The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1875-04-23
YOUNG MOLL'S PEEyY.


into the "glnt-hole," fifty feet below
=, A wilder spectacle I never say
throughout the numbering region during
a space of eight years. The gates O
the dams at the foot of the lakes wer
up the volume of water was immense
Rocks, which in summer stand twent,
feet out of the rapids, were now unde:
water The torrent came pouring dow
the long incline, black and swift as 81
arrow, and we1t over into the pool a
one thuaderous plunge. thro wing up
"a t column Of mist. Two Iedges only
situated in the very throat of t6t
"pitch, showed above water. These
rocks the numbering company had de
signed to blast out the previous autumn
but had been prevented by heavy rains,
They then stood twenty seven feet out
of water. Now their crests are barely
exposed, and the food washes ove1
them in its mighty rhythem-motion.
In the rapids the whole stream is com.
pressed to a width of little more than
seventy yards.
A light jam had formed that mornine
at place about mile above. This
was broken by getting a haul on it from
the shore with dog.warp. Thereby
several thousand logs we're liberated al
once, and went down together into the
rapids. The older drivers exclaimed
that it would make mischief when il
started; but nothing could be done: il
broke and went out with q rush. We,
who were ahead, ran on down the
ledges to see it go through the falls.
and we had to run fast to keep up.
The instant the logs entered the rapids
they left US behind We could see them
going down, however, end over end,
and hear them "broom" against the
sunken rocks Turtlotte and Welsh
man named Finfrock were ahead. I
heard Turtlotte call out in French
that the logs were jumping, and saw
the butt ends of great sticks hy up.
glitsering out of the water. The logs
had struck and hung on one of the cen,
Ter rocks, and On the shelving lodges
upon the east side. The ends of three
large sticks, three or four feet across.
stood fifteen feet or more out of water
Wa ran on, clambering from crag to
crag, till we came to point looking
down on the guilt, sixty feet beneath !:
and that was about near enough. for
the ends Of the logs few up almost on a
level with our eyes, as they went over.
and the spray drenched our faces. The
Iedges under our feet tremblei as if an
earthquake were shaking them, and not
a word could be heard, even when
shouted in the ear. The combined
noises were louder, heavier, deeper. It
was a warm forenoon, and the sun
'shoue into the rack dazzlingly bright,
making vivid rainbow. Il was the
hottest chasm that can we'll be i'm
agined and to see that brilliant rain
bow hanging there so still and motion
less amidst all the up oar, gave one q
queer sensation.
Old man Villate himself, with his red
cap over his ears, came putting down,
shouting at the top of his lungs. We
could see his lips fly. The hitch was
betwixt tine shelving lodges on the east
side an one of the midchannel rocks.
It was not one log that had caught, else
the weight of the water would have
broken it out. 1t appeared that two
large sticks had come down with the
en- lying across each other, and a
third log, perhaps several logs, overly
ing these. When the current sucked
them through the rapii, between the
csnter and the shore ledges, the out
ward ends of the crossed logs struck on
both sides.
fhe warps were brought, and Villate
called for volunteers to go down, or
rather be let down, the lodges and prize
off the shore ends of the iammed logs
with "peevies. There were plently of
bold fellow but every man hesitated.
Murmurs of ceTtaS9ae mort" i" 8atr
mort, " "ooTte du t0DabeGu," "porte
deSyeT," arose and were repeated.
SO IT'S hard world, but I wants to
tarry in it spell longer, boss |" said
one grizzled old Yankee from the Maine
rivers, with sage shake of his long
heal. We all knew that when the jam
started it would go through like an
avalanche. Whoever was doWn there
would have to go with it-into the
glut-hole.
By noon all the crew had come up.
The jam filled the whole river for q
third of mile back from the fall, 80
completely that during the afternoon
the west bank gangs crossed on it to
the east side. We lighted our fires on
the lodges; aEd as the evening advanced
It vas Q picturesque sight the red
shlrted drivers camping there and sit
ting IN messes about their course fare.
all the next day we worked with
the Warps. NooseB we're dropped over
the uprightends of the logs at the footof
the Jam, and the whole gang was set to
pull on them. Later in the day heavy
capstan was rugged. The hawsers broke
like tWine. It was impossible to start
a log, SO tremendous was the weight of
water and lumber combined.
Next day the jam was mined with
powder placed in water tight molasses-
casks and connected with fire at the top
of the ledges by means of tarred fuses.
The blasts blew out splinters freely, but
failed to break or dislodge the large
sticks. Villate fumed and sweated.
Unless the drive went down to market
not dollar would be paid to one of us;
so he declared. IF you want your
pay, break the jam, was nis con tant ex-
hortatIon, enforced by vigorous curses;
and, indeed, we had been hired on
these terms wages 10 be paid when the |
drive reached Montreal mot before.
This is a common rule, or used to be;
the men have thus strong interest in
the driving.
A plan was mooted among the messes
that following night to cut out the front
logs The same scheme has been often
put in execution. Tt was argued that
by stretching wArp.line across the
rapids, from cliff to cliff, directly over
Ihe foot of the jam, man might be
low red on it, with an az, and cut away
Lbo Torxs A Io.r.o SO hacIyakU sn - vvas /