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Home , Lumberjack

By William Durbin Workers gathered for a photo in 1887 at the C.N. Nelson Company camp on Stoney Brook near the town of Cloquet. Sweat Pads, Logging Berries, and Blackjack

Lumberjacks in the late 1800s worked hard and fast to fell to build America’s cities. The hungry jacks counted on logging camp cooks to keep them well fed with stacks of sweat pads, buckets of logging berries, and pots of blackjack. Lumberjack Lingo Use the logging camp vocabulary below to decode the sentence in the red box. an Bell, born on a farm in Ramsey County in 1876, worked in the north for 20 years. This story imagines what life was like for 19-year-old Lumberjacks, teamsters, bull cook, pencil pusher, butcher—everybody D showed up for the logging camp company photo. Dan during the winter of 1895 when he worked as a cookee, or assistant cook—an important job in a log- S ociety Teamster: Person who drives the teams of horses that pull loads of logs ging camp. Dan’s biography shared what it was like to work in a camp where they used “150 pounds of flour Bull cook: General maintenance man, also in charge of keeping the bunkhouse clean, assigning bunks, and seeing that bunkhouse rules are followed for a day’s cooking.” Pencil pusher: Camp clerk and accountant, who calculates payroll, orders Back then the United States of America was a bustling, Historical Minnesota supplies, and manages camp store Wood butcher: Carpenter who also does harness work 58 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer A couple of cooks posed with a violin and a Gabriel horn in front growing young nation of 44 states. To carrying supplies to the camp. After of the cook shack at the Bill Landahl Camp in Beltrami County in meet the demand for wood to build cit- crossing a tamarack swamp and a 1917. ies and towns, logging companies set narrow log bridge, Dan reached the up camps in Minnesota’s north woods tall timber. Then he walked three and logged giant, old-growth red and miles through white pines that tow- white pines. At the end of the winter ered more than 100 feet overhead. logging season, they transported the Many were too big around for three logs by railroads or by river drives to men to encircle with their arms. throughout the Midwest and Late in the afternoon, Dan reached southern . the logging camp—a clearing with a Oct. 15: Dan reported for work at bunkhouse, horse barn, blacksmith the Cross Lake Logging Company shop, and cook shack, all built out Headquarters. He had taken the train of freshly peeled pine logs. The cook from his home in Little Falls to Brain- shack, about 75 feet long with a tar- erd the previous day. Then to save the paper roof, had logs so big that it took dollar wagon fare, he walked the 25 only four of them to make 8-foot- miles from Brainerd to Cross Lake, high walls. where he signed on as a cookee at a north woods camp for a salary of $25 Get to Work. Stepping inside the per month. cook shack, Dan a man and a Along with 20 lumberjacks, Dan teenager busy making dinner. The S ociety boarded the company train for the windowless shack smelled of wood camps north of Cross Lake. The smoke and raisin pie. Dan’s eyes steam engine, which was fired by were still getting used to the light green popple, puffed out black smoke from the kerosene lamps when the Minnesota Historical Historical Minnesota as it chugged up a hillside charred broad-shouldered head cook, Mac Blow the Gabriel horn and the lumberjacks will come running from the from fires set by the sparks of logging Carlson, stepped up and handed boiling-up shack, but you better be ready with plenty of sweat pads trains. In the distance Dan saw a large him an apron and a paring knife. and logging berries and hot blackjack and swampwater. cutover area at the ’s edge. It was Without even saying “hello,” Mac littered with waist-high stumps and pointed to a big pail full of potatoes Gabriel horn: 5-foot long tin horn to call lumberjacks for meals piles of slash—pine tops and branches. and told him to peel the spuds. Boiling-up shack: Rarely used place to bathe and do laundry Dan was the only man to get off at Dan stared at the potatoes for a mo- the Black Creek siding, a short side- ment, and Mac started yelling about Sweat pads: Pancakes track for loading trains. Carrying his “greenhorns” and “gazebos” who did Logging berries: Stewed prunes clothes in a flour sack tied with a rope, not know which end of a knife to hold. Blackjack: Coffee Dan started walking east on a rutted Glen, who was an experienced Swampwater: Tea tote road, which was used by wagons cookee, helped Dan get started. Dan

60 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer November–December 2008 61 peeled potatoes as fast as he could, ters called this logging “highball”— Lumberjacks paused between bites in the cook nicking himself twice on the knuck- based on the railroad signal for “full- shack at a logging camp near Bemidji in 1908. les. While the spuds were frying, Dan speed ahead.” Everybody in the log- and Glen hustled to load bread, baked ging camp moved fast. ham, stewed prunes, beans, and pies When Dan stepped into the kitch- onto serving platters. As they finished, en, Mac mumbled something about Mac stepped outside and lifted a “laggard gazebos.” As Glen washed 5-foot-long Gabriel horn. Except for a up and toweled off his face, he told few dents, the silvery tin horn looked Dan they had to prepare eight loaves like something an angel might blow. of bread and four dozen buns for Mac blew the horn to call the lumber- baking—before they could start jacks for the evening meal. making breakfast. And later that Three toots later 40 men came morning, they’d be baking 10 pies running from the bunkhouse. The and a half a keg of molasses cookies. men crowded through the cook Mac hollered at the boys to stop shack door. Dan gagged at the smell jawing and get cooking.

of damp wool, boot grease, sweat, Once the bread dough was set aside S ociety and stale tobacco. to rise, Mac began boiling oatmeal Dan wondered how they would ever and frying everything else: spuds, feed so many hungry jacks. Glen told donuts, side pork, and pancakes, a l a H istoric him half the crew hadn’t arrived yet. also called sweat pads. Dan got the job of warming up the baked beans Daylight in the Swamp. The next and logging berries (stewed prunes). morning Dan woke up to Mac hol- Glen brewed big pots of swampwater lering, “Daylight in the swamp.” (tea) and blackjack (coffee). Arthur A. R ich a rdson, Minnesot A. Arthur In the yellow lamplight of the little A blast on the Gabriel horn bunkroom at the rear of the cook brought the plaid-shirted lumber- If you’re a cookee, you better keep the stove lids coming for shack, Dan peered at his pocket watch jacks piling through the door again. the hungry jacks. And they might want a nice piece of Shoe- and saw that it was four o’ clock. The hungry jacks chowed down pack pie for dessert. As Glen hopped out of the lower twice as much food for breakfast bunk, he explained that they started as Dan ever had. And they ate four Cookee: Cook’s helper cooking breakfast two hours before times as fast! Dan and Glen ran Hungry jacks: Loggers or lumberjacks the jacks got up. Glen slipped on his among the long tables, refilling plat- Stove lids: Another word for pancakes pants and boots and headed into the ters and bowls nonstop. kitchen before Dan could climb out Mac didn’t allow the jacks to talk Shoepack pie: Pie made out of vinegar, cornstarch, sugar, and of bed. Dan could see why the clerk during meals, except to ask for more sometimes lemon extract or vanilla who signed him up at the headquar- food. If the men didn’t finish eating

62 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer Lumberjacks from Alger Smith Company Camp No. 6 in 12 minutes or less, Mac accused and Glen launder towels, aprons, and had a hot lunch delivered to them by a swingdingle in them of lollygagging and wasting dishrags in washtubs in the boiling- the woods in Cook County in 1916. company time. up shack, where they heated the wash water on a wood stove. Hectic Mealtime. The lumberjacks left the cook shack as fast as they’d More Jacks. In November more lum- arrived. Before Dan and Glen had berjacks arrived, including the pen- started washing the big pile of dish- cil pusher (camp clerk), iron burner es, Mac began fixing lunch. (blacksmith), wood butcher (carpen- Serving lunch and dinner was just ter), dentist (saw filer), and, to the re- as hectic as breakfast. By the time Dan lief of Dan and Glen, a third cookee. and Glen had finished the day’s final The actual logging didn’t begin until cleanup, the lumberjacks were all in the saw crews signed on and started bed. Dan was exhausted and ready the pines. Along with the saw to hit his bunk too, but Mac told the crews, teamsters known as cookees to set the tables for breakfast. were hired to drive horses that pulled The boys set out 40 tin plates, each the logs to the side of the road. one upside down with a cup face Once the weather turned cold, down on top. Then came the silver- water-tank crews worked day and ware, syrup pitchers, salt and pepper night, driving teams that pulled a rut shakers, and sugar bowls. They fin- cutter, to make a double track for the S ociety ished at 9:30. sled runners, and a water tank, to fill Dan and Glen worked 16 or 17 the ruts with ice. These ruts of ice hours a day, seven days a week. made loads easier to move and kept Along with their daily cooking du- them from sliding sideways. Minnesota Historical Historical Minnesota ties, the boys had to scrub the tables Once the ice roads were ready, top Here comes the swingdingle! Tell the sawyers to put down the and floors, stoke the cook ranges, and loaders were hired to load the logs misery whip, because it’s time for lunch. load the heating stove with wood. on the hauling sleds. Then four-horse They filled the lamps with kerosene teamsters drove the giant sleds back Swingdingle: Sleigh for hauling food to loggers in the woods and polished the glass globes. to the railroad siding, where the logs Sawyers: Pairs of loggers who worked together felling trees The cook crew had an easier time on would be loaded on rail cars and then with a Sundays, because Mac cooked smaller delivered to Cross Lake. meals. The jacks were allowed a day of By mid-December, logging was in Misery whip: Crosscut saw used by two men (sawyers) for cutting trees rest on Sunday, and sometimes a trav- full swing with 85 men in camp. Every eling minister called a sky pilot con- single day Dan and the cook crew had ducted services. But Mac made up for to bake 16 loaves of bread, eight dozen the lighter workload by having Dan buns, 20 pies, and a keg full of cookies!

November–December 2008 65 Swingdingle Ride. Since the saw crews inches), or 25 tons of wood on each Top loaders, teamsters, and groundhogs piled were working two miles from camp, load (the weight of 15 modern cars). logs on a sled at the Magnuson and Lindell the foreman didn’t want them to waste As Dan watched the loads heading Logging Camp in 1890. time walking back to the cook shack for the railroad siding, he imagined the for their noontime meal. So Dan and huge pile of timber that must be build- Glen took turns delivering the food ing up at Cross Lake Landing, where on a swingdingle, a long wooden box logs were dumped throughout the mounted on sled runners and pulled winter. The log drive would start there by a horse. The box had covered com- next spring and continue down the partments for a stew kettle, a bean pot, Pine River to the Mississippi. He won- bread, pies, and dishes. dered how many homes and grand ho- Dan enjoyed driving a horse and tels would be built from the camp logs getting out of the cook shack. Once once they’d been floated downstream he neared the cut, he could hear the and turned into lumber at sawmills. sounds of the jacks at work: skidders In early March the ice roads began whistling to their horses and notchers to soften with the warm weather and chopping out neat Vs to direct the fall sunlight, so the teamsters switched of each pine. Sawyers in pairs pulled to night hauling. When the roads crosscut back and forth, creating finally “broke down” or melted, the S ociety a zinging rhythm as curls of white saw- company closed the camp until the dust piled up on their boots. The saw- next logging season. yers called “Tiiiiimberrr” to signal the Mac asked Dan and Glen if they shudder and crash of a big pine, which wanted to sign on with the “river pigs” shook the ground like an earthquake. and help him cook on the log drive With winter temperatures below down the Mississippi. After thinking istorical H istorical Minnesota Burkhart, zero, Dan blanketed his horse and about being cooped up in a floating served the meal next to a big fire. cook shack with a crabby fellow like Groundhogs and top loaders piled logs on the sled, while the The men set their and saws Mac, Dan and Glen decided they’d water-tank crew and road monkeys got the ice road ready for aside and ate even faster than they rather walk the 25 miles to Brainerd the load to be pulled to the railroad. did back in the cook shack, because and catch the train back home. nV if they dawdled their beans would Groundhogs: Men who guide logs onto hauling sleds freeze to their plates. A Note to Top loaders: Highly paid and skilled men in charge of loading The cutting and hauling continued Teachers the hauling sleds through January and February. A Find teachers guides to this and other Water-tank crew: Men who use a sled-mounted water tank to four-horse team typically hauled about Young Naturalists stories online at www. build up the ice roads 5,000 to 6,000 board feet (a board foot mndnr.gov/young_naturalists. Road monkeys: Crews that handle road maintenance, such as measures 1 inch by 12 inches by 12 shoveling road apples (horse manure)

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