Osage Valley banner., 1881-11-03

hired for this purpose lad whom they
called Tort Guillot. What tort" was
a nickname for / am sure | do not
know His father, Clam Guillot, q
French Canadian, worked for Us and
kept Tort stimulated to his work by an
occasional " birching.' The boy had
drivers scorks" In his boots, and
used to walk up and down on the plank
boxing over the slide, or lie on i look
ing through the cracks as the logs as
they shot down under him.
About three o'clock one afternoon,
rs was sealing a pile OF logs beside
the slow, heard y heavy crash away
up the side OF the mountain, aud a mo-
meut or two after saw Tort hurrying
down the top OF the shoot He ran out
where WAS standing.
- IN btcke,n he said, had ''stubbed'
and jumped the giiSsade, tearing
through the plank boxing
Tort was not little excited, and no
wonder, for the log had Jumped not
very far from whore he had been sit
ting a. the time. While he was telling
me this. we heard the bell strike fol-
lowed almost instantly by another
crash way mp the side of the Stoss. a
second log had jumped. Running to
the sem0phore. | set the signal to stop
sending down logs, then climbed up
with Tort 10 see what was the matter.
Not quite halfway up from the slow
we came to y great ragged hole in
the plank covering. Sphnters lay
scattered on the snow in all directions.
The logs had dashed through the plank
ing. as il il had been brown paper, and
flown on like arrows. We saw one Of
them standing end mp against tree,
two or three hundred feet below. Get
ting into the shoot through the hole, we
crawled up the slippery bed on cur
bands and knees II was queer place.
Wads of woody fiber lay about, secured
up from the hewn tiinbers which formed
the floor; and every nook was driven
full Of bark meal, from the logs. Here
and there long slivers stuck in the
plauks overhead and on the sides, so
| firmly that we could not tear them out
with our hands. Fifty or sixty feet
up the shoot from the hole, found the
cause Of the mischief. One of the long.
square timbers OF the bed had warped
/ from its matchings, at the upper end.
1t was against the end OK this timber,
which projected three or four inches,
I that the logs had stubbed and glanced.
/ A little work with the adze and few
/ extra nails would make all right, but 1t
was getting dusk, and, rejecting that
I should have time the following morn
| ing for so short a Job, before the day s
( work began, | sent word to the upper
gang to commence work on time as
usual.
Next morning 1t was showing thickly,
and we at the lower camp were rather
late astir. had finished breakfast by
six o clock, however, and at once set
off to climb up the slide, taking Tort
with me to carry the auger and a hand.
I full OF tree-nails. Shovel and adj were
about as much as ! could manage "a
climb up the smooth planking with.
! On coming TO the "break, We found
] the hole nearly full Of snow. but cleared
it partly out and got down into the
I shoot. / then looked at my watch, and
found that there remained only twenty
minutes before seven o'clock. But 4:
the men rarely began running dowr
logs much before eight, felt very little
uueasiness on that account. / bored
( my holes, drove the tre9.nails, anC
then leisurely aided of the still pro
/ jecting edge of the timber. Meanwhil,
had sent Tort tarthe. up the shoot e
see ii there were any other timber:
similarly sprung. He came Sliding
back Just rs / had finished. II thel
lacked enc minute of seven. Wa
picked up the tools and started to max,
our'Aay back down to The hole, holdins
on by the joists, when | noted a sigh
grating. ereaking noise on the plankin.
overhead Tort heard 1t, too, and bet
ter than l, be could interpret the sound
+" Non DisuH he screamed. "H q,
te nj de la cl0chei Saul SdutP' Qfs
the bell-wire. Jump! JumpD
He dropped auger and tree-nails, and
springng trantically TO the little jois
ratters over our heads, drew his bod
ZIP and clurg To them like a bat.
scarcely know how did IL, butnext in
stant 1 was clinging to the under sid
ol those sticks Of joist, IN much tn
same way-and none too quickly, either
There came rushing noise The ioist
sticks thrilled in our fingers. The tim
bers shook violently; and amid a hur
ricaue of ice dust, bits OF pine bark an
sliyers, which seemed to almost mrs
the shoot, the great log, like blac
bobbin, shot down beneath my bact
, The wind it raised nearly blew us alto
! H. Tort dropped to his feet
j " DesJeHds" he screamed to me !
French "Get down 10 the hole an
Get out before another colues!"
} His bOotcorks helped him 10 Eee
his feet on tine icy side rhe lad Lal
r ran, hall-slid down the steep iuclin,
D and catching By the splintered edges
{ the hole, drew limsel, out. But
plungng bindly after hlm, with smoot
6 bootsoies, Slipped headlong. and wei
= sliding wadiy down past the apertur
D Again that low, horrible. rattlin!
\ creaking sound ON the planks, Anoth,
l.. = i