The Pioneer Woodsman as He Is Related to Lumbering in the Northwest

by George Henry Warren

One of the most acceptable of foods to such men at the supper hour was bean soup, of a kind and quality such as a cook on the frontier, alone, knows how to prepare. Plenty of good bread was always in abundance at such time. Usually there was also either corned beef or boiled pork to be had by those who wished it; generally also boiled rice or apple dumplings, besides tea and coffee.

In a well-regulated camp, where men are living entirely out of doors in tents, a bean hole is pretty sure to be demanded. The bean hole is prepared by first digging a hole in the ground, sufficiently large, not only to make room for the pail, but also for several inches of live coals with which it must be surrounded. After supper is over, the beans are put into a large pail made of the best material, with ears always riveted on, so that the action of heat will not separate any of its parts. The beans are first parboiled with a pinch of soda in the water. As soon as the skins of the beans become broken, the water is poured off; then the beans are placed in the bean pail, a small quantity of hot water is added together with a sufficiently large piece of pork; and, when a tight cover has been put on the pail, it is placed in the bean hole. The live coals are placed around it, until the hole is completely filled and the pail entirely covered several inches deep. Then ashes or earth are put on the top of it all, to exclude the air. Thus the pail remains all night, and, in the morning when the cook calls the men to breakfast, the beans, thoroughly cooked and steaming, are served hot and furnish an acceptable foundation for the arduous day's work about to begin.

"Our camp was made in a fine grove of pig-iron Norway". (Page [167].)

The work of the frontiersman is more or less hazardous in its nature, and yet bad accidents are rare. Occasionally a man is struck by a falling limb, or he may be cut by the glancing blow of an ax, though he learns to be very careful when using tools, well knowing that there is no surgeon or hospital near at hand. Sometimes in the early winter, men unaccompanied, yet obliged to travel alone, drop through the treacherous ice and are drowned. Few winters pass in a lumber country where instances of this kind do not occur. One day, when alone, I came near enough to such an experience. I was obliged to cross a lake, known to have air holes probably caused by warm springs. The ice was covered by a heavy layer of snow, consequently I wore snowshoes, and before starting to cross, cut a long, stout pole. Taking this firmly in my hands, I made my way out onto the ice. All went well until I was near the opposite shore, when suddenly the bottom went out from under me and I fell into the water, through an unseen air hole which the snow covered. The pole I carried was sufficient in length to reach the firm ice on either side, which alone enabled me, after much labor, impeded as I was by the cumbersome snowshoes, to gain the surface. The next absolutely necessary thing to do, was to make a fire as quickly as possible, before I should become benumbed by my wet garments.

The survey went steadily on, the snow and cold increased, and rarely was it possible to make an advance of more than four miles in a day. Frank Hoyt remained at the warehouse and watched the supplies which were steadily diminishing. One day, Philip B. Winston, two men of the crew, and I, set out to the supply camp to bring some provisions to the cook's camp. The first day at nightfall, we reached an Indian wigwam that we knew of, situated in a grove of hardwood timber, near the shore of a lake, directly on our route to the supply camp. Our little party stayed with the Indians and shared their hospitality. It was a large wigwam, covered principally with cedar bark, and there was an additional smaller wigwam so close to it, that a passage way was made from one wigwam to the other.

In the smaller wigwam lived a young Indian, his squaw, and the squaw's mother; in the larger wigwam lived the chief, his wife, his daughter, son-in-law, and the hunter, his wife, and two daughters, all of whom were present except the hunter. There was an air of expectancy noticeable as we sat on the mats around the fire in the wigwam, after having made some coffee and eaten our supper outside. Presently the chief informed us that an heir was looked for that evening in the adjoining tent. Before nine o'clock it was announced that a young warrior had made his appearance, and all were happy over his arrival. The large pipe was brought forth, filled with tobacco, and, after the chief had taken the first smoke, it was passed around to their guests, and all the men smoked, as well as the married women.

The next morning, we continued our journey across the lake and on to Hoyt's camp, where, it is needless to say, he was glad to see some white men. Their visits were rare at his camp. Filling our packs with things the cook had ordered, we started on our return journey, arriving at the Indian camp at nightfall. As we left the ice to go up to the wigwams, we met the mother of the young warrior who had made his first appearance the preceding night, going down to the lake with a pail in each hand to bring some water to her wigwam. The healthy young child was brought into the wigwam and shown to the members of our party, who complimented the young mother and wished that he might grow to be a brave, worthy to be chieftain of their tribe.

That evening a feast had been prepared at the chief's wigwam, in honor of the birth of the child, to which our party was invited. The menu consisted principally of boiled rice, boiled muskrat, and boiled rabbit. The three principal foods having been cooked in one kettle and at the same time, it was served as one course, but the guests were invited to repeat the course as often as they desired. This invitation was accepted by some, while others seemed satisfied to take the course but once. I have always found the hospitality of the Chippewa Indian unsurpassed, and more than once, in my frontier experiences, I have found that hospitality a godsend to me and to my party.