"He takes a horse with him on his tours, for he has lots to tote. He hauls his day's cutting to camp, and spends the evening fixing the poles. It's pretty hard work, I'm told, all around; but then the evenings are pleasant, what with the crackle of the fire; the swish of the shaves at work taking the bark off the poles; the pipe-smoking; and the story-telling."
"What do they get for the poles after they've been skinned?" asked Step Hen.
"About two or three cents apiece, but that pays well for their work, and they bring in a heap of stuff through a winter. Of course, you know that these poles are split later, and used for barrels, the smaller ones for nail kegs, and to put around boxes. Down South all the orange boxes have such bindings."
"Is that all the ways of earning a living up here in this wonderful country?" Thad asked, deeply interested.
"I should say decidedly not," replied the other. "Why, I couldn't begin to tell you the different things men do up here, besides acting as guides; fire wardens, to protect the woods; and logging. There's the professional honey hunter who spends most of his time summers in locating bee trees. Then there's the axe-handle man. He needs ash of a larger growth than the hoop-pole fellow. The trees are chopped in the fall, and then by means of a 'froe' and an axe, each handle is shaped out in a rough state. Then they are buried, that they may season without cracking."
"How funny that is," said Bumpus, who was listening to all this with eager ears.
"For fear that the wood may split," continued Allan, "each end is daubed with a paint which is part grease; because ash goes to pieces mighty easy, if the sun gets at it. The rough handles are sent away to a factory to be nicely finished. Then there's the fellow who hunts for ship knees; and I tell you he has no picnic. I tried it once, and I give you my word I don't want to go out again."
"Yes, and there are heaps of these picked up, but only after tough work. The prospector goes out with his axe, hunting for hack or back juniper, or tamarack. He must examine every one he finds to make sure it has just the right kind of a bend or crook; and then comes the job of digging it out, which is a muscle racking business, believe me."