Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1885-11-21
AMONG THE LOG DRIVERS.
HOW THE HARDY FELLOWS woRR
AND ENJOY THEMsELVEs.
Perifous Positions In which
They place Themselves When
Breaking a "Jam."

PeriIou. Positions in which
They place Themselves When
Breaking. a Jam"
4 Bangor Me-. letter to the New
York Worh describes the life Of those
hardy, daring, red shirted fellows who
drive the logs cut By the woodsmen
through the tuDbline. rushing streams
and the swift waters of the Penobscot to
the booms. whence they are distributed
bv their various owners 10 the mills:
The principa. drives are from the east
and west branches Of the Penobscoy,
the Mattawamkeag, the Piscataquis,
Pleasant and Passadumkeag rivers. all
tributaries Of the one great wa%tercourse.
Driving logs IS a laborious and often
dangerous occupation. When the win
ter work of cutting the logs is over and
the icy brooks and streams are full Of
the great spruce, pine and hernlock
trunks, the x e-swlngers come out and
the lumbermen engage their driving
crews. To be a driver n must be ac-
tive, fearless aud equally Indifferent to
cold water and hard work. The drivers
are generally Tarratine Indians, a liberal
s%prinkling of that much detested class
known as the "P. E. Is
Prince Edwards Islanders. The
crews, with their bosses, go to where
the logs are stocked, part of the way by
rail and then by team, batteau or IN
foot.
Arriving at their destination they start
the logs in the quick water and follow
them down along the shore. II there
were no falls, no edges or other obstruc-
tons the work would be easy, but if a
single log Of the rushing mass sticks on
the brink of a dam. or is caught against
q rock, thousands of others are stopped
thereby and a jam ensues. This must be
broken up at all hazards and some one
must go out upon the logs at the risk OF
his life and, with what is known as a
"'cant-dog," set the mass in motion
again. If he makes a misstep, or the OBJ
structing log yields ct an unlucky mo-
ment, the driver disappears in the whir.
of waters and goes down to his death,
and ii his man4.el remains be found 1t
will not be until weeks afterward, many
miles below.
One of the drivers met to day. He
was of muscular build. with that hearty
manner peculiar to Penobscot rivermen.
He had Just ''come DOWN and was quite
communicative, talking intelligently, i
unduly loud, as he punched the floor o
the clearinghouse bar-room full of
holes with the steel calks in the sofes O
his shoes. He wore the conventional
drivers dress-heavy trousers. red shirt
wooden socks and ponderous boots or
shoes. | asked him why his boots were
cut in several places at the toes. ooh
said he, that is to let the water which
pours over me out and keep my Ieet from
scalding." He said that driving wa,
hard work until one became L ed to it
then there was a fascination about
which always kept one at the work. Tho
driver, he said, is out day and night. a.
circumstances demand. Sometimes two
or three men are sent ahead of the maiI
body to keep the logs running free pas
o point where a jam is likely to occur
They are given a junk of salt pork.
frying pan a dry Goldfish and a quantit,
of hard bread, as the task may require
days. At night this advance guart
bull DIS a big fire and sleeps 81 the ground
'sOnce," said the driver, ION the ives
branch of the Penobscot, | and a com
panion were delegated to look out for
jam below and ahead of the main bod,
of logs. We had no boat, and when
log stuck out in the stream we had t
paddle out on a big spruce trunk to clea
it away. In returning we landed in fou
feet of water, the big log grounded, an
we had to wade ashore waist deep in tn
icy water. A fierce storm was IN progress
and the walk back to camp was anything
but pleasant. At another time | wa
with a crew irving to ge
some logs out of a small brook in whic
the water was low. 1t looked as thong
the logs would stay there all summe
when we turned in one night at a littl
cabin on the shore, My friend had a
upper bunk. in which he slept soundl
until early morning, when he lumpe
put of his bunk. He landed in two fee
Of water, in which the cabin furnitur
was floating. There had been q heav
rain and the little brook had overiowe
it's banks
The drivers work begins in the latte
part OF April and lasts until July Is or
month later. Agreea hand is paid 81.
per day; fairly good man $1.75 to $2.5t
an experienced man S2.75, and a boa
man So. beside food. which is prime
pally of beans, Woodmen have bea'
three times q day, drivers -four time
wi h molasses for sweetness and dric
apples as an anti-scorbutic. The wood
men and drivers receive their money
arriving here and it generally amonn
to from $500 to $500. The red shirtc
spread red paint at high cost for a wee
or two the chnal hare ap6 hoar6in
houses reap a harvest, the police static
is crowded and then all is quiet on II
PenoDScot.
Cause For Rejoicing.