The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-07-28
THE SWINGING AK.
New York Tribune.

New fork l lrioane.
 White pine. in fac, all pine used fer lumber. are GU, from the ground, leaving usually a stump of about three feet. Other American evergreen timber trees, the cypress and redwood, are generally cnt al ! distance ID the trunk, high enough 10 overcome the bulbuous nature of ,ke base. In regard 10 the tempera- iure in the timbers, ii IS a curious fact that; while a chopper would hardly ever ,tins of building a fire near his work to keep him warm. he frequently builds one to keep his axfwarm. \ cold. fros,-hlled 4x-teaS has a positive dislike for enter lnc wood that can only be overcome by caaxing and keepin. the frost out of i; The dexteii,y and precision with which q hrs:-class chopper handles his ax are re- iaarkable. Trees three feet in diameter are ofen eg, entirely through and still retain their perpendicular position until d breeze or some sligh, shock topples them over. The two gaps on either s,de mee, n a straight line. To the novice there are many strange things within the province of an ax. In clearing piece of farm land t Is frequently ! stipulation tia, the chopper shall bucket" his stamps 10 hold pail of water in other Waies. 10 leave q concave bowl on their t6.is ,o eaich rain water and ro; them ia he pineries ,he ax is used for nearly e.efy purpose for which cutting tool is te .ulfed. With t the chopper trims his
 boot packs cuts lacing thongs.
 baeke,s horse and cattle feed-boNes, ,rs np his sheds. shan;ies and ouihouses. constructs his bnbs and go-devlls.' and esen whittleS his ;ooihpieks. lie su,tcrs ehlps fer drinking cups. fixes tobacco for Is pipe. throws flying bridges over win ter streams. whi;,les aa; sae che kers for Is evenings amusement. and earyes the eteesef-5eard. h l word. i. IS part and parre! of himself. and is song IS ,he music ef life 10 his ear.
 :Af:er .eavng the pineries the ax has l long rarl5le ,o q new life upon the la- e.:.e s!ope. In California. on ,he coas, large, II enters the famous red-woods. md ;hen indeed another existence Is talrd. In fact is position in society IS elesaied. Those noble trees, the Goliaihs Il :ae forests. are fas, disappearing. Btu; theif gigantic s,umps sull remain 10 tell of ;he.r departed greatness And enor- nous s:umps they truly are. So much so indeed, that the aN has 10 climb in the world 10 overcome them. and the chopper assumes position which he is not com peled to a9emp, anywhere else. To sur mount the enormous swell l, the base of the tree and commence operations where the average diameter of the trunk may be sad 70 begin, he builds q platform made of stakes with cross-pieces of rails. someumes six or ten feet high. around his victim. and chops from that. cutting .boye the bulbous swell, Or. If an eN- peIt. he will simply bicke l hole in the trunk. and driving stout stake into fl. stand perched upon that slender foot hold IS he deNterously swings his blade The size of the redwood giants is world tanlous. and Il, legend ofihe ooas, tha; | wooinan having chopped for week on one side of tree walked around il, lnd found another chopper who had been ,; work for q month on the other si1e. Huge they Ire. bu; beautiful wood 70 ceop, i4iyly luring the inqusiive blade n he mysteries of untold centuries wrapped up in thcr red hearts. and the t.eath- below of the forest colossus as, in nis tnal agony, he plunges down some lark, wooded canyon. crushing all before tsAt*.. tt4sif bt DCi itfilA III AlEA thunder through the coaked hills at al seasons of the year.
 aa, i IS 10. until the cypress swamps ni ne southland are reached tha, the aX ,skes to water. In those dark-shadowed and moss-draped lagoons the chopper becomes amphibious and performs his york while skillfully balanced in one of the most ireacherous of all aquatic con irirances. a dug-out should any one 'hInk there Is no science required 10 chop from dus-out, let the skeptic try II. A person not an ineNpert hand with an ax but novice al swinging one while teeter- lng m a canoe. did so, and mourned Once on the Blyoa Teche he padded up to big tree, whose great bulbous stem reached far under water. and. fastening hlS dug-out to the victim. seized his ax. and boldly stood erect in the prow. Balancing himself for momen, until true equilibrium was attained. he swung back his ax and made bold stroke at ihe tree. The dug-out attempted a som- eIsault instantly. l, sho, out of the water a; the stern the cutter shot under water ai the bow; and where the ax went is a mystery to this day. The south has a world of wealth in the cypress. and it has been comparatively lightly drawn upon. l, IS a soft, hne-grained wood, very free from knots and blemishes, and easily worked. Without question the most easily manipulated wood in the world is the soft. smooth. glossy-grained mahog- any pine of California. the famous red wood. It's grain is so straight and so eelicately woven that to use a choppers expression, :" it splits if you shake an ax al ii
 Of the ax in the oak-lands of the southwest, where i, labors for France and Spain. sending them annually thousands of dollars worth of slaves, and also of its Cesui;orv exisfance in cordwnad chon.