The Lumberjack Sky Pilot

ce is present and many a church is under the blight of apathy. But on the part of the loggin

r and blood-letting sword. That is a tale, foreign, distant and past; the narrative I bring is native, near and present. This warfare is not with the weapons which are the p

licsome winds drive the mercury thirty or forty degrees below zero and hold it in that low retreat for days, the men who work under the open sky must be vigorous to stand the taunts of the north wind an

ary in the estimation of the woodsmen. They pity a weakling, they respect a strong man. But to strength must be added devotion if the man who comes as Christ's messenger is to win. They will willing

he same-the souls of men-but the methods and means are more varied. The man of tact soon sees that the body can be used to d

eing used successfully to point men to Christ in the great north woods. It is not forcing men

ights and shadows, the labors and losses in the life of the missionary who spends his all for the men who are

re under the influence of open sin. The camps were near and the village traffic was evil-almost exclusively evil. Nine saloons were the ornaments of the place and the large brothel

found himself, after nightfall, in the village described above. The lunchroom was in the rear of a saloon and there the missionary took h

g will drink the stuff you fellows are imbi

and Bess placed her front feet on the bar

xample to my dog. You had better follow her

ent to his room. The sleeping place was over the barro

the curses and cries of men rang loudly through the house. A fight was in progress and it was evident to the missionary that

e held a heavy barroom chair, and lying near him were three men whom he had felled with the ready weapon. The bartender had taken refuge under the counter and outside of the o

nd nae ithers!" cried the drunken logge

reman. "F--, think what you're doing,

Its mair than flesh an' bluid can stan'," replied the foreman as he men

his temper," said the preacher. "Put down that chair and

the others to their feet, but the men in the street did not v

nces. But the missionary's sleep was not destined to be undisturbed, for soon drunken oaths, the shriek of a terrified woman and the heavy blows of an

brothel to persuade him to accompany her home. Her efforts were unavailing and he remained there drinking and carousing until m

evious fright, Mr. Higgins disarmed the drunken proprietor and led him into a

"Rock of Ages." The crowd of loungers had increased to a considerable number by the time several selections had been played, and when the song, "Wh

trange service was being held, and at the close of the

the support of the mission work. Mr. Higgins arrived at the hour of the evening meal and learned that the Sisters of Charity had been in the camp at noon

ask you to contribute to this work tonight, but since the Sisters h

hed the announcement when F--,

en a guid thing an' are willin' to pay for't. I'll tak' up the collection, although it

osed task he handed the missionary

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man with a mighty arm. Now I am not attempting to prove that this is best, nor would I care even to leave that intimation, but I remember the days when the rod properly applied was far m

nhood. Corporal punishment was effective for good then, and if you read the next incident you will realize that it ha

hese men in Parker's Camp felt the spirit of song-but not all of them. An undertone of discontent came from a group of Frenchmen who sat together at the end of the shack. They did not r

AMP

preacher solicited their sympathy and all went well until the address began. As the missionary proceeded in his message the rumble of the disturbers grew in volume until the address could not be heard. Patience was no longer a virtue, but an assistant

he brawny evangelist, "you are going to listen to the g

of, Pilot, we'll see fair

them both the thrashing and the preaching," said the swamper. "You've go

ar exponent of Christianity. On the preacher's arms stood the muscles in rounded hills and in his face was depicted determination and fearlessness. The examina

minister as he walked back to the barre

eous indignation, powerful in right and backed with physical prowess, won the admiration of the disturbers. Conviction and f

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s by the wayside and is trodden down. Again, the sower is not even allowed to sow by the wayside. The devil is not dead and his agents are faithfu

liher, Minnesota to the foreman in charge. The letter gave Mr. Higgins the privilege of holding service in the bunkhou

e, and then proceeded to find the foreman in order to present their credentials. Near the cookshed the

ou Hig

ed the mission

," he in

f introduction from the proprietor," said the mi

push; "you can't preach in this camp. Get your things out of the office blank quick

swered: "I am in no haste about leaving, Mr. G-, in

ou to Hades out of here,"

ould be present during the disturbances and some

ted. But he thought, if I should do this physical duty the lumberjacks who are my friends will refuse to work for the foreman and the proprietor's kindness will be repaid with lo

perty of the camp. The next day the foreman went into the blacksmith shop, and not being over civil to the vulcan in charge, was suddenly seized, dragged over the anvil a

you gave the Sky Pilot yesterday. You son of the nameless, I'll teach yo

the men quit the camp, refusing to wor

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eligion that is lived satisfies human wants. Jesus Christ bore a relation of helpfulness to the burdened world; the disciples of the Nazarene cannot do less than follow the example of the man loving Master. At least, t

drunken fool is blowing his stake as fast as he can throw it over the bar. I ain't able to get h

eacher. "We'll see wha

y was in that hilarious state of intoxication where liberality knows

se. Hades while the dough lasts. Turn

he metal counter and a roll of bills and

o the till, but he was not quick enough, for the la

, Paddy," said Mr. Higgins i

saloon man and he hastene

in my class, and I can't reduce my heft to ac

acingly waved a weapon at the preacher,

man; "that's the Sky Pilot, and the man th

, so I'll keep the rest as Paddy's banker until he is in a condition to know the value of it." Turning to the saloonman, he said, "You call yourself a man and y

dy on the train and carried him to

sitting. "Some one robbed me last night," he began; "they took eve

hrowing your money away faster than they could take it from you. You had already lost your coat and you threw your hat out of the car window on the way here

r again to appear among his old associates in the pineries. He is the

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the men who walk straight; he goes where he is needed, and, like the Master, he is a friend of publicans and sinners. But he who lifts another does not lower himself, even if he has to stoop in order to lift. In fact, I doubt if there be

d say that he was one of the best, and if you asked for confirmation of your opinion the lumberjac

e admiration of the men and his habits of life made him fe

y listened to the minister as he pleaded with the men to forsake evil and get right with

encouragement: "Lace it to them, Higgins, give them hell, old boy, the dr

y that is talking. A-- would be ashamed of that sort of thi

ley, Minnesota. The lumberjacks owned the town. The long drought of winter was turned into a deluge and it was the evident intention of the foresters

profane was the man in the gutter, and his drunken comrades raised their laughter of approval at his antics and remarks. Pushing his way throug

et and, leaning him against a building for support

miles from home but had not visited his people for two years. When the relatives saw their son and brother, at the same time realizing his

d get him to the institute while under the influence of his enemy-this was beating the devil with his first lieutenant. So the minister packed his grip with unministerial baggage-whiskey-and patiently waited his train. It took three men to get the logger into the car,

As the railroader punched the ticket, he said: "Are you on your way to Presb

could keep him from stirring up the crowd. Every few minutes the minister passed him the bottle and it acted like paregoric on

he platform, and immediately he cried to the ministerial bar tender, "Here, Sky P

crowded car became unbearable. The missionary felt it very necessary that he should go elsewhere and breathe a cleaner atmosphere, so he called a teamster

ck and expressed himself in song. It was the eighteenth of March, the day after St. Patrick's Day. On the platform at Walker a crowd of Irishmen were lounging, the green ribbons of yesterday's celebration adorning their lapels. The maudlin teamster was a protestant Irishman, and the green streamers aroused in his befuddled mind visions of glorious Londonderry days where the fist played a larger part in religion than it does in Minnesota. Le

, the minister was talking with A--'s father

parishioners, Mr. Higgins," he said hurriedl

e found that he had two patients t

ave an exhibition of drunken hilarity that drove out the self-respecting loungers and caused the station master to demand A--'s exit. T

business can stand considerable of the unusual, but this woodsman was able to give the denizens of Billingsgate advance instruction in the unprintable and nauseatin

ected that happened; a representative of law and order threatened to lock up both pedestrians in the city jail-for the logger dragged the minister in his zig-zag course and both

d fist at his companion. Mr. Higgins anticipated the attack and deftly stepped aside. The heavy b

reached, a cab took them to the

that the treatment could be injected into their arms. The removing of coats pleased A--, for it savored of a fight and he began to prepare for a conflict. Hastily he removed his coat and with raised guard and clos

im, he stands high in the confidence of one of the largest lumber companies, and large interests are in his hands. While not a professing

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ards Protestantism. Anything savoring of it is distasteful to them, due to centuries of training. When these sons migrate to

ny things of which he knew nothing did not disturb his mental bias or unsettle his decision. He was a man of likes and dislikes and he gave his whole strength to either; he never asked himself whether his likes or disli

gins came to the camp in which Old Quebec worked the Frenchman thought him a non-entity because he was religious and a fool because he was not a Catholic. If you had asked Old Quebec, "Aren't you prejudiced?" he wo

nt of invective, blasphemy and vulgarity that shocked the ears of every decent man in the camp. Now there are some men whom one can not easily eject. Old Quebec was probably one of these, at

mmed, to find the key log and break the obstruction. He was strong as hammered steel and bore himself as the king of the crew. He satisfied himself by cursing the miss

r the night. On the way to the barn he passed the ice house, before which lay several cakes of ice. As he passed between the cakes the missionary stumbled over the body of a man. The body wa

ggins, "get the lantern and hel

missionary and the French

his arms around the cold body, but Old Quebec, true to his su

Fortunately the man was not dead, but was drunk and frozen, and, had it not been for the timely aid would

er to the hotel man, "for I must le

c heard t

p in which Old Quebec worked. The service began, but no w

the preaching commences," whisper

Quebec listened with attention, no

e minister asked himself, "is the fello

chman beckoned to the preacher. Won

ain't got much time for religion, but after what I saw that Sunday night in Tenstrike, I'm settled. You're willing to do for us poo

e now feels that he is responsible for the decorum of the camp. Woe be it to the jack who dares to interfere with one of Mr. Higgins' meetings if Old Q

Quebec, "he's made the sledding easy for man

the man who keeps

s bidding,-Faith cometh by hearing, so Old Quebec's

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ished to be all things to all men, or had he just beheld the ancient lumberjacks as they poured into the Athenian bowery after a winter's chopping on the slopes of God forsaken Olympia? Whatever the cause of

. Their concerns are his interests and they know that if they need assistance this

ily married, and several children came to lighten his home. His wages were above his expenditures and he was making finan

TEADER'

try gradually passed into other hands and a darker side of life was seen, in which the woodsman, his wife and

The missionary took the helpless man to his home in the forest and began to nurse him back to health and sob

thing into a bundle and sent them over to the home of a neighbor. Not a single garment belonging to

and quench the consuming thirst, but no successful find rewarded his diligence. He begged for his clothing, but the man who sat beside his bed was deaf to entreaty. It was a seige in which the besieged could

nborn. Such remembrances create the desire to reproduce again the life of freedom. While M. was sighing for the past joys, Mr. Higgins was pointing him to the One who said, "I came that ye might have life, and have it more abundantly." At last in the shado

k. It is from M.'s wife telling of his later life. She who wrote the letter was a Catholic, but she tells of the God-given strength that came to M., how during the years since his conversion he had lived under the sustaining g