Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1885-05-08
THE LoG-RoLLING.
An 0id-Time Concluding Demonstration
and Banquet.

An Old-Time Concluding Demonstration
and Banquet.
Reader, did You ever form. one of q
party of old-time log-rollers? To the
city folks and the latter-day people of
easy habits, the very name may sound
strange, but assure them that nothing
else ever done afforded people more
genuine admixture OF fun and hard
work than log-rolling. To-day, the
generally accepted signifcation of the
term is to the effect that somebody is
tampering with Congress or the Legis-
lature to secure the passage of some
personal measure. In the good old DAYS
of pioneer simplicity it had another.
A man purchased heavily timbered
tract of land and set about reducing it
TO a state of meek and loWly submls-
sion to the plow. He and his sons and
nephews and brothers ground their
axes and went into the forest to sweat
to the low bass notes of ten degrees be-
low zero and heW out q farm. They
chopped all winter long and carried of
the best timber to the saw-lnills. and
split some more of it into rails with
which TO fence in the clearing, and left
the tough and gnarled logs lying where
they fell, and the brush piled in great
heaps to be burned All through the
chill and biting winter, the trees fell,
and logs we've trimmed of their brush,
and with the first promising DAYS of
spring, came the log-rolling the grand
concluding demonstration and banquet
of the season.
The word went out that Sam Smith
would have log-rolling on a given
day. There were no gilt-edged, blue
beyel invitations with the words ..at
home" printed on them in type which
nobody could read, but Sam Smiths
boy was sent around to tell the nearest
neighbors about it and their boys spread
it at the singing schools and spelling
schools, and the announcement was
read from the pulpit of the country
church on Sunday, and SO everybody
was Didden to Sam Smiths log-rolling
the women TO aid in cooking, the
men to aid in gathering the useless tim
ber into great stacks to be burned. The
women brought kettles and dishes,
knives, forks and spoons; the men
axes, chains, yokes of oxen and strong
bodies. By sunrise the clearing was
full of busy men. The seductive whoa
haw" of the OK engineer smote upon
the morning air, and the logs
were snaked along the muddy ground
to the place where the heaps were
to rise. The men and teams were di-
vided into squads. each squad to erect
one heap. Sam Smith bossed the Job
and did not lift pound His principal
duty was to sit on convenient stump
and shout sheave, heave.'' which he
usually abbreviated to .she he.n to
encourage the men when they had
an extraordinary heavy log to be put
upon the already high heap. The ETH
quette of these gatherings did not per-
NIT him to lend hand. although when
twenty men could not lift an unusually
heavy log to its place. it was his duty
to declare that he could easily do It
himself. This was generally accepted
as a challenge of strength, and the men
lifting would strain their lights out to
place the log.
By two o'clock, the logs were all in
and the clearing looked bare and
stumpy compared with what had been
its appearance in the morning. Sam
Smith mounted the highest log heap
made, and delivered himself of tor
rent of thanks to his neighbors, closing
by inviting them to go to the house
and eat a snack" The snack was usu-
ally one of the most bounteous dinners
ever spread. There were no frosted
cakes and fine confections, but
there was plenty of chicken and
as good bread and rich gravy
as were ever made, and mashed
potatoes, and beans and honiny, and
ham and eggs, and canned tomatoes,
and dr.ed green corn, and pickles. and
stewed, jammed, marmaladed, ielIied
and preserved fruits and berries, and
lucious green apple pies. and pumpk n
pes, and cookies, and fresh milk and
doughnuts, and as good appetites to
eat them as were ever sharpened by
hard work, and when all were SO full
they had to unbutton their vests, the
box of home-spun smoking tobacco
was brought out and the jug of old rye
was passed, and the men fell to spin
ming yarns while the women ate and
cleared away the fragments of the
meal. At four, the men again repaired
to the clearing. and the torch was APP
piled to the heaps of logs, and when
darkness came on, the old folks went
to their homes and left the young ones
to enjoy burning the brush and spark
ing. The next day there were some
sore muscles in the neighborhood. but
no headaches like those experienced by
the revelers of to-day, and Sam Smith 5
clearing was ready for the plow.--
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