,
is pic ked bodily up and c arried by a traveli ng sheave along

the stationary rope The J E Potts C o of O s c oda has still an
. . . .
, ,
e ntirely different one very m assive and strong whic h does exc el
, ,
l en t work in both skidding and loadi ng This is m ade in

“ ”
.
th e form of avast locom otive and is on wheels by whic h it is ,
self transporting
- .
T o conc l u de : By even t he above c u rsory glance the i m p rove

m e nts in the l u m b e ring of th e p re se nt day fa r tra nsc e nd t hose
70 TH E S I I A N T Y B O Y ,
of the past With less horse or hu m an power gre ater resul ts

.
are attained Think of t he J E Potts S alt and L u m b er C om

. . .
p any on A n S able river Mic higan pu tti ng in

, ,
of ,
fe et this p re se nt 887 8 Their forc e was abou t 450 m en eighty

1 -
,
s ,
h
te am seven loc o m otives and t irty two m iles o f road They
- .
h ave still to lu m ber in Mi c higan and a l arge trac t ,
of pins in Wisconsi n Al ge r S m i t h . Com p any have pu t in

,
eighty m il lions and withstill less anim ated help than that of
,
J E Potts The write r m ight m ention very m any others who

. . .
have fully revolu tionized the old syste m s and are now pre s ,
sing ra p idly to afi nal co n c l u sio n b u t S p ac e fo rbid s It m u s t ,

.
not be i m agined ho wever th a t all the form er m ethods have

, ,
p assed away The ol d style c am p still c ontinu e s and the

.
,
“
dra y haul and l og road wil l never go ou t of plac e or pu r
” “ ”
pose These latter are the infantry while the ste am is t he

.
artillery in the gre at b attle of the saw log Still the i m prove
- .
,
m ent in tool s et c a s u sed i n t h

,
e regu l a
.
,
r ol d fa
- shioned l um ber
c am p is very p erc eptible A s the shanty boy says : We are
,
.
“
”
getting thar with both feet and it is b ut aqu estion of l i m ited ,
tim e b efore the b attle wil l have c onc l u de d and king pine in “ ”
,
Mic higan and Wisc onsin will sleep the sleep that knows no
waking .
B u t altho ugh the revol u tio n as above p re sented ha s wro ug h t, ,
wo nde rs and be c om e l argely u nive rsa l where strong c o m p anies ,
are Operating it m u st not be supposed that the ol d m ethods

,
for l u m bering h a ve p assed away O n t he c ont rary we h ave .

,
nd t h
”
still the m a n of six m illions a e jobbe r of t wo
“
We c an .
”
still find the
“
dray h anl and ic e ro ad c am p s in profu sion
” “
,
sc a tte re d along t he branc he s and trib ut ary stre am s where t he ,
iron horse c ou ld never c om e and t he good ol d fashioned -

, ,
m ethods in vogu e thi rty ye a

,
rs ago are t o day fighting the
-
,
“
b attle o f the saw log j u st as assidu o u sly and suc c e ssfully as
-
”
they ever did B u t even with the old fashio ned m ethods ex
.
-
,
eri enc e a nd i nve ntive ge ni u s h a ve s uc c eeded in arresting a t

p
te ntion and s u bstitu ting im p rove m e nts in m any ways the dis
, ,
t inc t ive fe atures of whic hwill b e th e p urpose o f this second
p aper to point out and de sc ribe Am ong the im prove m ents .

OR L I F E I N A L U B E R CA
, M MP . 71
wh ic h m a y be m e ntio n e d ge n e ra lly as ch a r act e r i

,
zin g th e c o n
di tion of the p re se nt l u m be r c a m p s in contra distinctio n to

,
t h ose of t we nty ye a rs a g o is m o r
, e c o m fo rt bett e r f ood a n d ,
be dding warm er and m ore app ropriate c lothi ng for the m en

,
and better acc o m m odations and food for hors es Of the latter .
it m ay be st ated that the best horses obtainable are now u sed .
T we nty ye ars ago any old pl ug was c o nside red good e nou gh
“ ”
for the woo ds b ut now the te a

,
m ca lle d for is us ually valu ed at
$ 5 00 with o u t the ha rn ess The a
. u tho r w a s visiti n g so m e c am p s
re c e ntly on the T eh q u a m en o n river L ake S u p e r io

, r a n d t he ,
evening he was in H all B u ell s c am p atea m fell thro ugh the

’
ice a nd wa s drowne d withi n t en m i nu t es va l ued at $650 This , .
is the kind ho se i v l e
o f r n a u n o w u sed t o h aul saw logs - .
The first great m e c h anic al i m prove m e nt notice able is th e

sprinkler u sed for m aking t he l og ro ad
”
,
“
Th i s is sim ply a .
squ are st o gly b uilt tank holding as high as one h u ndred

r n -
,
b arrels of water pl aced u po n ap air of sleds with a tongu e at

, ,
both e nds t o save turning it arou nd It is ge ne rally b uilt as

,
.
wide as the log road or rathe r the wi dth of the log sled whic h
, ,
”
has from eleven t o fou rteen feet b unks “
From t wo holes .
,
the wate r escapes striki ng dire c tly u pon the runner trac k and
, ,
with the m erc ury 20 degrees belo w the wat er freezes al m ost
instantaneou sly on reac hing the road Th e work of the .
“
sprinkler is al ways at night so as not t o i nterfere with the
”
,
te am s h auling by day It is filled by a barrel ha

. vi ng a trap
door on the inside of the botto m This is slid do wn diagon .
ally on apair of skids into the water hole (us u ally by the side
of the ro a d ! and the water p re sse s the trap ope n fil ling the ,
b arrel This is dra wn u p by awi nc h on top of the sprinkler

.
,
the weight of the water d osing the trap inside the barrel With .
this app arat u s aridge of ic e c an b e bu ilt u p d uring t he se ason

whic h re m ains the last thing t o th aw out in the spring T hese .
log roads are sc raped level and where the sled ru nne rs rest
,
gutters are c u t for th e m t o run in whi c h ke eps the i m m e nse,
load of logs fro m s waying and being ge nerally graded with a

,
slight de c livity t o the banking gro u nd the horses have little ,
m ore to do tha n t o keep a ge ntle p u ll on the tra c es The .

72 TH E S H A N T Y B O Y .
gr e at snows of th e lu m be r regions are a gre at hindranc e t o t he

lum berm an At this writing over three feet of sno w on t he
.
level rests on the l um b er country of the uppe r p eninsu la an d , ,
strange to say the ground is not frozen an inc h deep b ene at h

,
it whic hwil l be easily u nderstood

,
.
Next therefore to the sprinkler co m es the sno w plo w wi t h

, , ,
ou t which h a uling wo uld be at tim es im possible T he o l d .
triangular m achi ne with four team s of horse s or oxen wall o w

,
ing before it through the drift s has l a rgely p a ssed away an d

, ,
intelligently b uilt snow plows h ave take n its plac e T hes e .
are c onstru c ted on the sam e p rinc iple as th e railro ad s no w

plow only of course drawn inste ad of being p u shed T here
, , , .
are several of these sno w plo ws m anu fac tu red b u t am ong t he ,
b est is one m ade at Du nc an City Mi c h kn own as t he Braz el

“
,
”
.
, ,
of whic h ove r 800 are now i n u se givi ng t he b est o f satisfac ,
tio n By the m e ans of lage m ou ld b o ards t he sno w is thro wn

. r -
,
over the ou tside of the road while asc rap er in the c e nter of
,
the m a c h ine gauged by sc re ws levels t he road fro m side t o

— —
side This m achi ne m ay be c onsidered far in ad vanc e of any

.
thing oi the kind ever b efore u sed for the sam e p u rpose and ,
has added greatly to the possibility of l u m be ring advant a

geou sl y .
Perhaps in the sm all b u t essential m atter of the pevey hook ,
no one l u m be ring tool h as u nde rgo ne m ore fre qu e nt m et a m or
p h o ses to fi nally r e su lt in the h an dso m e arti c le u sed t o da

-
y , .
The old style of a hook attac hed to ari ng on t he sto c k or the ,
hook withthree holes in i t p assed thro ugh asqu are m ortise

,
in the sto c k thro u gh whi c h a bolt wa

,
s pa ssed h av e al l been ,
relegated t o the shi p ya rd s fro m whe nc e they we re b ro ugh t .
The pevey hook to day is a thing of be au ty and to h andl e

of -
,
a ho ok p rop erly in the woods is a highly i m portant b ranc h of

th e sh a Th e sto c k is m ade of t he be st sea
’
nty boy s b u si ne ss .
soned ro c k m aple a rtistic a

,
lly sh aped T he h ook is of the .
finest b a r steel with a kee n b a

,
rb sh a
- ped point and held by a ,
c lip bindi ng the sto c k in a squ a re so c ket of whi c h the h ook

,
‘
January 1888 .
74 TH E S E A N T Y B O Y .
p e ople say th e lu m bering of Wisconsin and ichigan will last M

interm inably Th e m ore th e s urgeon s cu tting instru m ents
.
’
are im p rove d th e qu icke r com es th e leg ofi; and th e m ore we

'
im move th e c u tting instru m ents in th e wo o ds th e qu ick er th e

pine will com e down .
A nother fe atu re o f lum bering in which laborio u s toil is de

ma nded is th at of cle aring ou t aforest stream by whic hth
, e
logs c an be got out to the m ain stream Thes e branches are .
of inte rm ina ble length and tortu o u s windings u sually ru nning ,
throu gh an alm ost im pene trable cedar swam p m u ch of the way ,
and filled with every possible im pedim ent Usu ally these .
b ranches h ave t o be m ad e navigable by one inte rested indi vid

ua l . They m ay be acc essible for the driving of the pine for a
dozen lu m ber firm s and it wou ld b e naturally c onsidere d a
,
m ere m a tte r of expedie ncy for al l to chip in and h elp to m ake

the stre am s equ ally valu able for all interested B u t experience .
has shown th at su chis seldom t he c ase and u su ally the m an ,
who wants his l ogs ou t the firs t has to set his cre w at wo rk to ,
cle ar the stream s It is a proverbial fact th at lu m berm en ou t

.
in the woods a re not overly accom m odating to e ac h othe r .
W hen they m eet in town soc i al yes and financ i ally cou r , , ,
tesic e are freely extended t o e ac h other b u t in the woods

, ,
the re will not b e the slightest obje c tion m ade on the part of
M M
,
es srs A B or C to r D doing work and exp ending m oney

.
,
. .
, . .
to p rep are a water way in wh ic h al l should be equ ally inter

,
est ed Consequ ently th e m an who wishes t o lu m ber anew

.
pie c e of pine has u su ally to do the pioneer work of c le aning

the driving stre am s This is awork of no little m agnitu de
.
and m u st be done in the su m m er when the w ate r is l ow P os .
sib l y the c reek or b ranch to be c le aned is six or eight m il es

long and rest s in al l its hidde n ugliness where th e foot of m an
,
has never before trod T he acc um u l ations of centuries in the

.
,
form o f drift wood and p rostrated tim ber will frequ ently be
fou nd covering the bed of the stream for m iles u nde r which ,
the water in every erra tic form m akes its way t o the m ain
, ,
stre am All this has to be c le aned away

. Th e s wam py .
o u nds th ro u gh which it runs will not p e rm it the wo rk o f

g r
OR, L I F E I N A L U B E R CA M MP
. 75
horses and al l has to b e done by th e hand o f m an Tree by .
tree stick by sti c k the obstru ctions have to b e l ift ed ou t and

, ,
so pl ac ed or b urne d that th e water will not float them

b ack again The water m u st b e confined to its natural bed
. .
The sho als in the way m u st be dug do wn so that th e stre am ,
will c u t ach annel Stum ps bedded deep in t he m ud have to

.
, ,
be gru bb e d ou t Old c orduroy bridges m ust be re m ove d and

.
others su bstitu ted u nde r which the logs will float Dyke s and .
em b ankme nts have to b e m ade where the stre am seeks to wan

der off into the inte rm ina ble swam p Bou lders m u st b e rolled
.
ou t of t h e stre am bed a nd a rc h ing tre e s have to be c u t and

dragged inl and .
It is difiic ul t to com prehend the work dem anded from these

brie f ou tl inings nor is it possible t o form any j ust estim ate o f
,
th e ou tl ay required Frequ ently awhole su m m er is c onsum e d

.
in th e work o f c le a ning ou t astre a m with a cre w o f t we nty

,
m en . This is al l de ad horse t o th e m an who has the work

“ ”
forc ed upon him b u t it m ust be done or his tim ber will not
,
com e out Of c ourse this work of re ndering navigable the

.
tribu t ary stream s and c reeks that lie contig uou s to the p rinc i
ple lum b ering rivers of Wisc onsin or Mic higan have bee n ,
cle aned ou t long ago b u t still the work in new loc alities has to
,
”
do ne to save long h au ls in the b anking se ason
“
Henc e .
,
every sum m er cle aring water ways is a work c onstantly de

m ended The p rofit t o the l u m berm e n is in the short h
”
.
“
au l .
This has nothing t o do with the inte r-state l aw b u t has m u c h ,
to do with the l aw of getting in pine wi t h rapidity The c ry of .
the ignorant in regard t o the wealth of the l um b e rm an is the

, ,
c ry of th ose who h ave ne ver estim ated the c ost of l u m be ri ng .
It is the e asie st thing in t he world to c aptiousl y hu rl appro

”
b riu m a gainst the pine kings and the lu m be r b arons b u t
“ “
,
”
,
c om p a ratively li ttle is kno wn abo u t the e xpe nsive det ails rep ,
re se nted in al u m be r y a rd rep re se nting in C h ic ago .
It l ooks awft sim ple to get ri c h in lu m beri ng b u t su c his ,
not a l ways the c ase and t he p rofit m argin on a m ill ion feet of
,
l u m b e r is so s m a ll that it c an e asily be absorbed in

,
the u nknown l abor distribu te d in athou sand nam eless form s

, ,
76 TH E SH A N T Y B O Y .
ou t in
th e pine woods That of getting tim ber to th e m ill is
.
none of th e l e ast a nd th e w ork ab ove rud e ly ou tline d is fre

,
qu ently th e oc casi on for a balance on th e wrong side of the

“ ” ’
le dger when th e lum b er baron foots u p his season s op era
C RA P I E R
' ‘
X .
THE
Pom r— '
Wu r rr
'
Man
e s TO m m A Pwc aor PINE — T H E L oero os
A gI
son g t o la
ll
’
bor s king
sin
’
Th eh ero withth e toil grim ed b row
W ho day by day w in s his hon es t pa

y ,
B y thea xe th e sa w or t he pl ow
, .
I the definiti on of alogi cian We bster in th e last clause

n , , ,
says that logi c is th e scie nce of classific ation j udgm ent rea
“
, ,
soning and system atic arrangem e nt Hence th e logician ,
m u st b e a p ractical m a
“ ”
n Facts sir give us facts ! exclai m s
M
.
,
r Gradgrind a
. nd of al l logi c requi ri ng thorough basing u pon
,
facts it is th e l ogic of the lum berm an At th e first gl ance it

,
.
seem s e asy t o ge t ou t al o t of saw logs A rgum ent to show .
the sim plicity of the action is used m u ch the sam e as th e Irish ,
ma n s m e th o d for c asting a cannon: Faix sor it s th e aisiest

’ “ ’
thin g in the world sor to m ak e th e c annon Al l ye have til do

, .
is til m ake a hole in th e ground, and thin pour the m el tid

”
oiron rou nd it
’
.
OR L I F E I N A
, M
L U B E R CA MP . 77
A nd so it s a very e asy thing t o lu m ber a pie ce of pine

’
g o i n g t h ree m illi o n t o th e fo r ty ?
”
Let u s see h o w t hi s i s I n .
t he first pl a c e the i nte nded b uye r c o m e s i n

, c ont a ct with th e
p i n e own er He r e h is lo g
. i c al p o w e r s o f pe rs u as i o n a r e b r o u g ht
i n t o play t o hold down the p ri c e of t h st um page T he pine
“ ”
, e .
b e i n g at l a st p u rch ased he has t o pl unge he a d first int o th

, e
d e t ails of h is winter s work There are hors es harnesses tin

’
.
, ,
cu
p s an d tote w ago n s peve y hook s a n d p, ru n e s c h a in s a n d ,
ch o p i ng a cu it a va
”
a c o ok room a
“
p xes beef b is n d, be n s , n n d , , ,
b u n k ca m p su pplie s a foreman t o get a c rew t o h , i re a nd , ,
ahu n dred ite m s m ore Al l the se a re c old cas t iro n

. fac ts , ,
witho u t as m u c h se ntim ent mi xed u p in the m as would wad a

g u n . He look s w ith d i s m a y at t h e
“
st u bs ”
in his c h e e k book
an d begins t o wonder whethe r t hat pie c e of pine is going to
“
p ya . He goes t o ch u rc h b u t the p r e ac he r f a il s t o ,
i n t e re st
hi m He take s i n t he the atre or c o nc e rt and finds him self
.
,
wandering through th at pie c e of pine and wondering how

“ ”
,
things are g oing E ven t he bosom of his fam ily seem s to

“
.
”
h ave lost her grip and her sweet little at tentions are slighte d
m u ch as we re those of M
,
”
rs H a
“
rry H otsp u r . .
H e s thinking of his tim ber a nd all else is to h im va i nity a nd

’
vexation of spirit till that pi ec e of pine is lu m b ered

“
, He .
robes him sel f fro m h e ad t o foot in Germ an socks shoe pac e

M
, ,
acki naws and Bu ffalo co at and starts for c am p The win ,

.
ter s sno w or frost has for him no terror The be au ty of the

’
, ,
.
woods c lothed in boreal garm ents h

,
as no e ffect The goal ,
.
ofhis am bition is to
“
ma ke c am p th at night and see for him
”
,
self h ow m u ch ti m b er th e bo s h a ve cu t a nd wha t a m o u nt will

y ,
run to u ppe rs a nd wh a t to c ulls A t last he arrive s cold and

“
,
”
.
,
hungry shakes h ands with the forem an gets warm has hi s

, , ,
supper a nd t h en sits down in the va

,
“
n
”
with his pipe and his ,
forem an t o talk m att ers over Yes they hav e got c onside rabl e
,
.
,
timber in b u t the extra ,

s sho w up fe arfu lly There are five .
sick hors e s in th e st a ble The m en are kic king like blaz es .
beca use th e cook is

“
n g S ta y b a c k G r u .nt re fused t o help
.
”
ma ke ada m Th e bl acksmi th went ou t and got on a toot
.
“ “
,
”
and has n t got b a
“
ck ye t Th e pine on th e s e 40 will not
’
. . .
ou t with i n three hundre d th ousand of th e esti m ate The sup .
plies ordered two we eks ago are still on the road That last
, , .
box of axe s ought to b e sent back not worth a darn A nd so

, .
the story runs til l turning in tim e filled with trifles in the way ,
of p e tty annoyances which aggregate in th e whol e enough to

strain his l ogical phil osophy A nd he sits and sm ok es pip e
.
”
after pip e of nigger h ead tob acco alm ost p ersuaded that life
“
,
is not worth living B ut su ch thoughts he knows are m ere

.
sentim ent and his logi c is brought to be ar on e very detail

, .
He looks facts s qu arely in the face and as each com es under ,
re vi e w it is di spos e d of logically a
, nd aft e r a day in cam p h e
, ,
is better satisfied with t hings in general and re turns hom e ,
convince d that u nless h e has a streak of bad lu ck he wi ll

,
“ ”
,
com e ou t al l right in the spring .
B u t fro m O ctob er to Ap ril h e has it rou gh Every cord is .
stretch ed to its u tm ost tension Th e last gre at strain is in driv

.
“
”
ing out his winte r s cu t a nd th e p u ll ne ve r lets u p till his
’
, ,
bookk eeper h ands him th e tri al bal ance showing agood foot ,
ing on th e right side of th e ledg er The n and not till the n .

, ,
do es he cease to be a saw l og and re turns t o th e condition

“
,
of a m an at e as e Th e churchis app re ciate d ; the am u se m e nt

.
is enjoye d ; the boso m o f the fam ily is once m o re his haven

“ ”
of s weet rep os e and his children c an freely ask him for a

,
“
nickl e for pas logs a
“
,
’
re not h ung u p Yes the logician
“
.
,
of t he woods has to evolve from out his logic a special p hilos

c ph y s ui,
tabl e for any an d e v e ry occasio n c alli ng for it He .
has to endure anxiou s days follo wed by sleepless nights A nd

,
.
”
when h e sle eps visions of countless acres of tally books
,
“
engage his di stracted m ind in awild ende avor to foot them “
up a ,
nd asc ertain how h e will com e ou t in the spri ng Logician .
,
m y m aste rs? I grant ye the fa ct for if th ere be any one l ife

,
fill e d with facts a nd v oid of fancy it is th e life o f a lu m b er ,
ma n .H ow few realize the characte r of su ch a l ife ! Is it not

wonderful th at m ore do not b e co m e insane or sink a s slaves to ,
sti m ul ants? Th e s uccessful lum b erm an would prove a su cc ess

in a ny walk o f life d e m anding cool c a
,
lculati on and abili ty to
de term ine and exe cu te A l l hail therefore to the general
.
, ,
. M MP . 79
who fights t o asu ccessfu l conclu sion th e b attl e of th e saw log .
He the tru e logi c i an of th e woods .
B u t there is still anothe r ph ase of th e above a nd th at is th e ,
u nnecess a ry riva lry fo und among lu m berm en whose interests ,
are p ractic all y the s am e b u t who neve rth el ess allo w a b ad

,
sp irit ofje alou sy to c om e in bet we en the m to the financ ia ,

.
inj ury of both It is alittle singular that exp erie nc e will not
.
t ea c h l u m be rm e n a m odi c u m o f com m on se nse in the wo rk
of driving logs A m an will l ay ou t

“ ”
. in th e work of
awinter and when driving tim e co m es will get into at angl e
,
with his neighbor ove r som e technic ality as to rights on the

”
”
! drivi ng stre a
‘
m with the re su lt th a
, t before the snarl is
straightened ou t the water is do wn and the season s o u tpu t is ’
”
“h ung u
p. The a u tho r m a be dee m ed im pe rti ne nt in a
y ll u d
ing t o this b u t as h
“ ”
,
e is in the swim with the lu m berm en of
th e cou nt ry so fa ,
r a s m u t ual int ere sts are concerned it is fully ,
his pl ac e to say th at all su c h foolish ne ss is a ve ry expensive

,
m eth od in p roc uri ng kno wledge and experie nc e t o he forgot ,
t en whe n a nother se a son com es aro und We are p rom pted to .
S p ea k of this silly m ode of action by the res ult attaine d in a

late qu arrel between aSaginaw and a Detroit l um berm an by ,
wh ich logs were hu ng u p for the season on the

Chi ppewariver Mi c h The au thor has n othi ng to say as t o
,
.
who wa s right or wh o wa s wrong b u t the resul ts a

, re wide
spread in the lo ss sustained and it is t oo b ad that the private

,
differenc es of t wo o t herwise estim able ge ntlem en sho ul d e ntail

su c h dire consequ enc e s u pon the lu m ber world at l arge It is .
not with th e inte ntion of criti c i sing that thi s c h a pte r appe ars ,
b ut t o sim ply sho w th at the poli c y m ust be re ve rse d First

‘
get the logs ou t and let the qu arrel com e if c om e it m u st

aft e r w ards .
There is one person in alu m ber cam p th at seldom or ever

receives a ny p u bli c recognition a nd one wh o has a
, s m u c h if ,
not m ore re spo nsibility re sti ng u po n h

, im t han any othe r m an
in c am p. We refe r to th e seal er Y ou see hi m on a frosty .
,
storm y m orning standi ng at the banking gro und and again at ,
“
dusky eve he faithfully pu ts in an appe aranc e So m eti m es
”
, .
80 TH E S E AN T Y B O Y .
he is du ty at the mi dnight hou r when churchyards yawn

on ,
and good m en sleep be fore him spre ad a tally book bristling

”
,
with figures over which he bends and striv e s to add correctly

’
, .
I h ave see n h im on the holy Sabb ath toti ng up th e van h“ ”

,
ook
and seeking to serve h i s e arthl y m aster fa r better than his
he avenl y No hack or dray horse is m ore knocked abou t than
.
th e sea l er Usu ally h e is an e du cated ge ntl em an b u t th e life

.
,
in th e woods h as knoc k e d th e last re m nant of th e gi ldi ng from

ofi h im a nd h e h as gro wn m orose and cranky b u t yet no one
'
, ,
ma n h as m ore depe nding u pon h i m The resu lt of th e se a

. s on s
’
work m ay al l b e on the left h and side of the le dger if he neg

l e ct s his du ty He is his own boss and there is no one t o
.
ch allenge his figu res Did you ever think o f this sir when
.
, ,
y o u w e r e e ngagi ng a sea l er ? Possibly not and y e

, t l e t m e
whisper to you : Th e seal er holds your p urs e strings .

82 TH E S H A N T Y B O Y ’
,
pital agent Thi s he kept up on an average of abou t forty

.
drinks per day with b ut very lit tle e ating or sle ep ing A nd so
, .
”
the toot l asted for fully ten days during whi c h tim e Jack
“
,
had lic ked seve n m en and t wo wom en and got licked hi m sel f ,
three ti m e s til l he fou nd his m oney was gone and so was his
, ,
c redit His board bill was also run u p to su c h afigu re that

.
,
one nigh t abou t t en o cloc k the bo arding ho u se ke eper fired

“ ” ’
, ,
J ac k ou t into the street m inus his coat and tu rkey and very
“ ”
, ,
full of Saginaw red eye

“ ”
.
Jack le aned u p against al am p post on Washingt on avenu e , ,
and rum inated T he world had gone bac k on him b ad

.
Whisky and c igars had lost their lu sc iou s taste t o him Pu t .
ting a he ad on am an had be c om e m o notonou s and in short

“ ”
,
Jac k was pl ayed ou t body and sou l and was far on t he way to ,
a plac e whe re he had a ge nerou s h abit of repeatedly inviting

every one els e t o go .
A bo u t t welve o c lo c k th at sam e night Jack was seated u pon

’
adry goods box It c ou ld not be infe rred th at J ac k wa

. s think
ing he seldom or ever thou ght b u t he wa

,
s sile ntly m using ,
u pon the fa ct that he was sleepy and had no pl ac e t o sl eep .
If he took asnooze whe re he was he wo uld wake u p in the ,
coop and th at he di dn t want Finall y he strayed do wn to

”
,
’
.
avac ant l ot sou th of Hoyt street and crawling into an old

, ,
sugar barrel Jack fell fast asleep ,

.
The l ast drink Jack Sm ith had t aken m u st have be en from ,
Rip Van W inkle s bottle as his sleep was bo th long and dream
’
less D ays m onths and ye ars passed away and stil l Jack
.
,
slep t Winter laid his frosts and snows over th at old barrel
.
,
containing Jac k and still he slept Su m m er beheld the growth

,
.
of the lu xuriou s sunflo wer and the fragrant dog tansy b e

“ ”
, ,
side th a t ol d b arrel c o ntaining Jack Soil ac c u m ul ated and

,
.
,
ro se m any feet a bove Jac k and his b arrel and stil l he slept , , .
Blocks of bu il di ngs arose elev ators and store hou ses were ,
e rect ed and Hoyt street was one solid m ass of bu siness hou ses
,
.
E ast S aginaw had inc re ased its infl u e nc e wealth and p0 pul a ,
tion t en tho usand fold sinc e the night that Jac k crawled into ,
th e em pty b a rrel Change s both national and lo c al had taken

.
OR, L I F E I N A L U B E R C A M MP . 83
p l ace .Politics an d c re eds had lived a nd died an d t he seve ral ,
e n e ratio ns si ng the m h ad with the m lived flo rished a nd

g u u ,
died and still Jac k slept T he bu sy feet of c ou ntless thou

, .
s ands h ad p assed and rep assed over his resting pl ac e b u t h e ,
he ard the m not T he old world had e m ptied its su rplu s pop
.
ul a tion into the new a nd still in dre a

, m l e ss sl u m be r J a ck
re sted .
The igh l
t nings m ight flashand the l oud thunders rattle;
H e heard not h e cared not , u nconsc ious of pain;
H e ha d lain down t o sl eep after em pty ing his bott le ,
N o sou nd seem ed to wa ke h im to fil l it a a ”
g i n .
Y es, all onsc iou s in his b arrel the shan ty boy slept
u nc ,
.
T en tim e s t en N ew Years d a ys h a d pas sed ove r Jack s rest

’
ing pl ac e whe n one m orning awe a

,
lthy Hoyt street m erc hant
de c ided t o c ut aship c anal fro m the Saginaw rive r to his rail
ro a d whe at elevators c overing the squ are bo unde d by H ay
—
den a nd Willi a m streets This gentle m an was a desc endant

.
of a long line of anc estors who ac e ntury previou s had settled

,
in th e wil ds of S a ginaw and was we l l c o nversant wit h the tra

di t i on al histo ry of the to wn fam o u s for s alt sa w -
,
“
du st Little , ,
J ake and several othe r kindred institu tio ns

,
”
Ac cordingly .
,
five h undred m en and t we nty dredges were set to work t o c u t

this c anal by whi c h free navigation t o and from the m agnific e nt
,
Saginaw m ight be re ac hed The work p roc eeded with aston .
ish ing rapidity and one day abo u t noo n the workm en
,
u ne a rthed a wonde rful disc ove ry Th e m e rc h a nt wa s pe rso n .
ally su pervising the work of an e no rm o us d redge whi c h had ,
alre ady c u t ac h annel thirty feet belo w the street surfac e when ,
what was the gentle man s astonish m e nt t o see se at ed on t op

’
of agre at sc oop full of m u c k astrange looking c re at ure , ,
dressed in ared woole n shirt p ants vam ped fo re and aft with ,
ca nva ss spike soled boots

,
strappe d at the knee and a red
, ,
sa sh a rou nd h i s wa ist It was Jac k S m ith and the b al anc e of

.
th e old ba rrel th at had th us bee n so u ncere m oniou sly sc ooped

,
up a
,
nd a gain give n to the light of day .
A s ma y be p re su m ed J ack a fte r sc rapi n g th e m u d o u t

,
o f his
eyes looked abou t him ve ry m u ch astonished

,
.
S o were the l abore rs Al l work wa s stopped a

. nd the ne ws ,
of the finding of this wonderfu l antiqu e spre ad throu ghthe ,
city with lightning like rapidity A l l b u siness was s uspended . .
The alarm bells rang the whistles blew the Rifles were o rdered
, ,
ou t a
,
nd the poli c e gra sped their b a tons The hose c arts took .
su ction a s a l so did every old b u m in town with

,
i n re ac h of a ,
bottle It was a fearfu l tim e filled with m easu reless anxiety

.
, ,
for no one knew e xac tly wh at t h e ma tter was

M
.
eanwhile Jac k sat on the b ank stupidly staring at the fast

gathering m ul titude till the astonished m e rchant app roac hing
, ,
him with awe and tim i di ty inqu ired : ,
“
S trange vi sitant of the se e arthly sc e ne s whenc e art tho u , ,
”
and by wh at nam e shall m ortal s know thee ?
“
I m J ac k S m ith ye c an bet c her sweet life ol p a rd
’ ’
, ,
.
B u t how c a m e you b u ried thirty feet u ndergroun d a nd still

”
y ou live ?
“
0 c o m e off Unde rgro u nd nothin
,
I only laid do wn l as ’
.
’
night to have abit c v a snooze W hat c her givin u s? ”

.
’
“
Last night ? Why m y fri end we have j u st dredged you up ,
thirty feet below m y warehou se where you m ust h ave been ,
deposited ne arly a hu ndred ye ars ago Y ou a re c e rt ainly a .
rare reli c of ou r a nc ie nt a nd m ighty c i ty of S aginaw ”

.
“
O that s al l gufl N o m ore n relic n you are c hu m m y I ve ’
'
’ ’ ’
b en u p on the A u Gre s a l l su m m er workin for Johnnie Brown

’
agettin in six m illions o pine an I j es got on alittle

’ ’ ’ ’
“
toot las week Ye he ar the snort c v m y b azoo do n t yer
” ’
.
,
’
p ard
“
There m u st be c ertainly som eth i ng stra nge a bou t al l t his ,
replied t h e m e rch ant ther has bee n no l u m bering do ne in

“
M
,
e
i c higan for over fift y years and who Johnnie Brown is I ,

”
c annot tell .
A t th i s Jac k du g alittle m ore of the m u d ou t o f h is eye s ,
and began t o look arou nd him B e ing se ated u pon the high .
b ank of the c anal h e c ould see that he was in a strange pl ac e

, .
On every side o f h im we re i m m ense blocks of b u ildings c om ,
p rising warehouses and m anu factories of all kinds As far as .

his gaze coul d re ac h an u nbroken vista of streets m et his

,
vie w O n the side ne arest t o him rose a fore st of m asts b e

.
toke ning an e ndless array of sh i pping of eve ry de scription ,

.
Spires in al l directions showed where innum erable chu rc hes

pointed S kyward while in the e xtrem e distanc e the perspe c tive
,
was fil le d with p al atial re side nc e s all giving evide nc e of Jac k s

’
being in som e m ighty c ity very diffe rent from the one he had ,
be e n whooping it u p in for the past two weeks .
”
“
ra
St gen r aske J k a I i
d , ac
“
m n E ast town or drifted
-
,
‘
,
’
down t e B ay City or or or where in h l l am I anyho w?

r ,
— — —
”
“
I do not know the nam es of the plac e s you m e ntion sir , ,
replied the m e rc h a u a re in the m ighty c ity of Sagi naw

“
nt y o , ,
whic h exte nds on both side s of its m agnific e nt river fro m th e ,
sou rc e of the sa m e whe re the T i t t a ba wassee u nite s with it

, ,
t o i t s m ou th form e rly o c c u pied by the c ity of the B a

, y wh i c h ,
now form s p a rt of ou r gre a t m u nic ip ality .
“
0 give u s are st ! Let s go ove r t o Ge ne D ra pe r s an tak e
’ ’ ’ ’
”
adrink .
“
I do not kno w any person of that nam e in the c ity sir ,
.
Th e h l l ye say ! W al I m orful h ungry let s go over to

—
,
’
,
’
Billie Dobson s an have adish of raw

’ ’ ”
.
“
Neithe r do I know of any s uc h pe rson Poor fello w you .
,
a re terribly a stra y B u t c o m e wit h m e t o m y o ffic e where I

.
ca n le a rn further abo ut you C an you walk a c ou ple of .
blocks
“
C an I what ? Walk ? Well p a rd I sho u ld
p per en di c u ,
”
la riz e t o ej ac ula te !
“
S ir
What
I h ardly co m prehe nd you
Certain pard c ertain E asy t er see ye never war eddic at ed
, ,
in the lu m be r ca m ps That s the kind of c hin c hurnin we u se

.
’ ‘ ’
high u p toney Y er s abe ?

,
.
“
Yes sir ! B u t please follow m e
— .
Get on th e tote road p ard an I m with yer tu rkey an al l ,

’ ’
,
‘ ’ ’
cl
’
ma n Ye c an b et I ll find som e of the m are dives or m y
.
’
,
”
na m e is n t Jack S m ith
’
.
Jack was rather confo u nded at th e generally m ixed up ch ar

acter of things abou t him b u t h e straight ened h , i m self up with
a whoop and as we ar a nd a cc o m p anied by the kind m erc han t
, ,
he m ade his way thro ugh th e m ass es of the p e ople who gaze d ,
at him in sp e ec h l e ss op en m o u thed a
,
stonishm ent .
Stepping do wn from the c anal e m b ank m en t Jack found ,
hi m self u pon a broad and m agnificent stre e t e xtending as far ,
as the eye c ould see in either dire c tion O n each side of the .
street th e b u ildings were com posed of th e m ost el egant c u t

stone and m arble Plate glass windows re ac hed in m assive
.
grandeu r the entire h i ght from th e p ave m e nt to the c o rnice

, .
All along th e fronts of the b uildings were range d groups of

statu ary rep re senting the m ost p rom i nent citizens celebrated
,
in the history o f Sagina w Th es e form ed agorgeou s sho w as

.
,
th ey stood e ac h in the sp e cially digni fied attitu de he held

,
whe n form erl v le aning over ab ar taking a stand off drink with
“ ”
a b rother oflic ial Jac k gazed at these stone efligies of

.
goodness and greatne ss in m u te ad m iration ,

.
The streets were al l sm ooth l y pave d with white asbe stos ,
u pon whic h thou s a nds of veh icles of all form s and siz es see m ed
t o be rushing hithe r and thither b ut stra nge to sa, y w itho u t ,
any visible m e ans of propu lsion and all fill ed with am u l tit u de
,
of b usy citize ns P edest rians fill e d th e pave where the glass

.
,
fronted stores showed every variety of rich stufis and wares

'
in gold silve r a
,
nd polish e d m e tals whil e the sp a rkl e of p reciou s
,
stones lighted u p the wondrou s she en of the silks velvets and ,
costly lac es till the street seem ed to be b u t a su ccession of

,
p al aces with the price of akingdo m in every window

,
.
Truly it was awo ndrou s sight th at m et Jack s g aze and the ’
imp ression it c re ated u pon him was bu t fai ntl y expressed in

his c o ntinu ou s ej ac ulation :
“
Well I ll be d d
,
’
—
The m u ltit ude which followed Jac k and the m e rchant c on

t inu al l y i ncreased till at l a
,
st the streets were com pletely
bl ocked and furthe r p rogress was im possible Th e innu m erable
,
.
vehicle s with difi c ul ty m ad e their way b u t where a stoppage ,
wa s forced by th e m ob o f p e opl e the conveyanc e s arose m aj es

,
OR L I F E I N A L U B E R C A
, M MP . 87
ti c ally into the air and flo ated calm ly over Jack s he ad til l the
,
’
s ky a bove him was as thi c kly i m pac ted with aerial carriages o f
e ve ry kind a s wa s the street with pedestri a ns .
“
I say m ister m an whar e all the b osses in th
, ,
’
i s yer to wn o f
yo u rn asked Jac k of the m erchant .
Horses 0 yes I re m em be r re adi ng in ou r old histories

,
th at equine labor was form erly in u se in the p ropul sion of c on

veya nc es a nd d ra wing of what were in anc ie nt d ays c alled
ca rt s d ra
,
ys wagons and c arriages for c arrying loads of freight
, ,
and p assenge rs on these ru de th i ngs rolling on wheels , B ut .
al l this was do ne away with over sixty ye ars ago whe n the ,
re a t sc ie nti st Edi son pe rfe c ted h i s ele tri m oto r w hi h h a

g c c c s ,
enti rely su perseded ste a nd a

”
m a ni m a l po we r .
Don t u se hoss power any m ore de ye say p ard ?

’
,
“
N o sir not for long ye ars
,
Whe n Profe ssor Keeley per
.
fec ted h is gre a t se c ret of lifting ten tho usand tons by applyi ng
fiftee n drO ps of wa ter to his m o tor e verything was revolu tio n,
iz ed a nd a l l forces now in u se are c o nfined t o ele c tri c ity or

”
hydrau lic p ressure .
“
Wh at ! N o st am p ower any m ore e
N o sir no m o re st e am for locom otion

,
It was t oo slow . .
Tim e and sp ac e have both bee n annihil ated by ou r p rese nt

syste m a , nd we riva l t he swiftest bi rds with ou r el ec tropedes
”
adn a rio -ships .
“
Well by the l ast ye ar s stum p of a pevey s t o c k ! B u t I
’
ca n t do this su bje c t j us ti c e
’
I wo nde r if this is J ac k S m it h
.
”
or a m I s m othe r fell er?
’ ’
“
I do not wo de at vou am aze m e t si althou gh I do not
n r r n r —
, ,
-
u nde rstand your stra nge ig nora nce of ve ry co m m o n e ve ry d a

y
things here wi thu s B u t please step into m y el ec tropede and
.
,
I will take you to m y do wn to wn oflic e o nly fift ee n m ile s from ,
here j u s t one m inu te s ride Step right in and sit do wn

,
’
. .
“
What inte r that ther thing like achu rc h organ?
,
’ ”
Y es sir you will find it a

,
ll right Sit down on that se at .
and inse rt your arm s and legs throu g hthose strap s I will .
b uckl e the m tight so you c onnot slip S o that s al l right —

,
’
.
Jac k did as he was orde red and fou nd him sel f in abeau tiful ,
and l uxuriou s form ed som e what lik e an elevat or

m ac hine , ,
elegantl y upholstere d and finished in rose wo od and ebon y an d ,
capable of holding four P u tting h is l e gs and a rm s th ro u g h

.
the straps as di recte d th e m erchant faste ned Jack in

, .
“
N ow sir are you re ady
“
Well no pard le t s go out and take a drink
, ,
’
I m orfu l .
’
”
dry !
T oo late now sir as we m ust b e at the end of the river in a
,
”
minu te Hold fast now
. .
“ ’
Let er go Gallagher ! Le t er roll !
’
To uching alit tle gold knob in t he side of the co nveyanc e a ,
slight hissing sound was he ard and an u p ward m ot io n felt b y ,
Jac k q uickly change d to an o nward one an d b e fore he c o u ld

, ,
m ove or catc h his bre a th the m otion c eased .
“
Hollo p ard what in th unde r s u p? A nythin b roke
,
’ ’
0 no sir we have j ust arrive d at m y o ffic e at the m ou th of

,
”
th e great Saginaw river .
“
0 m y eye ! W e r at Bay City a re w e Le s go do wn to
’ ’
th e catacom bs at Third stree t bridge to Charlie Stras sb urg s ,

’
,
”
an get a drink Hurrah l
’
M
.
“
T here 18 no s uch place as B ay C ity r S m ith That was , . .
consolidated with the u p river c ities forty fou r ye ars ago A nd

- .
we have no bridges over our rive r, we cross thro ugh tunnels at

”
th e inters ec tion of every stre et with the river .
“
The h l l you say !
—
”
There is no h l l either
— r Sm ith Th at m atte r was
, , M . .
r he r r a
fully ab ogated at t wo ld s g e t co ve tio so e s e venty on e
n n n m -
’
ye ars ago whe n th e religion o f scie nc e was adopte d by t he

,
c onve ntio n wh i ch m et in the great city of Mackin aw in

,
“
What Mackinaw u p ter th e stra
,
its ? ”
“ ”
Ye s sir .
Is that a great city

Not so l arge as this sir Th ey only claim se ven m illions
, . .
We have thirty two m illions of inhabitants in Saginaw B ut

- .
Mackinaw is gro wing and will s oon be a place of gre at i m por

,
tance whe n they get their e igh t h ra ilro ad tunnel u nde r the
"
straits c om ple t e d .
no we S H AN T Y nor,
n ation is form ed from a hum a n hash Th es e ve ss el s com e .
from th e oc e an dire ct as all our inland lakes a re now u nite d

,
by canals and deep rivers thus e asily re aching the ancient ,
o cean p orts of Y ork and Qu e be c Th ese however that you .

, ,
see he e t o day a
r - re grain v e ss els from th
, e gre at Am e rican
capital Ch i cago We s end our grain from h ere dire ct to York

.
and Qu ebec by a large pneu m atic pip e

, Th e pip e .
e xte nds under th e l akes and ov er the lands and is ,
fiftee n fee t in di am e ter Th e gra in is poured in h ere and by air

.
p ressure goes flying through the pip e at the rate of a thousand

bushels a m il e per second till it re ach e s its destination We
, , .
are now having astrong fight with the Chi cago shippe rs to
keep them from e xtending th e pipe over th e country form erly
call e d Mi ch i gan a nd ac ross Lak e Mi ch i gan to th e c apital
”
.
“
Form erly c all ed Mi chigan ? Why isn t this Mi ch i gan
’
“
No sir nor hasn t been since 1932
,
Th e old syste m of
’
.
states governm ent was found to be too confli cti ng and cum ber
som e and at th e tim e whe n Canada and Mexico p e titioned t o
,
com e into what was form e rly the United State s the Grand ,
Congress of Am erica held at Ch e boygan in 1931 dec ided t o , ,
re organiz e th e cou nt ry a nd form a new constitu tio n a nd so

, ,
the p resent Rep ublic of A m erica was created e m bracing all ,
lands on th e western he m isphere with the capital at Chicago , ,
a city t wic e th e size of ancient B abylon sir and with , ,

”
000 inhabitants .
Well woul d ent that rose a m an

,
’
.
S ir
“
I m
’
saying wouldn t that j e st knock a lung ou t o yer ! ’ ’
M
,
I hardl y underst and your allu sion r Smi t , .
We ll with all I ve see d and b eam I m h ungry enough to

,
’
,
’
e at a pair 0 river boots spike s an all and so dry that I don t

’
,
’
,
’
’
know whar I m goin t er sleep ter night K en ye u nderstand
’
- .
that pard ?
,
“
I b eg your pardon; sir I had forgotten you were a stranger ,
in our city a nd both c old a

, nd hu ngry Step into the el e vator .
,
and we ll s oon refre shthe inner m an

’ ”
.
“
Good haul ol m an ! I ll d o it if it pukes m e
,
’ ’
.
OR L I FE I N A L UJI I B E R CA
. MP . 91
Jack and the m erchant were in a m om ent lifte d to the th ir

t eent hstory o f the m agnific e nt b uilding th e y had be e n c onvers
i ng in front o f a nd e nt ere d into the p rivate oflicc o f th e m er
,
c ha nt
M
.
Excus e m e for am om ent r S mi th whil e I s ee wh

“
o has , .
,
b ee n talking to m e sinc e I have b een away .
“
Why how in S am Hill c an ye tell wh en ye warn t h ere
, ,
’
c h u mm y?
“
H a ha ! Th a t s e asy O ur phonographs are all conne cted
’
.
,
with our teleph one s and whe ther a person be p re se nt or not

, ,
th
”
e phonograph tak e s down all conversati o ns as you will s e e , .
T he m erchant th en detach e d som e wire s from a sm a l l box ,
having a crank afi xed to it This he procee de d to slowly turn .
when at once th e voice of a lady was h e ard ordering up a

, ,
ro ast o f pork for dinne r .
”
“
That s m y wi fe sir
’
, .
An o t h er voice in grufl tones wante d t wo tho usand b a

’
, les of
sole le ather at once .
“
That s m y shoe factory fore m an sir
’
, .
Sounded a good deal lik e the gentle ch erup ofa cam p p ush
in the m orning getting the loaders ou t of cam p .
”
“
S o I presum e sir h e s genera
“ ’
, ll y loade d, .
0 co m e 0 1
1 ! Is that th e b e st ye c an do in 1 8 what did
9 —
did you say it was?

1988 M r Sm ith
,
. Septe m b er 15th b ut if you will step
.
,
into that room to you r l e ft sir you wi ll find a b ath whi ch you , , ,
re a ll y re qu ire a nd you a
, re welcom e to u se a ny of the s u i ts of
clothes you find th ere Then l unch will b e ready and I will .
,
have gone over a littl e bu siness I find here to transact .
“
Thanks pard I b elieve I will take abou t a qu arter se ction
, ,
” ’
of Saginaw co unty of en m e .
Jack found e very thing fitted for a prince in the bath room ,
a nd aft er clothing him self in a n elegant s uit of th e m e rcha nt s

’
best h e e entering the room where the go od gentle m an was

,
r -
,
awaiting him
Ah M
.
r S m ith you a re now very m uch m ore p re se ntable

“
.
, , ,
I assure you Permi t m e to com pli m ent you on the im proved

.
change in your pe rsonal appearance P ray be seated . .
“
Wal yes I do feel as tho ugh I d had m y S unday c hange
,
’
p ardner and am jes feeling like s tho I d got a big wi nte r s

,
’ ’ ’ ’ ’
stake a n wa s off to spe nd it

’
.
“
I follow your singular figures of speech with som e difii c ul ty ,
sir b u t still thi nk I u nders t a

,
nd you What wil l you h ave for .
”
lu nc h sir ?,
“
0 none of yer sli c e of b re ad an sa ssa f w a a
’
, ge er m e I n t .
”
squ are me al I give yer atip on that ,
.
“
Whatever you de m and sir will b e se rved , ,
.
Well if its the sam e t o al l the rest of the cam p I ll take

, ,
’
’
bou t t wo pou nds of beef ste ak b ril ed fri ed pert at ers an d ,
ingine a hu nk of b read an bo u t a qu ert of c offee wit h

, ,
’ ’
trim m ins .
“
Yes sir in am om ent A nd to u c h
,
ing a knob in the floor .
a table arose covered wi thj u st what Jac k had o rde red and ,
fifty other ni c etie s be sides .
The m erc hant kept Jack c o m p any whil e he was e ating after ,
wh i ch he re m a rked
“
Mr Sm ith while I am extrem ely c uriou s t o hear your story
.
, ,
I sh all restrain m y im p atienc e till you have su tfic ien tl y rec or

ered aft er which I sh all have very m u c h ple asu re in listeni ng
,
to the recital of yo ur wonderful exp erience The re is abed .
roo m a ir a
,nd you c a n oc c u py it
,
I sh all not disturb you as .
,
I shall be away acou ple of ho urs .
“
Mu c h ob l eged p ard Don t kee r if I do take forty wi nks
,
.
’
,
”
arter whic h I m yo u rn trul y
’
.
“
Ve ry good sir I have j ust had ac all t o London Engl and
, .
, ,
and will h ave to step ac ross b u t I shall not be longe r t han ,

”
fou r ho urs at the u tm ost ,
“
Whar did ye say ? ”
”
London sir ,
.
What in England ?
M
,
Yes r Sm ith our aeri al navigation has be c o m e so per

,
.
,
fe et that we m ake thirty m iles per second so that alittle trip ,
of three thou s a
”
nd m iles is b u t a m e re t rifl e .
“
Well I l l be ,
’
B u t its no u se talking only all thi s ,
M
OR, L I F E I N A L U B E R CA MP . 98
kind of talk m akes m e want t o g o som ewhars an bre ak a fe w ’
”
winders or get licke d
M
.
“
G ood bye,
r S m ith
. said th e m erchant turning away and
,
m u ttering to him self :

“
What a strange m an he is B ut I have fou nd in him a
.
m ost wonderfu l a d rare

n reli c o f b y gone days
- I wonder .
what pre served h im . I m ust ask Prof Knoitall when I

.
Th e m erchant rushed across th e oce an and Jack tum bl e d

,
into a grandl y luxurious b e d The chronicl er of this verac iou s

.
biography will therefore turn a p age and begin a new chapte r

, ,
in continu ati on of th e strange experi e nc e of Jack Sm ith If .
any one has the least doubt abo ut th e tru thful facts h ere pre
sente d in regard to th
,
i s narrative th e writer
, can only point
to the indi sp utable e vidence of East Saginaw b e ing still

wh ere all this took place and that h e has see n and talked
,
with Jack S mi th hi m self in the woods What m ore could any

, .
reasonab le m a n want than th at ?

94 m SH A N T Y B O Y .
C H A PTE R XI I .
WE RE OB T AI N E D ron S A em A w Mms
u AN D H ow L UMB E R W A s S HI P PE D
To B urrA no— TH E Mm m a o PA P E m J
— ACE As To L E C T URE ON TH E
A N T I QUI T I E B or T H E S A em A w V ALLE Y— D ISA PPOI N T I N G C onc w sron ,
H a
eddressed t h e k ing by t h e tit le of m ist er ,
A nd a sked h im th e pric e of th e throne h e sa

t on .
H e kissed the queen till h e ra ised ab list er ,
A nd did it al l withhis ol d fel t h at on .
Jack had a fine refresh i ng sle e p of fully six ho urs durati on ,
from wh i ch h e was fina lly arous e d by the hand of the m er

chant giving h i m age ntle shak e
M
.
,
“
It is full y tim e for dinner r Sm ith ,
. .
What tim e is it pard said Jack rubbing his eyes and

, ,
sleepily yawning .
“
Al m ost m idnight sir a nd I th ou ght you woul d li k e a l ow
, ,
‘
”
twelve di nner
’
.
“
Midnight Why its bright as noon !
“
Ye s we find el e ctric lam p s cheap er than daylight and now
, ,
only u se th e sun to grow our grain and cabbages

, .
“
S ee m s to m e th i ngs in this cou ntry a re darned badly m ixed
,
”
pardner said Jack as h e rolled out of b e d and began to
, ,
dre ss .
“
0 not m ore so than in other cou ntries sir th e world is
, , ,
im proving e very day I have been d e tained I regre t to say

.
, ,
a couple of hours longer than I exp e cted to b e When I .
arrived in Lond on I found I had to rush across to Paris and ,
returned by wa y of Y o rk so that I have b ee n fu lly

, six h ours
absent in London Paris and Y ork , .
Sav m ister,
what m ou t b e yer nam e ?
H on . Lyre T ought al e co m ptroll er of Saginaw , ,
at you r ser
V10 6 , srr .
Jes ’
I thort I d kinder like t er know what ye call ed
so !
’
ersel f so a s t o i nt e rdu se ye till th e boys in ca m Ye hav e

y , p .
been to London yer say ?

M
,
”
Yes r Sm it h . .
A nd t er Paris ?
Y es r S m ith
,
M . .
An d ter New York ?

Yes M r S m ith tho u gh we only call it York now
, .
, .
”
“
All since I lay down here ?
”
Yes sir
M
.
r T ough ta l e der yer know wh er like a h ar p st ru ck by

.
yy ,
“
NO I do not
sir, .
’
Well It s be c au se the harp struck by lightnin 1s a blasted
,
”
lyre .
“
0 yes I see That s the first part of m y nam e
,
.
’
good .
“
Well I shou ld reckon it war an the heft iest p art t oo ’
M
, , ,
.
Dinner will be ready in fifteen m inu tes r Sm ith ,

. .
Al l right p a rd I m ahe a
”
d on t I m ready now
, ,
’ ’
,
’
.
Jac k d re ssed him self and ru m inated at the sam e tim e A .
dinne r of m agnific ent proportions was served up inc l u ding the ,
ra re st wine s vi a nds a nd fru it s t o whi c h he did a

, m ple j u stice , .
A fter t he m erc h a nt and J a c k h ad dined c igars we re lighted ,
and t he c onve rsation continu ed

M
.
“
Whil e I was in London afew ho urs ago r S m ith I c on ,
.
,
sa lted wi th an e m inent s c ientist there relative t o your case ,

.
H e c o nvi nc e d m e th at it wa s the s a lt in the S aginaw salt bed

that had preserved you I n short that you have been in pickl e al l .
,
th e se m any ye ars and u pon being returned t o t he atm os ,
p h eri c a ir
y ou w e re r esto
, red t o c o nscio u sness as w ell as w he n
”
y ou l aid do wn t o sleep .
“
I should n t wonder if it war the case pard I war filled u p
’
,
.
with Saginaw red eye m side an Saginaw s alt ou tside an so

‘
,
’ ’
I
“
B u t I woul d like t o kno w som e thing abou t your e arly h is
, M
tory r S m ith . .
“
0 dun know that I ve got m u ch h ist ry
’
,
Born in East
’
.
Saginaw ; took e arl y til l th e ri ver like a rat ; growe d up som e

wa y ; n ev e r we nt to school ; p ik ed f or the woods whe n I w ar r
big enough ; worke d for Charl i e Turner Jerry Hunt Jack

M
, ,
ellon Johnnie Brown an a lot of them fellers I cam e inter

,
’
.
Saginaw two weeks ago an got on a toot felt sleepy an laid ’ ‘ ’
down ter sleep an woke u p when that darne d diggin thing

,
’
,
’
”
e m ptied m e in the m ud .
“
Singular what a hal u cinatien has com e over this strange ‘
b eing ! m u se d worthy r T oughtal e

”
M
M
. .
”
“
H ow ol d a re you r S m ith ? , .
D u n no pard b u t th ey used to say D oc Kitc h en s big

’
, , .
’
b ull dog an m e war p ups together ’

.
“
Ah yes ! Well you don t look m ore than thirty and how
,
’
to rec oncil e these contradictions is entirely beyond m y c om

p i
re he ns on .
At thi s point the clicking of an electric hel l was h e ard .
A h here c o m e s the m orni ng pap er

”
re m ark e d th e
“
,
m er ,
chant .
Jack glanced through a window b ehind h im a nd be h old a ,
m ost singular sight It was as b ight as oo day ou tside

r n n.
-
,
and as far as the eye coul d reach the sky was literal l y covere d ,
with long strips of ribb on l ike paper running d own t hrough ,
th e roofs of the h ouses Where they were c omi ng from Jaok .
coul d not di sc ern b ut th e wh i te clou ds see m ed to ente r e very

,
hou s e with l ightning l ike rapidit y .
Turning with increase d curiosity Jack beh eld the m erchant ,
se ated at a wh eel around which was revolving a long strip of

,
pap er abo ut eight no I m lying se ven and se ven eighths

,
— - ’
,
inches wide and com ing d own through th e ceiling Upon th

,
is .
strip of paper was th e ne ws of th e whole w orld for th e past six

h ours c ondense d int o sh ort paragraphs am ong wh
,
i ch Jac k dis
covered ase ri e s of picture s re presenting the finding of him in
(B TH E S H A N T Y B O Y ,
urer in the delive ry pip e I n fact our pe ople d o not work .

,
m u ch as th e y u se labor saving m ac h
,
- inery for every d esc ripti on
”
of m anu al l ab or .
“
H ow in thunder does th e p eopl e get a
”
O e ve ryone is now rich in Am erica and a m illi on of do]
, ,
lars is a comm on fortune Science eighty ye ars ago b an is h ed .

, ,
poverty and all our p e ople are in a happy c onditi on O f el e

,
”
gant leisure .
“
H ow m any p e opl e is thar in the sount ry anyh o w
W e have now in Am eri ca
Great Scott
Ye s all Ireland Germ any Holland Italy Scotlan d E ng
, , , , , ,
land France and several other co untries cam e over here in a

,
body and we have had to repopulate these ol d cou ntrie s o ver

,
9’
again .
“
I j est feel like c ryin ! Don t the boys go to the woods ’ ’
every fal l any m ore p ard ? ,
“
No sir there are no woods ne are r than the Georgi an Bay
,
and Al aska and we a re larg ely m anufactu ring tim ber ou t of

,
old t an bark and al l vegetable su bs tances That has c au s ed .
Cheboygan where the l og fac tory is established— to have

of apop ul ation T he m ethod of m anu fa cturing is .
very inte resting The vegetabl m atter is thrown into al arge

. e
hopper and a standard saw l og com es ou t ready for the m ill

, , ,
at the rate of three every m inu te no I am wrong it is three

— —
”
every m inu te and ten se conds .
“
Mu st h ave lots of stu fl in this cou ntry ? ‘ "
”
S t ufi, sir ?
‘
Yes boodle ,
‘
.
B oodle sir ? ,
Yes darn it d on t ye u n erstand A m erican

, ,
’
I m e an lots ’
’ ”
O m oney .
“
0 ah yes we a
,
lth c ert ainly ! Yes we are all rich now
, , , ,
since we discovered th e secre t of extracting the yel low

colori ng from saw du st and transm u ting it into gold ”
, .
“ ”
Inter gold ?
Y es th e great disc o very was m ade by Capt Jackpine
, .
,
. M MP . 99
abl e sci entist and chem ist at Ch eboygan ,

who e xperim ente d
u pon a pile of sawdu st acc um ulated there till the great se c re t ,
wa s discove red Since th en the work of m ining O l d long b uried

.
sa w du st has su pe rseded all other indu stries and people b e ,
ca m e ric hby th e u se of the once val u eless m ate ria

“
Well I ll be no I won t swar its u seless B u t I say r
,
—
’ ’
, .
,
M .
T ough ta l e I see now wh

, y y o u felle rs do n e away with hell .
It had got to be u seless hadn t it ? ’
M
,
“
Yes r Sm ith the world s i m proving and we j ust kill off
,
.
,
’
all our bad people and preserve the good ,

.
“
0 you do do you ? I spose lying is no sin now days
’
.
, ,
Why sir lyi ng is pu nishable by death with u s I hav n t

’ ’
.
,
told you one word b u t what is absolu te tru th The m ost difli .
c u lt feat u re believe m e is t o com p rehend a

,
nd e nt e rt a
, , in the
story you tell m e B ut excu se m e the re is age ntle m an in C on
.
st a ntin opl e ringing m e u p H e is waiting t o ask m e a qu es

.
”
t i on
.
The m erc hant went t o the te lephone and cam e b ack in a

m om ent re m arking
“
That party wants a colony se nt over t o occ upy and p c p u
late ol d Caro I will have to send fifty m en and wom en to d ay
.
so they will get in in tim e for su ppe r Its p art of m y du tie s .
as c om ptrol ler to attend to the equ ali zation of the earth s pop ’
ul a tion .Am erica is now the distrib uting center of the globe .
B ut re a ll y I m tired repe atedly colo nizing the se ol d pl a

’
yed ou t
l ands .
“
H ow wil l ye git the folks thar ?
We use aerial shi ps en tirely for p asse ngers now as they ,
m ake ful ly thirty mi le s per second All we u se the o c e an .
ma rin e for now is to carry freight and that will be virt u ally ,
obviate d a s a m eans O f tra nspo rt whe n we get ou r great tra ns ,
o rta tio n pipe pl ac ed ac ross u nde r the o c e an

p .
“
Say m ister have ye a handy nigger abo u t here that I
, ,
could hire t o take me out som ewhar and kil l m e?

“
Why M r S mi th wh a
, t m akes you talk s o
.
? ”
,
Talk so I thought D an Patterson in B lodgett Byrnes ’
he adquarters cam p c ould tell so m e heft y ones b ut Lord ! ,

Well 1 am stu ffed s o full I c an tou c h it with m y finge r

,
O .
”
holy Moses !
“
Yes I thou ght you were e ating very h e artily at dinner r
, , M
.
Sm ith b u t you ll re cover from that

,
’ ”
.
“
If I ever do I swar I ll never pu t foot in Saginaw an 1f I
,
’
once m ore strike Big D an s c am p on the Sable I ll stay thar ! ’
,
’
”
Y ou he a r m e yelp !
“
I fu lly appreciate the force O f your re m arks r Sm ith , M .
,
althoughI c an hardly u nderstand the figu rative loc ali ties or

l angu age you u se B u t what you say le ads m e to believe you
.
h ave not m u c h m oney possibly not m ore than fifty or m aybe

,
seventy five tho usand dollars abou t you If this be so m y

- .
,
friend be fre e with m e and inform m e of the fact

, ,
”
.
Seventy five thousand what

-
”
Doll ars sir ,
.
Ju das Priest ! Pard I hav n t a nickle ,

’ ’
.
Is s u c h a condition of poverty possible ?

Well I should jiet ge ntly expostulate that it war
, .
My dear sir I have it ! ,
Is it c atching chum m y ? ,
I m ean I c an pu t you in th e way to coin any am ount o f

,
m oney We will start you lecturing

. .
“
What m e ,
Yes sir you ! A talk su chas you have delighted m e with

,
th i s p ast hour de livere d p u blicly is worth ,
— wh — D O
“
Why y you k no w p ard I tho u ght t w ar you war, ,
’
a doin all t he
’
0 no not at a ll sir I ve bee n both entertained and de

’
“
.
,
lighted I will advance you

. and take all chanc es .
Ca n you be re ady by to m orrow night t o deliver a l e cture on

-
”
the An tiquitie s of Saginaw .
“
I j est want to ax yer a q u e stion pard , .
”
Yes sir l
Did yer e ver go up on the j am ?
NO ,
M
r S mi t .
Did yer ever c om e do wn on th e drive?

No r Sm ith
,
M ”
. .
There c om e along ! You ll find them all up be fore S qui re ’
M
,
Fey said Oflic er c C oy and ou t they went into th e glorious

”
, ,
Saginaw m orning while the ofi c er gently warble d

,
I ga
ther th th
em in I ga er them in ,
.
C H A PT E R XI I I .
TH E B ATT LE or T E E SA W L oo— T H E KILLE D WOUN DE D AND Mami s e
S OME or TH E Vrc rssrrUDE s or W OO Ds L u vs PRE sE N T E D — T H E Om ern

AN D GROWTH or W OO D su E N ’
s H osr rT A L s— I N c m E N T s AN D A cc ENT .
We now com e to re view som e of the special features of dan

er an d death asso c iated with life in the woods I n the sto ry
g .
told of Charl es Porte r it c an be seen how easily the hfe of the

,
shanty b oy m ay b e snufied out and in that tragic sketc h

'
ma be fo un d t he story of ve ry m any wh o h ave f alle n befo re

y
th e stroke of King Pine I n t he season of 1884 5 it was os
.
—
,
tim ated that in Mi ch i gan alone sixty fatal ac c idents had taken ,
place in th e lum ber woods Over t hree thou sand pe rsons were .
m ore or less inj ured a nd ful l y that m any we re sick

, for a ,
greater or less le ngth of tiine Several harro wing ins tances of .
fatal accident cam e unde r m y own im m ediate observation

, ,
to whi ch I here c an b ut m ake a very brief refere nce I n the .
se ason a bove indicated th ere were fu l ly , m en e ngag ed

in the lum bering work of Mic higan Th e l um be r c u t for that .
y ear 1885 was

— — feet It is there fore not ve ry .
surp rising that su c h a pe rce ntage shoul d be given o f kill ed a nd

wounde d in that season
,
.
I was in conversati on with a young Swe de in a cam p on the

A u Gres river one e vening that winte r a nd a s in th e t ory of
g , ,
P orter h e t oo wa
,
s exp ec ting great resul ts in the w oo ds He .
. M MP . 108
w as a well built, bright intelligent fellow and I pass e d a pl eas

, ,
an t evening with him I re m e m ber he showe d m e h i s watc h

.
,
o f which he was very prou d It was asil ver, e ight ou nc e case , .
A m erican watch t he heaviest m ade b u t not satisfied with the

, ,
r e gul a r we ight he had had t wo silver dollars fastene d on

,
e ach side of the case m aking it nearly a pound in weight

, .
T h is he carried in his hip p ocket and on the very day su c ,
c e eding m y m eeting h im t h e poor fellow wa s jam m ed bet wee n

,
a stum p and the end of a log c atching him on the hip and , ,
s m ashi ng the lo we r portion of his S pinal colu m n a nd his thigh

b o ne into fra gm ents He was carried t o West Branch p rep ar
.
,
s t o ry t o taking h i m to the Bay City hospital on wh i ch insti ,
t u tion he had p urchased a ce rtificate from m e onl y the eve n ,
i ng p reviou s B ut h
. e got no fa rther than the West Branch
station where he breat hed his last The watc h on being
, .
,
re m oved fro m his po c ket was fou nd to have bee n com pletely,
flattene d so that all the works were sm ashe d to sm all frag

,
m e nts . Th i s shows th e awful viole nce of th e blow he had re
c eived . Trul y the kisse s of asaw l og are c ru el !

I m ight relate very m any su ch inc ide nts b u t having reserved ,
spac e for one or t wo tragi c incidents in regul ar narrative form ,
I will here briefly p rese nt som e of the leadi ng features of

relie f p rovided for t h e wo u nded woods m e n .
B ut before doing so I m ust insist that it is largely owing t o

carelessness on the part of t he m en that so m any seriou s ac ,
c ident s take place Talking wi th Jerry D Hunt superinten

. .
,
de nt of the J E Potts S alt and Lu m b er Com pany of Mic hi

. .
,
g a n
,
Op e ra ti ng o n the A u Sable rive r he m ade the foll o wi ng ,
terse re m ark “
It s saw logs we re aft er ou t here and he
-
’ ’
meant it as the sam e co m pany have j ust finished p u tting in

,
feet within the season of 1887 8 It is saw logs — .
men a re a fte r in the woods and in t h e ru sh pu sh a ,

nd c ru sh to ,
e t the m God help the s ick or wo u nd e d !

g ,
This thought would indu c e a slight digression on t he sub

o f the e ul ati on or conte ntion e xh ibite d in eve ry phase
j ec t m
of woods life Lum be ring has been a staple indu stry with
.
manki nd since th e e arli e st ages King Solom on ran quite a .

nu m ber of lu m ber cam ps on ount Lebanon and was c er

“
M ,
ta “ ”
inl y the first l um ber king on re cord The word even then .
”
wa s I ts sa
“
w logs we re after and the be am s and othe r bil l “
’
,
”
st ufl for that big te m ple on Mou nt Moriah had t o be got ou t
'
un der greate r difii c ul ti es than a re expe ri e nc e d in Wis c onsin or
Mic higan Even in King Solom on s l u m ber ca mps the spirit

.
’
of e m ulation am ong his shanty boys seem e d to prevail as the

“
,
follo wing text woul d indi c ate

“
A m an was fam ou s according as he had li ft e d u p axes on
”
thic k tre es — Psal m s lxxiv 5
.
—
.
A s it wa s then in th e days o f t h
, e P sa l m ist so it is t o-day , .
The m en in our shanty c am ps are e ver on th e strive Gangs

“ ”
.
o f sawyers co m e to the forem an at nig ht e ac h m an wit h his ,
little wooden t lly book and c alls ofl t he nu m ber of logs he

a
'
-
,
and his partner have c u t that day As e ac h speaks the othe rs .
listen nervo usly and with ill c o nc ealed je alousy to the m en

,
-
,
with the big figures T W O or three m en in every c am p kno wn

.
,
as hu stlers lead in the various depart m e nts of work

, S Om e .
as sa y w e rs top ,
-loaders swam pe rs chopp ers or te am ste rs
, , ,
“
p u s the rest of the boys for all th e y a re wo rth It is no t .
”
in the wa y o f “
d rivi ng th at thi s is do n e b u t as le a de rs a nd , ,
the spirit of e m ul ation fou nd in every m an says ,

“
I m as ,
’
good am an as he and I ll do as m u c h ,
This is where the
’
.
“
ru sh
”
co m es in and the battle Of the saw log is fought on
“
th e sa m e p ri nc ipl e as th at for kingdom or crown .
This while it is faul tless in the character of the rivalry it

,
exhibits at th e sam e tim e leave s no tim e nor h elp to nurse the

,
sic k and wou nded m en and their nam e is l egion in cam p

, , .
Consequ ently the lu m b erm an s hospit al system com es in and

,
’
”
picks u p the wounde d while the battle against King Pine “
M
,
goes bravely on T he hospital system s of

. ic higan and Wis
consin wou ld b e m u ch m ore com plete could horse hospital s be
established on th e sam e principle although all large c am ps ,
have their ve terinary s urgeo ns perm anently e m ployed B u t it .
is l argely owing to th e above notic ed d e m and for

“
saw logs ,
that so m any are hurt or m ade sick Ri valry crowds the m en .
”
and not the efiorts of the push “
fo e e
'
( r m a n! to d riv the m .
106 T M BE AN T Y B O Y ,
establishm ent of what is known as St Mary s h ospital in that .

’
city u nder the c are of the Sisters of Charity and where hun
, ,
”
dreds of shanty boys have since fou nd a go od hom e a
“
nd
kindl y care from these c haritable wom en .
The su cce ss o f thi s enterprise indu ced a like action of a sec

u lar c haracter in Bay City in 1878 whic h was also highly , ,
m e ritorious Big Rapids F lint and Grand Rapids follo wed

.
,
fast after till al l im portant towns now h ave hospitals for si c k

,
and inj ured woods m en A t thi s writing there are woodsm en s

’
.
hO S pit al s at all the above places and also at Al pena C heb oy , ,
g a n,
O scoda Ma rqu ette
,
Me n o m inee Ma n istiqu
, e and seve ral ,
other plac es of which the North we stern Hospital C o of

,
C heboygan Bay C ity a ,

nd Marqu ette is th e m ost i m porta nt , ,
b u t all m ore or less val u able Certificat es are sold to the m en

.
enti tli ng the holder to care board lodging and m edical treat , ,
m ent for one year a

,
nd whe neve r sic k or h urt these tickets
, ,
open for them a good hom e The m en fully app re c iate thi s .
great bl essing and b uy readil y from the agents visiti ng t he

,
cam ps .
While on the subje c t of hospitals for woodsm en it m ay here ,
be state d that te m p ted by the possible gain acc ruing from the
,
sale of ti ckets to th e shanty boys unscru pulou s m en have ,
starte d hospital s and for a sh , ort tim e labored to b uild u p a

rep u tati on a nd th e n after m aking a special efiort to sell a
'
, ,
large quanti ty or the se ti c kets have absconded le aving their , ,
innoc ent age nts to brave the brunt o f the swindled vic tim s ’
indignati on th e cau se of whi ch was entirely separated from the

,
agents I have known two su c h instanc es as this to have

.
occurred in Michi gan where the woods m e n have been badly

,
swindl ed and u nl ess som e preventati ve ac tion is taken by t he

,
state the swindl e will b e repeated I believe e very hospital

,
.
com pany or proprietor shoul d be placed u nder he avy bonds to

th e Com m issioner of Insu ra nce for the ful fill m e nt o f the c on
trac t entere d into with the m en in the woods Th e hospital .
system of issu ing certificat es to the m en is no thing m ore or

l e ss than i nsu rance against sickness or accid ent a nd sh ould ,
be treate d the sam e as any ot her p ol icy of insuranc e .

. M MP . 107
C H A P TE R XI V .
”
TH E E N E m E s or TH E S H AN T v B ox— TH E “
DE N s AN D Drvns or TH E
LU MBE R WOODs— Jm C ARE A N D DA N DUN N — H ow JOH N M C T A vrsH
S TARTE D T H E B ULL PE N AT B LA C K RIVE R— A C H APT E R or VI L E N E S B

“ ”
. .
The pa
thof the stra
n ge wom an leads down to hell : — B 1RL E .
”
The l u m ber dens of Michigan l
H ow this beastly term h as traveled in th e past three years !
What an exhau stless sou rce for the talk of cranks and “ ”
falsely i nform ed fanatics it has prove d ! How it has served to

,
bes m irc h the honor of the state thro ugh b oth press and p ul pit ,
in t he description of suppostitiou s crim e !
There is a large class in this world continu ally on the hunt

for vilen ess at which to lift u p holy ha nds in horror
,
S u ch .
has been the une arthing of the sO call e d dens of infam y in th e

-
Mi c higan and Wisconsin l u m ber woods They have been .
exaggerate d to su ch unconsc ionable size that even sensibl e ,
people were l e d to b elieve t he m onstrous stories told A s in .
every plac e where m en and wom en d we ll from the earliest ,
ages of tim e til l to day there have e ver b ee n the vile and
-
,
poll u te d of both s exes and ever wil l be long as hu m an we ak

, ,
n esses a nd h um an passions run Wil d wi ll be fou nd to fu r ,
nish grist t o th e mi lls of the devils Th e writer has had eve ry

.
opportu nity to verify this statem ent in regard to hou ses of

p rosti tu tion in the lu m ber woods and Whil e ad m itting the ,
existe nce of su ch and that t hey are b ad enough they are not ,
With i n a thousand fatho m s in de pth of vil ene ss as l ow as that ,

“
of Du tch Lenie of Detroit The p rinciple hous es of thi s
, .
character were th ose kept by Jam es Carr at Harris on Clare , ,

county Mich and late r at Meredith and th at of D an Du nn

,
.
, , ,
form erly of Rosco m m on and now of Se ney Mic h I will j ust , .
tou c h u pon the c h arac ter of the se t wo pl ac es they being ,
rep rese nt a tives of wh at are kn own as the dens of Mi c hig an

“ ”
and Wi sc onsin The notorio u s Jim C arr c am e t o Harrison

.
,
Clare cou nty in 1878 and started a hou se of ill fam e in t he

,
“ ”
,
O u tskirts of to wn He kep t a b ar d anc e h all and generally

.
, ,
fo ur or six very h ard looking fe m ale s T o this he added the .
b u sine ss of b uying tim e c he c ks from the woodsm en at abou t ,
twenty-five per c e nt disc ou nt and in afew ye ars m ade a l arge ,
am o u nt of m o ney possibly He was fo u nd guilty of

,
kil ling one Of his wo m e n in 1886 b ut afte r being in st ates ,
prison afew m o nths he re c eived anew tri al and was ac qu itt ed

, .
H e now c a rries on the s ame ma lodorou s b u sine ss at Meredith ,
C lare cou nty Mi c h

well kno wn Jo hn M
.
,
Da n D unn wa s bar te nd er for t h e - ol
loney at Rosc o m m on fro m 1876 t o 1880 and started b u si

, ,
“
,
ness for h
”
im self both at Rosc o m m on Mi c h Prudenvill e and
, ,
.
,
Hou ghton Lake He also m ade m oney and was and is still
.
,
lo c ated at Seney U P whe re he is ve ry p opu l ar with t he

,
. .
,
m en in the woods 1 neve r he a rd of a ny wo m a

. n b eing deta ined
in any of these pl ac es a gainst their will alt ho ughin pro xi m ity ,
t o all large lu m beri ng pl a nt s th ere are ho u se s of t his c harac

“
t er wh
,
ere liqu or wom en and danc ing are the sto c k in trade
,
.
B u t t hese fe m a le inm ates are inv ariably t here of their own

will and ac c ord and are ge ne rally t he l ow down swe epi ngs of
,
l arger c ities wom e n who have lost al l wo m anly sham e and

,
com eliness What thu s applie s t o Mic higan applies with

.
,
equ al forc e to Wisc onsin A s ne arly eve ry one has he ard of .
the se ou trages perpetrated on young and inno c ent girls I

“ ”
, ,
will b u t give the l angu a ge Of G ov Ru sh of Wisc onsin as .

, ,
repo rted in aChi c ago p a per

Th e governo r said he wa s c onvi nced by the inve stiga tions
th at the situ ation was not ne ar as b ad as has been pi c tu red .
Th e t wo girl s reported m u rde re d in aden we re still the re le a d

ing lives of sh am e o f their own free will Th e you ng a nd i nno .
ce nt virgin ab ou t whose abdu c tion so m u c h stir was m ade is ,
twenty -nine years of age with a five ye ars polic e court rec ord
110 m SH A N T Y B OY .
O perati ons began Th ese latter em brace d a s te am logging

. .
road with all its indisp e nsabl e c c relative s a

- nd the e m ploy ,
m ent O f som e 600 m en F or the first fe w ye a

. rs all we nt well .
The absence of the inebriating c up was followed by the insep

arabl e se qu ences of h e alth we alth in degree and satisfaction
, ,
to al l connected with the L T T N CO . .

, . . .
”
The n eare st plac e where a drink c ould be had was forty
“
mi les awa y and m en once weaned from the pernicious habit

,
”
did not care to u ndertake a Sh eridan s ride on shank s m are
“ ’ ’
for the m ere sake of ge tting drunk a nd so for five yea rs every ,
thi ng prospered and th e village of Riv er D e Noire grew t o

,
.
large proportions with churc h schoolhou se stores hotel hos

, , , , ,
pital and a contented p opul ation of working people B ut an .
enviou s serp ent crept into this Michi gan arcadia— the rela
ti on of whic h give s local habitati on and nam e to this o er true ’
tale .
’
O ne bright s um m er s evening the stage brought in am ong
its pro m isc uous bu rden of hu m anity and other truck a young ,
Scotchm an lately from t he celtic confines of Gl engarry Cana

M
, ,
da who for brevity sake we will call John

, , , cTa vish si m ply ,
because th at was not his nam e John was looking for work .
,
and so inform ed the su perintenden t at th e b ig store He .
cou ld talk the thre e talks English French and Gaelic and
“ ”
, ,
being a young strong healthy specim en of hu m anity he was

, , ,
q u ickly e ngag ed as b rakesm an on th e loggi ng road Joh n .
was also shrewd and wise in his generation and su c ceeded in ,
so ingratiating hi m self into the good graces of the po wers that

be that he finally was intru sted wit h a large a m ou nt of au thor
ity in a su bordinate rel ati on A nd now co m es t he clim ax
,
. .
”
O ne fatal da y Joh n be i ng a t rifle
“
p revio us got c a u ght u nde r ,
the wh eels of a l og train and cam e ou t m inus a l eg

, Great .
was the sorrow m anifeste d ove Joh s m is fortune asorrow

r n —
’
which took practical form in his being rem ove d t o t he c om

a
p y n s hospital
’
and t h e best m edical a
,
n d sul g ic al ski ll p ro
c u rable placed at his disposa l al l free O f expense to John and

, ,
careful nursing and attention in th e cours e of tim e brought , ,
our hero bac k to h e alth B u t here th e generosity of the L

. .
. M MP . 111
T .T ,
N C o did not stop for a handsom e artificial l eg was
. . . ,
p resente d to John whil e the qu esti on of What was going to be

,
done wi th him was finall y de c ided by giving him the position

of town clerk with his well fitte d up ofii c e in the vll l age and
, ,
du ties m erely nom inal while a good salary h elp e d him to for ,
get that he was no longer able to dance th e reel of Tu lloch

gorm A nd so a year passed away John was a fair schol ar
. .
and gave every satisfaction in his new position O ne day .

,
com fortably ensc onsed in his O flic e easy chair h e was listlessly ,
looking over the plat of the village of River D e Noire when ,
his attention was arrested by the fact that ab ou t fou r acres o f

t am arac k swam p j ust within the village b oundary had not ,
been platted and was th erefore still t he prO perty of the state
,
of Mi c higan A brilliant ideasm ote John right u pon the or

.
an o f a u is1ti veness and whe n the so u th bo u nd stage st a t ed

g c q r
the next m orning John was a p assenger He was bac k in

, .
three days and apparently assidu ou sly engage d in the onerou s

du ties of his ofiic e So m e two weeks l ater the co m pany s uper
.
int endent in driving by the insignificant piece of ta ma ra ck
swam p was astonished at b eh olding a large fram e stru c tu re

M
,
in the c o urse of e re ction a nd tr usty Jo h n cT a vish e arnestly ,
e ngaged in dire c ting a num ber O f b u sy workers who we re ,
ru sh i ng the b uil di ng right along .
“
Mac k wh at is all this going on here
, was the inc redul o us
inqu iry of the m anager .
O h sir it s j u st a wee bit housie I m getti ng b u ilt

’ ’
, , .
A wee bit housie and on the co m pany s land what in hade s ,

’
do you m e an
“
It s no t he com pany s land sir b u t m y sin
’
Here is the ’
, , .
state grant for the land bought an p aid for ”

,
’
.
“
The devil you say ! D on t our grant and plat c ove r this ’
”
ground Mack ? ,
“
No sir it disen t whic h ye ll le arn if ye ll exam ine the pl at
,
’
,
’ ’
carefu lly at th e ofli c e Y e see t h e swam p b ei ng a water it .

’
wasn t thought worth while to take it u p so I jest geed to

’
Lansing and got th e bit swam py ”

.
“
Wel l I ll be , What in thunder are you going to do
’
TH E S H A N T I B OY
'
112 .
with the ho use whe n finished ?

“
Weel , sir I have aUnited States lice nse and I thought
, ,
I c o ul d m ake a few ho nest dollars selli ng a wee drap whusky

to the m en and givi ng a dau nc e Satu rday nights
,
”
.
“
Well m y fine fello w if that s your gam e we ll soon pu t a
, ,
’ ’
stop to it and to you too you m iserable sc ou ndrel S O do n t

, .
’
”
ou da re t o drive an othe r nail
y .
I don t think ye c an sir This is m y l and and this lu m ber

’
,
.
is m ine The l aw will protect m e so gang ahe ad and t ry to

.
,
st O p me .
A nd the com p any did b u t failed in every m ove they m ade

so ,
to ou st John He b uil t his dance hou se and whisky shop and

.
,
had any am ou nt Of cu stom T o the writer s kno wledge he was

’
.
,
wi in
th th ree yea rs af te r ope ni ng h is
“
ra n c h ”
— kno wn fa r and
for t h pl an t by the
” ”
wi de as the b u ll pen
“
O fiered
“
'
- —
e
notoriou s Jim C a rr of H a rrison Mi c h

, igan B u t he knew bet ,
.
t er th an to ta ke su c h figures and wit hin afew ye ars was worth ,
dou ble that am ount in cash The c om p any have had gre at .
re a son t o eve r regret the ina dvertanc e whi c hleft su c h afoot

hold for ac om m on e ne m y and the resu lt has b ee n dr unken
,
ness followed by di sa
,
ster ever sinc e The only hope is that .
the tidal wave of loc al Option now sweeping over Mi c higan

“ ”
M
,
will wash a a w y John c a sh d T v i an t he

“
b ll pen
u -
”
.
I n this connection aword t o the good people wh o su bscribe
m oney t o se nd h alf c razy cranks u nde r t he nam e of ca m p

”
m issiona ries into t h e l u m be r woods t o p re a ch What is wanted .
is prelim inary work in the interests of sobriety the valu eof ,
the hard e arned shanty boy s m oney and the beau ty of ahom e ’
, .
Establish these fundam entals first and religion will surel y ,
follow B u t I say serio u sly th at every doll ar expended in

.
,
se nding m artyrs i nto the woods to pre ach to the boys is

“ ”
,
sim ply nonsense in the eyes of G od and intelligent prac tical ,
m en .
Let m e li ft one li ttle c orner of the veil and show you how
”
m u ch respect these c a m p m issiona ries have bestowed u pon
the m O ne well m e aning m an with lots of ze al b u t not accord
.
,
ing to knowledge visited a c ertain Michigan ram p whi ch shall

, ,
114 ME SH A N T Y B OY .
C H A PT E R XV .
H ow TH E S H A N T v B ov E A RN s H rs Mm o AND H ow H E 81, 11:a I T— S A vm e

A T TH E S PIGOT AN D L E T rm e RUN AT THE B uns .
Good haul ! L et
’
er ro ll
If there is a doll ar in the world that c alls for 100 cents it is ,
th e dollar e arned by th e sh anty b oy ! If there is a dollar in

this world that represents am an s life blood it is the dollar ’
of the shanty boy ! If there is an honest dollar spent m ore

foolishly than another it is frequ ently the dollar of the shant y
,
boy ! A nd if there is a dollar that should be placed where it

woul d do th e earner m ore good than a ny oth er it is the dollar ,
earned in the woods I say this from a full kno wledge of t he

.
fac t for I have beheld t his shanty boy s dollar when earned
,
’
and wh en sp ent .
“
I have b e en t enty eight ye ars in t h
w - e l u m be r woods this ,
winter said an Old gray haired m an to m e in c am p one night

”
, , ,
and I hav n t five doll a t o b uy m e a

’ ’
“
rs n hospital ti c ket .
I n h e ave n s nam e ma n wh a
’
t have you done with your
,
”
m oney ? I as ke d .
“
Gave it to b uild the bric k blocks of Saginaw and Bay City ,
was the reply .
That s th e way it goe s all through th e story and t he life of the

’
,
good -hearte d shanty boy is spent in m aking other p e ople rich ,
while he com es ou t in th e end apau per .
I have seen m en in cam p so m e an and p enuriou s that they

would p ul l threads ou t of an O l d c ofiee sack to m end t heir
’
worn ou t s o cks H alf sol e a sock with a m it a

. nd 9 mi t with a , .
OR, L I F E I N A L U B E R CA M M
P . 115
sock . G o to th e ir work poorly clad and suffer the ,
worst pains and p enaltie s the woods coul d inflic t Borrow .
beg and ste al tobacco to keep their van bill do wn and all to
“ ”
,
have a big stake in th e S pring A nd wh en cam p breaks u p .

,
th ey go in to town First the lad rigs him self ou t in a new

.
s uit of clothes and S ports a cheap watc h and ring and possi ,
bly a pair of p atent le ather sho es He th en m eets a chu m “ ”

.
,
and together they m ak e for the l ow bo arding house W ho so .
kind as the l andl ord when he sees the boys .
“
Why pardner whe n did you get in ? Throw you r tu rkey
, ,
‘ ’
bac k of the b ar a n d take su t hi n W h a t l ye have ? D m ‘

—
’
.
’
m e b u t I m glad to s ee you ! S h
”
,
’
ake !
A nd all ta ke adrink two drinks three drinks — drinks , ,
drinks drinks
— .
Abo ut eleve n o clock that night see the t wo l ads c o m ing

’
down s tre e t arm in arm ful l n er agoose and happy as c lam s

’ ’
, ,
at high tide
“
Let er roll ! Let er roll !
’ ’
A nd S h e rolls ! The hard e arned dollars roll away till in ,
t en d ays or two weeks at the farthest al l the boy s m o ney is ,

’
gone His watch and ring is gone

, The S id e is ou t of his .
new S hoe His new c o at is torn do wn the b ack and S ick in

.
,
body and so ul with a borro wed c hew of tobacc o in his m onth

, ,
he le ans u p against the wall of the brick block he helped to ,
b uild watching for som e ac quaintance to pass from whom he

, ,
ma y bo rrow e n o u gh m on e y t o t ake him back to c a m p He has .
no wel c o m e now inside a nd no free d ri nks ,

O ther fre sh .
com ers from cam p have take n his plac e and he is now ,
nobody I ts .
,
Rise up Ja
ck a nd l et Joh n sit down
, ,
F or I know your ou twa rd bou nd

”
.
A nd so it goes on from ye ar t o year till at last de ath c alls

, ,
the turn on the poor foolish S hanty boy and he passes in his ,
checks .
A nd what a life of toil ac c ident and d e athis his ? ,
I have so m etim es im agined th at al l the m alic iou s little

dem ons t hat we re sent out in invisible form to curse m ankind
, , ,
whe n Pandora Ope ned her b ox find lodgm e nt in a l u m ber ,
c am p I have also im agined I was liste ning t o th e wic ked c on

.
spira c ies t he se evil age nc ies were c onc octing t o bruise m ai m , , ,
and kill the m en b attl ing with the saw l og

,
Liste n t o t he .
i m ps !
“
Well what are you going t o do t o day
,
-
D O you see that S h a nty boy with t h ea xe on h is S ho ul der ,
going to the c u tting ? I m going to drive the b it Of the axe

’
into his foot t o day What are you going to do

- .
“
0 I m goi ng t o bre ak the bindi ng ch ai n and c ru sh t h
’
,
e
te am sters What are you going t o do

.
“
I m goi ng t o th row do wn ade a d li m b and kill asawyer
’
.
Wh at wil l you do
“
I m goi ng to let a l og c om e ba c k where the boys a de c k
’ ‘
re
ing u p a nd b re a
,
’
k aleg What will you do.
“
I m goi ng to m a
’
ke th at gray horse c aul k t he blac ksm ith ‘ ’
.
Wh at will you do
“
I ll bu rst ahole in the boiler and sc al d the c ook What
’
,
.
will you do
“
I ll bre ak a pevey stoc k and roll t he l og b ack over t he
’
lo aders What will you do

.
“
I ll j am the saw in the tree and c u t t he sawyer s h and b adly
’
,
’
.
Wh at will you do
A nd so the c onve rsa tion m ay be s upposed t o be c ontinu ed
b y the in visible age nc ies of evil t o inj u re the poor l a borer .
It m ay all sound silly to the o u tside re ade r b u t t he woods ,
ma n knows that whe n he goe s ou t in the m o rni ng well a nd ,
hearty he m ay be brought in before night m u t il ate d for life

, ,
or a corpse !
Su ch is the battle of the saw l og and suc h is the way of

“
,
ac c ident and de ath by whic h the m oney is e arned .
It is good instru c tion in the avoid anc e of inte m peranc e that

the m en in the woods want .
Tem perance advoc acy in cam p is striking at the ve ry fou n

,
tain head in prese nting a preventative for the evil I hav e

, .
m ade it a rule to give a lectu re in every c a m p I have visited ,
on the foregoi ng point a nd long aft erwards I h a

, ve m et m en in
118 T M SH A N T Y B O Y .
C H A PT E R XV I .
T H E RO MA N C E or TH E F O RE S T— MT x E AM? To T H E Au GRE S RIVE R— JAC K

DRrscO L L , A LIA S “
S I L vE R JACK ”
— H IS TORY or A N OT E D S H AN TY B ox
T H E L ON E H IST ORY or C H ARLIE M ONROE — A
“ ”—
PI N E T RE E T RA O I C
C H AP T E R OF IN TE RE S T .
The y lived a s th
nd l oved a is tale will
, te ll
A nd in deathwere divi ded not
”
.
Can any om ance com e ou t of ashanty cam p ?

r
What sen tim ent c an b e c ontained in a saw l og ?

Where c an the se nsational be fou nd in the pine woods?
“ ”
I n reply t o these inte rrogations I will b u t sa y t h at vol u m,es

c o ul d be writte n a nd m ate ri a
, l e noughgathered in the lu m be r
woods for fifty su c h books as t hrs and not tou c h one S ide of
the su bje c t S O far as plot or inc rdent m ay be concerned m y
.
,
greatest wond er is th at this fru itfu l field for rom ance and liter
ary ventu re has not long ago been preem pted by the able
writers of th e day as the scope ,
a nd exh au stless ch a racte r o f
the sam e is S im ply bou ndless in extent and vari e ty .
I have eate n m y dinner in cam p cooked by a Germ an c o unt , ,
who now is in his own country and on his own estate with an ,
A m erican wi fe The incident is related in the sketch contained

.
in chapter t we nty e ntitled S h e followed h

”
er he a
“
, rt I have .
S lept in t he sa m e bed with th e second best s wordsm an in the
British arm y and one who was with Prince Napole on in ! ul u

,
land when the l atte r was slain I have sat in the van and “
.
,
li stened to th e story of th e ca m p book keeper wh o had been ,
Lie u tenant Colonel of the celebrated N ew York 7th regim ent

throughthe late w a r I have m et with e p each ers e x l aw
. x - r -
,
,
M
OR L I F E I N A L U B E R CA MP
. 119
y e t s ,
a tists ex b sine ss m en of all descriptions in th e
-
err r ,
- u
w o o ds who were th e representatives of failure and ru in b ut

, ,
s t il l were cli ngin g t o th e re m na nts o f a hop eless l ife I n nine .
t e n ths of the se cases I found that these m en were the victi m s

o f i ntem p erance a nd w ere strivin g to hid e fro m
,
their own
w o rst e ne m y Still the classification is re ally wond erful and
.
, ,
e v ery ca m p has its rom antic sing ul a riti es Therefore if the re .

,
i s any one pl ace m ore than a nother ri c h in variety of c h a rac
t e r it is fo und in th
,
e lum b e r wo ods ,
.
From the m aterial I have gle aned from act ual sh anty life I ,
have in this work endeavore d to we ave afe w speci m en tale s ,
which in the h ands of a be tter writer wo u ld fo rm the groun d ,
w ork for high l y i nteresting re ading T h e i nc idents fro m whi c h

.
t h e s e woods S ketc hes a re cre ated are all founde d on ac t u al

,
fact a ,nd if I h a ve dresse d them u p in garm e nts of rhetoric al

o r ro m a nti c l a ngu age it is b u t to m ake the underlying fa
,
cts a
l ittle m ore pre se ntabl e .
Am ong the m any ac qu aintances I m ad e whil e in the woods ,
I want t o introd u ce one to the re ade r whose nam e is wel l ,
known throu ghou t all the l u m be ri ng re gions of Mi c hig an and

W isconsin I refer to Jack Dri sc oll better known as Silve r
.
“
,
Jack ”
This m an was a strange m ixture of good and had He
. .
was physically a handsom e woodsm an Tall strongly b u il t .

, ,
and h air m u stac he and eyeb ro ws the color of flax

, As a .
woodsm an his record was first c l ass b u t when he got into ,
t own a nd h ad afew drinks he was S i m ply hades let ou t for ,
noo n a nd his police reco rd wo uld m a

,
rk him as a tough of
the first water He cam e to S aginaw from Linds ay Ontario
.
, ,
in 1869 a nd we nt to wo rk in t h
,
e woods I n 1872 he was ar .
re ste d in E a st Saginaw ch arged with highway robbery and ,
sentenced to five ye ars in state prison Afte r serving his .
tim e h e ret urned to East Saginaw and went into t he saloon ,
bu siness I n 1881 he was again arre sted for highway robbery

.
, ,
”
in holding am a
“
n up for th ree doll a rs on L a pee r street East ,
Saginaw H is pre vious record of crim e told against him b eav

,
ily on his trial and on conviction he re ceive d the full e xte nt

,
of the l aw in asentence of fift e e n ye ars in state p rison whic h

, ,
he is now serving I have m ade him the hero in the follo wing
.
ske tch of th e Lone Pine Tree and spe ak of hi m as I fou nd

“ ”
,
him He was c ertainly a h ard c ustom er to deal with b u t

.
,
there are plenty m u ch worse who get off scott fre e Silver ,
.
Jac k certainl y su flers severely for his l ast c ri m e five ye ars for
'
e ac h dollar he got .
It was in the fall of 1882 that I first m ade the ac qu aintanc e ,
of Silver J a ck I was abou t to m ake a trip from We st Branc h

.
,
Oge m aw co unty Mi c h to the A u Gres river and was not very

,
.
, ,
sure Of m y rou te afte r I should le ave wh at is kno wn as the

”
“
Rifle river bridge abo u t fiftee n m ile s e ast of
, West
Branch From there I had so m e forty m ile s of a tram p b e
.
,
fore reaching m y destination W hile taking dinner at the .
Rifle river bridge I notic ed afine bui lt woodsm an at the table

, ,
w ith the pec u li arity o f li nt -c olo red h air eye -b ro ws and m u s ,
t ac he Inqu iring who he was I le arned he was the notorio u s

.
,
“
Silve r Jac k the hero of m ore fights and startling e sc ap ade s
”
,
than any other m an in Michigan The kno wledge fu rthe r im .
p arted that J ac k was bou nd for the sam e c am p as m yself did

, ,
not a dd to m y se nse of se re ne se c urity His rep u tatio n was .
not of the be st so fa r a s I h ad heard it spoken of and the pos

, ,
sib il ity of his going thro ugh m e h

”
“
ad a strongly re p ressing ,
influ ence u pon m y proceeding farther th at day .
However som e of the boys in the hou se had inform ed J ac k

,
of m y inte nded rou te and witho u t ve ry m u c h c ere m o ny he

, ,
m ade hi m self a cqu ainted with m e by inviting m e to take a ,
drink Thi s I good naturedly declined b u t not to be behind

.
,
him in cou rtesy I offe red h1m ac igar whic h he graciously

, ,
acc e pte d The ice being thu s broken we soo n bec am e i nt er

.
,
osted in e a c h othe r a nd I fo u nd to m y s urprise th a

, t this te rri
”
ble shanty c am p bul ly was avery ple asant and conversable
“
,
sort of am an who had possibly been m ore sinned against than

,
sinning .
We ac cordingly took the tote road together for a fift ee n

“
m ile tram p a nd I will freely confess t hat I ne ve r before fou nd

,
tim e p ass away so agre eably as on this m em orabl e j ourney

”
with Silver Jack
“
.
122 TH E SE A N T Y B O Y .
sc ale a good fee t B u t no m an who knows its story will .

,
ever pu t an axe inter it and you see th at though the fire has ,
been through he re lots of tim es it still stands th ar as fresh ,
and gree n as when I first saw it fourteen y e ars ago when I ,
fiu st set foot in that a re Old c am p you s ee yande r I tell yer .
it would be a bad hau l for any m an ter h urt th at tre e He .
”
wo uld go u p in a hu rry yes and by thund er he wo uld stay
“
,
u p or m y na m e isn t Jack Dri sc oll

’
.
,
“
Why Jack wh at is the se c ret of the tre e s preservation ?
, ,
’
Is there asto ry co nnected with it ? ”
“
S tory Well I should rise to re m ark ! That are tree is
knowd far and ne a r a
’
s Love r s Rest or the Lone Pine of th e ,
A uG reS and if y e d lik e ter fil l yer pip e a nd take a bit of a S it

’
do wn here before we strike the c am p tote road I don t m i nd

,
‘ ’
,
’
t ellin ye the yarn for it s asorrowful one a nd no one kn o ws

’ ’
it be t ter than m e .
We se ated ou rselve s on afire blac kened log and am id sur ,
rou ndi ngs which added a wierdness a nd glam o u r to th e t ale I ,
li ste ned to the story of

TH E L ONE PI N E O F T H E A U G RE S .
It wos in the wi nte r o f 66 Jac k b egan whe n I a l um p ’
, , ,
of a boy of twe nty first str uck th e A u Gres river I m , .

’
no S lo u c h yet pard in the woods b u t work t ells on one wh

, o ,
has fol lowed S hanty life for twenty years and will gen al l y
’
le ave am an agood de al like that ol d Norway stu m p yonder ,
kind 0 de ad and bl ackened S pe c ially if he take s his share 0

’ ’ ’
,
‘
Saginaw angle foot Well thar war a jolly cam p full of us .
’
,
th at thar winter counting abo u t eighty m en in al l th ar s the

,
—
’
re m a ins of the old bunk cam p over yander We had a young ,

.
chap called Charlie Mo nroe for c am p pu sh an we were a ‘ ’ ’
or J ohn M
, ,
u t tin in f c G raw of Bay C ity The pi ne wa r the

’
p , ,
be st co rk an white you e ver saw Well you jest c an be t

‘ ’ ’ ‘
,
’
.
,
that wi nte r s work wa r agood one We had a short haul an

’ ’
.
,
on ou r log ro a d the sleighing was fast rate so that by the m id

M
,
dl e O arch we had o ver fifte en m illions b anked right along

’
, ,
wha r we a re now a sittin The river war brim full of logs for ’
.
,
M MP . 123
hal f a m ile and we lo ok ed ah ead to an e arly break up of

,
c am p .
“
It see m s only like yes erday as I sit here and think of that ’
are winter s work

’
.
We had awild rol l i ckin cre w all you ng m en full o f life

’
“
, , ,
and day s work Two fiddl ers kept things lively in c am p and
’
.
,
we had a boss cook with good c hu c k considering th em war ,

‘
,
’
the tim es when a m an war su pposed t o be s atisfied witha piece

o f frozen b re ad and a ch u nk of cold fat pork washed do wn
, ,
with adrink of river w ater O u r wages war wage s in the m .
days and it wos wothwhile alookin at a wi nter s stake whe n

,
’ ’ ‘ ’
S pri ng c a me .
B ut our fore m a n wa r the d aisey c v aboy ! Poo r Charley

“
Monroe ! Yourn wos a short life and a m erry one while it

lasted .
“
There wos ap retty considerable heavy sno w fall th at win
t er a nd th
,
e p ro spe c ts war good for aearly flood so th a t the ,
‘
drive wo uld start in very soo n in the sp ri ng B ar and deer
’
.
’
m ea t war ple nty and t ho ugh we had t o tote fro m the m ou th , ,

‘ ’
of the rive r wh ar Al abaster is now the winter flew so fast

, , ,
that e arly sp ring war u pon u s before we knowed it .
“
B u t it s abou t Charlie Monroe our fore m an I war goin t o
’
, ,
’
tell ye ch u m m y He wos al al afrom way b ac k you bet Why

,
.
’
, .
,
thar want anythin in woods work Charlie didn t know Abou t

’ ’ ’
.
twenty-six five foot t en in his shoe pacs straight as ayo u ng

, ,
Norway and han so m e as afu ll blooded b oss was C harlie

,
-
’
, .
“
Thar wos som ethin abo ut him that m ade every m an in ’
c am p love him an I tell ye we had so m e toughblisters am ong

,
’
u s fro m S a ginaw an Bay City Ch arlie war no ne of yer b ull “ ’

.
pu nc hers that stand an yell an swar and dri ve fro m m orn

”
,
’ ’
, ,
in till night no siree ! Ch arlie want b u t one of the m c ha

’
’
,
ps
who al ways said Boys I gu e ss we d bette r take hold right
‘
,
here an you bet the boys wou ld je st hu m p t he m sel ve s whe n

,
’ ’ ‘ ’
Charlie y elled get thar ,

‘
”
“
Say Jac k I interrupte d I s this yarn along one ? If so
,
“
, ,
hadn t we bette r take the rest of it in c am p

’
0 if yer do n t care to hear it p ard I c a

’
“
n qu it a tooti n m
’
, y , ,
horn right here now! ,
“
Al l right Jack l e t h er rol l ! , ,
Jack m edi tatively su cke d h i s lo ng e xpi red pip e for afew ,
m o m e nts a nd h a ving app arently re freshed his m em ory by the

,
exerc ise h e continue d ,
“
There war wot th e m l it erare fel lers wo uld c all a ro m anc e
ab ou t Ch arlie s p ast hist ry so m e pi nts o f whi c h I got fro m a
’ ’
‘
tote t e am ste r what knowed Charlie in B ay City It see m s
’
,
.
as how his 0 1 m an war wel l t o do in York state an had al arge

’ ’
lu m ber yard in Al b any Charlie war rather tough and kinde r .
broke the old m an u p till at l ast th i ngs ended i n a h i gh old ,
row a ,
n the ol m a n divided the ho use with Ch a
’ ’
rlie
gi n i n him ,
’
th e o u tside for his sh are .
“
Well Ch arlie c am e to Michigan and we nt right inter the
, ,
woods wha r in afew wi nte rs h

,
e wa r ab l e to t ake hold of any ,
thin an he soon got acam p t o ru n He swore ofi whisky

’ ’ ’
.
, ,
an see m ed to have apride in lettin fol kses see he c o uld be a

’ ’
ma n o nc e m ore
Old Joh n M
.
“
c G raw God bless him for he war the poor
—
,
ma n s frie nd
’
— got holt on Ch arlie an whe n I we nt to wo rk for ,
’
him ou t yer he had ran c am p three winters O f c o urse thar

,
.
wos awo m an m ixed u p in Ch arlie s story He had fell in love ’

.
witha B ay City gal nam ed A llie F arnh am whose folks war , ,
poor b u t spec t abl e I neve r seed her in m y life b u t o nc e b u t

’
.
she wos abe au ty p ard an j es as good as she war p retty , ,

’ ’
.
“
H er folks wa r down on Ch a an wouldn t let her keep
’
rlie
’
comp any withhim b u t that sam e sum m er afore Ch arlie cam e , ,
to th e woods they had slipped off an got m arried so that

,
’
whe n little m ore th an a m o nth old bride they had t o sep ,
arate .
“
Cam p want the nice st plac e in the world for awife in the m
’
days thoughthe wive s of the fore m an cook and seal er are

, , ,
oft en in c amp with their h usbands now so Charlie didn t ,

’
h ave his wife ou t withhim B u t th e arrange m ent war that .
sh e wos to co m e ou t t o th e A u G re s by stage a the n ride in ’

n ,
ter c am p on one of the tote t ea m s when we bega

’
n bre akin
‘ ‘ ’
,
out th e j a m in th e sp ring a n l ookin forward to th

’ ’
i s Charli e , ,
193 TH E SH A N T Y B OY .
C H A P TE R XVI I .
fter friend depa

F riend a rts,
Who hathnot lost afriend 1

There is no union here of hea
rts ,
Were th il world our fina

is fra l rest ,
L iving or dying none were bl ess d
” ’
.
Lem e see whar was I ’

0 ye s wh en the water was a
, ,
risin W ell everythin war at sixe s an se vens in cam p T he

’
.
,
’ ’
.
blacksm ith h adn t th e pik e l evers re ady an the ropes and’

,
’
snatchbloc ks for bre akin ou t th e j am hadn t got in from the

,
’
,
’
front yet
M
.
“
Charli e onroe war terrible worke d up not expec tin th e ,
’
‘
drive to be on h im s o soon
’
I tell ye pard it war a sight ter .
, ,
see a n eno u gh to m ak e a stou t m a n wea kin If thar s lots of

’ ’
.
,
snow this winter yer don t want ter m iss seein a j am break ,
’ ’ ‘ ’
up .Take yer chance on so m e big l u m b erin river an ye ll s ee ’

,
’ ’
a sight ye ll not forge t for t he b al ance of yer life tim e Why

’
.
if ye havn t seed it I can t give yer any ide ar of what it s like

’
,
’ ’
.
Jes i m agine that thar river a pile d full of l ogs sixteen or

’
,
eighteen tier deep for a cou ple 0 m il es Th e water a foam in ,

’
.
’
and spurtin an rollin like m a d over under a

’
,
’
n about the ’
, ,
’
solid m ass 0 tim b er Logs tum blin p ell m ell over e ac h other
’
.
’
rum sol o t o the dea fenin roar o f th e water !

’
p ou ndin a bas e d ’
M en on e ith e r b ank yell in like m a d ! Th e forem an a n h is

’
,
’
be st hands are out on the ce nter fast nin on th e breaking

, ,
’ ’ ‘
ou t cable stretch an hooke d on ter th

’
ed across the river
’
,
e ,
on L I F E I N A L U B E R ov
.
u M m 127
a The te am sters a yel lin an swa rin at th

’ ’ ’
j m l og . i r h osse s t ill ,
at last she begins ter give an the fore m an yell s ,

’
‘
Here she c om es ! The j am is broke ! Watch out ! ’
Logs in solid m ass e s five deep go pl unging an a rollin

, , ,
’ ’
do wn end over end side ways le ngthways e very way snappin

, , , , ,
’
c ra shin pou ndin each o th er with a roll a n a ro a

’
’
,
r
’
that only , ,
heavy tim b er c an m ake in a river run m ad That s bre akin .

’ ‘ ’
ou t th e j am pard a n do n t ye forge t it ! Talk abou t a S agi

’ ’ ’
, ,
na w whisky drunk why it s nothin to a bre akin out drunk

’ ’ ’
.
,
Thar s whar ye c an ge t reel in full with wild excite m ent an

’ ’
, ,
’
never hav e t er s m ell a cork

“
Well done Jac k ! Your desc ription is a pic ture in itself
, ,
”
b u t forge ahe ad with your sto ry .
Right ye are chum m y an beg pardin for flyin ofl th e ’ ’ '

“
, ,
handl e that way b ut I te ll ye it warm s up m y he art when I

,
think of the m days Do ye know that s the reason why log .

’
drivers go on ter the river ye ar arter ye ar ? It s the wild ’
exc ite m ent keeps the m warm and helps the m to stay in the ,
wate r m ong the floatin ic e all day Thar s a wic hery abou t
’ ’
.
’
’
the c uss ed thing we can t ge t away fro m , .
“
Well it war a bright Su nd ay m ornin when what I m a
,
’
,
’
goin to tell ye took place It had rai ned m ore or less durin
’
.
’
the past week al l up north an do wn our way an the water

’ ’
, ,
war a com m in down with a ve ngeanc e We didn t sleep m uch

’ ’
.
that night an by break 0 day al l h ands wos do wn here on

,
’ ’
the river bank I tell ye it wor a sight to se e ! The top logs

.
had b egun t o float an had already form e d little jam s that

’
, ,
kinder served to back up th e wate r .
‘
We m u st break that are j am so m e way boys shou ted , ,
’
Charli e .
“
We wan t ob l eged t o work it bein Sunday an for the firs t
’
,
’
,
’
tim e in cam p the m en paid no attention t o t he fore m an s hint

,
’
to go to work Beside s it wos al l a m an s life war worth t o

.
’
’
face th e m u sic of that thar roarin river .
‘
Boys the m are logs m ust be starte d do wn ! Dou bl e pay
,
to the m en who will foll er m e ! an taken h

’
old of a pike l ever ’
Charl i e wos in a m inute out on top of th e jam .

’ ’
128 TH E S H A N I Y B O Y .
Wel l ye know pard it wouldn t do to see the b oy out thar

, ,
’
all alone an whar one m an goes nother ort t er fol ler I war
,
’
,
’
.
only a boy but I had a m an s pluck so I grabb ed a pike and

,
’
, ,
f r yer lead er ! w e w
’
ll i olle soo o tsid ith Cha
’ ‘
y e n os n u r
lie Six m ore of the boys fol l ored us all good m en

. Poor , .
fel lers how wel l I re m e m be r the m ! There war Pat D onou ghu e
M
, ,
Steve Riddley Jos hBall e tte S andy c Pherson Mi ke Eagan

, , , ,
an a I nj l n we call e d B arm eat The fac e of the rol l way wos

’ ’ ‘ ’
.
jes alittle bel o w here an the logs war al l up stre am for

’
,
’
nearly t hre e m il e s — for the re wos severa l c am ps p attin in ’
along here besides we Well the eight on us ch aps got down .

,
on the face to start the j a m l ogs b ut as none on u s h ad on

‘ ’
, ,
‘
spikes it war skittishwork I re m e m ber as wel l as tho ugh it
,
’
.
wa r yes erda y
’
h ow w e stood he
,
a vi n o n t he ja m log w ith a ,
’
you ng Niagarafalls a pourin over u s an log arter log a ’
,
’
w ar a da
’
j p
u m in dow ’
n al m ost on top 0 u s
,
It re devil th i ng .
to do b ut we wos jes c razy with excite m ent an wo uld h ave

,
’
,
’
storm ed the m ou th 0 hell if we had bee n told ter ’

B ut , .
‘
break the j am ! wos the word an bre ak it we war bound t er
’
,
’
so we h e aved on the j am log which if we got her l oose woul d , ,
let the whole darned pile do wn Every m an cept m e war a .

’
good rive r driver so that it didn t take long to he ave out that
,
’
j am l o g:
‘
Here she c om e s boys watch out ! shou ted Charlie an in ,
’
,
’
a m inu te the whol e darned solid m ass began to m ove Do wn .
it cam e kinder slow at fust b u t fast e no ugh to keep us a

, ,
’
u m pin fro m log t er log to get asho re
j , .
B u t we wa r too late a n with aro a r a the whole ’

n a rush , ,
shootin gallery wos u pon u s an the l ast I re m e m b ered was a

’
,
’
he arin the boys on shore yel l in

’ ’
‘
Watch ou t ! She s on yer ! ’ ’
When a m an s u nder water with a thousand saw logs a

’
rollin over h im se conds a re like ages How long I war down

’
, .
I don t rightly kno w b u t I wa

’
r fully conscio us of t he close
,
cal l I war b avin Everything I ever did in m y past life good

’
.
,
or bad see m ed ter co m e right u p afore m e with the s wiftne ss

, ,
and cl e arness of a light enin flash The fea r of death see m ed

’
.
TH E S H A N T I BO
’
130
enough his fac e wan t teched an he lay thar j e s as

’
c ur us ,
’
,
’ ’
th We laid him out as decently as we

’ ’
o he d fe ll asle e p .
could and the n went into the b unk cam p to sm oke and
,
“
A b ou t o on the re st c v the boys got b ack arte r a u seless
n ,
search for t he oth er six and I m ay here tell yer neither hide , ,
nor hair 0 one ov em wa th at day t er this

’
r e ve r s ee d from
’
.
,
They had be en ground t er powder ! I al one out of the eight

had escaped to te ll the story an strange to say only a trifle ,
’
hurt .
“
B u t th e worst wa s y e t t ill co m e It war S unday in cam p .
,
and th e sorrerfu l l est S unday I e ve r pu t in in m y life The .
day lagged along till the horn went for su ppe r b u t none ov us
, ,
had m uch appertite for chu ck although th e c o ok an his kind ‘

,
’ ’
wife had trie d t o get up su m thin extra for t he boys B u t the ’ ’

.
shock war a hard one on u s all for we had got through the ,
winter withou t any one bein h u rt in c am p a n now all to o nc e

’ ’
seve n of our best m en had passed in their che cks ! Still ,

’
though we didn t then know it the worst wos yet to co m e
’
, .
“
Al ong a bou t nine er c l oc k the tote sle ighs c am e in bringin
’ ‘ ’
,
’
the ropes an oth er tru ck for breakin ou t the j am which if we

’ ’
, ,
had had em in the m ot u in wo uld h ave saved seven lives B ut

’ ’
.
worse th an all there war a passenger aboard Bill C orb ette s

’
,
sleigh— awom an— who wos none othe r th an Ch arl ie Monroe s ’
wife !
“
When we found out fro m the tote te am ster who she war ,
we a ll m ad e a bre a k for the barn l ike a p asse ! of co wards bu t ,
I tel l yer pard I wo uldn t have faced that thar wom an t o tell ’
M
, ,
her the story of C harlie s dea th for J ohn c G raw s big m ill
’ ’
, .
Then it wos that the cook s wife cam e in ha ndy and a good ’
, ,
kind wom an she war When th e p oor little wi fe inquired the .
fust thing whar her Charli e wor that thar cook s wife jes to ok
, ,
’ ’
her in her arm s an led her p ast wh ar th e de ad war lyin au

’ ’ ’
brought h i te the little be d room at the end o f th e cook

e r n r -
cam p .
H ow that co ok s wi fe told h
’
er th e st ory I du n know b ut , ,
presently the whole cam p rang with her scream s the dre ad ,
.
M MP . 181
ful estye e ver heard s o that us fell ers buri ed our h e ads in the
,
hay so s we wo uld n t he ar th e m orful cries

,
’ ’
.
’
By Judas Priest b oys I can t stan this siz Joe D us en ’
M
, , ,
b erry a big fel ler fro m

,
aine with th e te ars a stream ing down ,
his face I can t stan this Le t s go over an try an do som e

,
‘ ’ ’
.
’ ’ ’
“
0 3 Joe st art e d , an we al l fol l ored in Inj i n fil e B u t what
’
.
a sight did we see ! Th e poor young wo man war a clinging to

the body o f her de ad hus b and , an a sc reec h
’
in :
’
‘
Charlie Charli e com e b ack to m e
0 ,
It wor awful pard ! ,
We co uldn t of cours e do anythin b u t look on bu t pard ,

’ ’
I never want to look on sich a sight again !

“
The you ng wife war close til her confinem ent an that night ,
’
in th at tha r old ca m p you se e th ar ther wa r a dead baby a

’ ’
n ,
a dead m other al ong of th e dead father ! H er la st words

war : b ury m e with C harlie
‘ ’
.
“
We held acam p cons ultation that sam e night with t he ,
sc aler for chairman an it war decided for the tim e to b ury ,

’
the bodies all toge ther under this very pine tree whic h c ur us , ,
’
’
enough Charlie had m arked for c u ttin the very day befo re
, .
S ee here is the m arks of his sc orin axe ye t B ut h ere it still

’
.
stands and will stand for all the cam p b oys on the A u Gres
, ,
knows the lo ne pine tree an no one will e ver put an axe nor ,
’
asaw inter it .
“
That su m m e r the ol m an Charlie s fath er sent u p and had
,
’
,
’
the bodies re m ove d to Albany whe re he gave th em a fine big ,
funeral b ut I orfen use t er think he m ight have bee n ali t tle

,
’
ki nde r when Charlie war alive Do you know D an C ul l ighan .

,
of Ros c om m on pard ,
”
“
I do not Jac k
M
.
,
Well D an m ade a pu rty song on the d eath of C harlie on

,
r oe. Al m o s t e ve ry ca m p in Michiga n has som e c hap what

”
k no ws it .
“
Why J ac k I ve h eard it adoze n of ti mes b u t neve r kne w
, ,
’
,
”
the full story before .
Well that s all thar is of it an i t has given me the horrors

’
“
, ,
182 TH E S H A N T Y B OY .
to tell it to ight Howsom e ver we are not far from Sandy

-n
M
.
,
c I ntyre s c am p s o l e s p e g out an get t hrough now we a

’ ’ ’
, re
”
wel l reste d .
I have strive n t o give th e foregoing story as ne ar in th e

dial e ct and styl e as told m e by Silver J ack
“
,
”
If th e .
endeavor to im itate the l angu age of th e woodsm an has robbed

the tal e of som e of its p athetic fe atures for the re ader I will , ,
re gre t it ve ry m nc h As told to m e in the phras e ology of the

.
cam p it c ertainly afiec t ed m e strongly

’
.
,
C H A PT E R XVI I I .
A 8m m Bo L o n Bron — H ow F RE D F UL L G RA F T N E A R Y L oa
L r ms
’
r s v x '
B RI DE — TH E Tanacm r or T H E T om T m sm — A LL rs WE LL m '
r
E ND S WE LL — ON E F OR T H E B ors .
Sa y d arl ing , say w h e n I am

, f a r aw ay ,
S om etim es you m a y th i nk o f m e dea r ; ,
B right sunny da ys w ill soo n fad e aw ay,

Rem em ber wha t I sa y t o b e t ru e dea r ,
I cannot se e Kati e how , you coul d ever hav e taken a noti on

”
to me ?
“
Ao tion Fre d ? Y ou cert ainly do not pay a very val uable
n ,
com plim ent to t he highest gift awom an c an give a m an in the ,
first love of h er youn g heart when you style that gift a ,

’
notio n
‘
.
“
Well de ar don t be vexed Y ou know what I m ean and
,
’
.
,
that is that a swee t littl e girl like you b eau tifu l edu cat ed and , , ,
h olding socially th e position you do in soci e ty could ever have ,
re sponded to th e love of a rough shanty b oy save with th e ,
c o nte m pt it w oul d see m to m erit .

Thank you for your go od Opinion Kate b u t the red sash , ,
and S piked boots are not the u s u al rig of what is called a gen
tl em a n nor is going u p on the j a
, m a nd com ing down on the
drive the u su al occu pation he follows .
“
Stop F ed stop !
r -and a very pretty hand was placed over
,
S tay til l I give you m y ide a l of a gentlem an I t

“
his m ou t — .
is not the sancti m o niou s well fed wel l clad m oney gett er wh
, o , ,
will not sh ave on Su nday m orning becau se of the sinfulness of

the act b u t who will pass the whole week S having poor m e n s
,
’
notes a t fifty per ce nt N or is the wom an a l a. dy who is so

g ood th at S he w o u l d n ot h ave aS hoe bl ac ked in h er ho u se on
th e Sabbath b u t wh o ca,
n pa ss aful l week blac king her neigh
bors characte rs The tru e ge ntl e m an is the one who c an look
’
.
hisfellow in the face and say I never inj ured you W ho c an ,

‘
.
’
H ve a
a dollar t o l end a nother t o spend
‘
, ,
A nd one for t h e rainy day .
Whe w Kate what aserm on ! W hy you c an beat a cam p

, ,
‘
m issio nary a ll hollow I see there will be no gre at ne c e ssity

’
.
for m e to go to c h urch whe n we a re m a rrie d Ho wever gen .

,
tl em a n or not it is e nou gh for m e to k no w I h

,
ave won the
heart of the s weetest girl in al l Mic higan and to her he ave n
—
,
helping m e I S hall always b e age ntlem an

—
’
“
I kno w it dear and am willing to risk m y life s happiness
,
’
u po n wh a t Fred F uil graft says ’
The ru m pling and je welry destroying pro c ess was again

repeate d m i ngled with a
,
ll the little silly nothi ngs fo und in the
langu age of love B u t pshaw! de ar re ader you have been
.
,
there yo urself and it is u sele ss to sce nt the rose or paint t he

,
rainbo w to S im ply re c all to yo u r m e m ory love s you ng

,
’
dream .
“
Kate dear there is to be a grand picnic here on the fourth
, ,
as you kno w and I wou l d like to h ave you go with m e We

,
.
have not appeared in pu blic very often together and I hardly ,
know yet how yo ur people will take your engagem ent with th e
”
poor river driver .
“
N ow Fred how often have I to c heck this spirit o f se lf dis
,
OR L I FE I N A L U B E R C A - P
. M M . 185
pa rage m en t you see m t o i nd ul ge in s o m u ch ? I am m y own

m istress a nd c an follow the b ent of m y own i ncli nati ons .
B esides m y sister and her h usband b oth like you and although , ,
you work for him on the A u Sable river h e thinks there is no ,
one like Fred F ul l gra ft I have heard h im say that repeat

, e dl y .
B u t I S hall b e happy to go wi t h you on th e fo urth dear a nd ,

”
will be re ady as early as you like .
“
Good girl say eight o clock that m orning I sh all be on ’
.
deck withou t fail re st ass ured ,

.
“
I kno w I c an depend u pon m y own brave S hanty boy and ,
ou will fi nd m e waiting a n d anti c ip ating a day of blissful

y
”
enjoym e nt .
“
Wouldn t break m y word to you Katie for t en sections of
’
, ,
”
the best pi ne in Michigan .
“
If you did Fred m y confidence would be s o badly shat
, ,
tared that I m uc h dou bt whethe r it co uld again be restored .
r I b elieve as firm ly in you as I t ru st m y own so u l

”
B u t de a , .
“
Why Kat e de ar don t be so se rio us abo u t su ch a trifling
, ,
’
thing I have never yet d e ceived you in thought or word and

.
,
”
wouldn t care t o begin with a fou rth of July picnic
’
.
“
I know it de ar b u t trifles are fre qu e ntly the fine points on
,
whichlife s joys a nd sorrows re st a nd eve r si nce the su bject

’
of this picnic has c o m e up a dark forebodi ng has co m e over ,
s th
”
me a
,
o ugh it were a p re m onition of com ing evil .
“
Pshaw ! darling let m e drive it away with a kiss
, .
ii
‘ '
ii it
Ju st aword or two dear reade r of introdu c tion to the loving

, ,
c ou ple u pon whose privac y we have so u ncerem oniou sl y

intru ded :
S —
The hero of this ketch hero is the proper word isn t it ’
was to the careless observer nothing m ore than a m e re S h anty

boy That is h e was one of the pione er arm y of civil izatio n
.
,
who in the great battle of th e sawl og find e m ploy m ent duri ng

“ ”
,
th e winter m onths in separating sa id logs from the parent tre e ,
and in spri ng rafting them do wn som e one of the m any stream s

tribu tary to Saginaw B ay B ut F re d F ul l graft was no ro ugh . .
,
swe aring drinking S hanty m an He was physical ly— yes and

,
.
mo ally the peer of any m an in Mich

r — i ga n fam ed a s She is for ,
stal wa rt so ns a nd be a u tiful d augh te rs .
Kate Merryvi lle was agirl well fitted to beco m e a m ate for
the honest son of toil u pon whom S he had besto wed the we alth
of her heart s aflec tions Born reared and edu c ated u pon t he
’ '
.
,
north we ste rn S h o re of Lake Hu ro n its life im p arting bre ezes

,
had for t wenty su m m ers played at hide and seek wi tht he

, ,
lu xu riant m eshes of her nu t brown c urls and left t he bloo m ,
of the pe ach u pon c heeks as fair as beau ty c ould de sire ,
de no ting that life in it s full flow was c o ursing throu gh h

,
er
veins in every pul sation of ahe art free from g uile .
A nd the b right su m m er da ys glided by joyou sly for the t wo

lovers re e nac ting u pon the shores of Hu ron t he ol d storv of
-
,
E de n s garden
’
.
By this tim e the fac t of their betroth al and m arriage day ,
had S p re ad throu ghou t the c onfin e s of the little l ake port vil
l age I n pu bli c they had repe atedly appe ared and whethe r
.
,
at c hu rc h or on so m e eve ning at the bo wery d anc e they

“ ”
,
we re the ob se rved of al l ob serve rs T he rou gh l u m be rm en

.
c o ngra tul ate d Fred u pon winning the belle of the l ake shore ,
and swore he artily that the co m ing wedding shou ld be one

long t o be re m e m bered in Northern Mic higan .
T he girl frie nd s o f Kate afte r t h e first fl u shof su rpri se h

—
ad
p assed p re ssed ab o u t her to say wh a
— t afortu nate girl she
was in becom ing the betrothed of the be st be haved and
,
handsom e st you ng m an in five c ou ntie s T o be su re the

.
,
na tural fe m inine e sse nc e of e nvy m ingled wit h al l t hese good

,
wishe s b u t th at was to be e xpe c ted whe n re m e m be ring that

,
Fred F ull graft was no c o m m on river drive r b u t one of t ho se

“ ”
,
ch oice S pe c im ens of m asc u line h u m anity designed by natu re ,
to a ttrac t the fanc y of awom an .
With the m en the sam e was in agre at m easu re the c ase and ,
m ore th a n one he a rt fel t akee n p a ng of re gret a s the voi c e o f ,
com m o n gossip ful l y c onfirm e d the fac t t hat K ate Me rryville

and Fred F u l l graft were to be S h ortl y we dded .
B u t this S ketc h weul d be ve ry inc omplete witho u t t h e p re s ,
enc e of the c o nve ntio n al villi an b ei ng see n This c onvenient .

S pring been at work on the north branch of the A u Sabl e for ,
P ac k Woods C o o f Osc oda T he indic ati ons were that the

,
.
, .
ar would be broug ht down through the unl oc ked for rise

”
,
in th e river a nd Fred with a strong cre w o f rive r drivers

, , ,
wa s se nt u p t o ge t ou t th e hung u p l ogs
, It was a gre at dis .
app ointm ent to Fre d to re alize that it would be im possible for

him to be present at th e picnic on the fourth at D as h e
wo uld be m any m il es away on that date Still knowing Kate .
,
to be a sensibl e girl who wo uld be be tter pleased to see her

,
intende d atte nding to we ll paid work in preference to pleas ,
ure at the sa crifice of h i s em ployer s i nterest h e wro te her as

’
,
follows :
A u Sa m Rrvnn C m , J une 28th, 188
M v O wn Dm nve Ka ra
I find it im possib e to be with you for th e fun on t h

l e
fourth, as I sha have to be on the drive N either of us, dear

”
ll . ,
re richenou ht o sa
a g
c rific e m y t im e ust now, as wa ges a
re j
l arge and I wa, nt a l l I ca
n get t o m a ke m y sweet wife— soon
to be c om forta
— ble and happy Do m e the favor to stay away .
from the picnic that day as I cannot be with you and the , ,
th ou gh t of your being th ere with some ot h er person woul d ,
ma ke m e very unc om forta ble I know this sounds very sel fish
.
b u t dear I a m ma king asa

, c rific e for you a nd I know you ,
will m a ke th is l it tle one for m e .
l
Y our onesom e over, l
This warm efiu sion Fred gave to th e tote te am ster with

'
strict inj unctions to se e it put in th e post ofiic e at D and

t h en re turne d fully sa tisfie d to his work on the river .
The drive was a su ccessful one and the logs were boo m e d
“ ”
,
at th e m ou th of the A u Sable in safety Fre d had fini sh ed .
his job in go od style and hurried to th e postomc e to get at

l e ast one letter from his abs ent Kate Keen was his dis ap .
p ointm ent and gre at his surprise t o find but one l e tte r awai t
, ,
ing h im a
,
nd that in a strange ha nd Tearing it open th e .
,
m issive wa s as follows :
D July 5th 188

M
,
B . F nsn F UL L enm
DE AR S i n— Y our girl ha
s gone ba
ck on you a
hd . She
. M MP . 139
wa sa t the picnic yesterda y withyour ol d rival Dick B axter ,
and da nced wit h h im a ll afternoon at the N at ional bowery .
She flirted a wfully a nd every one is ta

, lking about it Y ou .
better wake up old m an or your nam e is Dennis

, , .
your friend X X F rom , .
Not even stopping to change his clothi ng Fred rushe d t o a ,
livery stable and ordered the fleetest te am in th e barn and

, ,
within ten m inu te s was on the way to D With th e hors e s

covered with foam he arrived and throwing th e lines to the
M
,
hostler he hurrie d down the street to where

,
iss Merryvill e
reside d b u t he had not proc e eded b u t a S h ort dista nce be fore
,
he saw co m ing toward him l e aning on th e arm o f the hate d ,
Dick Baxter his b e troth e d ,

.
“
What does all this m ean Kate
To what this do you allu de M
,
r F ull gra
’
‘
ft ?
0 its M
.
,
r F ul l gra
,
ft now is it ? Y ou fals e m is e rable lying
.
, , ,
”
jade I ve got thro ugh with you rest ass ured of th at !
’
Mr F ul l graft how dare you address su ch insulting l an

.
,
“
.
,
gu age to m e ? None bu t a cowardl y c ur would S p eak to a

”
wo m an in that m anner and the indi gnant girl bu rst into,
tears .
“
I S peak to you that way becau se you richly deserve it I .
heard of your cutting up with this m iserable pup here on th e ,

“
fourth and I m glad I m et youj u st to te ll you what I think of
,
’
”
you .
“
C o m e S ir, m terposed the re doub table Dick this lady is
,
“
u nder m y p rot e ction, and I won t le t h be insul ted wit h im

’
er
u nit y No sir — sir— re—

p .
The words were hardly ou t of Dick s m onth before he was ’
twenty fee t from Fre d in which twenty feet he had t urned S ix

,
som ersaults and landed on his latter end with his nose S pou t ,
ing a sanguine stre am a “

nd he ye ll ing m u rder ! fire ! thi e ves !
,
p olice ! as loud as his cracke d v oice would allow him

”
.
Y ou c an now go a nd c onsole yo ur very handso m e be a

“
u ,
” “
Mi ss Merryvil l e said Fred as h e tu rne d on his heel
, Go od , .
”
by forever Kate ! and pu shing his way thro ugh th e crowd
,
that had quickly c olle ct ed h e sauntered down th e stree t

.
,
S i ngi ng :
140 TH E S H A N T Y B 0 Y .
N ow a l l you hol d shanty boys, wh erever you be ,
B ewa re of fa lse wom en take warning by m e;

I f ever you meet one withada rk c hestnu t c url ,
Just think of Jack H aggerty and his F lat River girl .
That night Fred F ul l graft got blazing fighting drunk Licked , .
four m en and finally got a first class banging him self It

,
“ ”
.
wa s the first drunk of his li fe a nd it wa s a royal ol d

“
toot ”
, ,
re st assu red .
A nd thus they part e d !
T wo years had passe d away The winter s sno ws of De c e m ’

.
b er were deep u pon th e gro und I n the c ent e r of a he avy .
tract of pine Fred F ull graft had b uilt his cam ps to lu m ber
,
the sam e Th ere were several hu ndred m il e s be twe en him and

.
th e girl he at once love d and hated .
B u t F ull graft was a sadly changed m a n Cross cranky .

, ,
and hard to please was the word am ong the m en worki ng for
”
,
him Poor Fred ! He had sou ght su rcease of sorrow in life s

.
’
gre at c urse int em perance and was fast going t o the devil and
, , ,
only that he was a first class woodsm an he coul d not h ave ,
hel d his situ ation over the large c am p whe re we find him one , ,
hour .
T he m en had eaten their supper a nd we re seated aro u nd

”
the big stove in th e bunk cam p when a m an entered wi th
“
,
“ ”
a turkey over his S houlder which he slung into a com er , ,
and appro ac hed th e stove .
“
Evenin pards ! Whar e the fore m an ?
’ ’
I n th
”
e va n I gu ess replied one of th e m en
‘ ’
.
, ,
Aft er warm ing him s elf the strange r p roce ede d to the oflic e
, .
When he saw who th e forem an was h e started back a nd ,
exclaim e d
“
Why S ir isn t yer nam e Fred F u l l graft
,
’
”
Yes wh at do you want ?
,
I didn t know you war fore m an here

’
,
.
W hy wh at difierenc e is th at to you ? H al oo ! A r n t you

’
’ ’
,
T om T a l l b u t who wa s toting for m e t wo y e ars

, ago on the
”
A u Sable ?
ha strangl ed m an brought the crew fro m the cam p who with

l f -
,
difi c ul tyaseparated the ave nger from his victim A S it was .

,
two wee ks passed before the te am ster left his b unk .
I t wa
s Christm as eve in the little village of D
,
The
Union church was dresse d in evergreens in me m ory of the ,
glad o c casion A large audi e nce particip ated in the services

.
,
am ong who m was Kate Merryvil le and to al l it was e vident

,
that a great sorrow was eating away the girl s life ’

.
I n a qu iet corner she S its o b se rving the exe rcise s of the

,
Sunday school childre n upon whom the eyes of the whole

,
c ongregation a re fixed A l ow soft voi c e whispe rs in h

.
,
er ear
one word :
“
Kati e !
T urning quickly sh e is fac e t o fac e with t he o nly ma n She
eve r loved !
“
Katie in the nam e of H im whose adve nt is c om m e m orated
,
here to -night let m e tel l you m y story

,
.
A t first she hesita te d but the ic y inc ru station abou t her

,
‘
heart m elted into te nderness at th at loved voice Sh e re al

, .
ized in her inm ost soul the spirit of awake ned love and pity ,
as S he beheld the great te ars c oursing do wn his cheeks and ,
she felt that the tears of a m anly m an are so m ething awfully
H e S poke not a word farth er b ut S ilently handed her the

,
disc olored letter, which with a tre m bling h and S he op ened

and re ad A s she read the sm ile cam e to her lips and the
.
,
gl ad l ove light to her eyes .
“
Katie c an you forgive m e
,
“
Y es dear F re d I c an even as I h ave t o be forgiven for I
, , ,
to indulge a pe tt y spiri t of reve nge at yo ur p resu m ed sl ight

ac c epted the escort of the vil lian Baxter that day to the picnic ,
and took espec i al pains to S how everyone pre se nt how littl e I

a
”
c red for you .
“
Ka te dear t he evening is ple asant ou tside what say you
, , to
astrol l
. M MP . 143
Willingly Fre d for your com ing has brought the only
,
pe ac e t o m y h e art thi s wid e wid e w o rld co uld giv e,

”
.
“
D e are st for us there is t o night p e ace and good will and two
,
-
,
heart s long sundered are again unite d ne ver m ore to separ

, , ,
ate I feel that good will so strong to all m en even to Dick

.
,
Baxter and T om T al l but that as I have drunk in o f th e S pirit

,
of yo ur swee t forgive ne ss so c an I forgive C om e dear ! and

,
”
,
they went ou t into th e swee t bright starlight of that ,
ma s e ve ,
T wo souls withb ut asingle t hought ,
T wo hearts that beat a

s one .
C H A PT E R XI X.
TE E AN “ B ox i n T H E W
SE TH E Am
A R— or T H E Sa w L oo AT T H E “
FR NO T — A V r srr T O A L UM B E R C m or O L D V E TS — W E DROP m ro '
O
P ET R Y— D E
"
N N I S M C C A LL — T H E B
”
UR IAL or
“
G R A N T — A S RO R r '
C um s F O R O LD S O L a Rs .
Hah! hurra
urr h! We ll sound t he j ubilee! ’
h! hurrah! t he fla
H u rra g t hat m a
k es us free!
A nd so we sang t he ch orus from A tl antato th e sea ,
Wh en we were m a rc hing t hroughGeorgia

”
.
is a well know n fact that the S hanty boys from the lum ber
It
ing re gi ons of Mi chigan and Wisc onsi n were well rep rese nte d
in the union arm y from the beginning to the close of th e late
war Fro m swinging the axe and th e saw th e swinging of the

. ,
sabre and the handling o f the rifle was the work of th e shanty
boys by thou sands Th e fact that th e war opened up a new
.
condition of li fe filled with danger and excite ment was in per

, ,
fe et harm ony with the disposition of the dashing rolli cking ,
woodsm an and apart from his patrio tic incentive s the indu ce
, ,
m ents ofiered by the war as food for a strong spirit of daring

’
advent ure was al l that was ne cessary t o cau se him to don the
,
blu e H e fo ught well a

. nd wh e n the wa
, r wa s ove r what was ,
le ft of him laid do wn the m u ske t and again assu m e d the axe

,
and peve y hook .
Very m any o f these old vets h ave I m et in woods ag ain

“
,
enliste d in the bat tle of the saw log and anight in cam p , ,
where several o f th e se ol d soldie rs a re loc ated is ful ly equ al ,

”
to visiting the cam p fire of som e arm y post of the G A R
“
. . .
O ne of th es e cam ps co m es to m y m ind as I write whe re the ,
fore m an had been acaptain and the seal er a lie u tenant in the
arm y I n this c am p were so m e half dozen old c om rade s who
.
,
had se rved in the s am e c orp s wi th the fore m an and from b at ,
tling at his S ide for hu m an freedom and the perpet uity of our
na tional life had again enlisted in the war agai nst King Pine
, .
It was are al ple asure for m e to m ake this c am p in the c o urse

of m y perigrinations thro ugh the woods and espe c i ally so ,
whe n I could p ass a Su nday with the bo y s Then wou ld the .
”
“
book o f m e m ory be opened and tale s of fough ten field and
,
cheerfu l bivo uac be give n to the listeners N ot from the lips .
of m oribund knd m u til ated m en c am e these stories and des

,
”
c riptions of
“
dire adve nt ure by flood and field b u t from m en ,
stil l in the p ri m e of life wh o in t h e first prou d bl ush of their
you ng m anhood had go ne forth t o do and dare for their coun

,
t ry. I re m e m ber distinc tly on one of m y visits being snow

bo und in this c am p whic h I m ay say was lo c ated in proxim
—
ity t o Hu bb ard L ake Mic h , The storm was of su c h wild

.
inte nsity th at for t wo days no work c ou ld be done save taking ,
care of the horse s and what little c horing was necessary abou t
cam p B ut ti m e passed rapidly and pleas antly in that b unk
.
“
c am p whe re gathered abo u t aroaring fire we l aughed at the

,
efforts of the Storm King t o disco m m ode u s So ng and story

, .
followed fast u pon the heels of each other and agenuine ,
“
cam p fire was ke pt b urning around wh
”
,
“
i ch the ol d ve ts
”
F ou gh t th eir bat tl es o er again

’
,
A nd th ric e th ey sl ayed the slain .
H ad I at that ti m e any tho ught of ever pu tting into its

TH E S H A N T Y B O Y .
I s one whichhas never been told

F or he won not h m e in bloody figh
is fa t
N or wa s ranked a s am an of dau ntl ess m ight;
A nd yet a s a bra ve you will readh im a righ
“ ”
t,
As h is story I to you unfold .
I .
A l l the worl d hashea rd of t he T went y-first

M
,
Of ich i a g l
’
n s vo unteers
Perchance som e ol d “
vet
”
will t his story get ,
A nd ad it m id l a
re
’
ughter and tea rs
M
.
A nd a
m ong all of ich igan s gail a
’
nt sons ,
F or pure c ussedness t h ey were t he worst ,
B u t in battl e they had no peer in the fra

y
MC
.
T wenty-first
reery s ol d
’
c .
N ow th e reason of this it will not be a

m iss,
ge of our tal e to tell ;
A t this sta
ke you l a
I t wou d m a
l u ghwhen the roll read of
A l l the I rishna m es that fell ;
There wa s Pa nd M
t a ike and B a rney a
nd I ke ,
A nd L a rry a nd Da na nd T ed
M
,
WithDennis c C al l the worst of t hem a

ll
M
,
I n a ichiga
n sha nty c a
m p bred .
II .
Thus you l aly see that t he T wenty first

c e r -
,
s well ch
Wa arged wit hI rishblood ;
B u t t his Dennis MC al l wa
c hief of them a
sc ll ,
F or tric ks th at were l au gh a bly good .
I sh oul d a lso relate that this regim ent great ,
Wa s terribly fond of its

“
budge ”
,
A nd to keep afull ca n eac hwould sch eme and pl a

n ,
N or a ny effort begrudge .
T ill withfi ghting fa m e they h ada lso the nam e ,
O f adrink ing roll ic king crowd ;

A nd 11c swore th at budge no m ore
“
,
S hould be in the ca mp a ll owed .
S o sad to sa y fro m th at aw f u l day ,
Th e wh ol e T wenty -first went dry ;

Withnever adrop their l onging to stop ,
F or asnifter of S a ginaw rye!

n' .
I n vain did eachma n devise a

nd p a n, l
N ot adrink cou d be brou ht into ca
l mp; g
F or th e sentry s round covered ever round, yg
’
seless vigila
W ithacea nt tra
mp, .
T wa
’
s in F ort Mgg
e s the y garrisoned were
General H oward held chief comm and
A nd the one arm ed hero did then nd there, a
Ta ke th y
e T went -first firm in hand ;
The man who prayed and fought so well .
B y the Johnnie Reba bitterly c ursed

“ ”
Ha
d vowed avow to stop the row ,
I n the drink in w
T e t first
n - g y .
S o for awho e week a l l fa

lint and weak ,
Th e bo s went yspitt ing woo ;

”"
l
N ot ascheme could they work t o pull ou t ac ork ,
F or a nipper their t h
“ ”
irst to cool .
A nd Pa
t a
nd and Da na Mik
nd I ke
e ,
H ea ved m any awea ry sigh;
A s they saw in their dream s th e lakelets a

nd streams ,
Th ey h ad punished of S a gin aw r e
y ;
A nd their sore dist ress it never grew less
O n the fut ure t he da red not think y
Withba l
rre s of rye in t he vi ae c ose by ll g l
B u t never adrop to drink !
B ut forthm y m an of true wort h
now comes
I n Dennis M
,
cC al l the brave
H ighengra ved be h is nam e on the shaft of fa

me
A s the ma
n who acorps did a s ve !
N ot C urtius of ol d nor Wa llace the bold

N or even im m orta l B il l T ell ;
N or Jim B l udso— whose gh ost yb u al l know ,
S m oked u p from the Pra irie B elle;

N ot a l l whoh ave gi ven th eir l ives for m en
Von W ink l eried l ike in their t rust

C oul d wit hpriva te cC a M
l l b e c om pa red a t a
ll .
Wh e b e esc
n r ue d t h e T en y first
w t - .
A nd wh at was the ta
sk you here al l wou d a
sk l ,
Th at in Dennis ahere we scan?

Ha ve pat ienc e I pra a y
nd in sin i ng t his l a
y g
M
,
Y ou a dmire this b ra
ll ichiga n ma
’
ve n .
I t s we known no cowa
ll rd cou d foo G en H owa l
rd , l
’
.
S ti Dennis wa
ll s bo der than b e; l
F or he va
nqu ished the thirst of t he dry T went y-first ,
A nd a ve them a ra
g g j l
nd u bi ee .
N ear avilla
g e c l ose by t o t he fo rt stand ing nigh ,
Wa s afounta in of spring wa ter clear ,
A nd at noon of th at sun adeta il of one ,

TH E S H A N T Y B O Y .
T o this fountain astra ight course did steer;

B ut swift pa st the founta in the detail went ;
Up t h e st reet of that l onely town ;
N or sta yed b e his tread as he rapidly sped ,
T il l the princ ipl e rum S h op he found .
VI .
B ehind its door post t hat detai wa

s l lost ,
S oon emerging a g nh
a i e appea rs
N or bla nc hed wash is c heek nor l im bs trem bl ing weak

A s its threshold trium ph ant he c l ears;
N or followed his route withwild battle shout

N eith er c a
valry charge, shot nor shal l .
B u t ac rimson nosed b a r tender fi ercely l ooked out ,

A nd to d l hi to go to
m h— ll !
N ow t his deta
il ha dh is work well done
of one
F or a fter assuaging his thirst '
Heh ad finished the gam e by c ha rging th e same ,
T o the boys of the T wenty -first .
A nd a gain to the Spring whic hdid purl ingl y sing ,
O n the ba c k ward t ra il softly went h e;
nc h
N or bl a ed wa s h is fa ce as h c kened h
e sl a is pa
ce ,
A nd ra pid ly ben t h is k nee
Then he sa
id a s he rose from t h e b ubbl ing brook
“
Wa tth er s good in its pl a
’
c e I k now ,
B ut wh inever I m dh ry l et Dennis com e ni gh

’
, ,
Where the bea utiful wh isky does flow

”
.
Y es t wa s D ennis so gra nd withapa il in ea c hh and

’
, ,
Who ha d boldly ma rc h ed th rou ghth e fort ga te

B othpa ils he h ad fi lled with copper distill ed
“
,
When 10 ! H owa rd m et h im — sa d fa te !
Ha l t soldier! he cried what s that that you hide
” “ ’
, ,
S o suspic iously form ing al um p?

S et down your two pa ils a nd l ift you r coa t tails ,
I l l soon l ea rn t he ca use of t h is hum p;

'
Wh at s this in this bottle I thus gently throttle?

’ ”
“
A rra hsor sure t is a ,isy to see
’
I t s som e l enim ent I m ta

’
kin to C orpora
’ '
l F agan
F or h e s got ab a da th ruin a nh is k nee
’
.
rd l a
T hen H owa u ghed loud as he poured the stufi out ,
F rom th e bottl e u pon the dry grou nd ;
Th at s whisky my m a
’
l l it I ca
n for sm a n ,
A nd suc ht ric ks to detect I a

m bound ;
m SH A N T Y B O Y .
H ow they got a
t the rum t o his m ind did not com e,
N or wi it un ess throu hth
ll l is story g
ThoughH owa rd oft l ed t he sa
m e regim ent tis sa
id
’
T o victories covered withglory .
A nd a ah ca m p fire wh en t h e toa st rises high

“ ”
round e c er
A nd the deeds of bra ve m en a re rela ted

Don t fail to recal l bold Dennis c C al l
’
M ,
Or how he sh rewd H owa rd c h ec km a ted .
Does this tal e reac hthe ear of som e veteran near ,
Who followed the T wenty-first s flag ? ’
Wh en B ill M
c C reery l ed t hem on h ol d and ch eery ,
T ill t heir ba nner wa s sh ot t o ara g;

Ca n th a t soldier forget bra ve Dennis t h e pet ,
O f t h e regim ent — from c ol onel to drum m er

N ever wa
‘
rrior m ore true wa s cla d in the bl ue
Th an Dennis wh o seem s h ere a bum m er
“
.
Wh en in th eir line of bl ue th e T wenty fi rst tru e ,
S tonewa ll Jackson s fierce ri ders resisted;

’
Their flag it w a s grasped f rom t he dead ha nd it c l a

sped ,
A nd wa
s taken ere a
ny had m issed it ;
I t wa s th en th M
at c C a l l in sigh t of t h em a ll
Ch arged th e ca va lry man holding the standard
O ne q uick ba yonet t hrust down he cam e in the dust ,
A nd to h a des the t rooper s soul wa ndered

’
.
A l l tha t t erribl e da y d id t he B l u e a nd t he G ray ,
S ri e
t v fi erc el y
— n o r e it h er w o u l d w e a k en ,
T ill Dennis rushed ou t withawild I rishsh ou t ,
Wa ving boldly th e fla g he h a d t ak en .
A h! t h e ch arge they then m ade swept the rebel briga de ,
A nd vic tory wa s ours c lea na nd c l ever;

While the a b out from our l ines sh ook th e sh ot S hatt emd
W ith D ennis—bold Dennis forever !
“ ”
XI I I .
H e s pa
ha ssed from our gaz e for i n t he t hree days ,
O f F redric ksb u rg s terrib

’
le story ;
Poor Dennis he fell— as his c om rades tell
I n the front clothed in honor and glory
“
.
T hey la id him to rest withth e fla g on h i s breast

Wh ere the brave hea rt had cea sed its l ife beating
B uthis m em ory will live in the t a le we here give ,
B y each ca m p fire when vetera ns are m eet ing ;

“ ”
N or yet at th ss th
eir worst c l a e bra ve T wenty first ,
Na y rat h
,er rem em be r the ir gl ory ;
F or their deeds wi ive on in stor all l

nd son l g y g .
When C o um biais aed a l nd hoa r ! g y

B ut ou r pa t ienc e I t ry I c a
y n see in ou r eye y ,
That to
longer im pose would b e risky ;
S o this pledge l et it pass— th oughin wa ter fill ed gl ass
H ere s to D ennis M cC all and his whisk y !

’
By aS ingular coincidence I fou nd m yself in this s am e cam p ,
whe n Ge ne ral Grant was b u ried Many of the m en we re sol .
die rs u nder t he departe d he ro and I S hall long re m e m be r th e ,
night aro u nd t h e ca m p fire in th a t little S hanty on Hu bbard

lake where the old vets one afte r anoth er told so m e stirri ng
, , ,
t al e of t he S il e nt m an on horse b ack who had so oft led

“ ”
,
t he m t o victory With these re c ol le c tions still im pressed upon

.
me I ma
, y be pa rdo ned if I he re p re se n t in ve rse aS light ,
trib ute to the grand soldier dedi c ating the lines to the old ,
vete rans he has le ft behind him .
TH E B URI AL or G RA N T .
!
I bre weeds astricken nation weeps ;

n som
T he m inute guns sob fort hwit hsta rtl ing sou nd ,
Th e m uf fled drum in m ournful ryt hm beats ;

Th e t ol ling bells take u p t he fu nereal round
Joining in one united loud lam ent
H a
e venw rd a in woe apeop e s l ’
grief is sent !
T od a t h y
is naio s h
t n eat
r — as b u t the h
’
ea rt ,
O f one— sore sm it ten by ah eavy grief
W eeps tea rs of anguishbit terth us to pa rt ,
F rom him so l ong our soldier sta tesm a n ch ief , ,
W ho wrote his nam e m id histories of m en ’

,
I n Gl ory s al phabet wit hF am e s celestial pen !

’ ’
Ha
i l t o thec hiwhose treasured dust to-da
e — f y .
E nt om bed in every pa t riot s heart is fou nd

’
F ol l owed by t h ousa nds— yonder borne a wa y ,
T o res t in honor s c onsec ra ted grou nd ;

’
Wh ere a ges yet u nborn our sons shall gathered be ,
To h a
il t he nam e of GR A NT a s watc hword of t he free .
Hi ghon F am e s roll m id those anat ion boast

’ ’
g
’
s
W ho lived and died to honor F reedom s nam e ; ’
“T his po em rst appfi

e red in t he W o vea
rine C i t iz en, of F int l l Mi h wh
c ere I
ha
d th l
e privi ege of pu ish bl
ing it A ugust 8th, 1885 .
152 Tm SH A N T Y B O Y .
S tands his t o da
-
y su pr em e am id t he h ost ,
Who gra c e th e col u m n of eterna l fam e ,
O n wh ichC o l u m b ia withatea
— r dim m ed ga ze ,
Reads th e fa ir record h eral ding th eir praise .
A nother na rved on co um n ra
m e is ca nd l g
A nother stone in G or s temp e fair; l y l
’
A nother brow ower wrea

fl thed b ovin h a
nd yl g
ai
Of t o o
n n l yal — ghher people there; throu
A nd o er th at dust to da
y hand grasping hand
—
’
Th e B l ue a
nd Gra y behold as brothers stand !
L et us have pea c e! h a t his beh
— e poke
est ,
s —
Th e trem bling a ngel poised h er flut tering wings,
A nd wa ved th em o er al a nd in m ourning dremed

’
Wh ere fratric ida l war in wrathstill cl ings

Pea ce hovered o er t h ined fields a
e blood sta ai
’
g n
A nd va nquish ed W a r fled wi thhis h orrid t rain .
Give them their horses from eachtroop or gu n;

T eh y ll w a
’
n t th em for spr in g p l owin g — spok e the chief
”
Th e va nquish ed o e h
h m e sen t— from vic tory won
Th us pouring ba l m on ca p e foem en s grief ;
i
’
t v
I s th f
is o o g t te n f— n te h is bier tod a y
r
p ,
O n eith er side m a rch es the B l ue a nd G ra y!

I n order th a m en m ust die;
l
us to ive etern l —
F orthfrom t h e tom b th irest record sh

e fa ines;
Th e fa ing c ods th
ll at on the comu l ie,
l
Give back arh thm of c e estia ines y l ll ,
A nd stor of th e dea
y d to ivin tel l g l
Where they the su m of l ife have m ea
sured well .
A nd thus of t h hero of sword a nd pen

ee—
l fa
S ha m e im pa
l rtia oud th y triu m h ll
p sound
s
E ndorsed b one outspoken, ra

y nd A m en ! g
S ti ech
lloin th rou ha l l a es sh
g a g
l b e found g l
I mm orta th us thy na
lm e and fam e shal b e l .
ll
T i tim e be m er ed into eternit ! g y
Q
T o-day arou nd thy b ier a n a t io n w eep ;

s
T o da
-
y are h o no rs t hi ne — w h ic h h ad no pl a
c e,
With in thy m od est b r ain — th a t t ranq u i sl eeps, l

Unm indfu of th e tributes wh
l ichth ee ra ce g
C ol um biam ourns her hero here l aid l ow,
Whose first surrender wa s to Dea ths la
’
st blow .
154 M SH A N T Y B O7
T .
C H A PT E R XX .
T im RouA N eE or TE E F ORE S T C ON T INUE D— T H E S TORY or A N

ME N T AN D W HA T C A N E or I a -T E E GE RM
n AN C OUN T AND T E E SE AN T T
or T HRE E L AN DS .
Mi f s ortu ne nursed s h
me a er chid l ,
l
A nd oved m e fond ly ,
t oo;
I wou d have h
l ad abroken hea
rt ,
Ha
d it not been for you .
Kind words were whispered softly sweet ,
B ut gla d I c oul d not be ,
Until I found that you h a d been

A fa ithful fri end to m e .
I was fortunate enough in the winter of 1883 to c om e across ,
a rather startling incident in the Mi chigan lu m ber woods ,
holding within it the true el e m ents of rom ance It was a veri .
table love story from b eginning to end and from the m ate rial ,
I gathered I have produ c e d the following little S ketch dressed

, ,
u p in what m a b e t e rm ed t he garm e nts of fictio n fo nded

y u ,
u pon fact I m ight howe ver add that all the characters intro
.
du c ed are tak en fro m life and that th e plot of the story is

, ,
re al . Consequ ently all I have e nde avore d to do is t o pre sent ,
it in story form and have e ntitled it

, ,
SH E F OL L OWE D H E R H E A RT .
It was nine o c lock on N ew Years eve 187 in th e beau tiful

’
city of Toronto Ont A S leety storm had l eft the stre e ts co m par
,
.
at ivel y d e se rted and those wh

,
o b rav e d th e bla st di d so w e ll ,
. M M
P . 155
prote c t e d by th e furs and he avy clothing indige no u s t o the

winter we athe r o f the D om inion .
Gatheri ng her garm ents around her m ore closely as she ,
faced the biting blast a fem ale figure m ad e its way along one
,
of the m ost aristocratic thorou ghfares of the city and finally ,
p au sed b e fore a pal atial reside nce which was conspicu o us for ,
its gloo m where all others on either sid e o f th e street we re

, , ,
abl aze with light indicative of the holiday season

,
.
A fte r afew m o m e nts of hesita nc y she pass e d into t h e a lley

,
leading t o the re ar of the m ansion and was lost to S ight ,

.
I n asp ac ious a part m e nt in the sam e bu ilding c ontai ning in

, ,
one alibra
,
ry st u dy and S itti ng roo m sat a portly a nd di gni ,
fied ge ntle m an of m ature years H is su rrou ndings betoke ned

.
wealt h and refinem ent b u t u pon an o therwise noble fac e

, ,
indic ating stro ng force of charac ter rested aclou d of sadne ss ,
and anxiety .
The t able be fore him was covered with a litter o f books and
papers u pon which the reflection fro m the astral l am p and
, ,
the sm oulderi ng fire in the antiqu e grate cast adim light , .
The ol d m an reclined m u si ngly in a high le ather bac ked ,
easy c h air bearing u pon his c o unte nance the S hado w of a

,
gre at grief strongl y at varianc e with the festive season

, .
The door S ile ntly Opened and the wande rer of the street
,
entered H er outer garm e nts had been re m oved and the face
.
,
and figu re of the girl were strikingly beau tiful A gl anc e at .
the t wo o c c u p ants of the roo m wo uld su ffic e to S ho w the

,
relationship existi ng bet wee n them to be that of fathe r and

dau ghter H er e ntranc e had been so S ile nt and u nobtru sive
.
that the gentle m an was not aware of her p rese nc e till gliding ,
s wiftly to his side t he girl knelt and in abroken voic e

, ,
m u rm ured :
“Fath er I have c o m e t o beg for yo u r for ive ne ss
, g .
Starting b ack in am aze h e tu rned his eye s u pon t he knee !

ing su pp l i ant a nd t he ha
,
rd li ne s u po n his s till h andso m e fac e
gre w harde r His lips were firm ly c o m pressed and a c old
.
,
stony glare fro m his eye s rested upon her .
“
Wh at ! Y ou he re ? Y ou have d ared t o
Father forgi ve m e as you wo ul d hope t o b e yoursel f for

,
give n and the delic ate hands— where shone a plain circ let
”
,
of gold— were c lasped in su pplication while the great rou nd

,
tears chas e d e ach other do wn her ch eeks .
Th e ol d m an arose to h i s fe e t and with hands repel l i ngly

,
ou tstretched and averted fac e repli e d

“
N o ! E m phatic a lly no ! Y ou have severed e ve ry tie bi nd
ing you t o m e as ad aughte r so begone from m y sight !
”
,
B u t de ar father
N o m o re ! Y ou h ave chose n yo ur p ath in l i fe a nd you r ,
he adstrong folly has m arked ou t your futu re Y ou h ave .
m ade a bed of thorns the re fore lie do wn u pon it you wh

, o ,
”
once were the idol of m y h eart .
“
Sp are m e father ! See I kneel to you and ple ad the love
of a fa ther for h i s child
”
.
“
Mention it not ! Y ou have des ec rated the holy sentim ent
of fil ial love you ingrat e ! H enc e! ere I so far forget m ysel f
,
”
to spam you with m y foot !
0 father have so m e m ercy ! a
”
nd th e girl fe l l groveling a
“
t
his feet .
Y ou plead in vain Lillian God knows the inte nsity of

.
fatherly love with which I onc e loved you b u t you h ave tram ,
pled the life ou t of that holy feeling and like an adde r you
,
”
h ave turne d and stung m e .
Tis not so father for I have ne ve r ce as e d t o love you

’
,
.
Love m e D o not profane the t erm ! Behold the fruit of

your love Your m othe r i n yonde r room lies prostrated with ,
broken he arted grie f I n m e you see a dishonored father

.
,
whos e sou l you have filled with bitte r hatred toward his c hild
once enshrin ed as his idol M ay you y e t drink d e ep of
.
”
the sam e c u p of bitterness you have pressed t o ou r lips !
“
O father curs e m e not ! My only crim e is that I have b u t
,
followe d the pro m ptings of m y he art in m arrying the m an I ,

”
love .
“
Love ? Do not again insul t the name of an holy s entim ent
by asso ciating it with th e im puls e of a lewd passion Y ou .
,
th e pette d child of luxury to will fully cast yourself away u pon

,
dian girl of e du cati on and refin em ent su ch a ch oice gem of fe ,
m al e loveliness Add ed t o her personal charm s of sup erl ative

.
be au ty o f person were the gifts and grac es of e du c ation serv

, ,
ing to m ake h er th e p e tte d idol not o nly of a doting father ,
and m other b u t als o of a select coterie of excl u sive pe opl e

, ,
where wealth h eld th e k ey to the golden portals .
A nd yet b e neath that zo ne of c ostly silk a nd v elvet beat a ,
h e art a tru e wom an heart as su sceptibl e t o the dart of t he

, ,
blin d god C u pid as was e ver tha t of the hum blest spinning
,
m aide n wh o at h er wh e el cooed h er love so ng .
Th e p revious sum m er Lilli an had m et her fat e ! It is not

th e intention of this S ke tch to do aught to encourage disob e
di ence to pare nts or to m agnify fooli sh actions into rom a
, ntic
virtu es b u t rath er t o S how that tru e love is a great leveler

, ,
and t hat its poss e ssor will m ak e any sacrific e for the one
’
belove d .
Strange as it m ay sound the fate that m et Lillian W ,
ca m e in the form of a you ng Germ an em ploye in a fashionable ,
rest a urant It was a c ase of m u tu al love at first sight and

.
,
although all her pride of position and class di stinction

within her arose in arm s and fo ught fiercely agai nst s uc h a
hu m iliating s urrender still the wom an s h eart trium phe d over
,
’
all social di stinctions How this condition of things was c on

.
veyed to the you ng m a n wh o m odestly wait e d u pon h

, er with
ices and S h erb e t du ring the heated se as on in wh

,
“ - i ch in
place o f su m e i g at Bu li gt o o Niagara c n th e Lake
m r n r n n r - - -
,
Lillian had re m ained at hom e wo uld b e diflic ul t to te ll b u t ,
s u ch neverth ele ss was the case and th e fair haired and hum ,
bl e stranger from the Rhine was a su cce ss wh ere m any others , ,

”
of high degree had failed Despairing of th e approb ation
“
.
of her parents Lillian in an ill advised m o m ent p erm itted

, , ,
her heart t o overcom e her head and an el ope m en t was the ,
re s ul t acc o m pani e d of c o urs e with the u su al

,
consequ ence s o f
su ch unwis e action viz : being forbidden e ntranc e t o her
,
.
p arent s hou s e in S h ort in being e ntirely cast ofi and di s

'
’
, ,
owned at least by her father H er m oth er a warm loving

,
.
, , ,
afieetionat e wom an wa s in t his case h elpl e ss Natural ly o f a

'
.
,
. M MP . 159
delic ate c onstitu tion the S ho ck of Lillian s folly cam e with

,
’
s uc h c rushing force u pon the m oth er as to place her at de ath s ,

’
door where S he hung hovering and would not be com forted

, ,
bec aus e her loved c hild was not .
Th e concl u sion of afew wee ks o f passionate love fol lowing ,
u po n h er ill a dvised m arriage served to b ring Lillian to her ,
se ns e s Not because her afiec tion for her hu sb and Em il

'
.
,
B ru ske wa s l ess
, b u t on the co ntrary
, sh e had re alize d the ,
fac t th a
, t in th e hu m ble waite r she had loved well enou gh t o
sa c rific e ho m e and frie nds for she fou nd not only her equ al , ,
soci al ly b u t in m any things her superior He was a m an of

, .
ed u cation a fine lingu ist a m agnificent m u sician and no des

, , ,
i cab l e artist His sto ry told h er— aft e r the m a rriage an d not
p .
before was indeed a surprise

— He was the only heir t o a .
Ge rm an Cou ntship representing one of the oldest fam ilies in

,
t he ric hRhine valley Upon the c lose of his last ye ar in th e

.
u n ive rsity at Bonn h e had becom e e nta ,ngled in a foolish st u
de nts c onspirac y whic h had forced him to le ave the c o untry

’
, ,
wi th an attender and l arge re ward attac hed to his perso n .
F e ar of the British infl u e nce in C a nad a h ad forced him t o ,
assu m e afic titiou s nam e and want of funds an oc cu p ation , , ,
where he m et with Lilli a n His final purpose was to go t o the

.
U nited States where he thou ght t o find friends b ut as his

, ,
c ri m e that of slaying an offic ial in the riot whi c h had fol

—
,
l owed upon the di scove ry of the conspirac y— was an extradit

abl e one he still kept u p his fic titio u s c harac ter
, .
When Lil lian le arned all this and that S he was in fac t the ,
Countess von B ruske S he ende avored to convey the i nform a

,
tion by letter to her p arents b u t her letters re m ai ned u nan ,
swered or were ret u rn ed to h

, er u nope ned Finally S he de .
,
t erm ined u pon a pe rsona l intervie w with her fathe r as above

related a nd with wh
, at re sult the reader knows W he n she .
we nt ou t i nto the d arkne ss of t hat N ew Years eve she we nt ,
ou t i nto the obsc u rity of a new life neve r befo re d rea m ed of

, , ,
and into the ranks of th e toil i ng m asse s of t he work worl d ,
where she and t he m an of her choice had sought to hide the m

selves fro m th e k no wledge of the worl d .
A nd so fo ur years p assed away si nc e that wild storm y night

, , ,
whe n the di sc arded dau ghte r was tu rned ou t into the d arkne ss
and storm of the street She was neither sou ght after nor did
.
,
Sh e s e ek. Sh e S i m ply wa s dropped ou t of th e list of ac tors

u po n the excl u sive sta ge of life S he had previo usly adorne d .
I n th e pa latial m ansion of the H on George W . so rro w
had fou nd aperm anent ab iding pl ac e I n a s u m ptu ou s bed .
ch am ber adying wom an l ay T he lac e edged pillo ws u po n

,
.
which S he re ste d were not whiter than her fac e and on wh

,
ic h ,
her abu nd ant h air floated stre aked deeply wit h gray The
, .
hou r of her dep artu re from the sorro ws of this we ary world
see m ed t o be fast approac h i ng .
By her S ide sat her husband .
It was the fa ther and m other of the di sc arded daughte r aged ,
and lonely Th e loved c hild the light of their he art wa

.
, s
gone .
“
George de ar I shall soon leave you I am dying hus
,
.
”
band .
“
A nnie m y da
,
rli ng wife do not sa,
v so ! Y ou are a l l th at is
left m e in t he world .
I c anno t stay m y hu sband m y he art is broke n for m y c hild

, .
She was m y al l in the world save you ! O Lillie Lillie ! ”

,
A nd the dyi ng wom a n tu rned h er fac e t o the wa ll and bitte rly

wept .
With no ou tward indi c ation of feeling the m an of iron nerve ,
and despotic will sat with folded arm s and gazed u pon his
, ,
dyi ng wife .
Th e apartm ent exhi bite d every se m blanc e of lu xu ry and ,
wealth p rese nted itsel f in e ve ry fe atu re of t he su rrou ndings .
B u t the S keleton of sorro w wa s there and the vulture of ,
re m orse wa s gnawing a t his h e artstrings .
Four ye ars had p assed S inc e th at father had said t o a weep

“
ing child Go !
,
”
With her going had gone ou t t he l am p of
his joy and delight N ow he was b rought fac e to fac e with
.
the consequ e nces of hi s im periou s pride The last ray of his .
su nshine was abou t to be qu enc hed in t he darkness of death ,
and the loved wife of his you th was t o leave him .

pl ac e of do ing so , h e re have I be en dr aggi ng you all ove r C an

ada, over th e sea and throu gh A m erica, hunting after a runa
way coupl e Le t us qu it all this nonsense right h ere and get
M
.
,
b ack into t he lum b er woods of i chigan .
One of th e be st cond uct e d cam ps is or wa— s — loc ated u pon

the Rifle river abou t fourte en m il es from where t he Mic higan
,
C entral rail road j u nc tion known as Al ger is pl ac e d , This , .
cam p of 150 m en was at the tim e we write Operated by a

, ,
we althy firm of Detroit b usiness m en well known to a m ajor ,
ity of t he re aders of this S ketc h Th e S pecial fe at ures of this .
cam p were good food good beds cle anliness and ord er T he
, , .
large gang of m en we re not overly worked and were well fed ,
and taken care o f so that it was sim ply wond erful the am ount
M
,
of work Pet er c D ona l d the pu sh m ana

“
ged t o get ou t of
, ,
h i s cre w withou t a ny app a re nt efiort

'
.
,
The cook cam p was the s t rong feature of the plant being in ,
charge o f ayoung m an and his wife who see med to tho ro ughly ,
u nde rstand their p rofession Business frequ ently bro ught the.
wri ter to this locality and always with a feeling of thank ful
,
ness for he kne w he wou ld be well t a ke n c are of whi le in

M
, ,
c D onal d s c am p
’
Espe c ially was the attrac tion stro ng in
.
,
the sweet little girl and boy; the c hildre n of the cook and his
wife— who were known in c am p by the nam e of Godfrey They .
were astrange c ou ple and it was so m e ti m e be fore I s uc c e eded

,
in getti ng i nside t h e li t tle circ le o f excl u sive ne ss surro u ndi ng
the m Final ly I did so l argely thro ughm y ki ndness t o the

.
, ,
childre n i n bringing the m books and c andy when I knew I

, ,
was to visit t heir c am p T he m an and wo m a n were young .
peop l e and while al ways pl ainly dressed were i nvariably

, ,
ne a t and tidy in the persons of them selves and c hil dren The .
wife was avery h andsom e wom an and the m an a good S peci ,
m en of a woods cook whil e th e children growing u p lik e

,
—
wi ld flo wers in the woods were pe rfe c t pic tures o f b ea u

—
tiful childhood and were being well i nstru cted by the ir

,
m other .
Their apartm e nt s in the cook cam p were part itioned ofl ,
from t h e rest o f the bu ilding a nd whe n I was finally perm itted ,

. M MP
. 183
to e nter its sac red p re cincts I was ast onis he d t o behold a ,
p e rfect little p alac e N ot su ch with luxuri o u s furniture b u t

.
,
with c ut pap er com m on pictures a little cabinet organ a

, , ,
g u ita r violi
,
n a nd chintz cu rtai ns neatly m ade all so taste fu lly
, ,
arra nged as t o i m part an air of actu al l uxu ry t o the little roo m .
Havi ng bee n over all Canada and well acq uainted with a nu m ,
b er of peopl e I fo und m yself m ad e m o re than welcom e in m y

M M
, ,
being able to im part to r, and rs Go dfrey c o nside rabl e .
intellige nce abou t Do m inio n aflairS for I had soon l earned

’
—
the cook s wife was a C anadian whi c h accou nted for th e interest
’
sh e took in that country They were a strange cou ple I again

.
re pe a t havi ng no association whateve r with the m en in ca m p

, ,
save in the providi ng the best prepared m eals I e ver sawpu t

on a table in th e woods The wom an never app eared at m e al
.
ti m e s and the tables were served by Godfrey and the c hore

, ,
boys .
It was in the No ve m ber of 1883 when the approach of ,

”
Th anksgiving was univers ally h ailed with pleasure by eve ry
one . E ve n the m en in the woods were expe cting som ething
e xtragood on that sp e cial o c casio n
M
.
I happe ned to be in c D onal d s c am p on th e day p revio u s ’
to this Thanksgiving in q u estion A fter the b reakfast dishes

“ ”
.
had been com m itte d to the care of the chore boys Godfrey ,
re m arked to h is wife
“
A S to m orrow is Thanksgi ving dear I think I will t ry a nd ,
find som e wild m utto n for the boys a nd pe rhaps a t u rkey or

‘ ’
t wo. I will be back l o ng before di nne r and the boys will at ,
tend t o al l that is nece ss ary ”

.
“
Very well love Take care of yourself and do n t b e l i ng
.
,
’
”
away .
It was refresh ing the a fieetion thes e t wo people h ad for

'
e ach other and which bre athed in e very word and a c tion
, .
I was pl aying with the little b oy and girl in front of the

cook c am p and trying to pers uade m yself that m y b usiness im
,
era t i ve l y de m a nd e d that I S hou ld rem a i n in this a m p fo at

p c r
least one day l onger .
Th e so und of wh ee ls approaching arre ste d m y attention

Th e m en were all at work in the woods and the c am p was ,
ne arly deserte d save for the m ech a nics at wo rk in th e black

,
s mith and tinker S h ops .
The carriage for s uch it p roved to b e c am e rapidly driving

— —
al ong the tote ro ad and on c loser inspe c tio n was found to

“ ”
,
c ontain b u t the driver and aportly old ge ntle m an m u med in

,
furs and whom I at first took to be the o wner of the cam p in

, ,
from Detroit .
The sound of the approach i ng wh eels had a rre sted the at te n
tion of the stragglers abou t c am p and am ong the rest th e wife ,
of the cook the m other Of the t wo be autif ul childre n I was

,
am using m yse l f with .
A lou d shriek from the wom en fell u pon m y c ar as th e c ar ,
ri ege drove u p a nd with a n agile b o und the

,
old gentle m an
alighted and in am om e nt c aught the fainting wom an in his
,
arm s exclaim ing :

,
“
Lilli an m y darling child I h ave at las t found you Thanks , .
”
be to the good God !
“
Father O fath er ! Thank God !
,
A nd t h ey were fast
clasp e d in e ac h othe r s arm s Before m v dazed su rpri se had
’
.
tim e to resolve itself into prop er form the c ook wit hac o uple , ,
of fat tu rkeys over his S hou lder app e are d u pon the sc e ne .
“
Father m y hu sband ! E m il dear m y fathe r ! ”
,
My son give m e your h and ! A l l is forgiven and now

, ,
thank God I c an re turn to the m o urning one and tel l her the ,
de ad is alive the l ost found ,

.
“
A nd the se t wo dear little o nes a re yo urs Lillian ? I need ,
not ask for they a

,
re m ini atures of yo urself and I S hall have ,
four to take hom e with m e Truly I am re warded for all the .
”
hop eless searc h of th e se ye ars A nd th e ol d m a n ga thered .
th e little ones in his arm s .
“
B ut fa ther how did you eve r find uS out in these woods
,
No thanks to you Lill i an he l au ghi ngly replied

”
,
“
B ut I , .
re m em ber how we parte d de a r a nd s o I beg m y c hildren to ,
re turn hom e wit h m e forgivi ng a

”
nd b ei ng forgiven
, .
”
“
F athe r m y m other stil l lives ?
,
“
Yes m y child and will re c over all her he alth and happiness
, ,
C H A PT E R XXI .
S UN DAY lN C u m — H ow T H E DAY or RE S T rs PA S S E D— TE E SH AN ' ‘

I Y B OY
IN m s OB SE RvA N c E or TH E S A RRA T E — A WORD F OR T H E c n LU M
BE B M
AN — B OY S BE GOOD To Y O URSE L Y E S — A C AMP L E C T URE .
Of a l l the da ys within the week ,

I dea rly l ove b ut one day;
A nd t h at s the da y that com es between
’
M
,
Sa t urda y and onday ”

.
O ur variou s presentations of sh anty boy life in these “
pages would l ac k som e p roper coloring were we to om it a

,
S hort de scrip tion of S u nd a

”
“
y i n c am p If the workingm an s .
’
day of rest is of S pecial valu e anywhe re it is certainly so in a ,
lu m b er c am p both to m an and beast I know two solitary

,
.
j obbers in the woods who hold in su c h strict observanc e the

,
sanc tity of S u nday in their c am p th at they wil l not all o w a ,
stroke of work to be done th at c an possibly be avoided Still .

,
su ch is the lonely exc eption and so far as I know S und ay is , ,
gene ral ly aday of general c am p fitting and rep airing The .
”
blacks m ith and tinke r are u su ally b usy m ost of the day
“
.
The hoss doctor takes S unday to look after the equi ne stock
“
,
and see wh at hors es are fit for use The forem an u su ally finds .
Sunday his bu siest day as he has a hu ndred and one thi ngs
,
to look after and e specially in the way of su pplies for the

,
cook c am p and b arn while on th at day the seal er foots up the

,
tally and van books Still very m u ch of the day is u sed for
.
,
re st . The horn for bre akfast is an ho ur later in blowing and ,
if the cook be am an who seeks to stand in with the boys

“
,
’
he will m ake som e extra provision for S unday s dinner I n .
, M MP . 187
“
the bunk cam p a general cleaning u p takes place Where .
there is no wom an to do th e m en s washi ng S unday is wash “ ’
day and boilers cooking th e c rO p on the underclothing

”
,
“ ”
, ,
a re seen in all di re ctions inside a nd ou t o f ca m p The m en , .
not t hu s e ngaged a re see n in dishabille with the eve r p re se nt
tobacco pipe The trade in th e van is very brisk after

.
“
,
bre akfast tim e especiall y and as ageneral thing pric e s in the ,
woods for th ,
i ngs the m en requ ire a re b u t a trifle m ore th an ,
the sam e c an be bought for o u tside The variou s national .
ities rep re sented in the cam p gather i nto little gro ups and , ,
hold their gossip with e ac h othe r in the ir m othe r tongu es .
Those who c an re ad are stretched in their b unks with arat her

ancient ne wspape r or adi m e novel Those who c annot read .
are frequ e ntly at aloss for su bj ects for conversation for there ,
is a n awful sam e ness in the woods .
I listened to ashort dialogu e one Sunday between two old

chu m s from the owl d dart who were sitting sm oking
“ ”
.
“
Oim s a yin Mart in ’
Ph wat
There s foine petaties in N ew Yark
’
.
So oi m t owl d .
They the n sat and sm oked in p erfect sile nce ful l ten
m inu tes .
T ake still anothe r p air disc u ssing the late war str uggle in
“
I m a
’
xin ye Ti m phwat the divil wil l they do at all at
’
all d t h at black nagu A rrab y Pash a Shure the m d d

w i r —
,
British c an never conqu er him I dun know ? ”

,
“
Faix den O F arrell I do be knowi n t wo lads in the place
,
’
,
’
I kem from end soo n get away wid hi m

, .
B l ud anowns a n wh o wa
“ ’ ’
r they den ? ,
It war je st arrah Bejabe rs an arrah Begob ’
“
O h go til bl azes wid ye
, G im m e am atc h .
If the e is a pl a e e a c am p where liqu or c an be had and

r c n r —
there u su ally is together with the othe r kindred vi c e even if

,
it be atram p of t en m iles to it agang after bre akfast will start ,

”
away to take it in S till in thu s S lightly referring to the evil of
“
.
,
inte m perance and prostitu tion again I m u st say th at the se ,
“
dives are kept at as gre at a distanc e fro m c am p as possible
”
,
and the ou trage s re ferred to in anothe r c h apter are al l the

“ ”
,
ou tcom e of foolish exaggeration Ju st take the fac t i nto c on

.
sideration th at the pine woods are o wned by d e c ent respecta ,
ble c itizens The lu m ber is m ade unde r t he su pe rvision of

.
fore m e n and seal ers who are de c e nt and respectable Th e .
S ha nty boy s a re not b ru te s a nd c o nsequ e ntly su c h ou tra es

, g
cou ld not exist as stoc kade s blood hou nds and fe m ale ab use
,
-
,
s u c h as is charged . S uc h an instit u tio n co u l d not live an

hou r God kno ws ple nty of evil exists in both to wn and
.
country whi c h needs s upp re ssio n b u t this m agnifying an evil

,
i nto the distorted proportions it has b een by people who have

azeal b u t not ac c ording to knowledge is a c ryi ng i nsu lt and
, ,
di sgrac e to state and p e ople alike Dru nke nness and ki ndred
.
e vils exist and do e xist in al l lu m be ring lo c alities b u t it is

, ,
vol untary on the p art of t he m en and wo m e n e ngaged the rein .
Th e S u nd ay visit to a neighboring c am p is another bre ak in

the m onoto ny of S hanty life and inte rc hange of visits betwee n
,
the m en is awell established re c re ation A S a ge ne ral thing .

,
the c am ps are well provisioned for the o wners h ave lo ng ago

,
re a lized that the better they keep their m en the bette r ,
the work will be done . Th e m en who are the ki ndest

and m ost c onsiderat e t o their e m ploye s are the m en ,
who rep resent wh at are t erm ed the Lu m be r B arons

”
“
I am .
person ally acqu ainted with m ost Of the se ge ntlem e n— at le ast

those in Michigan and feel disposed right here t o take apor
—
tion of this S unday c hapter in spe aking a good word for this
m u c ha bu sed c lass and wou ld ask is i t a c ri m e to get ri c h ?
, ,
If am an happens to be gifted with b rains by whic h he c an ,
aspire to the ge neralship of trade and the co m binations he ,
m ake s u pon the com m erc i a l c hess board event u ate in ac he c k,

”
ma te to the king of b ad lu ck is he of nec essity acrim inal
“
,
It is high tim e this red handed S pirit of a narc hi al nonse nse

was relegated to th e ch aos from w hi c h it e m anated and that ,
m en rich in worldly we alth h ad fair play and prope r apprec ia ,
tion in th e discussion of this great probl e m of riches vs pov .

B ut this line of argum ent was not what this chapter started
in to disc uss . It is not the evil b u t rather the go od in the
, ,
character of suc hthat S hould grac e this page as showing what ,
rich m en have done o ae doi g o our la nd to day

“ ”
r r n f r - A nd .
,
“ ”
in co m m en ting upon thi s su bject no b e tte r class of rich m en
,
ca n be sel e cted as exem plars in d oing good th

,
an the m u c h ,
abu sed l um ber barons and pine ki ngs of this co untry L et

“ ” “ ”
.
us see wh a t som e of this class have done in the several c om

m u ni ties whe re their ri c hes we re gath ered .
Jess e Hoyt l ate of New York m ade one of the h andsom est
, ,
h
citie s in Mic igan E ast Sagina
— w — ou t of a m ise ra ble s wam p ,
th e whole of which c ould h ave once bee n bou ght for fifty dol
lars H e has besto we d u pon it a fine p ark a library
.
, ,
and library bu ilding and S ite th at will be the p ride and

ornam ent of northern Mic higan This was e ntirely aS pon
M
.
ta neou s a c t on the p a rt o f t he late r Ho y t and not the result

.
,
of politic al or b usine ss pressure .
Ch arles H H ac kley a ric h l u m be rm an of M u skegon has

.
, ,,
donated for afree p u bl ic library in th at c ity where ,
the firm of H ackley Hu m e gathe red their we alth .
Henry W Sage a N ew York state m an has p resented

.
— —
West B ay City with a h andso m e gift of apu blic library .
Russell A Al ge ex governor of Mic higan is noted far and

. r -
, ,
wide for his beau tiful and apprO priat e gifts of c harit v A .
S hort ti m e a go a w ido w in Alpe na b ro u ght ac tio n ag ai nst the

rail ro a d com p any of which G en A lge r is p reside nt for the
,
.
,
destru ction of her little hom e by S parks from a locom otive ,
laying d am ages at $150 G en Al ge r wrote to the wido w a

. .
l e tte r enclosing a c he c k for $200 and expressing th e hope

, ,
that S he m ight win her su it agains t the c o m pany His daily .
life is filled in with glittering ge m s of su ch de eds which will ,
s erve t o open u p the needle s eye for the sou l of Al ger j u st

“ ” ’
exactly the widt hof the wide ope n pe arly gates .
A nd thu s we m ight dwell on fe atur es S howi ng that h e wing

fortune s out of pine does not ne cessitate the closing up of the
duc ts throu gh which pour the m ilk of h um an kindness in the
”
he art of the l um b er baron
“
Fe w if any of this class in
.
, ,
. M M
P . 171
Michigan or Wisc onsin but who have built up a local rep uta
,
tion for u nostentati ou s acts of kindness which seem to say to ,
the critical angel who re cords the actions of th e good

Write m e, I pra y thee then,
A s one who l oves his fellow m en .
Le t j u stice prevail thou gh the heavens fall whe n the discu s ,
sion t urns upon the characte r of the rich m an

“ ”
.
Aft er dinner in cam p on S unday is u su al ly the tim e when

the real rest of th e day take s place Th e j obbing and wash
“
.
ing is ov er .The m en with cle an clothes on are resting in

, ,
their b unks The te am ster has finished repairing his h arness

.
,
and t he chore boy has brou ght in the daily supply of wood
“ ”
.
Th e m ending dam ing grinding c obbling and whittling are

, , ,
throu gh with and nothing ne w re m ains bu t t o rest up u ntil

,
the horn goe s for supp er .
B ut t h e sh anty d oor Ope ns a nd in walks a n hospita l agent .
T hen all is life and activity He is u su all y lo oked upon as a .
“ ” “ ”
m inistering angel al though som etim e s a fal len one If he
, .
ca
” ”
n ta
“
lk h e give s th e m en a c am p l e cture of a practic al
,
“
ch arac ter and if h e is newly in from the front he has all the
,
“ ”
late gossip to im part Us u ally the agent visits from three to

.
four c am ps on Sunday and it is his b usiest day and worth all ,

’
the re st of the week s b usiness as the m en have m ore tim e to ,
b e interviewed Of late ye ars every description of peddling

.
,
has been transac ted in c am p Je welry clothing boots m ed .

, , ,
ic ines books e tc till at l a

, ,
st it has grown to su c h proportions
.
,
that em ployers have instructed their fore m en to refu se adm is

sion to all sav e h o spital age nts
,
.
The S unday aft ernoon lect ure in cam p is a great i nstitu tio n ,
and I be lieve I was am ong the first to intro duc e this feature
in cam p life As an illu stration it m ay not be out of place
.
here to give th e heads of one of the s e c am p talks ”

that I ,
found to be very p opular with th e m en The subject is .
BOYS B E G O OD T O Y O URS E L VE S .
F I RS T — T he man is not good to himsel f who does not save his m oney !
a
( ! Y o u h a v e c o m e o u t h e re t o m a k e a sta k e .
(b! Y our doll a r is ah ard ea rned one .
( !
c T h e r e is a h o m e f or y o u i f yo u sa v e y o u r m o n ey .
d
( ! S om e sw e et l it t le w o m an is w a it in g f o r y ou .
(!
c S om e o t h er s— m a le a n d f e m al e— a re a lso w a it in g .
(0 W h o w i ll g e t y o u r
“
st ak e
”
in t h e sp r in g ?
(g ! W il l y o u g iv e y o u r h a rd e a rn e d m o n ey t o th os e w ho toil not neither do
they spin yet S ol om on in a
,
ll h is glory wa s not a rra yed like one of them ? Or
will you sa ve it u nt il you ca n sing :
A house well fi lled ,
A wife well willed ,
A farm well t ill ed ,

”
I s m ine!
SE CON D— A m an is not good to himself who does not take care of his heal th .
a
( ! H eal th is st ren gt h st re n g th, is w ork w o rk is m on, ey m o ney is ah om e for ,
the shanty boy .
b
( ! D ay s w o
’
rk are th e d o ll ars o
“
f t he d a ddi es .
( !
c T he h e al th y m an is f ull o f d a y s w or k a nd a win t er,s l abor is a sil ver m ine
’
inside the sh anty boy .
d
( ! T ak e car e o f y our hea l th a nd t h e do ll ars w ill take ca re of t hem sel ves .
F ina lly brethren

F irst— Don t blow in adollar when you go out next spring
’
.
y right here in cam p and don t spend precious t im e hunt ing

S ec ond— S ta ,
’
round for adolla r m ore am ont h A setting hen gathers no m oss, a

. nd aroll ing
stone never gets fa t S el ah! .
T hird Put y our winter s sta ke in th e bank , a

nd th en go to work a gain
“ ”
— ’
a
e rnin g m ore
bor in M
.
S ix years of h onest la ichigan will give the saving shanty b oy ahom e .
N o coll ec tion .
Re spons es from t he au dienc e

“ ”
Good hau l !
Your h appy right chu m m y ! ,
”
Well ye said it 0 1 m an ! ,
’
“
That s m y lay ou t an don t ye forge t
’ ’ ’
”
“
We ll done ol boy gim m e a ticket ’
, .
174 T M SH A N T Y B O Y .
which l axity and looseness am ong ne arly all class e s is th e

rul e .
I n th e years prior to the p a nic of 1873 wages for m en in the ,
wo ods were high b eing from $3 5 to $45 per m onth where at

, , , .
w
this riting — 1 888 they a
- re fro m $20 to $25 The cou se .
qu enco of this invariably was that whe n the c am ps broke u p ,
in the S p ring the m en had each from two to fo ur hundred

,
dollars of a stake the m ajor p art of which was usu ally S pent
“ ”
,
in t h e riv e r t o wns in profliga cy a nd in te m pera

,
nce Th e fac t .
o f the re being su ch a de m and for the gratification of the baser

hu m an p assions naturally cre ated fac ili ties for su pplying the
,
sam e to su c han extent t hat Whole blocks in both Bay City

,
and the Saginaws were occu pied alone by grog S hop s and
,
b rothels While at that tim e there was a c onstitu tional l aw

.
,
p rohibiting the sale of intoxicants in Michigan it had becom e ,
a dead letter u pon the st atu te books and any and every one ,
who wish e d co ul d and did sell liqu or Of course where pu bl i c .

,
Opinion was m orally strong e nough to sustain the l aw t he ,
li qu or traffic was c arried on surrepti tiously b u t in lu m bering ,
towns the repression of liqu or sell ing was totally im practicable .
The result was as m ight be supposed a thorou gh disregard

, ,
for a ll law b e a ring upon th e traffic and dru nkenness e ach , ,
S p ring a nd fa ll took for a tim e fu ll possession of all plac es

, ,
W h ere m en g a thered for or from the woods Of ne c essity .
thes e brothels and dives were located as far from the

“ ” “ ”
resp e ctable portio ns of the towns as pos sible although grad ,
ua l l y e nc roaching u po n th e b est b usiness blo c ks Bay Ci ty .
had her Wate r street and the well kno wn Catacom bs at ,

“
“ ”
Third stree t bridge b u t in East Saginaw the social evil had
,
“ ”
pitted the whole city as tho ugh with a m oral s m all pox so
,
-
,
th at hardly a street was fre e from represe ntative hou ses of

‘
“
either intem peranc e or licentiousness The Catacom bs at .
Bay Ci ty will be well rem em bered by m any who re ad this

chapter althou gh its glory has long S inc e depart ed This was
,
.
probably one of th e hardest S pots in the way of a crim e c enter

in all Michigan a nd had a,
n u ne nviabl e rep u tation rival ing ,
that of th e worst po rtions of th e

“ ”
Five P oints of either Ne w
OR L I F E I N A L UAI B E R CA
, MP . 175
B uflalo Th e building kno wn as the Catacom bs “

’
Y ork or .
,
was three stories in hight on the right hand S ide of Third

,
stre et b ridge locate d directly where the lake ste am ers landed
, .
It took its nam e from the basem ent of the b uilding being c om
posed of a num ber of dark apartm ents ab u tting u pon the ,
stre et ab ove Here were found every facility for dru nkenness
.
,
de bau chery and gam bling all or singly assoc iat ed with de eds
, ,
of robbe ry a nd e ve n m urde r Here in the darkness m ade

.
,
visibl e by t he flare and glare of dirty lam ps day and night ,
al ike were found congregated the lowest and m ost degraded

,
of both sexes Here the m ost horrible and obscene orgies

.
were carrie d on with pe rfe ct i m p unity for woe to the offic er

—
who alone wou ld atte m pt a raid u pon the Catac o m bs it

“ ” “ ”
,
was virtually as m u ch as his life was worth The second .
story o f the b uildi ng was occu pied by sal o ons a trifle m ore ,
respect a ble than that in th e pit bene ath It fro nted u po n .
W ater street and carried an air of o utside de ce ncy

, B ut .
within the vile ne ss was S im ply u nspe akable ! He re every c on

venienc e wa forded for fleecing the S ha nty boy with li qu ors o f
s af ,
e very desc ription fro m the best He nne ss ey brandy to the

,
fatal bl ac k bottl e drugged for the final drink to be given the

, ,
poor fool who woul d t he n be thro wn up on th e street penniless .
”
“
Pretty waiter girls were in attendance every one of wh om ,
was a prostitu te of the m ost deprave d and u nscru p ulo u s class ,
with her ap artm e nts in the sam e b uilding where her fasc inated ,
”
dupe would soon unl oad his wint er s stake “ ’
I n the third .
story was a varie ty the atre where the plays pre sented we re o f
,
the c haracter s uite d to the vilest and m ost depraved taste and ,
”
the wine room attache d to it was th e receptac le of rotte n
“
m oral c orru ption im p o ssible to eve n he re hint at

, H ere the .
m en from the wo ods pass e d a few da ys of wild debau c h It .
only re qu ired a part of aweek to clean ou t t he biggest

“ ” “
st ake that struck the town for these blo od su ckers m ale and
”
, ,
fem ale m ade b ut short work with the shanty boy I c annot
, .
te ll who first start ed t he C atac om bs b ut in 69 they we re

“ ”
,
’
in ful l blast .The se veral proprietors up to 75 were as ne ar ’
, ,
as I c an rem em b sr B ill F ull e r J c c S utherland D an Brown

, , ,
.
and Scotty
“
Of th es e Su therland b ecam e rich b ut finally
.
,
died in th e p o or hou se Th e fate o f the others I know noth

. i ng
abou t O ne very pretty girl by the nam e of P olly Dickson
.
,
was a gre at drawing card in th “

i s den
” “
as a waite r girl ”
, .
She died a wreck lately of typhoid fever A cc ordingly this

,
.
,
place was the head center of S in in B ay City yes and sinners

else than S hanty boys were nightly found th ere M
,
— en m ov .
,
ing in what wa s term ed t he better classes of so c iety co u ld be ,

”
found night afte r night in the varieties of th e catacom bs
,
“
,
“ ”
.
Each k ept the other s counsel and l aughed and winked and
’
drank together over the m e m ories o f the previou s night s

,
’
orgies Nearly e very one drank in those days and th e m oral

.
,
tone of socie ty in t he citi es of the Saginaw valley was froze n ,
down l ow in the bul b Within a radi us of 300 feet fro m the

.
”
“
C atacom bs co uld be c ounted forty saloons of the lowest
character with from three to ten pretty waiter girls in eac h
,
“ ”
,
and of which the den we are de sc ribi ng known as the Cat

“ ” “
,
aeom b s constitu ted the hu b The horrors and atrocities

” “
.
,
n ightly chroni c l ed from t h is pit of iniquity were of su ch an ,
astoundi ng nature that the good m en and wom en of B ay City ,
were S im ply p aralyzed and re ndered perfectly helpless t o ste m

,
the torrent of wic kedness Bu si ness m en looked on and

.
l au ghed where they did not t ake part in the saturnali a

,
“ ”
nightly e na cte d The police felt it to b e the better part of

.
valor to wink at th e c rim e pe rpetrated under their ve ry noses .
The elections of the city we re l argely governe d by this Cata “
co m bs influ enc e and the tools o f vileness and u nbl u shing

”
,
c ri m e we re pl a
,
ced in positions of power and tru st in city and
co unty The chie f of police was hand and glove with the
.
m is c reants a nd the poor vic ti m of ou trage a

,
nd robbe ry had ,
no redre ss wh at ever It m ay be h ere stated that this s am e

.
ofii c ia l is now se rving a long se ntence in state prison for

robbery .
This then briefly ou tlined was the condition of things at

, ,
the tim e we m enti on and th e dam ning influ e nc e thu s exerted

, ,
wa s felt m ore or less in eve ry shanty c a

,
m p in Michigan Eve n
, .
the del u ded victim s o f this terrible den of theives c ou ld sit in ,

when it was in full bloom th e fut ure fruit wou ld h ave b een
,
m u ch be tter Well m e aning p e opl e c lai m ed to see in the

.
m ove m ent a re ligio us awa kening and strove to t urn its reform
,
s t ory chara cter into the avenu es of the c hurc h I n this a .
g r eat a nd fa tal m ist ake w as m ade The m ove m e n t.w as p u re ly

of a m ental and m oral character in the m an h ,
i m self rising
s uperior t o a degrading habit It was the po wer o f m anhood
.
fighting a perso na l fo e and resting content with the im m ediate

,
vic tory gained over app etite and desire H ad it been le ft at .
this point to take care of itself the c ountry wo uld stil l h ave
,
”
had its red ribbon cl ubs B u t they h ave m elt e d away before
“
.
the eflort so persistently and indiscreetly m ade to tu rn them

’
“
int o revival m eetings B u t possibly this is an u nc a
. ll ed for
digression a nd c erta
, inly is only the opinion of one who had ,
so m e active part in th a t great reform ation Still the re asons .
for the ra
”
pid de c le nsion and final dem ise Of the red ribbon
“
m ove m e nt c a n b e easily u nd e rst ood .
B u t whil e this work conti nu ed gre at good wa sa,

ccom pl ished .
The m en who were gathered from the very j aws of de ath ,
becam e instru m ental in the saving of others and the le aders ,
were those long given u p by their frie nds as forever lost The
,
.
revol u tion — for su c h it wa — in B a City s wept ove r th e place

s y ,
with a force irresistable Chu rches and t heir occup ants stood as
.
t onish ed a nd a t first ga ve b ut little co untenanc e to the m ovem ent .
Soon howeve r they too were s wept into the rushi ng torrent
, ,
and fo und a s ubstanti al reform ation in all t he stre ngth of its

ma nhood althou gh b ut a few m o nths old
,
No b uilding cou ld .
co ntain t he audiences that ca m e to he ar m en u nle arned and

illite rate tell t he awful story of their degrad ati on and su bec
,
qu ent res c u e in langu age at once eloqu ent and convincing

,
.
Thou sands pu t on the red ribbon

“ ”
Cl ubs we re form ed and
.
,
nightl y m eeti ngs held in c h urches a nd th e a tres Reform ed .
m en we nt fro m pl a ce to plac e tell ing their story and urging

, ,
their hearers to dare to do right Saloons were deserte d and

“ ”
.
,
the form er frequ e nters of the sam e were found in the club ,
roo m s ,
“
clothed and in their right m inds .
Am ong the m ul titude bro ught to b e nefit by the m ove m e nt ,

OR L I FE I N A L U B E R CA
. M M
P . 179
were very m any m en fro m th e woo ds Hundre ds of th e shanty .
“ ”
boys donne d the red ribbon a m ajority of wh om have k ept ,
their ple dge i nv ”

iolate The C atacom b s felt the sp ell and
'
“
.
,
“ ”
stood ast onish ed to see th e boys of th e red sashed brigade
ma rc hs ob e rly b y th e w e ll k nown doors a nd e nt e r th e clu b ,
roo m o nly a ha
,
l f a bl ock di stant to lis te n t o and tell th eir ,
str uggles to o verco m e th eir desire for ru m Ne ver before was .
there s u ch a bl ending of the sublim e and the

ridic ulo u s as wa ,
s b eh eld in t hese cl u b m ee tings Laugh ter .
and tears stood hand in ha nd together ! Trage dy and co m e dy

u ni ted t o tell the story of this m oral re dem pti on ! Voices
j oined in singing Moody and Sankey s songs— voic es that had ’
never before bee n u sed s a ve in th e p rofane and the le wd so

, ,
fa r as song we nt It was certainly a wonderful work that

.
,
inau gu rate d by Dr Reynolds and co ntinu ed by his disciples

. .
The l awyer doctor m erchant j u dge clerk m echanic and

, , , , ,
laborer al l joined hands together against a com m on foe Press

, .
and p ul pit u nited in words of advic e and e nco urage m ent

for the l ately resc ued Go od m en and wo m en who had neve r
.
,
in their lives be en habitu ated t o li qu or pu t on the “

red rib ,
n by t h
”
b en a ,
nd took th e re form ed m a e ha nd a s ab rothe r .
Of cou rse the whole revolu tio n was filled wl th excite m ent
,
fro m b eginning to end S o are all th e m ove m ents of the .
m asses for eithe r good or evil

,
B u t the re was a lso an enthu
.
si a sm abo u t it that wa s c o nta

, g io u s and se rved n ot o nly to ,
fire e nde a vor b ut also to ce m ent the m asses of the people

,
m ore firm ly toge ther The Washingtonian re form ation of

“
.
1845 was in so m e feat ures S i m il a “ ”

,
r to that of th e red ribbon ,
b u t th e bene fic ial re sul ts of the latte r have p rove n m ore last

ing . It has died out so far as p ublic de m onstratio n is c on
,
cerne d b te s of tho s ds
u t,
n u a n a re to day in the bless e d c uj oy
-
m e nt of the fruits of that great u pheaval of the drinking m en

o f the l and against rum
,
.
The inevitable c onSequ enc es of this great agitation were

al m os t i m m ed iately p erc eptible and by 1878 at least half of , ,
the B ay C ity saloons had gone out of b usine ss whil e al l the ,
l ow di ves h
”
“
ad be en force d to shu t up S h o p L aw and order .
again resum e d legitim ate rul e B ad m en were h urled fro m
.
ofi c e a nd good s u bstit u ted in their place The be au tiful citie s .
of th e Sagin aw valley — so lo ng u n de r the tyra nny o f int em per
anc e and h arlotry— began to re aliz e their high positio n

a m ong the sister cities of the land Im p rove m e nts p rivate — .
and p u blic flourished B usiness m en sep arated fro m the

— .
,
“
social drink had m ore tim e to give to trade and as a c onse
”
, ,
q u en c e m ade
, m o re m o ney M e c han ics
. soo n beg an t o get for
the m selves h om es L ab orers we re in gre ate r de m and and the

.
,
sober m an called the turn on the dri nking one F ully

“ ”
.
drinking m en in t he two c ities of Saginaw and in Bay ,
alone had t ake n the red ribbon ple dge a l arge pe rc e ntage
,
“ ”
,
of whom we re working m en T he di re c t conse qu e nc es of t he

.
restora tion of su cham ass of labor to its legiti m ate belongings ,
cannot be ove r estim at ed no c an the a ou t

r ,
m n o f m o ney di
—
verted from its p rope r use by i nte m peranc e and ag ain

restored to its p ope r c a
r h n el
n — b e ful ly m e asured or c a lc ul ated .
S u fiic e it to say that in th

,
is gre at re ac tion of public sen ti m en t
rel a tive t o the drinking u sages of so c iety the days of al l s u c h ,
dens of infam y as t he Cat ac om bs of B ay City and t h

“ ”
e ,
“
White Row of E ast Saginaw were nu m bered and s wept
”
,
away in the c old water inund ation neve r again to b e

“ ”
,
restore d t o their p revio us c o nditio n of u nbl u shing vile ness a nd ,
u n consciona ble perpetration of hideou s c ri m e .
A S I have previou sly stated else where su c hdeb au c he ry a , nd

inte m peranc e wil l al ways be fo und t o p revail j u st so long as ,
deb ased hu m an p assions continu e B u t p ublic se ntim ent has

.
wonderfufly c hanged in t he direction of c ateri ng to the se pas

S io ns in a bold p u bli c ity or the ,
establishm ent of te m ples t o
vice where respectable trade c ongregate s
,
.
I n conclu sio n I only wish to add t o this ch a pter the state

m e nt th a
, t in t aking the c ities of the S aginaw river as spe c i
m e ns o f the evil of i nte m peranc e I do not wi sht o m a, ke the m
g reat e r si nn e r s i n t his respect th a n s u c h pl ac es as M u ske g o n ,
Big Rapids Maniste e Lu dington Alpe na Port Hu ron or any

, , , , ,
other l u m bering town A l l were m ore or less alike in this par

.
tic ul a r a nd a
, l l thes e places were alik e c onS pic u ou S for the
habit of ove r ind ul ge nc e in intoxi c ants I m ay h ere also add .
that I have ne ver yet m et am an engaged in the liqu or trade ,
who did not fully agree that dru nkards S hould b e re de e m e d ,
if at a l l possible nor have I eve r fo und one wh

, o wa s Opposed
t o the sa vi ng o f s u c h .
L et m e further a dd that I h a ve no i ntention whate ver of

,
sweepingly consigning all wh o are e nga ged in the l iqu or busi

ne ss t o the co ndition a
, nd position of the keepe r of so m e l ow
“
dive where the u nfortu nate inebriate is robbed I h ave m et .
withplenty of m en kind he arted and honorable eng a ged in ,
the liqu or trade and who c o uld never be i ndu c ed to be c o m e

,
th
”
e l ow do wn u ns crup ulo u s ru nne r of a j oi nt where orde r
“
,
and de c e ncy are strangers T he garm ents in this c hapter are

.
cut a nd fitte d for a nothe r c l ass e ntirely Consequ e ntly in .

,
p resenti ng the little S ketc h whi c h form s this c h apter I have ,
no a pology to ofier t o any cl ass or c o ndition in p ai nti ng t ru th

'
sa ve in s ayi ng I wish I c o uld have pic t u red the inc ident here
set forth m u c hbetter than I have and sho we d the m an ,
wo u nded on t he J eric ho road and the good S am arit an who

“ “
m et h im th ere u nder th eir tru e nam e and lo c atio n A s it is

, .
,
ma ny will re c ognize the le ading c harac t e rs in the story as ,
both are at this writing p rom inent in one of Mi c higan s princ ip al ’
cities With this brief introdu c tion perm it m e t o switc h away

.
,
fro m logs and lu m ber and dressed in the form of a Christ m as

, ,
sket c h p rese nt
,
B RO UG HT UP F R OMT H E D E PT H S .
Mam m a to -night is Chri stm as eve do you think Santa

,
Claus will co m e and see Pet and m e .

”
“
I do not know de ar We are very poor and SantaClau s
,
.
,
”
does not often vi sit the hom es of poor people .
“
Wel l I m going to h ang u p Pet s stoc king and m ine any
,
’ ’
way Dear ol d SantaCl au s m ay c o m e and pu t som ethi ng ni c e

.
in the m j ust as he used to wh e n we live d u p t own for w e ve

’
, ,
bee n real good c hildre n all t his long long ye ar hav n t we , ,

’ ’
ma mma
The m other thu s address ed turned her he ad from th e co arse
. M MP
. 183
s e wi ng S he was e ngaged upon to ward t he little tru ndle bed ,
whe re reposed her b aby girl te rm ed Pet by the afiec tionate

’
, ,
child at her S ide The te ar u nco nsc io usly rolled down her
.
pal e c hec k as S he refle cted u pon the bitter struggle S he had

,
t o find for the m th e c om m onest ne c essa ries of life ap a rt fro m ,
the l uxuries inc ide nt to childhood s m e rry Christ m as and ’
which b u t afew S hort years previou s had bee n hers t o bestow

u pon the m a n d dra
,
wing the little boy to her breast she bit ,
t erl y wept .
It was c e rtainly anything b u t an inviting hom e to whic h the

re a der is here introdu ced c onsisting of b u t one room in the
, ,
b ase m e nt of aro ugh te nem e nt ho use filled fro m t op t o base ,
with the vile the poverty sm itte n and the de praved A nd yet
, .
the apart m ent was sc ru p ulo usly c l ean while the few poor arti ,
c le s it conta ined we re arranged with ne at ness B u t gau nt .
penury was pe rc eptible in eve ry fe at ure Eve n the handful of .
co als sm ou ldering in the grate were totally inadequ at e t o

resist th e vigo r of the bit te r c old witho ut whi c h h ad fes too ned ,
the edges of the door and the solitary wi ndo w with the frosty
velvet of winter s c hilly weaving total ly obsc uri ng t he little
’
,
”
S ign
“
Pl ain Se wing .
Sh e wa s still ayo u ng wom a n with t h e shado wy e vi denc es ,
of aform er beau ty seriou sly m arred by ap re se nt sorro w and

,
su fieri ng I n S hort sh e wa s one of God s poo r co m m itted t o

’ ’
.
, ,
the ste wardship of so m e one who had c ruelly negle c ted the ,
trust On the table l ay t he m ateri al for rou gh sewing and

.
“ ”
,
‘
A wom a
n at t here in u nwom anly rags
s .
Ply ing her n eedl e and t hrea

”
d .
At her S ide stood the little boy keeping his m othe r c om ,
p any wit hhis childish prattle as her deft finge rs flew rapidly
, ,
in faste ning the b u tto ns on a num ber of l p m ade p anta loo ns ,
piled u pon the table before her He was a frail delicate little .
,
fellow of possibly seve n Fai r haired and beau tifu l of fac e

.
,
m arked however b y th e absence o f th a

’
t m erry light hearted ,
l ee ch ara ct e ristic of h appy chi ldhood He stood hol di ng a

g , .
stocking t hat wou ld h a ve m atch e d the sleeve of Joseph s

“ ’
184 m SH A N T Y B OY .
c o at for variegate d col ors darned as it was with variou s

, ,
shad es and still arag He was a stu dy as h e stood there

, .
with th e stocki ng drawn up on his arm and his fingers thrust ,
through a gaping hole in the too .
“
B ut m amm a you m ust m end this hol e or if Santa C l a
,
us
did pu t anything in m y stocking it would run ou t See .
”
there !
“
Y es dear m amm a will m end it for you and perhaps you
, ,
wil l get som ething in it B ut Georgie you m u st go t o b ed

.
now de a r for m a m m a m ust t a

,
k e her wo rk to the store and she
will bring ho m e som e nic e things for bre akfast .
“
Now go that s adear and wh en you say yo ur p raye rs ask
,
’
,
”
God to bl e ss papa .
“
I never do forget that m am m a and the little fellow kn elt ,
d own to ask the God of the p o or and forsake n t o bless the

ma n wh
, o had p rove n a c urse both t o h im self and the inno
cent sufierers dep endent u pon him
’
Whil e the m other wraps about her a wel l worn S hawl and
folds up her bundle of work prep aratory t o taking it to her ,
e m ployer s store we will m ore fully introdu c e her to the

’
reader .
E ight ye ars previou s to the opening of ou r story a h appy ,
bridal party graced t he s u m ptu ous p arlors of one o f the prin

ci a l residences of we ll a le a
— di n g Michig an ity The o nly
p c
M
.
,
daughte r of one of the wealthi e st l um b erm en of i c higan was ,
b eing wedded to a young lawye r of the sam e ci ty and one who ,
had already m ade his m ark as a m an with u ntold s ucc e ssful

,
possibilities in a ne ar future within him .
Th e bea tiful bride Grace Co tine was in e very way fitted

u — n —
t o b ecom e th e co m panion of He nry Re d m o nd the m a n to ,
whom she had ne wly plighte d her trot h Fe w if any in the .

, ,
brilliant assem bly gathere d to witness the nu ptials of these

t wo you ng a nd pop ul a r s oci e ty pe opl e co u ld have surm ised, ,
in th e wildest fligh t of e vil i m agining th at with th e p assing ,
of eight S hort ye ars wealth position afflu e nc e and honor

, , , ,
sho uld have al l taken to th em selves wings and fle d away to ,
g ive plac e t o p ove rty sha m e an d,fri e nd l e ss is o lati on .

188 TH E SH A N T Y B O Y ,
Beh old her in th e h ovel wh ere we have m et her on the night ,
in qu e stion with h , er w orld c old dark and ch eerless hop e

, ,
withering fl ed G od s face averted lover and friend pu t far

,
’
,
from h er . Th e fat h er who had doted u p on her had di ed and

l eft a business so involved by th e crim inal c ond uct of his son
in l a
- w that it was w orse than noth
, ing and t o s ustain her life, ,
for h er childre n s sa k e she had be en finally forc ed to the hum

’
bl e e m ploym ent we have found her engage d in .
T hrough the sno w drifted streets S h e hurri edly passe d ,
carrying t he pack age of coars e garm ents which constitu ted her
’
past we ek s labor .
Th e storm wa s incisively kee n a nd c u tting H er thought s .
like ghosts a isi g f o m hop e s g aveyard in her soul wov e a

r n r r
’
—
m o urnful though S ile nt re qu ie m to the wail o f th e biting blas t .
H er de ad fathe r ruine d by his spendthrift son-in-l aw— h

— er
h u sband last s een by her aweek agone in a condition of

, ,
m au dli n inebriety a nd h er lo nely s qu alid

, hom e fill e d with
, ,
b u t little els e save poverty a nd desp a ir Truly the prospe c t .
to this wom an was a blac k and c heerl eS S one !

A nd yet de ar read er thi s wom a n wa s o nly one of t h
, e innu m
e t able sisterh o od of pain who from th e foot of Christ s c ross

“ ”
,
’
down the j ourney of tim e to the p resent hour are sprinkling ,
withte ars of soul wrung agony the p athway of life and still
, ,
m ainta ining their h old upon the prom ise s of God ! Bl ess e d
wo m an
N oth witht raitorous k iss aS a
s e vior st ung
N ot she bla sph em ed h im withu nh oly tongue;
h
S e — w hen a po st l es fal te red — d ared be b ra ve ,
La st at his c ross a nd ea rl iest at his gra

”
ve .
B ut this chapter started in t o tell astory and not to preach

a s erm on .
Sh e has at last arrived at one of these m am m oth e stablish

m ents wh ere cl o thing is advertised so c heap that t h
“ ”
, e infer
ence is ever p resent that the m ateri al m ust have been st o len
, ,
as well as are th e bodies and souls of the w om en S laves who

m a ke th e articl e s .
She tim idly advanc es to th e re ar of th e b uildi ng running ,

OR L I F E I N A L UH
. E R CA M
P . 187
th e gau ntlet o f th e dozen of snee ring l eering clerks on her ,
way Pl ac i ng her b u ndle on t h

. e co unte r b efore a t h i n c adav ,
orc u s looki ng m a n with fe rre t ey e s a , nd a be a k like a p arrot ,
she hesitati ngly re m arks

“
I have bro ug ht m y week s work r Aga te I am a little ’
,
M . .
l ate b u t I re all y c o ul d not help it

, I hu rried as fast as I .
,
”
c o uld t h ro ugh the storm
M
.
,
“
Too l ate to settle with you t o-night rs Red m ond C an
M
. .
,
o nly give you c redit for the work if it p asses replied ”

r , .
A g at e c a
,
rele ssly to ssi ng to a nd fro the g a rm e nts rep rese nting
aweek of we ary toil “

Y ou shou ld h a ve bee n here three ho urs
.
ago Hand m e yo ur book ”

. .
“
B u t sir c a nnot I be p a
, id to night ? e xc l aim ed the wo m an
-
,
her p ale face t u rning if possible as hade whiter .
“
N o m you c an t! C ashie r s go ne ho m e
’ ’ ’
M
.
B u t I re a lly c annot do witho u t it r A ga te , . .
G u ess you ll h ave to this ti m e m aam

’
S hould h ave bee n ’
.
on ti m e Sh arp s the word in t his i nstitution

.
’ ”
.
“
0 S ir I d o w,
a n t the o ey s m ch to night
m n o u - I h ave .
neit h e r firi ng nor foo d in m y ho use and am depende nt u pon ,
receivi ng m y
p ya i n o rde r t o obt
, ai n t he se ab s ol u te ne c es saries ”
.
A nd the te a rs c o u rsed e a c h o th er do wn the wan c heeks as

Sh e i m plori ngly l ooked a t the thing behi nd the c ou nte r
“
.
“
Well you can t ge t a c e nt now till the 26that 2 o c lock I
,
’ ’
.
ca n ass ure you of th a t Y ou wom e n have t o be m ade to u nder

.
nt th a
”
s ta t b u sine ss is b usine ss
M
.
“
B ut r A ga te c o nsider for a m o m e nt m y helpless condi
.
,
tion and in God s nam e b e m e rc iful you

,
’
“
I wo n t he ar anythi ng m ore m adam and I do n t want you
’
, ,
’
working u p asc e ne he re If thi s th ing goes any farthe r you

.
,
wo n t have ano ther stit c h of work fro m Vel vetine

”
’
Co ,
It is c e rtainly di fficult to here persu ade the re ader that the

above sc e ne cou ld be real in a l and of blessed Christian char
ity and we are gl ad t o believe it is rare B ut the tru th was
M
.
, ,
that t his r A gate was in his pecu liar way getti ng e ven
.
, , ,
with Grace Redm ond for at en year ol d well dese rved snub , .
he had re c eived fro m her and he rej oic ed in the opport unity ,
IQ TH E S H A N T Y B O Y .
of plac ing h is m alici o us foo t u pon her ne ck This S he ful l .
well kne w and that this man was her bitter ene m y as m u ch as
,
he dared be
M
.
“
Do you suppose sir I c ould see r Vel vetine if I went t o, .
his h ouse
“
Gu e ss not he s going to the O dd fellows charity ball
’ ’
t nigh
o - t Bette r call at the ti m e I state d and we will settle
.
,
with you in full We Won t h ave any m ore work for you after ’
M
.
”
that ,
rs Red m ond . .
“
B u t sir t hi s is a m at ter o f life a
,
nd death a nd I m ust have
m no ey t night or m y chil dre n will perish

o - .
“
Now j u st look here ! I say you won t and th at s flat ! I ’
,
’
will not break in u pon the rules for al l your whining and I , ,
h ave no m ore ti m e to waste over yon Hand m e your book if .
ou wa n t c redit for th e s e goods if not I sh all have to wish

M
y ,
ou a good eve ning a nd ave ry m erry Ch ristm as rs Red

y , , .
m ond
M
.
“
y G o d ! Wh at shall I do wh at S hall I do ! ,
0 I g ue ss you won t starve for aday

’
,
H ere s yo ur book .
’
withyour work al l credited c orre c tly I t foots u p for

M
.
”
th e week and you have do ne extre m ely well
,
rs Re dm ond , .
,
sneered the wretc h as h e c arelessly tossed the work o f thos e

,
cold blu e finge rs i nterlaced in agony together to one S ide

M
, , .
“
Re m e m ber 2 o c lo c k sharp day ft er to m orro w
’
a - rs Red , , .
”
m o nd Go od evening m aam
.
’
.
The broke n hearted wom an tu rned slowly away in a tu m ul t

of sou l t orture that thre atened to leave her as hop ele ss in
,
God as S he was in m an !
,
It is su c h a m om e nt of horror as this that sees m en rush to ,
sui cide and wom e n plunge into the yawning gu lf of sham e .
it
Onthe afternoon of that sam e day j u st as t he city hall ,
cloc k chim ed the hour of t hree Henry Redm ond the drunken , ,
l awye r was slowly sauntering by the court house Tim e evi

,
.
dentl y h ung he avily u po n hands for o f all hard l abor that of

—
,
killing tim e is the hardest A s he sl owly passe d the building .
whi c h had oft re s ound e d with his el oq u ence h e was m et face ,

TH SH A N T Y B OY .
only to sink lower with e achs u cc eedi ng fall I wish to God I .
”
c ould be li eve you .
“
O I didn t expe ct you t o d o so Dick wh en I s tated th e
,
’
, ,
fa c t whic his a fact neverth el e ss

,
I am d e term ine d t o die .
sober e v en if I have li ve d so l ong dm nk

,
.
“
Why m an if you really m e an th is and som e th
,
— ing seem s to
tell m e you d o— why talk abou t dying Y ou know that if
a
”
y o u a r e i n e arn e st y o u c n e sca p e .
“
I m e an i t Fordyce
,
Harry give m e your hand and look m e square in th e fac e

, .
I n th e gre at a nd h oly nam e of G od are you in e arne st this ,
tim e
“
I n S i m pl e awful e arne st sir !
,
“
When did you m ak e this resolve H arry ? ,
“
A week ago to night I decid d to d th
- e ,
en i s life if life it
—
ca n b e call e d — and foll owing that co nc lu sion 1 went down to ,
the river to throw this rubbish into its c leansing waters B u t .
a vision of m y wife and children cam e to m e and I could not ,
do th e cowardly de ed whil e they see m e d to b e gazi ng u po n m e

with pleadi ng eye s S o I turned away from de ath with a firm
.
resolve to neve r m o e r — and the sen te nc e end e d with a broke n

sob whi c h gave birth t o a tear carried by
,
pitying angels to
,
lay at th e fe e t o f a plea ding C hrist .
” “
0 Fordyc e h e c ontinu ed if I c o u ld only find one friend
, ,
to belie ve a li ttle in m e and help m e in this last efiort I m ight

'
, ,
”
p ossibly escap e B ut that is u seless
. .
“
It is not u seless Ha rry I believe in you a
, , nd God h e lpi n
g ,
m e I wil l h elp you

,
Why m an I would rath er behold t hos e
.
,
tears than receive a ten tho us and dollar retai ner B u t co m e .
with m e to m y ofi ce I want to talk b usi ne ss to you

.
”
.
”
“
N ow Harry h e continu ed aft er entering his ofi c e to
, ,
“
,
S how you I c a n re p o se c onfidence in you I a m going t o m ake ,
u a p rop ositi on A hi hly im po rta nt crim inal ca s e has b ee n

y o .
g
p l ac e d in m y hands We th.i nk we c a n s e c ure a verdict b u t ,
it wi ll requ ire a n e arne st ef fort with th e j ury such as I know ,
o u to be c a p abl e o f m ak i ng Y ou c a n be o f gre at se rvice to

y .
us in the c a Se a, nd I te ll you th is fre ely t o m ake you c l earl y ,

OR. L I F E I N A L U B E R C A M M
P . 191
realize your independ enc e It will b e a grand opp ortuni ty for

.
”
your return to your profession Will you take it ? .
“
0 Dick you cannot m e a n it ?
,
Mean it ? I certainly do Will you take th e cas e with .
”
m e?
“
H ow c n a I Ri c h a
rd look at the se , ags ! A nd then I r
”
h aven t tou ched a l aw book in over two ye ars
’
.
“
Pshaw m an you didn t su ppose I was asking you to do
, ,
’
this for the fu n of the thing ? ”
“ ”
N o I p resu m e not
—— .
Well H arry old boy that s partially the way I prepose to

, ,
’
Sh o w vou th at I h ave inves t ed alarge am o un t of confidence in

y o u w ithi n the past h alf ho u r He re are t wo fi fty do
. l la r bills ,
and I w ant you t o go im m edi ately and clothe yourself decently ,
and i n n h
keepi g with t e pl a e he e b y the blessing of God
c w r —
”
— I S ha ll yet see you standing .
0 Fordyc e do you re a , lly tru st m e like this ?

I do H arry m y b oy on one sim ple conditio n and that is
, , ,
that aft er you have p assed the aft ernoon as you wish you will ,
c om e with m e to t h
”
m eeting this evening a
“
e red rib bon nd ,
S ig n t h
”
e pledge .
“
I will Dick ! and c overing his fac e wi th his h ands Red ,
m o nd sobbed forth h i s gratitu de as tho ugh the fou nt a ins of,
the great deep within hi m were broken up .
“
Harry so as you are tru e to you rself so will I stand by
, ,
y o u till y o u reg ai n the h eight f ro m whi c h yo u h ave fa lle n .
N o w good bye for the p rese nt a nd m eet m e a

’
,
t seven o c lock
,
th i s eve ni ng here God bless you ol d fello w you cannot tell

.
, ,
”
how happy I fe el Hope for b etter days Harry Good by !
.
,
.
A nd with a he a rty ha nd shake t he good Sam aritan parted

from the m an he had fo und on the J e ric ho ro ad “ ”
.
Dear reader whom think ye was neighbor to him who fell

,
am ong thieves ?
it it it
It was t en o cl ock on C hrist m as eve as He nry Redm ond

’
Op ened the door of the bas e m ent that c onstitu te d the hom e of
his wife and c hildren T he storm had p ass ed and through
.
,
the clear night S ky the stars shone as bri ghtl y as th ey did on

yonder eve when angels sang of pe ac e and good will to m an .
By the last s m ouldering e m bers of the decayi ng fire sat his ,
wife her he ad pillo wed in her hands and her body rocking
, ,
in the voiceless anguish o f desp a ir The childre n forgetfu l of .

,
their sorrows had lo ng si nc e bee n asleep and she was alone

, ,
withh er h opele ss m isery .
The e ntrance of her h usb an d arou sed her for a m om e nt and ,
Sh e b u t gla nc ed at h im to b u t see h im a s he h ad last appe ared

to her with his del aoidat ed old overc o at and faded S lou c hed
,
hat F or th e first ti m e in her m arried life S he re c eived him in

.
S ile nce H er soul h

. ad fou nd it s Gethse m an e and t he chal ac e ,
at her lips was very bitter !

H e se at e d him self and after a m o m e nt of sile nc e re m arked
, ,
”
“
I s t h at a l l the fire you h a ve Grac e ? ,
”
It is all !
Have you no su pp er you c ou ld give m e ?
None the last cru st went to feed the h u ngry c hildre n
,
.
Where is your b ure au ? he asked gl anc ing around the

”
,
c hee rless a p artm ent .
“
It fu rnished u s withfood and c oal for t he p ast three d ays .
A nother silent p a u se e nsu ed b roke n fina lly by a lo u d kno c k

,
u pon th e door to whi c h the wo m a n re spon ded
M
.
,
”
“
Does rs Red m ond live here ? asked a big b urly dray
.
,
ma n st a
,
n ding wh ip in hand at t he en t rance .
“
That s m y nam e S ir ’
Well I h ave som e goods here for you m aam where will I
, ,
’
p ut th e m
“
Y ou m u st be m istaken in the place I have not o rde red any .
”
goods
M
.
0 I gu ess its all right m aam if you re

’ ’
rs Redm ond of
“
.
, , ,
”
223 H oga n street e ast .
That s m y nam e and this is the nu m ber b u t there su rely

’
, ,
”
m u st be so m e m ista ke .
“
Y ou re all right m y m an bring t hem in
’
said Redm ond
, ,
qu ie tly .
Th e dray m an respond e d by bringing in b ask e t a fter baske t ,

s tockings S h oe s mi tt ens and searfs ad inflnitum

, , , .
Th e S ight wh en th e m an had c om ple te d h

, i s w ork wa s gl o
ri ons . The fire had caught th e infe cti on and was now blaz ,
ing ch e erfully whil e th e wife a nd little one s stoo d gazin in

, g
sp ee chl ess astonishm ent At last S he found voice .
"
Henry what d oes all thi s m ean
,
Only asam ple of be tter things and days to c om e de ar .
0 Henry c a n it be p ossible that all this is you r doing ?

,
I am only too he artily asham e d Grac e to acknowl edge that ,
by m y fol ly I have m ad e su ch a sc ene as thi s nec e ssa ry and ,
once m ore Redm ond s hands hid his fac e ’

.
“
Harry hu sb and I fe ar to ask b u t c an it be possible
— — —
t hat you that you have O H arry dear keep m e no l onger in

— —
,
susp ense What is the m e aning of all I see

.
F or a n answer Re dm o nd Op ene d h i s old ragged ove rc oat ,
and b ene ath it glistening u pon a S pank and S pan new suit of
,
broad c l oth shone a sm all red ribbon

“ ”
Th e enrapture d wife
a
.
,
re c o gnize d th e S ign which spok e free d om for the captiv e, nd ,
re de m ption from sufiering for th e victi m s a nd S h

’
e with a gl ad , ,
cry rush e d i nt o th e o u tstre tch e d arm s of th e hu s b and S h

, e had
ne v er ceas e d t o l ove excl aim ing

“
Henry darling ! y ow n agai n 0 G o d pardoMn my .
u nb e li ef
It is nee dle ss t o relate that Santa C l aus that night visited

Ge orgie and littl e Pe t or that nice new stockings withou t any ,
hol e s in the toes w ere fill e d with go odi e s Or that the C hrist
, .
child in his m ission of love and p e ace visited that hum bl e

M
, ,
dom icil e or that th e ne ce ssity for rs Re dm ond call i ng on

,
“
.
the 26th at 2 o cl o ck S harp

”
to re ceiv e her m oney from th e
’
M
, ,
courteou s r Agate was at once and fore ver re nd ere d unnec

.
,
An d 0the big turkey ! c ooke d by th e hands of rs Grace M .
hersel f of whi ch G eorgie and Pe t after e ating all p ossibl e

, , ,
broke th e wish bone and were lost in seeking what to wish for .
Or h ow with h ,
er sighing and te ars a l l turne d to j oy and
l aughter Grac e Redm ond S pre ad h
, er t abl e that day with
OR L I FE I N A L U B E R CA
. M MP . 195
thanksgiving and with her h e art fill e d with S ingi ng be am e d

, ,
her returned l ove u pon her husband so wondrousl y brought ,
u p from th e depths !
F or he had told h er all Th e c onfidence so l ong brok en

.
be twee n th em was again unite d and love restore d ce m ente d

,
the bond ne ver again to be severed

, .
I t is ne edl ess to l engthen ou t this chapt er a nd we b u t add ,
that with the next re turning Ch ri stm as Grace Re dm ond was ,
th e be au tiful m istre ss of a charm ing ho m e fill e d with comfort ,
and content The firm of F ordyc e Redm ond is we ll kno wn

M
.
in ichiga n alth ough th e se nam es are here b ut b orrowe d for

,
th e sak e o f p rivacy
M
.
It m ay be adde d h owever that within two ye ars, r A gate , .
wa s convict e d of heavy ste ali ng from the h ouse of Vel vetine
C c
. a
,
nd is to-day serving a long se ntence in Jackson .
Henry Re dm ond k ept his pl e dge inviolate and has been th e ,
m eans o f saving h im dreds of oth e rs from th e fate h e s o na r
rowl y e scape d A nd so we l e ave h

. im a nd his with th e S h pl e ,
advic e to others like circ u m stanc e d to

“
DA RE D o RI G H T .
C H A PT E R XXI V .
A CH APTE R B O RDE RING PON U THE M Y ST E R I O Us— H ow I L E ARN E D THE
S TRAN GE E XPE RIE N CE or MR . G ROVE R AND WHAT TH E S AME C ON

I
S ST E D c v
r— A GHOST LY Y ARN .
Th ere are thin s in earthand h

g eaven
That are not dream ed of in our ph i osoph y l y .
It was along in the sum m er of 1886 th at I was a p assenger ,
on bo a rd th e ste am er City of M a ckina w of th e D C S N , . . . .
C c bou nd from D e troit to the Fairy Isle of the stra

.
,
its It .
wa s the height of the

“
ou ting s eason and t he boat was liter ,
al ly crowded to the u tm ost with tourists Fortu nately I was

,
.
,
th e poss essor of awhol e state room and while not wish i ng to

,
pl ay th e rol e of th e railro ad hog I so far had not found

“ ”
, ,
wh at m ight prove a congenial occu p ant of th e u pp er berth ,
which when we arrived at Port Huron was still vacant Here .
however anoth er influx of travelers c am e on board am ong ,
whom was agentlem an his wife t wo very pretty children and

, ,
their nurs e The clerk and ste ward were at their wits end to
.
acco m m odate the l arge surpl us of scol di ng agit ate d hu m anity , ,
asking for berths and al as asking in vain Am ong the m ost

,
.
disappointe d of these was the gentl em an whose fam ily I have

, ,
m ent ioned They had j u st arrived at Port Huron in tim e t o

.
ca tch the boat and the lady was sufiering from th e fatigu e
'
i nc ide nt to along j ourney from the i nteri or o f New Y ork a s ,
were a lso the children .
“
Best I c an do sir is cots in th e saloon Plenty of them
, , .
,
”
b u t no st ateroo m s wa s the rejoind e r of
, th e ste ward to the
fina l ple ading of th e gentle m an .
198 TH SH A N T Y B O Y .
S icsl perfe c tion whil e I well three squ are m e als per day and
,
—
, ,
eight hours u ninterru pted sleep S hould necessarily indic ate

’
an entire separation from either the nervo us or the s uperstitiou s

An d yet the conversation held that eve ning betwee n r M
.
Grover and m yself on the after deck of the City of Mackinac

, ,
has give n m e m u ch s ubject m atter for a fter tho ught and ,
l eft behi nd a n i m p re ssion whi c h ti m e wi ll ne ve r efia

'
ce .
The branch of the su bject absorbing our atte ntion at the

m om e nt wa s the i ndepe nde nt a ction of the soul and b ody
M
, ,
and r Grover startled m e with t he i nte rrogatio n

. Y ou “
woul d not t ake m e for am urderer S ir wou ld you

Why M
,
“
r G r
,
ove r y
. ou shock m e
,
w i t hthe b are su ppo si tio n ,
certainly not !
“
Well S ir believe it or not as you ple ase still I was o nc e an
, ,
actu al p arti c ip ant in as bru t al and c old blooded a m u rde r of a

wom an I was devotedly attac hed t o and of a yo u ng m an m v
, , ,
warm est friend whom I charged with su pplanti ng m e in t he

,
afiec tions of m y afi anc ed bride B u t stop till I fil l m y pipe

'
.
,
I c an always converse b etter when under the S pell of ou r

nationa l idol I will then constit u te you m y father confessor
, ,
and rel ate one of the m ost atro c io u s cri m es e ve r c o m m itted b y

”
man
M G ove
.
r . deliberately pro c e eded with the filling of his

r r
pipe while I was plu nge d int o a m aze of c ogitation as t o

,
whether I was in co m p any with al unatic or not .
“
O ur acqu aintance S ir has b e en brie f so m u c h so that it see m s ,
lik e taking an u nwarranted libe rty with a strange r to tell him ,
a story so u tterly at v arianc e with all re cei ved theories th at his

cle ar re asoni ng powers wil l s c ou t its re ception and I will hardly
blam e him for looking u pon what I h ave to tell as b u t the ,
ravings o f adis e ased im agi nation I n fact I cannot fu ll v .

,
com prehend the thing m y self whic h to m e form s one of t he

,
strange st experiences of m y life and I co m pli m e nt you sir by ,
adm itting t h at you are the first h um an being to whom I h ave

confided the story in its e ntirety I will have to c all m y story .
a c onfession and place it for the sak e of continu ity in the

‘ ’
, ,
form of anarrative .
. M MP . 199
a
T en ye s ago I a
r w s e ngaged as he ad book keeper in a
-
l arge m ercantile establishm ent in one of the interior c itie s ,
o f N ew York F or the p reviou s seve n ye ars I had filled

.
vario u s positions of c onfidential tru st u nder th e firm rising , ,
from one to ano ther till re ac hing the very responsible pl ac e

,
m e ntioned The firm consisted of two p artners John

.
,
G il b raith ash re wd c areful ol d Scotc h ge ntle m an and Robe rt

, , ,
So u thwick with whom m y story is m ore intim ately c onnec ted

M
.
,
With the fam ily of r So u thwic k— consisting of awife and

.
two daughte rs— I had m ade m y hom e for the prec edm g six
happy ye as h aving bee n le ft an orph an at a te nder age and
r —
,
i ndebted l argely to strange rs for e arly care and edu c ation .
I n this ho m e filled with eve ry co m fort a

, nd pleasi ng a sso
c iation the ye a rs gli ded i m pe rceptibly a nd pe ac e fully away .
I was looke d u pon as one of the fam ily and tre ated acc ord ,
ingl y B ut to ward the elde st da u ghte r Edith did m y he a

’
. rt s , ,
affec tio ns go out in al l the fo rc e and fevor of love s you ng

’
dre am and I had eve ry re aso n to believe that m y affe c tion

,
was ful ly re c ip roc ated on her p art and tac itly c o nse nte d to by ,
her p aent s who looked upo n m e alre ady in the light of a

r —
son .
“
I do not p ropose S ir to m ake this narrative a m ere love
,
story and I will there fore sp are you the recital of the oft told
,
tale first learne d in Eden s bowers S uffice it to say that in

,
’
.
,
E dith So u thwick was al l th at the m ost fastidio u s and c aptions

cou ld desire in wo m an B y the de ath of m y p are nts I had
.
bee n left afair am ou nt of we alth whic h on m y re ac hing m y

ma jority was pl ac e d in m y possession and I was soon t o
, ,
bec om e ap artne r in the b usine ss This b u siness I om itted

‘
.
,
t o say consisted l argely in the m anu facturing of po wder and

, ,
th e m ill s belongi ng to the firm we re the l a rge st in the c o untry ,
S itu a ted abou t three m ile s from ou r city office .
Th e c harge of the m ills was in the h ands of a you ng m an a

M
,
few ye a rs m
y se nio r n am ed Geo rge Si nc l a
,
ir a nephe w of r
,
.
G il b rait h Poo r George ! He was as fine a whole souled fel

.
l ow as you wou l d m eet in a da y s walk and bet wee n him ’
an d m yself awarm at t ach m ent su bsisted He was a frequ ent .

200 TH E S H A N T Y B O Y
M
.
v isitor at th e re sidence of r So uthwick oste nsibly to see m e .

, ,
b u t evide ntly drawn by the swe et wi nni ng wa ys of Flore nc e , ,

”
S iste r to m y Edith .
“
Part of m y du ti e s consiste d in visiting once a m onth th e
powd er mil ls to there re ceive a statem ent of work perform ed
, ,
and pay th e em ployes .
I re m e m ber distinctly driving ou t as u su al at the c lose o f

th e m onth of June 1880 and m eeting with George Sinc l air
, , ,
whe n after the u su al rou t ine of the m onthly bu siness had

,
be en transacted I threw m yself down on a lo unge in t he offic e

,
to rest It was abou t three o c lo c k in the afternoon One of

.
’
those langui d S leepy afternoons whi c h c h arac te rize our Am e r

,
ic an J une and I fell fast asleep That is the last I re m em ber

,
.
S ir till I fo u nd m yself wa
,
nde ri ng alone in a S hadowy ravi n e ,
below where the m ill s were situ ated .
“
Night was fast approac hing and I di stinctly c al l to m ind , ,
th at I thought it strange th at I sho uld be out there so late ,
with no possible b u siness to lead m e t o su c h an u nfrequ ented

pl ac e e specially as I sho uld be on m y way ho m e
,
Still it .
,
was the c lose of a lovely day and the u m brageo us foli age of ,
the evergree ns in the dell where I was walking gave a delight ,
fu l sh a de inviting in itself The footp ath I was following led

,
.
along the m argin of abrook whi c h flowed throu gh the del l , ,
on eithe r side of which the rugge d b a nk s c overe d with ceda rs ,
rose high a bove I coul d not re m em ber e ver be fore to h av e

.
trave rsed the sam e p ath way and t ho u gh I S ho uld have bee n ,
on m y wa y to the c ity a c u riosity to see w hithe

,
r it led ,
ca u sed m e to c onti nu e m y wa lk .
“
I had not p roceeded far before I he ard voic es in c onversa
tion e vidently a m an and awom an and on tu rning a corner
, , ,
em bowered in S hru bbe ry I di sc overed the possessors of the ,
voic es to be none other than George Sinclair and Edith

,
Sou thwick F or am om ent I was S pell bound with astonish

.
m ent a t this u nl oc ked for re c onnoitre a nd c o uld not u nde r ,
stand how Edith whom I had left in the c ity and George b usy
, , ,
in the m ill c fli c e could be he re My first im p u lse was to

,
.
ma ke m ysel f known They sat side by S ide on a flat rock h

. is ,
202 THE SH A N T Y B OY .
m e my di sm issal , as you p ro m is e d this c ur; I dism iss m ys e l f ,
and thus anticipate y ou r actio n

"
.
“
H a ha ha ! S o you h ave been playing th e e aves -dropp e r
M
,
r G rover ha
. ve you Well you know th e old proverb abou t
, ,
listeners B ut pl e as e re m em ber this lady is und er m y pro

.
tec ti on a nd you will be c a re ful how you addre ss h er Sh e is .
m ine
“
S c ou ndrel l I roare d as with one bou nd I had him by th
’
e ,
throat blac kguard and vill ain you S h all ne ver live to bo ast of
,
‘
,
your c ursed treach ery ! ’
“
Th e struggle be twee n u s wa s a d e sp e rat e one Si ncl air .
wa s a rob ust m a n b u t I wa s a rm ed with th e stre ngth bo rn of

,
desp eration Murder was in m y h eart and with a crushing

.
,
blow I fell e d him t o the e arth What m ight have furthe r .
ensu e d is not di flic ul t t o tell for m y arm was li ft ed poisi ng a , ,
large stone to crush his he ad whe n m y hand was su ddenly ,
stayed in the very ac t of hurling it u p on m y prostrate foe

, ,
while avoi c e exclaim e d

What is a this ? De ye wa nt to b e b ang et for m u rder
’ ’
ye fool ye ? ’
“
M
It was old r G il braith who stood between u s and as he
.
, ,
spoke I had ti m e to think .
What for a are ye twalads bickering aboot that ye m u n

‘ ’
S triv e til m urde r e ther ?

’
Bec au se of a false wom an

‘
r G il b raith! There sh e , M
.
stands l et her gainsay the accusation if S he c an I replied

, ,
’
.
Be c au se of a wom an ye sill y boy ? What l aid Troy in

‘
ashes ? What has e ver b en the c au se 0 ah the sin an m ise ry ’ ’ ’ ’
in this woa rl d if no a wo m a n ? By th e ti m e y e ha re a
’
c hed the
’
ye ars I ha ye ll ken th at til yer h e art s content A way h am e

’
,
’ ’ ’
.
we ye both an I ll no say aword 0 this til Master S ooth

’ ’ ’ ’ ’
wick So awa we ye an let m e h ear 0 na m are squ abbling

’ ’ ’ ’
M
.
, .
B ut
‘
r G il b raith Miss S ou th . wi c hhas p rove n false to h , er
troth pl edge d to m e and has taken thi s traitor to the place ,
where I fondly trusted sh e had ch erished m y im age .
We el weel lad ! Its al ady s preevel ege to ch ange her

‘
, ,
’
m ind a n dootl ess Edi t h has geu d a n cle ar re as o ns for h

’ ’
, er
. M MP . 208
acti o ns Ye ll no wu n her l o ve b ack by ony su ch rufi an play

.
’ ’
as this So awa we ye ’
M
.
“
Thanks r G il b rai th for this tim ely pre vention of a bru tal
.
,
m u rd e r said Edith a
’
nd withou t one l ook or word to m e sh e
, , ,
to ok th e path up the ravine P ulling hi m se lf togeth er S in .

,
clair rose from the ground and with a scowl of d efiance and
M
,
h atred to me and a nod to r G il b raith he followed aft er

, .
,
E dith leaving th e old ge ntle m a n a nd m ys elf alone

’
.
,
“
N ow sir a l l I am telling you wa
, , s in the m inu test
detail as c le arly be fore m e in plac e word and action j ust as

, , ,
m uch a s is the fact that you a nd I a re at this m om ent here

te lling and listening to this sing ular experience Y ou will .
therefore believe m e when I say that no incident in m y whole

life either before or since i m pressed m e m ore c learly or in
, ,
”
tel ligent l y t h a n this I am now rel a ting
M
.
“
I am thoroughly convinc ed of the fact r Grover b u t , .
,
p ray co n t i n u e
M
.
“
r G il bra ithstood facing m e in the fast t h
. ickening gloom
of the eve ning I could see all the details of his look s and
.
c lothing before h e S poke ag a

, in even to his helping him self to ,
a pinc hof snu fi fro m a silver m o unted ram s horn box he ’

'
carried .
We el Fred m y lad I trow ye are noo satisfied we wh at I

‘
,
t auld ye aboot weem en Weel de I ken by bitter experience .

, ,
wh at they are an ye hae b u t ane thi ng le ft ye l a d

’
,
What m ight th at b e sir ?

‘ ’
Reve nge m y lad swee t revenge ,

.
B ut h ow S ir ?
’
Weel there s m ony ways beside braining a m an we arock

’ ’
an I ll aid ye to so m e ane far better than that an far m ore

’ ’ ’
, ,
satisfying I was stan ing behind ye ah the tim e ye stood

.
’
,
’
l ist ning till yon twafools S pooning an I k enne d we el hoo it

’ ’
sat on yer stom ach l ad t o see yer lady love le aving ye for ,
anither .
’
To m e sir it is sim ply death and I don t care m u ch wh at

‘ ’
M
, ,
now beco m e s of m e r G il b rait h

’
. .
,
It is h ard Fred an yer no the m an I think ye are if ye ll

‘
,
’ ’
no h ae am p l e satisfa c tio n
’
.
B ut again I ask how S ir ?

‘
Ki llth em ba ath lad kill them b aath ,
I starte d back in horrified surprise for m y passion had ,
sub side d into a hop ele ss grief by thi s tim e and I could h ardly
M
,
credi t m y senses to h ear thi s l angu age from

, r G il brait h .
,
knowing him to b e am ost exe m plary m an and a ru ling elder ,
in t h e leadi ng Pre sbyte ri an ch urc h Nevertheless there he .

,
stood b efore m e calm ly counseling acruel m u rder

, .
I certainly fe el S ir as though such re venge would b e grati

‘
,
’
fying b ut I S hrink from m u rder
,
.
Of cours e ye wul at first Fred b ut whe n ye brood over

‘
,
th e extent 0 yer inj ury ye ll fe el m ore like it and c d l ad I

’ ’
,
’
am willing to l en ye a hawnd for whisp er : I hate the m baath

’
as bitterly as ye de
’
.
“
It was fast b e com ing dark and the old m an s eyes fairl y ,
’
flashe d as he hissed out the l ast sentence : I bitterly h ate ‘
the m baath
“
I felt m y own anger re turning The spirit bre athed by t he .
ol d m a n see m ed to a wake n a fresh the evil within m e and a ,
b urning thirst for the blood of Sinc l air and Edith fevered m y
tongu e and bu rned m y very so ul .
Sit ye doon Fre d sit ye doon an we ll talk the m at te r ah

‘
, ,
’ ’ ’
o we r said m y tem pter and we se ated ourselves sid e by S ide

,
’
,
on th e v e ry s am e m oss covered ro c k whe re I h ad beheld m y ,
false fri end and fickl e love e xc hanging vows , .
“
It is needless S ir for m e to give you in detail th e
M
, ,
conve rsation I h eld with r G il b raith b u t if ever a dem o n

.
,
was se nt to te m pt am a n to t h e pe rp e tration of one o f the
m ost atrociou s cri m es e ver conte m pl a ted that de m on was ,
c lothed in the form a nd s e m bla nc e of J ohn G il b ra it h! His

pl an for th e destru ction of S fii c l air and Edi th So uthwick was
sim ply to blo w up the p owder m il l with the m in it ! ,
Th e powder m ill s ! I exclaim ed Gre at h eavens ! sir that

‘ ’
,
‘
,
wil l involve th e destru ction of m any oth er l ives beside s tho u ,
sands of dollars in prOperty ! Y ou are surely not in e arnest ? ’
Hoo t hoot m an ! what signifies a wh e en usel ess bo dies

‘
sh oot th e m ill a nd c or firm is wee l abl e t o stan the l o ss 0 th e

’ ’
,
MO TH E S H A N T Y B O Y .
c ert in h
d begat with
ainly ha i m a fearful seeking after ven
geanc e .
I re tu rne d to the m il l boarding hou se wh ere I found S in ,
c l air h ad acc om pani e d Edith to the c ity and had not yet ,
returne d I threw m yself u pon m y b ed withou t u ndressing

.
and S l ee pless I will not seek t o give you an a nalysis of m y

.
feelings as I lay waiting for the hou r t o c om e when I was t o

, ,
lay the fuse They were S im ply u nspe akable

. I had c e ased
to re c ognize m yself No tho ughts of th e inno c e nt vic tim s t o
.
be destroyed were m ine ! N0 care or c alc ul ation as t o the

am ou nt of pec uniary loss ent ailed trou bled m e Nothi ng b u t , .
an all absorbi ng wish for revenge filled m y sou l and I fai rly ,
laughed to m yself in h ell i sh glee as I in antic ipation gloated ,
ove r the de e d of blood be fore m e ,
“
A ll was hushed in repose as I arose fro m m y bed Th e .
tim e for the first act had com e D arkness lent se c urity t o m y.
e vil m ission and I cautio usly m ade m y way to the re ar of t he

,
princ ipal m agazine having with m e alo ng coil of fu se E nte r

, .
ing the buil di ng I at tached t h e fatal thread to one of t he kegs ,
and by rem oving t he heads from seve ral oth e rs I su c c eeded ,
in pil i ng up alarge q ua ntity of loo se po wde r whe re it wo u ld ,
prove effec tive and the n retreatin g I led the fu se to a plac e

, , ,
where unobserve d I coul d fire th e sp ark of d e ath .
When al l was com ple ted I returned to m y room e ntering

, ,
by the window I had m ade m y e xit from I passe d unobse rved .
by the watchm an flashing h i s safety l am p i nto e very p a

, rt o f
the works A l l was done and I b u t awaited th e final m o m ent

.
,
of cons um m a tion
“
D uring the day I k ept m ysel f conc eal e d in m y room till the ,
hour set shoul d arrive whichwas fo ur o clock in the after

—
’
noon From m y wind ow I co uld observe the workm e n in

.
,
th eir list shoes noiselessly m oving abou t witho u t the least

, ,
com punction of conscienc e on m y part in fact that ele m ent , ,
in m y m oral c o mposition see m ed t o have totally dese rted m e .
“
A bou t half a n hour before the ti m e appointed for the expl o
sion I be held John G il braith ac c o m panied by Edith So u th
,
wick d rive u p to the oflic e together A new ad di tion to m y

,
.
. M MP
. 207
conte m pl ated crim e stru c k m e Here was this old wretch also .
,
in the toils with the re st He was the onl y witness against

.
me a nd I wou ld fire the tra in ten minu tes b efore th e appointed

hour ! I looked at m y watc h It onl y l ac ked fourteen m in .
u tes to fo ur o clo c k My window opened u pon a verand a

’
covered with he avily c lu ste red vi nes com pletely hidi ng al l ,
visio n from withou t I qu ietly passe d thro ugh and m ade m y

.
,
way t o where the fu se l ay extended H ow inno c ent it looked .

,
like afishi ng line b u t how far into eternity it re ac he d for

,
those whose m om ents we re nu m be red ! I again looked at m y

watc h .
“
It m arked eleven m inu tes to four .
Stooping down I stru c k am atch It fiz z ed spu ttered and .

,
expired A nother and still anot her did the sam e I had only
.
,
.
b rou ght S ix m atc hes with m e and fo ur were alre ady u seless .
A ga in I trie d and the fifthm atch bu rned wi th a ste ady fl am e

,
.
I applied it t o the frayed end of t he fuse and watched its ser ,
pent like m ove m ent till it had penetrate d six inche s into the
,
fu se All was well ! The sile nc e was alo ne b roke n by t he dis

.
tant m urm ur of the m ac hinery in t he mi ll From where I stood .
was b u t ashort dist ance to the o ffice and I c ou l d even he ar ,
the sou nd of voi c e s and the stam ping of G il b rai t hs ol d yello w

,
’
p o n y d
,
rivin g a w ay the fli e s as he stoo d hit c he d
, befo re the
omoe door H ow qu iet everyt hing see m e d ! I c o ul d distinc tly

.
he ar t he be ating of m y he art and m y own labored bre athing , .
A bee c am e h u m m ing by a nd lighte d on ada ndelio n rig ht ove r

whe re the de adly fuse was burning and agau dy winge d b u t ,
t erfly bru she d m y fac e Not ac lo ud obsc ure d the S ky and

.
,
the weste rn su n like agre at golden globe gaze d down cal m ly

, ,
u pon adeed th a t coul d c au se hell i tself to bl u sh !

“
T u rning I rapidly m a de m y way thro ugh a c lo se thicket of
,
k grub s in the dire c tion of t h

”
oa , e dell whe re the sa ngu i nary ,
planning of this horrid deed had been conc o c te d I had five .
m i nu tes to re a ch aplac e of safety and fe ar lent rapi dity to m y

.
,
footstep s B u t ere I h
. ad reac hed the destine d pl ac e t he expl o
sion follo wed .
“
I he ard an awful ro ar and felt t he grou nd m ove u nder m e
,
as t h o ugh I were in a bo at The cl e ar S ky ab ove m e t urned

.
black as night and th en al l was over and I kne w no m ore

,
.
“
Whe n I re covere d conscio usne ss I found m ysel f lying ,
u nhurt at th e b o tt om of th e ravine All around were scattered .
th e debris of the explosion The trees were lim bless as

.
,
though swept by a fiery blast and th e air was h e avy with th e

,
sm ell of sul phurous e xhalati ons When I had fully recovered .

,
I began to look abou t m e to if possible l earn the extent o f

, ,
m y work From a m ass of ru in ne ar m e he a vy groans issu e d

.
, ,
as though of m ortal agony and on furthe r i nvestigation I

,
fou nd t wo blackened and m u tilate d form s clasped in e ach ,
other s arm s and b urned b eyond th e se m blance of re cognitio n

’
, .
B ut I knew them a nd gathering som e water in my hat from

th e brook I dashe d it in their faces and saw Edi th and
,
They were dying bu t still consc ious Al l th e glorio u s .
beau ty gone ! A l l th e m anly strength vanishe d !

“
With their sightless orbs turned in agony tow ard m e they ,
live d long enough to he ar m e hiss in their e ars the story of m y

work and I turned away when I had drank in their expiring
,
sigh to mingle with the gath e ring crowds who had begu n to
,
arrive on the scene of destru ction .
“
Exam ination sh owed tha t th e disaster had bee n co mplete .
Not afragm ent of the m ills had re m ained and o f all livi ng I ,
alone se em ed t o have e sc ap e d Th e cries of ago ny fro m the

.
,
fri ends of the m urdere d em ployes fell up on m y c ar as I hur , ,
ried away to hid e m yself from th e horribl e sights a nd sou nds

which now b egan t o awaken within m e poignant e m otions o f
rem ors e .
“
B u t all wa s now too lat e ! I leaned against a convenient
rock a ,
nd m e di tate d u pon m y cri m e Regre t and contrition .
were at work and conscience had again re sum e d sway within

,
me . Al as t oo late ! and I wru ng m y h a

, nds in a ngu ish una
vailing .
“
A t ou ch on m y a rm arou se d m e from m y m e ntal lethar y
g ,
and to my astonishm ent I beheld the form of John G il braith .
He then e scap ed the S l au ghter ? How c o uld this be

The voi c e pre ceded th e action of a p air of warm lip s ge ntly

pressed to m ine I ope ned m y eyes and a flood of su bdu e d
.
light po ured in u pon m e Bending over m e was the be au te ous

.
face and fo rm of Edi th So u th wic k ! S urel y I was in heaven ,
and this was her bl ess t forgivin g S pirit

’
.
Fred d arling do you kno w m e you r own Edith

‘
, ,
Y es ! I know you de a r but a re we bot hin h e aven ,
Well yes love I am at le ast in havi ng you restored t o m e

, ,
bu t you are in you r old roo m in pap as ho u se dear snatc h

’
ed ,
fro m an awful de ath a nd gi ve n b ack to m e and again the

’
de ar l ip s sealed love S s we et solic itu de on m ine .
B u t tell m e de a
‘
ri e wh a t has happe ned , I cannot under
stand it ? H ow h ave I b een hurt
H ush Fred hu sh dear you m u s u t talk too m uc h There
‘
, ,
’ ’
.
wa s afe a rfu l explosio n at the m ills a nd for th e p a s t t en days

,
h ave bee n hoveri ng betwee n li fe a nd de ath ’
y ou .
B ut h
‘
ow wa s I ca u ght E dith I kno w fully abo u t the
,
e xplosion for wasn t I B u t I thought Tel l m e de ar w ere

—
’
—
,
y ou n ot killed ? a nd a re we not in he a ve n where we c a nn ot be
separated
No Fred you see I am not kill ed for don t you feel m v
‘
,
’
arm abou t you and su rely th at kiss is not aghostly one

,
B u t de a
‘
r I ca nnot u ndersta
,
nd Is not George Sinclair .
kill ed
0 poo r George yé s he wa
‘
s one of the vi c ti m s
, and Flor ,
e nc e is breaking her heart B u t I c annot see how you kno w .

,
for you we re t a ke n up in a c ondition of unc o ns c io usness and ,
have re m ained so eve r sinc e Poor George s body has neve r .

’
b een rec ove red a nd you wou ld h

,
ardly know wh ere the m il l
’
onc e S tood .
I do not u nderstand you Edi th Do you m ean to tell m e

‘
.
that you and George Sincl air have not bee n false t o m e and ,
that in revenge I did not O I c annot u nderstand it ! Wh ere

—
is G il braith
M
‘
r G il bra
. i thwa s he re a bou t an hou r ago d arling and ,
has wat c he d with u s by yo ur be dside night and dav B ut , .
Fredie you r m ind is wandering a little and so try and go to

, ,
. M MP . 211
sl e e p and ge t well dear ,

for m y S ake There that s a good bye
.
’
‘
E dith you m u st not le ave m e till I know all or I will
B ut , ,
su rel y lose m y se nses Tell m e de ar the whole c irc ums tanc e s

. .
’
Well love we got the little we know from D an the o ffic e

‘
, ,
b oy He is the only one saved besides yo u rs elf D an was in

. .
t he ofliee whe n the e xplosion took pl a ce a nd s t a te s that ,
G eorge wa s at work on the book s a nd you were sleeping on ,
t he c ou c h in the i nner room a nd th a t is al l poor D an c an tell ,
us . We fou nd him se nseless in t he top of that gre at willo w

tree by the brook and you we re fou nd ne ar by behind a gre at
, ,
ro c k wit hyo u r right leg

,
broken and bl ac ke ned withs m oke , .
We brou ght you ho m e b u t had al m ost begu n t o desp air

‘
,
at le ast m am m aand p ap adid b u t I never gave up

’
.
,
A nd E dith de a r I hav n t bee n gu ilty of this horrible

‘ ’ ’
cal am ity
Certainly not lo ve Don t be sill y !
‘
.
’ ’
A nd you h a ve n ot bee n fa l se t o m e ? ’
‘
0 Fred ! F or sh am e S ir ! H ow c ou l d th at eve r be you

‘
,
foolishboy ?
’
G od gra nt m e m y re a so n t o u nde rst a nd a l l this de a r but

‘
,
it see m s inexplicable .
’
Neve r m ind it now d arling t ake a drink of this sedative

‘
,
and go t o S leep and you will wake up refreshed

’
.
O ne kiss of forgi ve ne ss Edith first for O h de a

‘
r I have , , ,
had an awful experie nc e

’
.
Ce rtainly love if I have anyt hing to forgive and again

‘
, ,
’
the de ar l oving lip s were pressed c lose t o m ine It has o nly

'
‘
.
b ee n adre am de a r a nd all will be c le a ,

r whe n you awake n
ag ain
’
.
Yes ! ad re am possibl y b ut O h what a dream ! I m u r

‘
, ,
’
m u red as I fel t t h e se nse of dro wsy sleep steali ng over m e .
G od in h is m e rc y gra nt I m a r ha a h r su c h dre a
’
‘
y n e ve ve n ot e m .
it
“
N ow thi s is m y story sir and you will ad mi t that it is a , ,
W h at is you r Opinion ?
”
s tra nge one .
“
I c ert ainly think it are m ark able exp erie nc e sir and if the ,
Germ an theory of the dopple ganger or do uble going be

‘ ’
tru e then when you r body was resting on the cou c h p re viou s
, ,
to the explo sio n yo ur so ul had sep arate d fro m it and inde

, ,
pe nde nt of the re asoning powers of the brai n had form u l at ed ,
the m o nstro u s absurdi ty c o incide nt with the fatal c atastrophe

,
”
whi c h took pl ac e
M
.
“
Yes anothe r ph ase of the D r Jekyl and r Hyde theory
,
‘
. .
’
or else the sou l i ndepe nde nt of the body h

,
ad du ring the t en ,
previ ou s days prior to m y re c overing consc io u sness gathered

, ,
the disco nne c ted i m pre ssions se rving t o form t he sto ry of m y

,
”
su ppost itiou s gu ilt .
“
It is apu zzl e c ertai nly b u t be ars out the infere nc e that
,
t wo active separa
,
te nature s exist in m an in whic h t he invisi ,
ble c an receive and retain im p ressions of a c harac te r su c h as ,

”
vou h a ve been re c iti ng .
“
Y es a
,
n d th at will a c c ou nt for the st range e m otio n we fre
qu ently feel by the tou ching of so m e hidden key in m e m ory
, ,
which like aflashre stores an i nkling of the p ast in ou r pre

”
vi ou s exi ste nc e
M
.
“
I agree with you r Grover b ut what abou t Edith O h
,
.
—
, ,
I beg pardon
“
Edi th ? Well she is p rob ably e njoying the c o m fort of the
bed you so kindly provided for her and ou r two lit tle o nes
M
, .
God bless her slu m bers A nd r Grover raised hi s hat rev .
erentl y a s he looked to wa rd the state room door .
To which I responded with awarm Am en ! “ ”

214 TH E S H A N T Y B 0 1 "
,
in that other six m ill ions My cre di t is good b u t I hate to .
ask favors Still I m a.

y re ne w the n otes by giving a m o rt ga ge
”
on m y c a m p tool s and hors es .
John dear I d rather you wou ld raise th e m oney on our

,
’
hom e than on you r woo ds prop erty Y ou k now how ri sky .
th at is and I woul d be willing t o help you th at way .
“
No m other no more m ortgages on the farm ! This is you r
,
hom e Fathe r l eft it to you and you h ave alre ady hel ped m e
.
,
al l th at you S ho ul d I will get along so m e way B u t I wil l

. .
have to leave next week for the woods and start c am p in that ,
n ew pie c e of pi ne I wil l be away t wo weeks

.
”
.
“Well de a r you kno w be st b u t I re c eive d a lett e r to day

-
, ,
from the dau ght er of an ol d sc hool m ate st ati ng that she ,
want s t o visit Mic higan and asks to sp end the su m m e r with ,
”
m e here on the fa rm .
“
Is it that Miss Thom pson of Buffalo I h ave he ard you , ,
”
S pe a k so m u c h abou t ?
“
Yes John and she offers t o pay well for her bo ard if I will
,
c ept of h er Y ou will b e awa

. y agre at de al and I am lone
som e with only the girl Jane and Willi am the hire d m an
,
”
.
“
0 I will be at ho m e m o st of t he t im e b u t I do n t li ke t he
’
, ,
ide aof astu c k u p m iss withm ore m oney than brains c o m ing , ,
here to l au ghat ou r pine c ou ntry and bothe r u s with her ,

”
c itified wa ys
M
.
“
I do not kno w her perso nall y J ohn b u t rs G ra ys t oe k , .
wrote m e som e tim e ago abo u t her and prai sed her to the
S kies . M art h aG rayst oek is n ot apt t o say t oo m any kind
things ab ou t anyone b u t she c ertai nly goes into raptu res over
,
Jessie Tho m p son Howeve r your b est pl an John is to le ave

.
, ,
the m at ter to m e S he wil l not trou bl e you in the le ast

.
”
« .
A s you pl ea se m ot her b u t I will keep cl e ar of h a

“
er
you m
, y ,
”
re st a ssu red of th a t!
“
B ut John I will expe c t you to m eet h
, er at Fli nt on Thu rs
”
da a nd this is Mo nd a y
y ,
.
“
A l l right m other I h a ve to get so m e extra help to get in
,
th e h ay so I will drive in e a
,
rly and kill t wo bird s with one
”
stone .
OR L I F E I N A L U B E R U
. M MP . 215
Take c are m y son you are not one of the birds , rs . M .
G rayst oc k writes m e that Je ssie Thom pson is a very beau tifu l

”
girl as well as we althy
, .
0 she c a n t fool m e m oth er ! I am twe nty-five you know

“ ’
, ,
an d have ne ve r see n the wo m an I c ou ld love better th an you ,

”
y o u dea r little m o t he r .
“
Thanks m y son b u t I do not exp ect to al ways reign m is
,
tre ss of the he art of m y great big shant y boy That wou ld be .
aski ng t oo m u c h ”
.
“
Well we will see m other m ine b u t there is Jane c alling
, ,
s u pper and I am h u ngry as ahorse ”

.
Th e sc e ne of the a b ove dialogu e is pl ac ed in North we stern

M ic hi ga n in ac osy fa
, rm hou se u po n t h e b anks of the Flin t
river a nd a
, bo t t e ty five m iles fro m the lovely c ity of the
u w n -
sa m e na me The pe riod of tim e need not be spe c ified further

.
that to st ate that the Fli nt was one of t he l e ading lu m beri ng

riv ers in M
ic higan and not less than eleve n saw m ills at Fl int
c ity fo u nd e m ploy m e nt for ava st nu mb er of m en a
, nd u se for ,
an i m m e nse am ou n t of logs e ve ry ye ar .
Th e m othe r a nd son here i ntrodu c e d t o t h e re a der had ,
l abored e arly and l ate to keep the grasp of the l awfro m taking
po sse ssi on of the l ittle ho me stead of 140 a c res h e avily eu c um
b e red with am ortga ge and whichhad bee n left to burde n th e
,
farm sinc e the de ath of the hu sb and and father It was a ,
hard t ask for the you ng m other left withac hild of t welve to ,
b attle alone B u t she was a wom an of nerve and had su c

.
c eeded in fina lly paying in full the m ortgage and also edu c at ,
ing her c hild wi t h th e fond hope of m a

,
king him a m inister .
B u t Jo h n De nniso n g ro wn t o m anhoo d
,
p referred to be a ,
s oldie r in t h arm y of the pi ne t o bei ng one in that of the

“ ”
e ,
c ross a nd so wa
,
s i n e very fe a ture and expe rie nc e a tru e woods
ma n . H is wi nte rs h ad be e n spe nt for the p ast five ye ars as a
s ea l er a nd l a
,
tte rly fore m an in a c am p while during the su m ,
m er he h ad worked the farm for his m other It was a p retty .
farm a ,
nd the ho m e wa s api c t u re of c om fo rt surrounded by ,
lil ac s and p rairie roses with the front facing u pon the be au ti
,
fu l riv er The rich l u xuriant orc hard on t he brow of the slop

.
,
ing hill at the re ar o f the house vied in its b ril l iant June
, ,
blosso m ing with the dark green of the distant m aples where
, ,
the cooling zephyrs borne from the distant H uron gathered

, ,
u p the s c e nted fragra nce filli ng th e air with Natu re s pe rfum e ’

.
J ohn Dennison was entering u pon his twe nty-sixth year the ,
only son of his m othe r and she was a wido w It has be en .
well said that the Wolverine state has no peer for stalwart
m en a nd Wi nso m e m a ide ns and John De nnison was no exc ep ,
tion t o the ru le Fi ve feet t en inc hes and sym m etric ally b u ilt
.
in p roportion ; m u sc le s standi ng ou t u pon his arm s like b un c hes

of whip c ord ey es dark gray and b ro wn h air c l u stering over a
, ,
b row th at gave token of far m ore intell ige nc e than m ight be ,
T o p ow a l
nd m ow and re ap and sow
A nd be afa
’ ”
rm er s b oy .
O r in the winter s season t o find his ho m e am id the ru de

’
and rou gh asso c iations of the l u m ber c am p F or the previou s .
th ree ye ars John had re ac hed ou t rather extensively in l u m

bering and the di alogu e with whi c h this ch apter Opens was
, ,
ill ustrative of aph ase in lu m beri ng well kno wn t o m any of ou r

re a ders I n short John s winter s work was hung u p for “ ’ ” ’ °
.
,
lac k of water in astre am tribu tary to t he Flint river

M
.
Of rs De nnison aword will su ffic e S he was sim ply a

.
,
.
hard working h andso m e he alth y farm e r s wife or rathe r

, , ,
’
—
wido w for t welve ye ars previo u s her hu sb and had go ne the

—
way of all e arth le aving behind him little else s ave a p artial ly
,
im p roved farm ahe avy m ortgage and ayou ng widow and boy
, ,
of thirt ee n B u t as stated the widow who in the face of

.
—
,
ma ny eligible of fers wa s still su c h wa

— s ful ly e qua l t o the
em erge nc y a nd a t the ti m e we wri t e wa
,
s the possessor of as
fine afa rm a s the c o u nty c o uld bo a st T he fa rm hou se gave .
every e videnc e of pi c t u resqu e be au ty in its u m brageou s sur

ro undings The interio r was far above the ave rage in c om fort
convenie nc e and refine m ent for M
.
,
rs De nniso n wa s aYo rk
,
.
st a te girl who had aprac tic al knowledge of farm ing and ac ul

,
tiva t ed t aste for the be a u tifu l Th e hou se possessed a large .
kitc he n parl or dining roo m and fou r bedroom s aro und the
, , ,
i with reference to m y visiting Mic higan

spr ng r De nni son , M . .
I sinc erely trust I am not intru ding .
“O dear no Miss not in the le a st M othe r will be delighte d .

, ,
and I am su re that that well you see m othe r m ight hav e

— —
told m e I am happy inde e d to m eet you and only hope ou r

.
,
ro ugh c ou ntry ways will not be e ntirely di stasteful t o

”
vou
M
.
I think not r De nniso n b u t h

,
. ow fa r ha ve we t o drive
,
It is quite adist anc e Miss Thom p son bu t I have ac om for

, ,
table c arri age and we will be hom e in ti m e for t ea Let m e

,
.
h ave you r c he c ks ple ase and I wil l get yo ur trunks Have

,
.
y ou h ad d in ne r
“
I di ned u pon the c ars b u t I rather fe ar your c o untry roads
,
”
for a lo ng drive .
“
0 you will find we h a
,
ve e xc elle nt ro ads a nd I h ave one of ,
the best t e am s in Lapee r co u nty Have y ou m any tru nks .
“
Only one m oderately sized one and asatc hel sir Here is ,
.
”
m y c he c k .
Only one ? Well if you will t ake asea t in the wanti ng

roo m am o m e nt I will be re a ,
dy to start di rectly My te am i s .
j ust arou nd the c orner .
John e asily pla c ed the littl e tru nk in t he b ac k of his b u ggy ,
and on h anding Miss Tho m p son in re m arked

“
I c ert ainly expe c ted ac ity lady t o have at le ast fou r
tru nks and five or six band boxes b u t you travel l ight Mi ss ,
Tho m pson .
It was alittle i m pertine nt on the p art of John so to spe ak , ,
and evide ntly the l ady so rec ei ved it for with a glanc e of her ,
eye to ward him she replie d

“
I ndeed ? Well M r De nni so n you h a. ve at last the good
,
fort une t o m eet one c ity girl witho ut fou r tru nks and five or
”
six b a nd boxe s .
t hou ght Jo h n
“
sh e s aTartar ! Thu nde r what alook
,
’
sh e ga ve m e ! I m u st c e rtainly keep ou t of her way for I feel ,
that I sh all posi tively dislike her A nd still is n t she a .

’
”
beau ty .
A nd Jessie Tho m pso n a lso m u se d as Joh n bu sied hi m sel f in

OR L I F E I N A L U B E R UA
. M MP . 219
making th e little trunk fast What a gre at handsom e o ver

,
“
gro wn boor he is I c ertai nly realize th at we are not destined

.
to be friends and that m y st a

, y at the De nnison farm wil l be
ashort one
”
.
Bothbei ng thu s u nfavorably i m pres se d the long aft e rnoon ,
drive was not one o f very wa rm soci a lity Eac h s e e m ed to be .
m ea su ri ng the m e nt a l stre ngth o f the othe r and e ach realized ,
fu ll y that they had at last m et with antago nism s in e ac h whic h ,
c o u ld be t u rned i nto positive ad m ira tion or negative dislike .
S till the drive i m p re ssed both with one well establishe d

fac t t hat e ac h h
, ad m et in the othe r afoe worthy of their steel ,
and the q u estio n was who wo uld first surrender Jessie .
T ho m pso n was agirl b ri m f ull of vitality fu n and m isc hie f , ,
while John on the c o ntrary was grave and sedate J essie had .
al augh and a joke for e very i nc ident of the jo u rney while ,
Joh n c o nfined hi m self t o lo ng dessertations on the grandeu r ,
g lo r y an d gr o wth of Mi c hig an i n ge n e ral an d L apee r c o u n ty

in p a rti c ul a
.r To this Jessie opposed N ew York as a state
and B uffalo as a ci ty c o ncl u ding her elogiu m b y th e well
,
k nown c l assic
O B al o gals a
ufi re you c om ing ou t to-night,
T o dance by t he l ight of t he m oon
s un g as only aBuffalo girl c o uld si ng it .
By the ti m e they arrived at t he farm John was m ystified ,
and eve n sho c ked at the frivolity of t he be au tiful girl by his

s ide who m he c om m i t te d to the
,
kisses and e m brac e s of his
waiti ng m othe r while he drove t o th
,
e barn hu m m ing grim ly :
Th s ac rim ina in aca
ere wa rt , l
A going t o b e han ed ; g
Reprieve to him wa s gra nted ,
Th e c rowd and c art did sta nd ;
T o see if he wou d m arr l y awife ,
O r ot herwise c hoose t o die;

0 wh
‘
y sh l
ou d I t orm ent m y ife, l
Th e vic t i m did rep ly
Th e barga in s ba d in ever pa
’
rt y ,
B ut the wife s t he worst dri ve on

’
,
Strange as it m ay sound John D enni son was a wo m an ,
hater and th e little innoce nt s c hem e in whic h his m other

,
sough t to find a daughter was likely to com e to naught .
it
Two weeks had pass e d away at th e farm ho use since Jessi e

Tho m p son s arrival Whate ver had been the result of her
’
.
fascinating attrac tions with John it was evident that Je ssie

M
,
had in th at short tim e thoroughly c aptivat ed the he art of rs

, .
De nnison A m o ng t he first t o rise in t he m orning and t he

.
last to go to bed at night she m ight be see n feeding t he ,
chickens do wn at the spring house wat c hing the proc ess of

,
ma ki ng b u tter or with sleeves rolled up on her shapely arm s

, ,
b usy m o ulding the yellow rolls for m arket I n the kitc hen .
helping Jane withthe c ooking for the h alf dozen hu ngry m en

c u tting the hay in the dough of the bread tro ugh bu sy c an
, ,
ning berries m a king c ake and pies in all of which she soon
M
, ,
exc elled as an apt sc holar u nde r the tu tel age of rs De nni .
son . O r in h er be au tif ul l ittle bo a t on the rive r sket c hing , ,
ro wi ng or fishing ; or unde r a fa vorite bee c h tree on the ri ve r ,
bank e m bo we red abou t with c edar she woul d sit and re ad or

, ,
work by t he hou r with the birds and c hip m u nks flitting and
,
skippi ng a rou nd h er I n her ram bles it wa

. s a little si ng ul ar
how ofte n b y a c c ide t of cou e John would c om e su ddenly

— n rs —
u po n h er in the se solita ry e sc a p ade s and still m ore singular ,
what adiflidenc e toward each other these t wo you ng people

wo uld e xhibit in conve rsation to sh ap e and c o nstru e their short
,
se ntence s I t wa
. s ve ry e vide nt t h at war had bee n sile ntly
de cl ared bet wee n the aristocratic c i t y l ady and the yo ung
Michigan lu m berm an farm er at le ast a war of sharp wi t , .
O ne eve ning while se ated u pon the ve rand aJohn re m arked

t o his m other :
“
I have m y su m m er c am p running in good shape m o ther , ,
and we are p u tti ng in pine at agre at rate I have now ove r .
sixty m en at wor
0 M
”
“
,
r D e nni son
. i nterj ected Jessie I wo uld so love to
,
“
,
see al u m be r ca m p Cannot we m ake u p a party and drive

.
”
ou t t o whe re yo u r m en a re worki ng ?
by th e pre sence of a grou p of beau tiful girls who se em ed to ,
be pe rfectly at ho m e with t he cam p fare The you ng m en .
acco m p anying the m were known to m ost of th e m en in c am p

, ,
and e very effort was m ade to ca use the visitors to feel at ho m e .
The intention was to drive back by m oonlight th e di stanc e ,
being only twelve m il e s so the evening was before th em for

,
enjoym ent Jo hn s c am p was one of those built for co m fort

.
’
and c leanli ness and whil e in fu ll ke eping with the wo rk the

,
m en were e ngaged in had no repelling featu re s whatever to

,
annoy the sensibilities of the visitors .
“
0 if we only had afiddle what aglorio u s dance we c o ul d
,
have in this dini ng room exc lai m ed Minnie Gorm an a fairy

”
, ,
little m isc hief that al l the yo ung m en for five m ile s rou nd
,
’
were in love with .
I c an furnish a m o uth organ said Fred S toddard at the , ,
sam e ti m e p rodu cing the h u m ble instru m e nt .
“
Good good ! exc laim ed seve ral and in am o m e nt the long
,
”
,
tables were placed against the wall .
“
I t s le a
’
p year girls cried Mollie Crawford so take you r
”
, ,
“
,
partners for acotill ion .
N o soo ne r said th an do ne T wo se t s were form ed Fred . .
Stoddard bl e w his level be st and Minnie Gorm an called off

“
, .
The m en gathered in fro m the bu nk cam p and ranged the m

“ ”
selves abou t the wall .
The da wild and wilder flew

nc ers ,
The piper l oud a

nd l ouder bl ew
”
.
It was fun u nad ul te rated and the yo u ng people enjoyed it ,
to the u tm ost The big cook cam p wou ld e asily hold eight
.
set withou t c ro wding b u t finally poor Fred gave ou t in the

,
ve ry m idst of adance A l l at o nce the du lcet tones of a m as

.
t erl y pl ayed violin was heard to take u p the tu ne where Fred

,
had broke n do wn Eve ry one stood sto c k still with am aze

.
m ent .
“
Go right along fri e nds Y ou sh all not want for m u sic
,
.
,
sa id Jessie who was di scove red with a viol in at her shou lder
,
de ep in the m ysteries and intric ac ie s of Fisher s Horn-pipe

“ ” ’
.
N ow th e au th or of this veracious narrative is fully aware ,
that h e has inj ure d our heroine in the e stim ati on of m any
read e rs b y th e a b ove revelation of her in th e capac ity of a
fiddl er in a l um b e r cam p ! Th e p rop rie ti e s a re c ertainly
de stroye d b ut what could h e d o ? Facts are stu bborn th

, i ngs ,
and distorte d state m ents only serve to m ar th e m The fact .
was that Je ssi e was an acc om pl ishe d m u sician on piano and ,
g u itar, b u t her favo rite inst ru m e nt w as th e v ioli n o n w h i c h ,
she was a sup erb p erform er The co ok had an old instrum ent
.
which Je ssie had u se d for th e pre sent occasion O f c ours e it .
was not t o be exp ec ted that the com pany asse m bl ed in that
c ook c am p wou ld be abl e to full y app re c iate classical m usic ,
b u t they c e rtainly did enj oy the cotilions jigs re els , , ,
strathsp eys and hornpipes rendered by Je ssie with su ch ,
exqu isite skill that the cam p went perfectly wild with enthu
sis em The shanty boys m ingled freely with the visitors and
.
,
danc ed with p artners they never before had m et or spok en to .
Clog dancing Scotch reels Fre nch fours Irish j igs and
, , ,
cont radances we re all th ere indulged in t o th e fu llest extent ,
attached to their original m u sic It was truly a sat um al ia

.
“ ”
,
in whi c h th e pipe of t h e pied pipe r o f H a m lin woul d not h ,

ave
had aghost of ashow Till at last after the Buffalo break
.
“
,
down all lau gh nk on th

”
i ngly e xhau ste d s a ,
e rou gh be nc hes ,
totally c oll apsed Then the m u sic changed from the wildl y
.
a
g y a n d h u m o ro u s to the pathetic and se nti m e ntal a nd th e ,
Fl owers of the Forest Wh en the S wallows Hom e ward F l y

, ,
Last Rose of su m m er Killarney Hom e S weet Hom e Ne arer

, , ,
m y God to Thee a ,
nd J e su s Love r of m y So ul we re a l l b rea
, th ed
forth by the wonde rful girl who stood m odestly cre ating
,
strains that cau sed t he g ushing tear to tric kle down m ore than
one b ronz ed cheek a ,
nd going do wn dee p i nto the he a rts of
these childre n of the woods in the form of a grat e ful be ne

,
dic tion
H e wh oh athno m usic in his soul ,

I s fit for treasons st ra
tegem s a
, nd spoils .
Poor John Dennison . T hat e ve ning in cam p ,

finished t he
work the blind go d had been lab oring to accom plish for th e
p re v i o us tw o m o nth s He
. ha d sat all t he e v e ni ng t o all ou t ,
ward Obs ervanc e s fully enj oying the fun b u t he was strangely ,
sil e nt during th e ho m e ward rid e a nd that night h e , toss e d

sleeplessly u pon his b e d and fe ebly fo ught against the inevit
abl e The fac t was b efore him in all its stern re ality that he
.
love d Jessie Tho m pson with a l l the ardor of awa rm im pul ,
sive nature hithe rto by h

,
im dee me d invulne rable b u t now
prostrate d b efore a force he had neve r before re alized th e
strengt h of Poor J ohn well c o uld he say
.
,
O wom an in hours of ea
our
se ,
Uncerta nd h
in c oy a ard to please;
i l '
l '
l '
B ut fam iliar withthy face

seen too oft —
W e fi rst endure t hen pity then em brace

”
.
A nd what abou t the thoughts and wishes of the gi rl in yon

der littl e rose e m b o wered b e d room Thanks de ar reader
for the i nte rrogation b ut those p recin c ts a
, re sa c red to the ,
”
thorough exc lusion of all peepin g Tom s and prying cu riosity
“
, .
S o there !
The c ond uc t of Joh n Dennison after that wonderful evening ,
in cam p was strangely c ontradic tory

,
He was seldom if eve r .
in t h e hou se on a n eve ni ng b u t m ight be seen re c lining under

,
one of the fru it tre e s d ream ily s m oki ng

,
with his gre at gray ,
eyes apparently b usy in c ou nting the stars At the sam e tim e .
Jessie and widow De nnison would be seated u pon the vine

c ove red vera nd aexchangi ng their little wo m a nly c onfidenc es
though t he bright blac k eyes would surrep t it iou sly wander

th ronghthe int erc ises of the vine ope nings to whe re th e room .
bent form of the sulky you ng shanty b oy was exte nde d u pon
the grass be neath the ol d apple tree It was trul y wonderful .
how the you ng city b ed gi l only daught ero f one of B ufial o s

' ’
r r —
ri c he st and m ost a ristoc rati c m e rc hants could have thus

—
insinu ated herse l f into the affe c tions of the sim ple c ountry
m othe r . B ut still it wa s so a nd the c o rrespo nding wo nd er
,
was th at Jessie could find su c h c onge ni al com panionship in

this aged wom an so as to cause her to postpone her departure
,
sho wn in various ways his e vide nt disapp rob ation of that

”
fooli sh escapade .
“
Why m ercy m e Je ssie darling ! Don t you see that my
,
’
John is dying for l ove of you ch i ld ? A bab e co ul d see it a nd ,
th e hO pel essness o f h i s love is bre aking his great m anly

”
he art
M
.
”
“
Indeed ! said Jessie slo wly risin g “
r D e nniso n s u c c eeds
, .
”
exc ell ently in hiding his fee l ings and sh e swep t into the ,
ho use with a m ove m ent that savored strongly of rese ntm ent .
”
“
O dear ! what have I done m u rm ured the wido w bliste rs,
“
,
on m y foolish old t ongu e by doze ns Go ne and told poor

J ohn s se c ret that he im p arted to m e with su ch c au ti o n Wh at
’
, .
a stupid old fool I am and now the dear child has gone away
,
”
vexe d .
Jessie had inde e d re tired to her room withou t th e c u stom

ary good night kiss t o the kind old l ady she so lovingly term ed
, ,
”
“
A untie H er indignatio n was evide ntly o f a se rio u s c ha
. rac
t er as the next m orning sh

,
e for the first tim e failed to a
, ppe ar ,
at the breakfast table ple ading a severe h e adac he as the

,
cau se .
A nd h a dn t sh
’
e cau se for i ndig n atio n ? She — the pe t ted
favorite of select society to fall so l ow as to be c o m e the object
,
of a gee whoa haw b u c k shanty boy s love ! The p resu m ptio n

“ ’
of som e people ! It was fu lly tim e she took her dep art ure b u t ,
be fore doing so she wo uld give this au daciou s presu m ing ,
you ng hays e ed apiece of her m i nd That she full y de c ided

“ ”
.
u po n .
The week passed away withou t any further develop m ents ,
and gave Mi ss Jessie no opport unity to satiate her indignat ion .
John De nnison was sulkie r than ever and barely c ivil t o Jes ,
sie Things were very unc om fortable in the Dennison hom e

.
stead The S unday b e fore Je ssie s departure J ohn dr ove his

.
’
m othe r a nd h er t o ch urc h b u t the onl y de m onstration on his

,
part was a m ost unne cessary flogging b e stowe d u pon his horses ,
whi c h bro u ght upon the irate Joh n a j us tl y dese rved re proof
from his m other A fter dinner partaken of in p ainful silenc e
.
—
J ohn went ou t for one of his lonely strolls leaving th e t wo

-
,
, M MP . 227
wom en alone in a constraine d silenc e b rok en only by an

M M
,
oc casional “
iss Thom pson er a rs: Dennison
” “
Finally
, .
the old lady sank back in her chair and throwing her apron ,
over her fac e burst into a paroxyism of te ars

M
.
,
“
rs De nnison
. A unty de ar why what is the m atter
, ,
ex clai m ed Jessi e ru shing t o ward h , er .
“
My dear c hild I cannot endure the thought of your leav
,
ing m e wi th the im p ression t hat I have p urp o s ely offended ,

”
y o u by wh at I said the othe r ev e ni ng sobbed forth th e w eep ,
ing wom an .
Jessie s answer was to throw her arm s abou t the neck of her
’
g rief wr u ng fr ie nd and take t he old, head to h er boso m .
“
Hu sh A u ntie de ar you did not offe nd m e by what you
, ,
said John is worthy the fondest affe c tion of the best wom an
.
t ha t eve r b re a thed and when he finds his m ate he will m ak e

.
her ahappy wom an by m anfully telli ng her his love ”

.
A nd finall y the girl s u c c e eded in sooth ing the weeping

wo m an b ac k into a c o ndi tion of ou t ward tranqui lity at
le ast .
The afte rnoon was fine and Jessie felt as tho ugh she wo ul d
,
l ike t o visit for the l a st tim e som e of her favorite hau nts as ,
sh e wa s to leave on the foll o wing m orni ng Taking her gypsy .
hat and thro wing a sh awl loosely ove r her sho ulders she
, ,
s t roll ed fro m pl a ce to plac e P artially do wn the river bank .

,
a large bee c h tree gre w surrou nded with c edars ,

T his was .
J essie s favo rite retreat and whe re she had spe nt m any ple as
’
ant hours in m aide n m editation The p ath to this pl ac e was .
s t eep fro m the top o f the ba nk do wn th i c kly hi dden by shru b ,
b ery and Jessie de c ided to m ake it the c onc lu sion of her stroll
, ,
by resting afew m om ents in her ac c u stom ed se at u nder the

bee c h tree H er light footfall was u nheard as she app roac hed
.
,
an d looking over a b uge old m oss covered boulder she wa s
ve ry m u c h su rp ri sed to see Joh n Denniso n in h er fa vorit e

place u nder the bee c h tree A t the sam e m om ent he raised
,
.
his eyes and beheld Jessie whose fac e at the re c ognition he ,
c am e in a m o m e nt su f fus e d with
l
C el estia ros y red l ove s choicest hue
,
’
.
228 TH E S H A N T Y B O 7 .
I sinc erely trust I do not u nfort unat ely intru de u pon you
M
,
r De nnison
. said Jes sie peeping from over the ro c k , ,
re treat bei ng i m possible John s fac e was p ale as de ath b ut

.
’
his gre at gray eyes looked her full in the fac e

”
“
No Miss Tho m p son replied John rising to le ave It is I
, ,
“
, ,
who intru de upon yo ur favo rite retre at

”
H ow well he wa s .
aware of the fac t

M
.
r De nni so n
.
A t you r servi c e Mi ss Thom pson

,
.
Wh at is the m at te r with you m ay I ask th at for the p ast , ,
three weeks you h ave tre ated m e with su c hsc ant c o urtesy ”
.
“
I was not aware that m y c ondu c t differed fro m m y u su al
m anner Mis s Tho m p son
,
If so I am sinc erely sorry
.
”
.
“
Stu d and nonse nse sir ! ,
Joh n s fac e t urned fairly p u rple with the su pp ressed indig

’
na tion the reply invoked

,
.
“
Y ou k no w ve ry well Joh n De nniso n th a
, t you have t re ated ,
m e ve ry u nkindly for the p a st m o nth and now I am deter ,
m ined t o k no w th e re ason why Co m e be a m an and tell m e .

,
how I h ave offended you

”
.
“
I am not offe nded Miss Jessie Why shou ld apoor shanty
,
.
boy be offended with a ri c h and aristo c ratic l ady like Miss

Thom pson
“
N ow Joh n do n t be sarc asti c ally silly Tell m e all that
’
.
,
o u a re h arbo ri ng a g ai nst m e so t h at I m ay b eg fo rgive ness

y , ,
”
and we p art frie nds to m orro w
- .
“
If I were to tell you m y c andid Opi ni o n of you Miss ,
T hom p son you m ight not feel that I was c o m plim enti ng you
,
very high ly
”
.
“
I ndeed ! Well as I am c u rio us to le arn wh at i m p ression I
M
,
ma h ave m a de u po n r Joh n D enni son I sh a ll c o m e do wn

y .
,
fro m this coign of vantage and liste n to the story pl ain and un , ,
v arnish ed N ow sir the ac c u sed would he ar the indi c t

.
,
m e nt as re a d by the c ou rt .
“
D u ring the p assage of the above badinage Jessie had ,
desc e nded t o where John was seated S he had never appeared .
t o bette r a dvantage than as she stood befo re him swinging ,

no TH E BRA N T ? B O Y .
who c oul d witness o e d th e torture s I have endure d for

u nm v
”
th es e last two wre tche d m onths is unworthy th e nam e
M
.
,
“
Y ou a flord m e m u ch grati fic ation I ass ure you r D e nni
'
.
, ,
son .Anything further

“
Anything further Y es I have som ething furth e r Y ou .
are cru el as th e grave you you O God grant m e patie nc e

— —
A nd John c ove red his fac e with his hands and sobbed c on
vul sivel y .
“
What is it the poet says abou t his eyes in fine fre nzy rol ‘
ling Do you re m e m ber the qu otation r D e nnison

”
It ,
M .
wo uld be so appropriate for th e prese nt occasion .
John started to his feet all the m anhood within him at onc e
,
aro use d at this c ruel tau nt .
“
I se e your bosom he avi ng with suppresse d e m otio n you ,
heartless girl b ut it is no true wom anly im p ulse that m oves

M
,
be ne aththat silken zone Let m e pass you

. iss Thom pson , ,
I only wish to the good God I had never set eyes u pon you !
A nd now th at you have m y opi nio n in full I will o nly ask you ,
to forgive my u nm anly e m otions which for a m om e nt have

overc o m e m e Rem em be r it has to be agreat joy or great grie f
.
whic h c an wring tears from a m an Let m e pass ple ase I ”
M
.
“
Y ou will ple ase to re m a in j ust a m o m ent r De nnison , . .
Y ou have freely given m e you r opi nion of a lone m othe rless ,
girl atrifle fri volou s perhaps b u t not inte ntionally wic ked and
—
, ,
your langu age in c onveying th at opinion has been rathe r

se vere N ow sir hear m y opinion of you
.
,
John c owered be neaththe fl ashof those wo ndrou s eyes as ,
Jessie st ru c k an attitude like som e tragic q uee n while the ,
gypsy hat by its one blu e stri ng gyrated violently , .
“
Joh n De nnison c onside ring yo ur i ntelligenc e and m an
,
”
hood yes and the size of you John looked up with an awf ul
,
-
woe begone visage — “

you ar e in m y h u m ble e
, s ti m atio n sir the ,
b iggest a nd blindest goose I eve r sa w in al l m y life ! S o

”
there 1
A t th a t m om ent the blu e ribb on gave way and the gypsy ,
hat flew do wn into th e top of a very c onc eite d he m lo c k where ,
it c oq u etishl y pe rc hed itself .

OR LI FE I N A L U BE R CA M MP . ”I
M
.
“
i Th omp o
ss s n 1
“
M De i o !
r. nn s n
”
Th e b e autiful black eyes were swi mming in aseaof tend er

ness a, s they gaz e d fo ndly at h im Joh
n starte d to his fee t
.
as th e glorious re velation burst u p on his astonish ed visi on .
“
Miss Thom pson Jessi e in the nam e of God what do you
— —
’
m e an Surely it isn t p ossible that you
“
H ave fondly love d you John de ar for th es e past two , ,
m onths with a l l the ardor of sou l fou nd in a gi rl s first love

’
.
,
Y ou foolish sill y b oy ! I had give n you m y h e art from th e

,
m om e nt you handed m e i nt o yo ur b uggy at Flint .
“
J essie m y p recious darling
,
“
There now be good I Just se e how you have rum pled m y
hair and m u ss e d m y collar ! Go and get m y hat out of that
tree sir where it s e em s to b e lau ghing at u s No sir no
, ,
.
,
The result was a rep e titi on of the rum pling and destroying
p ro c es s and w
,
hich face t he big b ro wn m u stach e bel o ng e d t o
wo uld be difii c ul t to tell When John De nnison at last took
.
bre ath it was to c orrob orate Jessie s state m ent

,
’
“
My blessed darling wh at a goose I have bee n not t o se e
,
it before ! What I have s uffere d and l ost this past two

”
m o nths I
“
I know what I h ave lost J ohn ! ,
What m y own pre c iou s

,
Th e worst case of h e a rt a c he in Mich i gan .
i '
H owdo you m anage to have su c h excell ent b u tter rs M

M
.
,
D e nnison do tell m e ? asked rs Devon the Britishcons ul s

,
”
.
,
’
wi fe one evening abo u t seven ye ars later while taking te a

M
, ,
with rs Se nator De nnison in B uflal o

'
M
. .
“
We keep a c ow rs D e von ,and I m ake all m y own
.
,
b ut ter .
“
I m possible ! Why where and when did you serve as da1ry
m aid ,
M
rs D e nniso n ?
.
”
“
At m y m oth er in law s farm in Mic higa n where I was m ar
- - ’
ried ou know a nd wh e re ou r first babe wa b o rn I l earne d

,y , s .
anu m be r of excelle nt things there e sp e cially abou t th e c om ,

282 TH S H A N T Y B OY .
forts of home a nd persona l happiness Am ong oth ers I .
l earned that if I preferre d joy to sorrow I had th e choice of ,
eith er and a m th
, ankful I wa s wom a n enough t o c h oos e the
”
first .
“
0 e tainly ! S till I c annot see what that has to d o with
c r
”
fresh bu tter ,
“
I can B ut excuse m e a m om ent I h e ar th e baby crying
— . .
!
C H A PT E R XXVI .
L ir am m Woons as A H m nrn Rnsronnn— T nn S m B or m
A nd a
fter a
l l it seem s to
m e,
T is only noble to b e good ;
’
Kind hearts are m ore than coronets,

A nd sim ple fa ithth an N orman bl ood .
We com e at last to the conc lu ding chapter of a work which ,
has b een to t he author a labor of love and one h e coul d wish ,
had been m u ch be tter perform ed Very m u ch that was h eld

.
in c onte m plati on t o app e ar within the se page s m ust of neces ,
sity b e om itte d fro m want o f tim e in which to prepare the

m at ter for th e p rinte r A ccordingly we a
. re forc e d t o plac e
,
before th e pati ent re ader as a final di sh a plate of hash form ed , ,
largely of a conglom eration any part of which wo uld furnish a

,
long chapter in its elf .
B u t the shanty boy — for whom this b ook has been c hi efly
284 TH E BR AN T ? B O Y .
sic l change s a
a re mu ch m ore severe than b e expe c te d m ight ,
and taken all in all I would advise no one save those with a ,
robust constitu tion to atte m pt the w ork

,
— whi c h m a y b e t e rm e d
part I ndi an part hal f bree d and all m ig hty trying on both ,
b ody and soul I n m y own personal e xperie nce I h ave noth

.
ing b u t words of kind ne ss for the m en in the wo ods They .
ro ugh a
”
ma y be a littl e nd fo “
nd o f horse fu n
, b u t let on e of ,
th eir nu m b er m eet with an accident re ndering him hel pless , ,
and quickly e ach m an sub sc ibes to a shake p urse t o help

r
“ -
th e poor fel low thr ough his tro u ble I sh all not soo n forge t
‘
.
the kind ness of Tho m as N S m ith of Sagi naw whe n I was for .
, ,
a week in his cam p very ill To be s ure T om did n t kno w .

’
what was th e m atte r with m e and neithe r did I b u t he got , ,
all the horse m edic ine in the van and ranged it on a t able
“
, ,
whe re I c ould gaze u pon it and th e sight of the awful bottles ,
and j ugs frightened away m y diste m per .
I m ight tell how on one dark night I lost m y way goi ng

M
,
from one of Henry Stephen s St H ele ns ich c am ps to ’

.
, .
,
another thre e m iles I fell in aswam p and finally arrived at

— —
,
the hou se of m anager Curtis cold wet and hungry whe re h e , , ,
and his good wife fe d and clothed m e in dry garm e nts , ,
and with them I fo und the b roth e rhood born of true

sym p athy .
I re m e m ber on Janu ary 19 th 1887 a tram p I had fro m Big , ,
Creek on t he head wate rs of the A u Sable rive r ac ross t he

, ,
plains to the cam p of Cam pbell Gorm an of Bay City The

, , .
day when I left th e A u Sable river c am p of Penoyer

Bros was intensely c old fully 3 2 degre es below I did not
.
, , .
m ind the cold so m u c h b u t ra ther dre aded the jou rney of

,
e ighteen m iles six of which were across the plains diveste d

,
“ ”
,
of eve n a j ac k pine and with o nly th e woods in the distant

,
horison to gu ide m e The s now was abou t afoot de ep whe n I

.
l eft asm all j obber s c am p on Big Creek aft er di nner for m y

’
l ong tram p By the way that c am p was c om pose d e ntirely o f

.
,
Fre nc h m en and a watch ped dl er had been am ong the m the

“
.
”
e vening before and sold nearl v every m an a watc h

, Th e .
sight was acom ical one to see e very F re nc hm an sit ting in his
,
. M MP . 285
b unk after di nner adm iring his new watc h From the way
,
.
they handl ed the ti c kers I was under the im pre ssion a

“ ”
,
“
watc h ti nke r wou ld have agood j ob before long One had .
bo ught a big st e m winder and was al ready in tro u ble It had , .
st oppe d and he bro ught it to m e to see what was the m atter

,
.
I c o uld not see anything ou t of order with the watc h and ,
asked him if he had wo und it up .
“
Y es m e wou n hee m twelve t urn ti a m di s wa a and he
’
sho wed m e t urning the ratc h et b ac kwards

,
“
T welve tiam an .
’
he no c aatc he greep by gar .
I s ho wed him how to wi nd the watch and le ft him ,
hap py
Well t o retu rn I got on the trail to Cam pbell G erm an s
,
.
’
ca m p c rossi ng on m y wa
, y Big C reek T he c reek wa s abo u t .
t wo m iles fro m t h e F re nc hma n s sh an ty and the wat er was

’
l ow . I had to walk ac ros s a s m all Norway that se rved as a

bridge ove r the c reek and whe n half way o ve r I sl ippe d and ,
fell pl u m p in t he water The we athe r was so inte nsely c old

'
.
th at I had h ardly got to l and before m y c l othes were frozen

-
,
stifl I had on long Ge rm an so c ks with l ow rubbers and in

'
.
, ,
slippi ng off fortu nately fell on m y feet and o nly got wet alittle
, ,
abo ve m y k nee s Still I wou ld not tu rn b ac k to the sh anty I

.
,
had left b u t stru c k ou t ac ross t he pl ai ns for Cam pbell G or

ma
,
n s whe re whe n I a rri ved m fe t we re froze n solid The

’
, y
,
e , .
bl ac ksm ithand c hore boy were m y do c tors and i m m ersed

“ ”
,
m y feet in at ub of sno w wh e re afte r an hou r s h ard rubbing ’
, , ,
they m anaged to get t he fro st ou t b u t I didn t we ar ashoe for ,

’
t hree m o nths afterwards .
T hat p re viou s fall arathe r lu dic ro u s thing happened to m e

, ,
in wh ic h I exhibi t e d a l arge am ou nt of m isdirected ze al I .
had st arted t o m ake ac am p one evening distant three m iles , ,
an d c al c u l ate d to get to it befo re the m en had go ne to bed .
Th e nigh t was dark as a stac k of bl ac k c ats b u t I plodded ,
alo ng throu gh t he woods and tired and we ary I at last , ,
arri ved at t he c am p to find it deserted Not asou l was

— .
the re and so I m ade u p m y m ind to stay in one of the e m pty

,
b uildi ngs at le ast till t he m oon had arise n whi c h would be

,
in the course of an hour or t wo I cli m be d into one of the

.
upp e r b unks in the m e n s c a m p wh ere the re was still s o m e

’
, ,
m arsh h ay left and p u tting m y grip unde r m y he ad I lighted

, ,
m y pip e a nd soon sm oked m yself i nto a condit io n o f pa

, r
tial sleep
,
.
I was aroused by the sou nd of footsteps app roaching and ,
qu i c kly the shant y do or opened and t wo hard looking m oss

,
“
”
backs e ntere d (The settlers in the pine c l eari ngs of Michi
.
”
g a n are c a lled “
m ossb a ck s by the l u m be rm e n ! O ne w as .
c arrying alighted lantern and a sp ade the othe r had asu s ,
ic iou s looking elo ngated p a rc el on his sho u lder w ra pped

p u
p ,
in a n old blood sta ined sheet Both were sm oking and talking
.
qu ietly to e ac h o ther The shape of the b u ndle on the fello w s

.
’
sho ulde r l ookod awfully gre wsom e and to m y distorted vi sio n ,
had the form and se m blanc e of a de ad body They l ai d it.
carefully on the floor and p roce eded to te ar up som e of the

,
b oard s and the fello w with the sp ade began to di g ahole in

,
the grou nd very m u c h in sh ape like a grave

,
They were .
within si x feet of whe re I was l yi ng bu t had not the le ast su s ,
i c ion athird p a rty wa s looki ng on W h e n the hole wa s a bo t

p . u
eighteen inches deep they c areful ly deposited the p ac kage

, ,
wrapped in the old dirty sheet withi n it and hu rriedly fille d

, ,
u p the hole witht h e ne wly re m o ved ea rt h A fte r c are fully

.
repl a c i ng the bo a rd s they de a

p rte d a s q u ietly a s th ey c am e ,
le aving m e terror stric ke n and alone with the de ad ! H ow

long I e m ained
r i n as e m i st u por I do not kno w b u t finally
-
,
ma naged to get ou t of that s hanty right sm art and whe n I

“ ”
re a ch ed the “
tote ro ad le adi ng to the ca m p I had
left I m ade so m e of the pret tie st ti m e on record
,
.
The inte rve ni ng three m iles were got over in a hur

rv a nd whe n I arrived at c am p every one was asleep .
I rou te d ou t the fore m an aft er som e hard po u nding,
on the
“
va
”
n door a nd rel a,
t e d wh a t I had see n in the deserted
ca mp . He at onc e su rm ised that a m urder had be en c om
m it ted and ro used ou t the boy s of the c a
,
mp I assu re you .
,
de ar re ader there was dressing and arm ing in haste in that

, ,
ca m p and with
,
in ten m inu tes the re we re ful l v thirty of us on
$ 8 TH E S H A N T Y B O Y .
The m en all began to re alize that in place of proving to them

what one had term ed a cuss e d aggri wati on
“ ”
I was ,
de c idedly a p u blic benefac tor in providing for th e ,
cam p a su pply of fresh m eat and from t he point of ,
b eing lynched I be cam e the h ero of the hour

“
,
Th e .
c arcass was re m oved and th e grave restored to its previou s

,
c o ndi tion when we al l stru c k a bee l i ne for c am p where for a ,
c o u pl e o f days , m utto n — ro ast fried and boiled was t he

—
“
piece d e resistanc e of the cook ca m p
”
.
Thus you see m y son that virtue is its own re ward and
, ,
e verything is well that ends well .
Th e foregoing ridic ulo u s i nc ide nt re minds m e tha t at th ecamp

where it t ook pla c e I had my first e xperie nc e of a w oods on
,
fire A s th
. is b ook cl ai ms to g ive a d esc riptio n of woods
life it woul d b e very inc o m ple t e witho u t prese nting so m e gen
,
”
eral pic turing ofthe work of the
“
fire fiend in the pine woods
- .
No true esti m ate c an be form ed of the a m ou nt of de stru c tion

enta i l e d u pon t im be r by woods fires It is safe to say that .
r passes in whic ha fire ta

”
not a ye a
“
x of m illions of doll ars is , ,
not i m posed upon the Mi c hig a n and Wisc onsi n o wne rs of pi ne
la n ds Forest fires nearly always originate fro m absol u te c are

M
.
l essness . en tra m ping thro ugh the woods a nd c a m pi ng ove r

night will b u ild fires eithe r for warm th or to keep 0 3 m osil u i
,
toes The e m bers are left burning and a ge neral c onflagra

.
,
ti on foll ows O r a settle r se ts fire to a fal low and pe rm i ts the

.
,
fire t o creep into the woo ds when the u s u al de struction e nsu es

.
, .
I n adry ti m e a sp a rk will serve to i nit e

g t he resi no us pi ne
needl es covering the gro u nd a nd acres of val u a ble pine wil l be '
b urned as ac o nsequ ence The writer is n ot extravag ant in

.
saying th at lu m ber e nough has b e en l os t in this way to pay a

woods warde n s sal ary t en tim es ove r j u st to watc h fire It
’
.
be m ade a highly p unishable oflense to le ave

'
shou ld .
u nq ue nc h ed fires in the woods T o this end the provisio ns .
a lready e xisting sho uld b e m ade m ore stri nge nt and the atte n ,
cion of the set tlers call e d to the fac t If o wners o f pi ne l ands .
we re to c onve ne to ether and de vis e so m e m ethod of c a re over
the ti mber the on ho we ver appare ntly heavy would be

m oney wel l exp end3
, , ,
OR . m M
I N A L U B E R CA MP
. 289
“ ”
The ti m e was wh en burne d ti m ber m ight be as well c on
”
“
s um e d entire as to be fire killed I f not lu m bere d th e fol
.
”
lo wing wi nter af te r th e fire th e borers co m plete d what th e
“
,
fire h ad left undone and th e tim ber in th e s e c ond season was

,
val ueless T his is not s o lo ng ago b ut that s o m e reader o f

.
this p aragraph c an s till fe el the sm art of the loss h e at that

tim e s ustained by b ei ng unable t o l um b er his piece of b urned
,
“
ti m be r in ti me to save it fro m th e bore rs B ut to -day thi ngs .
have m ate rial l y c hange d and by t he i nte rsectio n of logging

,
railroads in al m ost eve ry dire c tio n ti m ber s u bje c t e d to th e

,
”
ravage s o f the
“
fire fie nd c an b e saved by se a so nable c u t ting .
Very m u ch Michigan tim b er has th u s bee n resc ued from c om

l et ed destru c tio n th a t w a s bu rned o ver a nd this is la rg ely
p , ,
owi ng t o the vast i mprove m ents m ade in lu m bering in th e p ast

few ye a rs .
T he da y a fter m
y sheep epi so de w a s on e o f excite
,
m e nt .
The c am p m en had for the p reviou s three days be en fighting

fire ab o ut two m iles fro m c am p b u t it h
,
ad got the start o f
,
the m and fastened i nto the rollways where so m e five m illi ons ,
of ti m ber the ve y hoi e t pi ne had bee n de c ked u p Un

- r c c s — .
”
fortunately the rollways we re ve ry c lo se together and the
,
“
,
fire spre ad from one to another with wo ndrous rapi dity c on ,
sidering the fac t th a t th e logs were gree n pine Wate r was .
sc arc e and u te nsils for c arrying it were sc arc er so that the

, ,
m en c o ul d do little else tha n to sta nd a nd wa tc h the re sult of

their winter s la bors turn into ashe s This only req uired aday
’
.
and anigh t to accom plish by wh ich tim e t he woods for m ile s

,
aro und we re in flam es I had afive mile tram p to get ou t

.
,
b u t for ne a rly the whole di sta nc e th e fire wa s b u rning fie rc ely .
Es c apes from de ath were nu m e rou s and e spe c ially did t he ,
poor ho m este aders sufier having everything they had in the

“ ” '
world swept away T he wast e in this direction is terribl e and

.
,
irreparable in c haracte r .
B ut there is anothe r sl ove nly wa s te to whic h atte ntion is

he re c alled Ec o nom y in t he cutting of pine trees is asubje c t
.
whic h should eve r be pres ent with the fore m an of a c am p .
The proper direc tion in which the tre e sho uld fall is a m atter
240 TH E RE AN T Y B OY .
of the u tm ost im p ortance in the m aking of lum ber F re .
qu ently the tre e is felle d by ignorant sawye rs so as to break ,
its back in half adozen plac es and re nder it u sele ss for tim
,
b er E ve n wh at logs a
. re s aved from su c h c areless felli ng are ,
s o badly shaken as t o virt ually re nder the m wo rthless whe n

“ ”
th ey reac h the m ill The writer knew afore m an who m ade it

.
a poin t to fell a doz e n of trees a t onc e by c u tting e a c h till t h e
p oint of falling was ne arly re ached whe n the l ast tree was,
allowed to fall against t he one next to it and so on e ac h fal , ,
ling against the other till al l were do wn in the form of a

“
sl a shing
”
. It was certainly an expeditio u s m e thod of ge tti ng
, ,
th e trees do wn b u t pl a
, yed havoc w ith th e ti m b e r Howe v e r .
,
this is all in p assing .
The gre at loss s ustained in lu m bering is in c u tting the tre e

,
too high and leaving as tu m p wit h fu lly t wo feet of v al u able

,
ti m ber to stand there and rot This foolish waste is frequ e ntly
.
oc c asioned by the depth of sno w in t he woods and in goi ng ,
through old c u tti ngs the variou s depths of sno w in p ast win
,
ters c an be e asily asc e rt ained by noti c ing t he height of t he

stu m ps The obje c tion is raised to c u tting stum ps l ow do wn
.
that t he b u tt will be found fu ll of pitc h This m ay be an oh .
i b u t c e rt ai ly doe s not a ffe ct th e t wo or th ree feet of

j ec t on
,
n
ood ti m be le f t a bove whe re t he roots t a ke hold u o n the

g r p
tree tru nk p roper and by this folly m u c h good tim ber is per
,
m itted t o be lost .
It woul d pay al arge am ou nt of expense inc u rre d in running

a c am p if the s awye rs were c aused to k neel in plac e of stand
ing u p whe n s a wing do wn the tree T hey c o uld work j u st as
.
well and s ave al arge am ou nt of v al u able tim be r whic h c an

be e sti m ated in figu ring the differe nce in the height of a stu m p
c u t by m en worki ng in a n u p righ t positio n It is apoint t he .
write r throws ou t as being well worthy of analysis So m e tim e .
ago adescription was p ublished of a m ac hi ne whic h m igh t well

”
be te rm ed a s c ave nger I ts p urpose is to c u t from ofi stu m ps
“ ’
a pie c e of ti m ber the l e ngt h of ashi ngle bolt O ne of th e s e .
m achi nes set at work in afresh c u tting wil l soo n provid e a

sto c k of exc elle nt t i m ber for a shi ngle m ill and of t he ve ry
242 TH E S H A N T Y B 0 7:
Th e y early c ut of pine in ichiga M n, for

th e six years endi ng
-
in 1887 averaged three bill ions per ye ar which if taken at

, ,
in ro und nu m be rs wou ld leave ,
yet standi ng The last Forestry b ulletin u p to close of season

.
of 1886 gives nine te en billions of standi ng pine for Mic higan

, .
I n re gard to hard w o ods it m a y be stat e d th a t a s yet b u t

littl e inroad has been m ad e up on this gre at staple ou tside
of the c harc oal supply for t he iron fu rnaces altho ugh with the
!
,
settling of the c ountry the c le ari ng of l and involves the destru c

tio n of very m u ch val u able ti m be r These facts and figu res
.
,
t h u s b rieflv hi nted at a re g a
, thered fro m reliable so urces and ,
ma y be depe n ded u po n as bei ng as n early ac c ur ate as su c h

estim ates c an b e m ad e .
If the au thor has any c le arly defined p urpose in presenting ,
these p ages to the working m an in t he lu m ber woods it is to ,
indu ce h abits of frugality am ong worki ng m en wit ht he obje c t ,
in view o f al l s u ch obtai ni ng a ho m e Michigan offe rs very

.
ma ny opport unities to the c a reful a nd ind ustrio u s and the ,
ho m estead l aw of the state gives l abor every fac ility for obt ain
ing aperm ane nt ho m e The lu m ber woods has furnishe d a
.
large portion ofthe farm ing co m m unity of Mic higan espe c iall y , , ,
wit hm e ans for i m proving their ho m esteads and at this writing ,
tho u sands have occasion to bless their life in alu m be r c am p "

,
for t h e h o m e c o m forts a nd i ndepe nde nc e they to -da y e njoy .
The annu al report of S M S toc ksl ager co m m issio ne r of the

. .
,
gene ral l and ofi c e sho ws t hat du ring the last fisc al ye ar 64

, ,
133 a c res of th e p u bli c do m ain in Mic higan were p ate nted or

otherwise p assed title to and c onveyed by the general l and
office T he total nu m ber of p ate nts was 367 T wo hundred of
. .
the m were for final ho m este ads ; 1 34 were private cash e ntries ;
27 wa rra nt a nd scrip locatio ns a nd five co m m u te d h o m este ads .
I n additi on to this 257 ac res were patente d to t h e sta te of

Michigan u nde r the s wam p lan d grant Pri vate land claim s .
,
donations I ndian claim s in s eve ralty and scrip locations were

,
p ate nted i n t he state during t he ye ar to th e ext ent of

“T h eannua su pp y of h
l l ard wood for c harc oal averages c ords per
bl ast furnaco l n t he U
pper Peninsul a .
OR L I F E I N A L U BE R CA
. M M
P . 246
acres . Th ere are now 891 final h om e s te ad entrie s in Michi

a n fin a l p riva te c ash e ntri e s 533 final cash e ntri es a nd
g , ,
229 final wa rra nt a nd s c rip l o cati ons p e nding in th e genera l

land ofi c e There are . original h om este ad entrie s in
Mic higan now pe nding .
L et m e rei terate what I h ave strive n to e m body in b o th th e

sp iri t a n d letter o f t his b o ok : Boys save your m oney and ge t
,
aho m e
I won der if t he re ader has ever heard of what is kno wn as
“
j u m pers If not I will here narrate alittle inc ident whi c h ,
first i n trod u c ed m e to thi s stra nge c lass of Frenc h m e n and ,
wi thwho m the m en in the woods are frequ e ntly b ro ught in

c on ta ct It was in the wi nte r of 1883 th at I first m et three
.
“
j u m pers in the headqu arters c am p of Hackley
”
H um e
The fore m an M
,
n o rtho f H a rri sville Mi c h ,

. r Fra nk D esh ea
, u .
for m y espe c i a l be ne fit pu t the m en throu gha c o urse of gym

,
na s ti c s whi c h we re m y ste rio u sly

,
wo nde rful to say the le ast , .
T he three m en were physi c a l ly l a rge rob us t

, fello ws and
, ,
c ap able of doing agood day s work at any desc ription of wood s

’ ’
l ab or B ut they were strangely affe c ted with so m e sort of

.
n e rvo u s a ffe c tion by whi c h they we re e nti rely su bje c t t o the

,
m anu a l or vo c al c o m m and of whoever was ne ar the m Thu s .

,
t he viole nt c l a pping of the hands wo uld c au se al l th ree to

s i m u lt a neo usly i m ita te t he sam e ac tion The sho u ti ng ou t .
l o u d would b ring ac orre spo nding sho u t from e ac h

, A j um p .
w o u ld start the m a l l j u m pi ng or to strike am an aq u i c k blo w

, ,
wo ul d c a u se e a c h of th em i n turn to strike som eone else

, .
I n sh ort they see m ed pe rfe c tl y po we rle ss in the c ontrol of

t heir ac ti ons and for an ho ur the fore m an sho wed the m off till
, ,
t hey were app are n tly exhau sted .
I had frequ ently he ard of the j u m pers b u t ne ver before

“
,
had m et any of thi s singularly affli c ted rac e and of c o urse , ,
wa s extre m ely a nxiou s to le a rn so m et h ing m ore abou t t he m .
The fo re m an Frank Desheau gave m e the follo wing

, ,
I n the p rovi nce of Qu ebec on the Madawaskarive r the re is

, ,
acolo ny of ove r three hu ndred families of F re nc h j um pe rs “ ”
settled .A l l are m ore or less a ffli c ted with th is st ran ge ner

TH E S H A N T I nor
’
244 .
vous m al ady which seem s to p artake of the chara c te r of S t

,
“
.
Vitus dance ”
They have bee n loc ated for over t wo h u ndred
.
ye ars in this part of Lower Canad a and inte rm arry with eac h
ot her M
,
. en a nd wo m e n a re a li ke affli c ted in gre ater or les s

de gree with this stra nge poverty o f will power and kno wi ng ,
their infirm ity they keep it to them selves Physic ally and
, .
m e nta lly they are otherwise perfe c t and the m en freq u e ntly ,
go int o the l u m be r woods of Mi c higan and Wisc onsi n t o work

B ut M
.
r D esh eau i nform ed m e t h

. at to m ake am otio n with
an axe as thou gh to strike aperso n wo ul d c au se t he j u m per “ ”
, ,
seei ng the m otio n to d rive his axe i nto the m an ne xt t o him

, .
Knowing their pe c u liarity the othe r m en are c areful what ,
the m do when working with them and c onfine their fu nny

,
“
,
”
b u siness to ac ts which are inte nded to bring ou t the ridic ulo u s
c ter o f th Th
”
c ha ra e wo m e n a re j u st a
“
e j u m pe r s su sc epti
'
ble as the m en One wiping adish c an be made t o dash the

.
,
sam e u po n t h e gro u nd si m ply by another person m aking a

,
m otion a s th oughthro wing down adish T he fore m an t he .

,
night I spe a k of took his pipe fro m his m o u th and m ade a

, ,
feint of throwing it down I n an instant the three m en had .
dashed their pipes on the floor He did the sam e wi th his .
j ac k knife and the hand of e ac h m an we nt in to his po c ket and

-
,
bri nging ou t his knife d ashe d it on t he floor Al l three sat

, .
si de by si d e and am otio n t hefore m an m ade t o strike m e a

,
blo w c au sed ea c h t o tu rn and stri ke re al h ard at his neighbor

,
.
T hey ac tu a lly had no po wer to re sist the im itation of any

p hy si c al m otio n an d I n oti c ed o n e ,
wit h te ars ru nni n g do wn ,
his c heeks begging the fo rem an in Fre nc hto let him he

,
still .
It c e rtainly is asrngul ar phenom enon and it is yet m ore ,
singular th at we h ave not had som e sc ientific e xpl anation of

this nervo us c ondition whic hwould see m to b e exc lu sively
,
c o nfine d to one b ra nc hof t h e Fre nc h C a na dian people T he .
m en a nd wo m e n th u s a fi ic t ed a re noted for t heir p hysic al

,
be au ty b u t no F renc h m an or wo m an will m arry a j u m pe r

,
“ ”
.
It is now with extrem e relu c t anc e that t he au thor approac hes

the c onc lusion of his work The trip is abo u t c o m pl ete d and .
,
VIRTUTE N ON VE B B I B .
P O STSCRIPT .
T he c rit ic al ader will have doub tl wsl y disc overed very m any evidences
re
of h u rried prepa ra t ion in th e prec eeding pa

, g e s W h i l e f.u lly a d m i tt i ng t h e
fac t t he aut hor s apol ogy for al l suc herrors will rest in the statem ent that t he
,
’
, ,
c opy for t h Sh anty B oy wa s writ ten a nd pl a c ed i n th e printer s h ands wit hin

“ ’
e ,
eigh t da y s af t er d e c idi ng t o p u b l ish t his w or k I n fa c t. t he p u b l ic a. ti o n of t h e

“
S ha nty B oy
”
wa
, s a na fter t hought and another work of the au thor s— T he
,
’ “
La nd of N od — wa
”
s wit h dra wn a ft er several pages were in ty pe in order to
, ,
ma ke room for t his — deem ed t h e book bet ter su ited for t h e sea son I t ma y be .
added however t hat witht he bare exception oi t wo or t hree popul a

,
r songs used ,
th e ma tt er c onta ined in t h e foregoing pa g es is o rig i n a l w i t h t h e a u t h o r o f t he
S ha nty B oy and writ ten in plain A nglo S axon S om e of t he sketc hes and
“ ”
.
,
st ories form ing th e c onc l uding c h apters were origina lly cont rib uted by m e to
th e Detroit C h . ica g o W es t
, B ra n c h a n d C h eb o y g an p r e s s T h e se a l l h a. v e b e en
revised a nd ret urned to m a nusc ript form espec ia lly for the present work
, .
T ru sting t h a t independent of superfic ia

, l ity or bl u nders t h e kind rea , der m a y
have deri ved som e sma ll am ount of instruc tion and am usem ent from the perusal
of m y m odest l it tle effort ,
I rem ain very sincerely

Mi h M
.
Chebo gan y . c .
,
Dec 1st 1888
.
, . J . W . F .

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E nta

in view viz : to tell the story of the l um b er woods wh ere it is

least kno wn and to instruct and am u s e th e class of m en I

have m easurably strive n t o represent on these p ages . Ne arly

labor of the pine woods Here I have found a ﬁeld totally

t o sho w h ow m uch could be do ne by a m ore ve rsa tile wri te r .

Much of the m atter in these pages has form ed m y editorial c o n

dedicate the work to the m en I h ave received so m uch kind ne ss

Y es, you a re rat her run down for a fac t

Y ou a re right Doctor, b u t what is t he reas on?

Well , what am I to do? ”

Try some thing else or you a re a de a d man inside of a

sid e s dying How he avy are you?

Well try a winter in th e w oods a nd you wil l c om e out

forty pounds h e avier in the spring ”

B ut what c an I do the e I never was in the woods in m y

a hospital for th e m en in the woods? I ll pay you sixty dol ’

sel l tickets for m e What do you say Fitz?

Well if I am going the soone r the be tter , .

That s th e id e a b ut you ll want a woods rig C om e with

tak e the train north t o m orrow m orni ng

The above conversation took plac e on the steps of the B

professional skill brim full of bu siness and m yself O f the

l atte r individ u al who will ac c om p any the reader throu ghthese

p ages it need only be said that along term of rathe r c lose

c o nﬁnem ent in a n oﬁ c e a s aportion of the e ditori a

su l ted D r H . with the above re sult H aving intelligenc e .

e nough to belie ve what t he physic ian advised I at onc e c on ,

se nte d to take up what was to be t o m e an e ntire l y new line of

worki ng in the lum ber cam ps in the c apacity of what is kno wn ,

A s I sh al l have o c c asion t o m ore

fol lo wing th e ab ove c onversation beheld m e boarding a train

c ro wded train of cars ﬁlled with m en for the l u m ber woods .

Eve rything was new to m e and while m y literary work on a ,

newspape r lo c a t ed in a leading lum ber town had long pre

viousl y tau gh t m e the theory of life in th e woods and eve n a ,

l ittle o f th e p ractical , through frequ e nt ass ociation with woods

ou tward appearances at least I was dressed for the part and .

ru bbers stra pped abou t th e ancle Fre nc h he ad cove ring of the ,

variegat ed night c ap persu asion and a he avy overc oat A dded , .

and b adge of t he sh anty b oy

would be fearfu ﬂy void witho u t the ac c e ssorie s of the gre at

A m eri c an god I wa , s ple ntifu lly su pplied with Ni m rod pl u g

tob ac c o and abrier root pipe

T he sim ple state m ent that the c a r wa s fu l l wou ld b u t faintly

convey a com plete sense of the re sponsibility resting upon

word . The se ats intended for t wo held t hre e and fo ur The .

aisles were j am m ed wit h he aving surging ro aring swe ari ng , , , ,

laughing h um anity ou t of nearly every kindred nation people

m en we re boun d for the woods a nd along se a son of hard l abor

and c onsiderable e xc use co uld be had for a c ondition of exhil

sh a nty b oy h as bee n see n at his worst by those who h ave

so m e to wn or c ity e sc apade in whichhe is c a u sed t o ﬁgu re as

the drunken ﬁghting bu m S u ch ho weve r is ave ry wrong

e stim ate of a c haracter abo unding with indic ations of the be st

a c ru de form .An d right he re I wa nt t o record t h e fa c t

gath ere d from the expe rienc e of ye ars of personal association

sonal assistanc e thro ugh thic k and thin when in trouble I , ,