IN THE LUMBER WOODS 



219 



to defy the winter strife of the elements. A mere pile of rugged 

 forest trunks roofed over with rough bark, and still further protected 

 from wind and weather by boughs of fir, spruce and hemlock, 

 giving assurance of warmth inside, even in the most bitter weather! 

 when the fierce winds are roaring through the branches as if through 

 the ropes of a fleet of full-rigged ships. 



Some sheltered ravine is usually chosen as the site of the logging 

 camp near a spring or brook, hemmed in on all sides by the naked 

 brown stems of evergreen trees printing their black spear-shaped 

 tops against the sky. In a climate where the thermometer remains 



PILING LOGS ON THE FROZEN RIVER. 



for weeks at forty degrees below freezing, and the snow lies at an 

 average level of three feet in depth, the fireplace must necessarily 

 become an important feature. Although some camps are now 

 furnished with huge stoves, the ordinary method of heating is of 

 extreme simplicity. A square hole is cut in the roof, surrounded 

 by sheets of tin to guard against truant sparks. Immediately 

 under this hole on the solid earth-floor a rude fire-place is con- 

 structed of unhewn stone, where a blazing fire is fed day and night, 

 devouring the snow or rain that occasionally enters the aperture 

 above, which serves as the chimney. It is surprising what an 



