St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-14
An Old Driver Tells the Story Of Log.
ging Experiences on the
River.
The Delights, Dangers and Hard Worl
Met With in a Drivers
Life.
How the Logs are Got into the River
1.-The Care Required in
the Work.

| interest," anu cNClIGlilcllJ vi SOOu SuTculI
one week than there is in the woods in a
whole winter It's hard work but its whole
some tell YOU. If you don't believe it
look at me, I've been following drive of
lumber now for six weeks"
The reporter looked and believed The
individual was, in brief, typical river
driver, enjoying few days life at Sew
enth street hotel. He was dressed in the
ordinary ''grey birch' garb, coarse to be
sure. but comfortable, with unkempt hair
and wind-tanned visage His fists looked
like pair of sledge hammers.
The regulation coarse top boots with spikes
in the heels graced his feet and he had his
pants tucked in them to preserve their orig
| inal spring. The boots carried the same
complexion they had worn the day he laid
aside the clever" being bleached out like
section of laundred linen. So ne APP
peared; coarse. rough but. good natured. In
| the course of short conversation on the
subject of which he was an exponent, he
threw out some interesting information.
| The work of lumber driving is to numbering
and milling what the missing link is to the
Darwnian theory. The transformation of
| lumber into shape suitable for use follows
numbering as effect follows cause, but be-
tween the two comes the work of trans
| portatiOn.
IN A COUNTRY LIKE OURS,
| where numbering is one OF the principal in
| dustries, the stream driving becomes mat
| ter of big Importance, and although by the
aid of natural causes the time required for
| the work is brief, yet the labor and cost
| are an item of consideration. In diff
ferent sections of the country the work
is generally alike but particularly different.
| In both cases the whole object is to get the
| lumber to market through the same agency.
The difference is largely in the size of the
| streams. The larger the stream the smaller
| the cost. because market is usually nearer
at hand and the work of driving less diff
cult. AS the streams worked grow smaller
| the cost increases and the work becomes
much harder on the individuals.
The work usually begins as soon
as the logging season closes or the
hauling breaks.ss" up in the spring.
A crew is selected from the
men who have wrestled with the mOnarchs
of the forest during the winter. The
change is always welcomed by the men who
have been cOoped up all winter. 1t is
practical thawing out, return to civiliza-
ton. The old ''Larrigans" give way to
heavy boots, the winter clothes are cast
aside and the sword is turned into prun-
ing hook, or rather the ''pevee," so-called,
takes the place of the axe. With fiendish
delight the destroyers of the forest enter on
the pursuit of their victims to the rafting
ground.0 The first change is the removal
of the camp to the river bank,
where the initial work begins as soon as
| the ice breaks up The result Of the win
ters work is scattered all along the banks
in huge piles, which are rolled into the
river or stream piece by piece. These
piles or .'browS'' are generally on high.
| sIoping bank, if such is obtainable although
sometimes on low one. In the latter
cases the work is harder and consumes
more time. as the first few tiers of logs
| have been put in, the remainder requir-
| ing rolling for shorter or longer
| distance. When the ''brows" are
high and steep, the work is
easier but becomes more or less dangerous
| The piles have to be attacked from the bot
| tom, and the looseDing up of single stick
not unusually sets great number in mo-
ton. Men consequently have to be cool
| and active for this work, else they are LA
BILE to be caught by the moving logs and
crushed.
NUMBERS OF INSTANCES
are known where men have been compelled
| to jump into the river to save themselves,
and it is not uncommon to hear OF serious
and fatal accidents received while brow
breaking. The logs on steep brows some
| times become more mixed than pile of
| jackstraws. and are only. loOsened by cut
| ting some of the keys"
AS soon as the logs have been placed in
! the stream the driving proper begins. The
chief requirements for man doing this
work are, as before stated, activity and
muscle, the only equipment a ''pevee,"
| otherwise known as "pike-staff," or
s'hand-spike" or clever" The instrument
| is stick about five feet long, made of hard
wood and carefully dressed so as to be
easily handled. On the large end are
| placed three steel OF iron bands and directly
| in the end large steel spike. On the
| third band is usually placed a circular
piece of steel in pivot 1t
| is turned toward the stick at the lower end
and is used for canting the logs: When
| everything is in readiness the men are di-
vided into two and sometimes larger num-
| Der of crews, each in charge of a foreman.
| They usually manage to live together in
camp constructed on a raft in any river
which can be so navigated. One Of the
crews is placed on the front of the drive
and the men take delight i'll
| the name OF ''jamcrackers" or
some such title 1t is their special work
| to keep the logs in motion and the, stream
clear. In small streams with high water
and rapid current the men have need of
activity and grit, for it is no childs play to
| be placed on the front of a jam. The force
of the water will crowd them together like
| pile driver, and the water pent up will
angrily roar and foam and gurgle through
| the dense mass. t.- ,--.-,..-...
| 1.-THE current that with gentle murmur glideS,
Thou knowest being stopped impatiently does
rage" -.-..~.,.-.,-
Sometimes they are so crowded that they
can be seen four or six tiers Deep, often
| more, and when such is the case it
| becomes particularly hard to get
them in motion. By constant
picking and turning they are got off, at first
one at time, then in punches of a score,
| and finally the stream is clear at that point.
A SECOND CREW
constitute the sssackers'' OF s'tailers." These
| bring up the rear. Their work is to see
| that every log is in front of them and to
roll off the stray pieces which may have
stuck on the banks. The latter is hound to
occur on any stream, but in a small stream
which has become worn by use it is
source of a great deal of trouble. The
sand bars frequently become covered.
| When such occurs it represents
pile of work and calls for good supply OF
physical labor and plenty of wading After
! the chilly temperature of winter has left
the water the latter is not very disagree
able. In river driving, however, the sack
ing' or trailing in. of the logs is much
| lighter work, as they seldom jam and only
WING when the river is low and rapid.
| Sometimes other crews are made up which
work at the points along where help is
most needed
| When the lumber has been run to the
booms, then comes the work of rafting it