The Camp Watchman

The seasons are definitely changing. Though, as is usually true in Minnesota, there are starts and stops as one season seems to be reluctant to give way to the next season.

The lumber camps in the late 1800s and early 1900s also went through a transformation as winter gave way to spring and summer. If a camp would be back in use in the following fall and winter, the buildings and equipment would be dealt with differently than if that camp’s usefulness was finished.

As the lumberjacks left the camp, they headed to wherever they would spend the warm months—perhaps working on a farm, in an iron ore mine, on a Great Lake’s freighter, or trying to pick up odd jobs in one town or another. They might know that they would be back in that same camp come fall, or they might not know until late in the summer if there would even be a job for them with the same logging company, at this camp or another. There was not much certainty to their lives.

One man who did know he had a job in the camp during the summer months was the camp watchman. His job required him to stay in the woods keeping an eye on things. Depending on the type of camp and other land in the area owned by the logging company, the watchman’s duties might vary from company to company or camp to camp.

One thing usually was always true: the watchman had to be a man who didn’t mind being alone. This was a job with few people around for many, many days or weeks at a time. There are some interesting stories (though few photographs) about the camp watchmen.

Some of these stories were collected by James Carlyle Ryan, also known by his initials “J.C.” or his nickname “Buzz”. He grew up near Bemidji in the early decades of the 20th Century. His father was a logger and Buzz followed his father into the business. Buzz worked at many jobs within the industry and watched as the logging business changed through the years. He would go on to serve as the long-time president of the State Forestry Employees Association. He was active with the St. Louis County Historical Society. He researched a great deal and wrote many articles about the history of logging. His articles were widely published in the 1960s and 1970s.

The following is taken from one of Buzz Ryan’s articles.

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Each job in logging had its importance in bringing the logs to market. To say just which job was of greatest importance would be hard to do. There was, however, one job that seemed of little importance to some people, but because of its character and responsibilities it was truly very important.

That was the job of logging camp watchman.

Now there were several kinds of watchmen. There was the one at a camp known as the landing or supply camp watchman. Still others were in charge of animals, like those in charge of horses pastured during the summer months, or those in charge of raising pigs or chickens, or those in charge of oxen or cattle. It was also necessary to have a watchman for the summer vegetable gardens which were used to supply the camps during the winter months. Each of these required a different type of person.

In the very early days of logging in Minnesota, camps that were used for more than one winter many times would have a lone watchman left in charge through the summer. He would be held responsible for all the tools and equipment left in camp, in addition to caring for any animals. If a large swamp grass area was near the camp, a few men were usually sent in from the outside to cut and make hay for use in the camp the following winter. In this case, the watchman was sometimes required to cook for the hay crew while they were there, which was usually about two to three weeks. As a rule, enough supplies would be left when the spring log drive was over to keep a watchman supplied over the summer.

These early camps were usually 40 or more miles from the nearest town or supply center—which might just be a railway depot. Often the camp watchman would not see anyone from the outside all summer.

During the early days of logging, it was sort of a tradition that when a camp was through operating, and would not have loggers returning to it in the fall, one small building was left intact on the site. This was for those lumberjacks who might walk in to the camp and find the crew all gone. That jack would at least have shelter for the night.

Occasionally a stray lumberjack stopped at a camp during the summer and found a watchman there. The lumberjack might spend a night or two, and the watchman might appreciate having some company.

The job of watchman was a lonely one and required a special kind of person. Many times they were a little on the cranky side and were not talkative or particularly friendly. Often, the watchmen were picked by the boss with this in mind, to keep a wandering jack from spending too much time in camp, eating supplies and distracting the watchman from doing his chores!

Many of the watchmen were older men who preferred to be alone. The boss might visit the camp a time or two during the summer or send in a couple of men to see that all was well. Often, the only thing the watchmen had to do in their spare time was read a collection of “Western novels” or magazines that had gathered in the camp while it was running on the winter. However, many of these old men could not read and rather enjoyed just having a few animals to keep them company. Most camp watchmen were very dependable or they would not be kept on for more than one season.

Speaking of not being able to read, we had a Frenchman watching camp for my dad’s company northwest of Gemmell in 1918. That summer, my dad sent me on one occasion to see how the watchman was getting along and if he needed anything. I walked in to the camp over a wet muskeg trail about seven miles and arrived about noon.

This Frenchman had the nickname “Old Gabe.” He made me a nice lunch of salt pork and fried potatoes and told me that everything was going okay. But, he asked, could the next time anyone came in bring along some canned milk, as he liked milk on his oatmeal in the morning.

I was sure that there was some canned milk already there in in the root house, but he insisted that there wasn’t any. So, we walked to the root house and, sure enough, over 50 cans of Rose brand condensed milk was still on the shelf. I handed him a can and told him there was lots of milk. He only said, “Gee, Christ. That’s milk? How come there’s no cow picture on the can?” He could not read much English and identified what was in the cans by the pictures on the labels.

The camp watchmen who were picked to be responsible for pastured horses were those men who liked the horses and knew how to take care of them. These watchmen were responsible for the food and health of the horses—which were, of course, very valuable members of the lumber camp. The watchman had to be able to take care of any problems related to sickness or accidents. Sometimes, if a larger number of horses were pastured at a camp, two men would be hired for the job. But this did not seem to work out very well. It seemed that when one man did the cooking, the other would kick if the food was not to his liking or for some other reason the two would not get along. One man alone with his horses was best.

Still another type of watchman was needed in camps where they raised pigs. Big Bill Molslinger did just that for the Cloquet Lumber Company at Camp 26 and Stroud. He would start out in the spring with five or six sows and end up in the fall with 50 two-hundred pound hogs. He loved hogs and talked to them like they were humans. I visited his camp a few times and always found him carrying two large pails of swill from a barrel with a yoke over his shoulders. Bill was good-natured and would always invite you to have lunch with him.

Old Martin Judd was another one of the watchman farmers. With a horse or two he would raise several hundred bushels of potatoes for the camps. He watched several camps for the Cloquet Lumber Company.

The watchman hired for a landing or supply camp usually worked year round at their job. They took in the supplies as those were delivered and watched that they didn’t go to the wrong camp when the tote teams arrived for them. It was this watchman’s job to be a sort of diplomat, as he had to get along with the tote teamsters and lumberjacks who were coming and going. He also had to be able to read and write as he needed to keep track of all supplies passing through the doors.

John Daly watched the supply camp at Palmers and Shields for the Northern Lumber Company. He had been a camp foreman in his younger days and knew how to handle the men. He was well-known for being strict in all things.

John Body watched over the landing camp at Rollins. He liked his drinks, but gave strict orders for no drinking on the job. So, when a jack walked in with a bottle and offered John a drink, he said, “No, but put some in a cup for me and I’ll have it later.” Sometimes when there were new men arriving daily on their way to the camps, John would have a dozen or more cups waiting for him by the end of the day.

Most of these watchmen worked at watching camp for a number of years and would not do any other type of work. All of them had important responsibilities, whether for buildings, equipment, animals, or gardens. They saw to it that things were in good shape and ready for the crew as soon as the logging season would begin. The watchman, just like the other men in the camps and sawmills, played a large part in bringing the timber to market.