94 



RECREATION 



ionally, and even succeed in charging home, 

 to the undoing of its assailant. The black 

 bear is, however, quite harmless, and, as all 

 hunters know, one of the most arrant cow- 

 ards of the animal kingdom, at least when 

 it comes to facing man. So who shall blame 

 the hunter for treating the cinnamon and 

 black bear as distinct species? 



May not the true solution be that the cin- 

 namon bear is a cross-bred animal? 



It is only found in the West, where griz- 

 z-ly and black bear inhabit the same range, 

 and does not exist through the vast wilder- 

 ness from the Saguenay to the Saskatche- 

 wan, which is, from end to end, the home of 

 the black bear, but lacks the grizzly? 



W. J. Cressey, Lexington, Ky. 



HOW TO MAKE CLAPBOARDS, SPLITS OR 

 SHAKES. 



Editor Recreation : 



Everyone who has traveled in the moun- 

 tain districts of the South, in the Maine 

 woods, or in the wilderness of the North- 

 west, has noticed the long rough shingles 

 used by campers, trappers and settlers with 

 which to roof, or even cover sides, and all 

 of their shacks or log-house. In the South 



f\ 



lumberman's axes 



be cut off squarely, although the larger end 

 may be left "sniped" or pointed. Next the 

 bark must be hewn off by short half-arm 

 blows with the axe, holding the handle 

 nearer the axe-head than one does when 

 chopping. To make a really first- 

 class shake, the sap-wood should 

 be taken off, but for rough build- 

 ings it is usually left on, and not 

 infrequently the bark as well. 



One inch is sufficient thickness 

 for a wide shake, and half that 

 thickness may suffice for a nar- 

 row one. 



A complete outfit is made up of 

 an axe, a froe, and a cross-cut 

 saw. With the axe the tree is 

 felled and the bark and sapwood 



these shingles are called clapboards, in Maine 

 splits, and in the West shakes, and very 

 handy they are for many purposes. 



The best wood, when it can be had, is the 

 white cedar, but any wood that is straight 

 of grain and splits easily will serve. The 

 cypress is an admirable wood, also the bass- 

 wood, while on the Pacific coast the Murray 

 or black pine makes a good shake. The 

 Western cedar, the Sitkan spruce and the 

 Douglas fir are used successfully. 



Often the pioneer has nothing but his axe 



COMMON FROE 



hewn off; with the cross-cut saw the ends 

 of the log are squared, and with the froe 

 the shakes are peeled off one by one. 



In the case of large logs it is often found 



FROE USED IN THE NORTHWEST 



with which to work, and then he must be an 

 expert to make good splits. Select a good 

 straight-rifted tree as free from knots as may 

 be, chop it down, and cut the butt as high 

 as the first limb into billets, four to six feet 

 in length. The small end must in each case 



HOW TO HANDLE A LARGE LOG. 



