The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1879-07-10
Making Shingles in a Cypress Swamp.

| The following extract, showing HOW
shingles are made in Il Delaware cypress
swamp, is from an article by Howard
| Pyle in Hnrpcr'S Magaglpe: AS we
plunged deeper into the swamp the trees
increased in size. Here and there Il
black pool of water lay cleaning sullen-
| ", hiding, us it were, among 4 thick
growth Of rank ferns and venomous-
looking flowers. Vine-covered expresses
rose high aloft, the inevitable streamers
of gray moss hanging motionlesSly PEN
dent. The noise of the shing gle-cutters
sounded ever more clearly, like the rap.
ping of gigantic woodpeckcr-"t tap.
tap, tap; tap, tap, tap AS they chop
ped out the shingles, the sound of the
voices of the invisible workmen and IN
occasional burst of laughter echoing
mysteriously in the gloomy and other
wise unbroken solitude; and so we came
upon the shingle center.
The workmcn had just eXcavatcd Il
log, the butt or root part within Il few
inches of the surface Of the ground, the
stem at the farther end some two or three
feet below. At about twenty feet dis
tance from the butt q young man was
busy saving through the log. His cheeks
were hollow, his features angular, Il gen
eral cadaverous look betokening chills
and fever. The saw had II handle only ut
one end, like the instrument used for
cutting ice The sharp end struck deep
" into the glound mt every movement,
but was not dulled, because of the entire
freedom from grit of the soil, composed
rs it is of decayed bark and vegetation.
We watched with interest, tak king 4
sketch in the meantime, until the log
was sawed through. 1t now made Il
section about twenty feet long, and COM
paratively easy to handle. The gang.
composed of half dozen hands, now set
to work to raise it from its resting-placc.
with long levers of stout saplings, the
process accompanied with many grunts
and oaths. 1t was picturesque sight
the men in their red and blue shirts
straining and tugging at the giant log
that lay in its long, graVc-llke cavity.
At length it starts at one end with Il
sucking noise rs it leaves its oozy bed, is
gradually raised to the surface, and is
finally rolled bodily out Of its eXcava-
ton to the fresh air, where it lies like
some newly disinterred antediluvian
monster, huge, black and Shiny.
"A purity good log" says one of the
men, as he draws the sleeve of his red
shirt across his sweat-beaded brow.
When the log is thus finally raised 1t is
sawed into sections each about two feet
in length; these are then split down to
the requisite thickness for shingles. The
logs are first discovered by means of i
sharp iron stake, which is thrust into
the ground wherever slight mound
like elevation betokens the probable
presence of Il log or logs beneath. fthc
point of the st,.ke strikes the hard sur
face of wood instead of sinking easily
into the morass, the soil is cleared away
and square foot of the stump exposed.
The practiced eye Of the shinele man
can tell ut once whether the log is useful,
the requisites for use being straight
grain throughout, with no knots, sound
ness and no decay. If sound, good
log, it is then uncovered, sawed through
and raised.
When the log was completely raised,
our guide resumed his work. splitting
the sawed sections into shingles. TAX
ing seat on one Of the dryest of the fallen
logs, he took large "chunk " upright
between his knees. He used Il broad
knife blade, with long wooden handle,
which he placed on the log, driving it
into the wood with heavy hardwood
mallet such rs is used by sculptors and
Stone-carvers. At a little distance from
him shaggy-looking fellow with a red
shirt and patched trowsers was sitting
at a shingle horse, shaving the split
slabs of wood smooth and tapering. Be
side him lay pile of clean, crisp-look-
ing shavings, emitting that odor peculiar
to well-seasoned cypress. The horse used
is the ordinary coopcr's horse, and needs
no special description. From this point
the shingles are carried to the roadside,
to be handy for transportation.