126 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 



logging camps the sleds are loaded in the morning 

 by lantern light, and the work continues so far into 

 the twilight that teamsters and choppers working at a 

 distance return to the bunk house after dark. The 

 men are well fed with wholesome food, which disap- 

 pears with astonishing rapidity. For sixty hungry 

 men working for twelve hours in a zero temperature 

 swinging an ax, pulling a saw or using & cant-hook 

 will make short work of the evening meal. Baked 

 beans, always a staple dish in a logging camp, are 

 cooked in huge wash-boilers, and doughnuts or fried 

 cakes are generally turned out by the tubful. How- 

 ever, in spite of the hard work, there is much that is 

 amusing and many jokes are played. In the past, the 

 lumberjacks of New England and New York were 

 largely recruited from the ranks of the French Cana- 

 dians, and their songs and pranks added much to 

 the color and life of the camp. A newcomer ordinarily 

 has a hard time until he is initiated, for all sorts of 

 tricks will be played upon him. His clothes and bed- 

 ding may mysteriously disappear, only to be found in 

 the top of a high tree near camp, and when he climbs 

 the tree to collect his belongings, two of the best 

 choppers in camp will station themselves at the foof 

 of the tree and chop it down before he can descend. 

 The unlucky novice clinging to the limbs comes down 

 with a crash, and may disappear entirely in a deep 

 snow drift. The life is rough, the men are good- 

 hearted but reckless, and unfortunately some of their 

 jokes may have disastrous results. 



After a hearty supper at the end of the day, the 

 men collect in the bunk house for their evening 

 recreation. Songs are sung and yarns are told about 

 the fearsome animals of the woods and legends of the 



