Lumberjack Lingo: A Dictionary of the Logging Era

Ever wonder what a "whiffletree" was? How about a "gabriel," "go-devil" or "cackleberries"? When the lumberjacks moving from Maine to Minnesota carved settlements out of the vast pineries they also carved out their own language. LUMBERJACK LINGO, the lifetime work of L. G. Sorden and Jacque Vallier, unveils the language of the lumberjack. The authors, through library research and extensive travel throughout the north country, have collected over 4,000 expressions or terms used in logging camps in the northeast and upper midwest. More than an interesting reference work, LUMBERJACK LINGO embraces the humor ("Pearl Diver"--a dish washer) and danger ("Logger's Smallpox"--scars on a lumberjack inflicted by an opponent's spiked boots in a fight) of life in the woods. Follow the path of the lumberjacks through their most enduring legacy--the words they left behind.