Thornton W. Burgess

“ Such a trail is rough traveling in dry weather, but when the heavy snows of winter have covered it and have been packed down and iced it forms an ideal slide for the lumber bobs with their huge loads of logs.
The trail gradually led up the lower slopes of Old Scraggy, and some two miles from the camp the boys came upon one of the crews at work. The crash of falling trees, the rasp of saws, the sharp ringing blows of axes biting into hard wood, the shouting of rough voices and now and then a snatch of rude song proclaimed that the work of destruction was in full blast. ”

“ While the guide exchanged his heavy boots for a pair of moccasins Walter slipped on a pair of sneaks, for he realized that this was to be a still hunt, the highest form of sportsmanship, a matching of human skill against the marvelous senses of the most alert and timid of all the animals that live in the forest. It was to be his first deer hunt, for the jacking expedition of the night before could hardly be dignified by the name of hunt, the advantage lying so wholly with the hunters. ”

“ Walter looked up with just a little feeling of awe to see the man of whom he had heard so much—a scientist, explorer, author and lecturer, honored by many scientific societies and institutions of learning both at home and abroad, and now content to bury himself in the north woods as the founder and head of the most unique school in the world—a school with a purpose which was, as he himself whimsically expressed it, “to make big men of little boys.” ”

“ Persistent whipping day in and day out through the open seasons by anglers whose creed is little more than greed has robbed it of its fame for big strings, and the ruthless destruction of cover on its watersheds by the axe of the lumbermen has so reduced its water supply that a note of pathos has crept into the sweetness of its song and sadly marred the beauty of its forest setting. ”

“ The curriculum embraced all forms of athletic sports, swimming, canoeing, fishing, shooting, forestry, the rudiments of civil engineering, woodcraft in all its branches from the pitching of a tent or building of a lean-to to the cooking of a good meal, the shooting of a rapid and the way to live off of the country in an unknown wilderness. ”

“ When the last one had gone he walked over and put his hand on the bowed head at the end of the table. “Hal,” he said gently, “you have made good. That was the bravest act I’ve ever seen in Woodcraft Camp. We’re prouder to have you a Seneca than we would be to win that deer’s head. That was the supreme test, and we’re proud, all of us, to have a fellow tribesman with the sand to meet it as you have done. You’ll find that you have won your friends, boy.”
Later, when Hal had recovered his self-possession somewhat and went out among his comrades, he found that it was as Avery had said. ”

“ The honor of Woodcraft Camp as a whole is to be safeguarded only by keeping unsullied the honor of each individual member. By your acts of deliberate disobedience yesterday you not only besmirched your own honor as Scouts under oath, but you blotted the honor of the entire camp. Buxby, by your own confession you have sought to take upon your shoulders the entire blame for this unfortunate affair. The motive does you credit. ”

“ Big Jim has told me of your encounter at Upper Chain. My boy, I rejoice in the manliness and courage, in the sense of fair play, which led to your defense of the weak. Of all men the bully is most contemptible. No bullies are allowed in this camp, and, Upton, no fighting, unless all other means of settling a quarrel prove futile. Then it is fought out with gloves in the presence of the whole camp and with an unbiased referee. ”

“ Paleface, dweller in wigwams of brick and stone, it is made known to us that your heart turns from the settlements to the heart of the great forest, and that you desire to become a child of the Lenape, whose totem is the tortoise, to be adopted by the Delawares, the tribe of Uncas and Chingachgook; that you long to follow the trail of the red deer and to spread your blanket beside the sweet waters ”

“ And,” he added with a smile, “don’t forget to cheer the other fellows when they win. If we must lose let’s be good losers, but—don’t lose! That’s all.”
The conditions were perfect for the afternoon’s sport. The lake lay like a huge mirror, not a ripple breaking its glassy surface. Clustered about the finish line were the camp canoes and boats and several launches filled with guests from the hotels at the other end of the lake. Several batteaux filled with lumber-jacks from the Durant camp lined the course. ”

“ Even as he uttered the warning the bear charged. Walter, who stood a little to one side, unconscious of what he was doing, hurled the pail he was holding full at the angry beast and turned to run. This proved the salvation of Big Jim. The rolling clattering object distracted the bear’s attention for an instant. She paused long enough to give the pail a vicious blow which by chance sent it clattering noisily into the old windfall behind which the cubs had taken refuge. ”

“ The guide had checked the canoe within less than twenty feet of the log and Walter altered his focus accordingly. Now in his reflecting finder he clearly saw the little fur bearer, a mussel in his paws. With a sigh of relief Walter heard the click of the shutter in response to the squeeze of the bulb, held in his left hand. Then as the rat made a frightened plunge, he remembered that he had forgotten to withdraw the slide before making the exposure.
It is an error the novice frequently makes and that the expert is sometimes guilty of. ”

“ The bang of the finish gun crashed into it, but for a minute he did not sense what it meant. “For the honor of the tribe,” he murmured, weakly paddling the water with his hands.
“And the honor of the boy!” cried a hearty voice, as strong hands caught the slack of his jersey and pulled him into a boat. ”

“ A dozen log houses and a few ugly frame buildings, the latter unpainted for the most part, but with one a glaring red and another a washed-out blue, dotted an irregular clearing on either side of the railroad. Close by, the tail of a log jam choked a narrow river, while the tall iron stack of a sawmill towered above the rough board roof that afforded some protection to the engine and saws. Off to the right glistened the end of a lake of which the river was the outlet, its margin a mass of stark, drowned timber. The peculiar odor of wet sawdust filled the air. ”

“ Billy stared at him for a minute, then suddenly choked over the cup of hot cocoa he was drinking. When he had recovered his breath a broad smile lighted his battered face.
“Spud, old Scout, we win!” he exulted. “Here’s where we beat the big chief after all! Why didn’t I think of it before? It’s as easy as picking up chips at a wood-pile. We haven’t said a word about that second line. ”

“ Perhaps timidity is not quite a fair indictment. Let us say rather that of all wild animals none has come to have a more wholesome respect for man, and it is a well-known fact that not even a deer will bolt quicker at man’s approach than will this black comedian of the big woods.
It was with this fact in mind that the guide advanced a few steps and suddenly sent forth an ear-splitting whoop. ”

“ He had no doubt of their success in locating the tree and as Big Jim was no novice at cutting bee trees, he anticipated no trouble on that score. All the party wore gloves and carried mosquito netting to protect faces and necks from the maddened bees. In fact both Tug and Chip had their veils on when they entered the woods. The guide carried an axe, as did Woodhull, while Walter and Tug each carried a galvanized iron water pail for the expected honey. Billy knew that the guide would run no risk of having his charges badly stung and would undoubtedly smoke the hive well before laying it open. ”

“ You have come among us, paleface, not unheralded. Our ears have been filled with a tale of valor. It has warmed the hearts of the Delawares and their brothers, the Algonquins. Our young men have had their ears to the [Pg 64] ground; they have followed your trail, and they yearn to make a place for you at their council fire. But, lest the tales to which they have listened prove to be but the chirping of a singing bird, it has been decided in secret council that you must undergo the test of the spirits. ”

“ The young backwoodsman was not only taller, but was heavy in proportion; his muscles were hardened by work and rough outdoor life in a sawmill village, and hard knocks had toughened him as well. In contrast, the city boy seemed slight and hopelessly at a disadvantage. But underneath that neat khaki jacket was a well-knit, wiry frame, and muscles developed in the home gymnasium. Moreover, Walter’s father believed in teaching a boy to take care of himself, and it was not for nothing that Walter had taken lessons in boxing and wrestling. ”

“ Gradually the camps became fewer and farther apart until only an occasional lean-to or a tent now and then, clinging on the very edge of the forest, was evidence of man’s [Pg 31] invasion, and Walter felt that now in truth he was entering the wilds.
From the good-natured chaff and talk of his companions he gathered that Big Jim had been chief guide at Woodcraft Camp ever since this famous school in the woods had been started, and that the two young men had been among his earliest pupils. With eager ears he drank in their talk of fish and lures, of deer, rifles and hunting lore. ”

“ As he admired their exquisitely painted sides something very like regret for a moment subdued the boy’s elation and pride, for he was one of the true nature lovers, to whom the destruction of life must ever bring a feeling of sadness. ”

“ Both boys turned to find Louis Woodhull, who, walking with the noiseless step of the forest ranger, had come upon them unawares.
“There’s a lot of chips around the wood-pile, Billy, and cook wants them right now, so trot along, son,” he continued.
“Doctor told me to look out for Upton,” protested Billy.
“Upton is quite equal to taking care of himself, from all I hear,” said Louis drily. “Wood-pile’s waiting for a good, strong, able-bodied forester who knows woodcraft, one of the first essentials of which is knowledge of how to swing an axe. ”

“ In every direction mountain succeeded mountain, for the most part clothed to their summits with the variegated green of the mighty woodland growth, the somber spruce of the higher slopes, black against the lighter green of yellow and white birch, maple and ash, which had reclaimed to the wilderness the vast tracts ruthlessly laid bare by reckless lumbering twenty years before. ”

“ Alone in the wigwam of the spirits, where, it is said, on the fifth night in every month the spirit of a departed brave, stricken in the prime of his manhood, comes seeking the red hand of his slayer,—here alone you shall keep watch through the black hours of the night. ”

“ This was difficult for the backwoods boy to grasp, and it was equally hard for him to understand why in a fight he should not scratch, kick and gouge, even use his teeth if opportunity offered, for in his hard life in the lumber camps he had witnessed many a rough and tumble fight where ethics are unknown, and where fighting men sink to the level of fighting beasts, employing every weapon with which nature has endowed them, and giving no mercy to a fallen foe. ”

“ Anyway, the first the village knew of it she came paddling in with Bruce in the bottom of the canoe, more dead than alive.
“You know lumbermen and backwoods people are awfully superstitious, and it wasn’t long before they had the cabin haunted by Indian Joe’s spirit, moaning for his lost daughter. Hunters and trappers began to tell all sorts of stories of queer sounds around the cabin and soon no one would go near the old place. Superstition’s a queer thing, isn’t it?”
“You bet it is, and it isn’t confined to lumbermen and backwoods people by a long shot!” replied Walter. ”

“ Then he began by briefly explaining the rules governing boxing, pointing out that a blow below the waist line constitutes a foul, that a man knocked down is allowed ten seconds in which to get on his feet again, and during that time must not be touched by his opponent; that wrestling is not allowed, and that matches usually are conducted by rounds of three minutes each, with a minute for rest in between.
“No true sportsman will ever hit a man when he’s down,” concluded Walter. ”

“ Have an accident?” Then without waiting for Billy’s reply he added, “You may police camp for the remainder of the day, Buxby. Carelessness and recklessness are equally reprehensible, and neither should ever go unpunished. Upton, please report at my office in an hour. Buxby will show you where it is.”
“And I never said a word; you can’t fool the doctor,” whispered Woodhull to the discomfited Billy, as the latter stooped to lift a package from the launch.
Billy made a wry face and then, good-naturedly shouldering Walter’s duffle bag, started up the trail toward a long log cabin. ”

“ Other fellows were all the time doing things, why shouldn’t he? There was Billy Buxby with his bee trees and bear. Why couldn’t he do something big like that?
Hal was fighting a battle, the hardest battle that boy or man is ever called to engage in—a [Pg 250] battle with self, a fight to a finish for the right to look himself in the face without blushing, a fight for his manhood. Beads of cold perspiration broke out on his forehead. And then he looked up and saw Avery standing in front of the wigwam. ”