The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1881-11-03
4 LUMBERMAN-s LIFE.
batting Logs in thU Streams Oi
Pennsylvania Tie EsIscinntiOu
and Danger % rhe Work.

Rafting Logs in the Streams Of
Pennsylvania TBc EasciHutiOu
and Danger % rhe Work.
from the Phirae llria Tinies.l
The post of Danger is on the jams,
and the most slilliul men are sCnt. Pit
falls will open in the midst Of solid
mass of timber and then close in a mo-
ment, after having dragged man down
beyonddlhelp; logwill move atewmch-
es slowly and UnuOticed, and then with
movement like an arrow strike luck
less man, crushing the life out of him IN
an instant On every side dangers are
lurking, and he is fortunate that passes
a spring without injury. There is some
thing attractive in the looks Of a log
Jam, and if the fascination that danger
has were taken from it still men would
rather work there than on the shore.
The long, narrow sea Of white timber,
creaHing and writhing with the action OF
the current; the wateErO roaring and foam
ing as it escapes from its prison under the
logs, and the logs themselves nodded
into fantastic shapes by the terrible
pressure behind them, all have an attrac-
ton for men who are impressed by
strength or picturesqueness. After a Jam
Is formed the jam-breakers are sent on
it, andthe boss may be seen directing the
work and examining to see what holds
it. Sometimes it is one log, and again
it will be several knotted together in such
way as to almost battle the most ex-
perienced, but generally one or two
''fOOds" will start it. The floods are
made by the large floating dams, and
will raise the water several feet, lifting
the jam up into the air as if it were a
tOy-boat. If a specially large food is
needed, two and sometimes three are
used ct a time, the fOOd-gates Of the
lower dam being opened just as the
water from the dam above reaches it. In
this way an immense "a" splash" is OBJ
tanned that only the emostrefractOry jams
can successfully combat.
There are few grander sights to be
seen anywhere than the moving Of a
large log jam. The grand strength with
which they move, tearing out the larg-
est trees and forcing everything before
them, and the fierce motion of the logs,
like the crazy shuttles of some giant
machine, and the perfection of force,
compel enthusiasm from the most phleg-
matte spectator. The wild hurrahs of
the men on the logs add to the excite
ment, and the observer is quite sure to
find himself running along by the side
Of the moving mass, cheering as il he
had won a battle. The men who are at
work scarcely realize the danger, they
are so carried away with the excitement,
and they may be seen jumping from one
log to another and cheering as If per
fectly safe on solid ground instead of on
q dangerous sea of moving logs that are
continually rising and falling and dodg-
ing this way and that, driven by the
food Of water furnished by the floating
dams. The skill shown by experienced
fOaters in riding logs is wonderful, and
If seems impossible for human dexteritv
to reach such perfection, A Jam viii
sometimes form where precipitous rocks
make it impossible for the men to escape
on either side, and they must ride the
logs IOr several rods. In such places the
water is always swift, sometimes form
ing rapids, and watching the logs Jump
ing, tUmbling, rolling along with a
deafening roar, one wonders how men
can live among them for an instant.
Behind the Jam breakers come the
sackers with theiF teams, drawing the
logs that Jams have forced far out on the
banks and rolling in those on the shores.
50 Bringing up the rear is the technical
term given this work by the lumber
men, and it is no more desirable than
occupying the same position In the
army. It IS terribly cold work, too,
wading In the snow water, ice freezing
on the levers and on the clothing wher-
ever exposed to the air, and makes the
spectators shiver to see them. But the
hardy lumbermen don't mind it. They
expect it, and their strength is equal to
the demand.
At meal-time they all come with prod
igal appetites for their rations, that are
as hot as they can be eaten. Hot bis
cults, potatoes, eggs, meat, tea, coffee
and everything else, solid and liquid,
are smoking like the steam from a loco
motive, while generous draUghts from
the cup that inebriates add their fuel to
tile general fire. No cold victuaIs are
current in Iog-foating time. All the
chill required IS found IN the ice-water,
and something has to be taken to cOun-
teraUt its influence.
The nights are spent in camps where
the roaring fires, burning all night, par
TALLY dry the wet clothes that must be
put on in the morning. Coming into
the room where the clothes are hung, g
great cloud of steam is seen that rises to
the ceiling, where it condenses, and
either fnns down in drops or evapOrates
on the warm boards, and the clothes
are all smoking as if engaged III a con-
test. When the river Is reached the life
changes. There are few jams to break,
less wadng and moIe riding in boats.
and all the work is easier and less dan
gerOus. If the logs stop on a rock that
is out in the middle of the river, boat
man carries some men there, who may
roll them off and get into the boat again
without danger and without getting wet.
There are logs along the shore to be
rolled in, but the water is not as swift as
in the runs, and in the deep water man
can stand with comparative safety. Eve
rything is easier, and the day the river
is reached is almost a holiday among the
lumbJ1-~--