The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-02-27
NO. 12.
The Log Rolling.

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party of old time log-rollersP To the
city folks and the latter day people of
easy habits, the very name may sound
strange, but / assure them that no
thing else ever done afforded people
more genuine admiXture of fun and
hard work than log-rollng. To-day.
the generally accepted Specification of
the term is to the effect that somebody
is tampering with congress or the leg
islature to secure the passage of some
personal measure. In the good old
days of pioneer simplicity, it had an
other.
A man purchased heavily timbered
tract of land and set about reducing it
to state of meek and lowly submits
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
below zero and hew out farm. They
chopped all winter long and carted Off
the best timber to tho saw mills, and
split some more of it into rails with
which to fence in the clearing, and
left the tough and gnarled legs lying
where they fell, and the brush piled
up in great heaps to be burned. All
through the chill and biting winter,
the trees fell, and logs were trimmed
of their brush, and with the first.
promising days of spring, came the,
log -rolling-the grand concluding de-
monstration and banquet of the sea-
son.
The word went out that Sam Smith
would have Il log-rolling on a given.
day. There were no gilt-edged, blue
bevel 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 announce
ment was read from the pulpit of the
country church on Sunday, and SO
everybody was hidden to Sam Smith's
log-rolling-the women 70 aid in cook
ing, the men to aid in gathering the
useless timber 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 en-;
geneer smote upon the morning air,
and the logs we're snaked along the;
muddy ground to the place where the,
heaps were to rise. The men and
teams were divided into squads, each.
squad to erect one heap. Sam Smith
bossed the job and did not lift pound
His principal duty was to sill on a con-.
venient stump and shout "heave, o
heavel" which he usually abbreviat-
ed to ''he o he, to encourage the men
when they had an extraordinary heavy
log to be put upon the already high
heap. The etiquette of these gather
ings did not tpermit 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 challenger
of strength, and the men lifting would,
strain their lights out to place the log.
BY two o'clock, the logs were all I'M
and the clearing looked bare and;
stumpy compared with what had beeni
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 "snack." The snack was
usually one of the most bounteous
dinners ever spread. There were no.
frosted cakes and fine CONNECTIONS, but
there was plenty of chicken and as
good bread and rich gravy as was ever
made, and mashed potatoes, and beans
and hominy, and ham and eggs, and
canned tomatoes, and green corn, and
pickles, and stewed, jammed. MARINA
laded, jellied and preserved fruit and
berries, and lucious green apple pies,
and pumpkin pies, 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
tobacco was brought out and
the jug of old rye was passed, and the
men fell to spinning yarns while the
ate and cleared away the frag-
ments of the meal. At four, the men
again repaired to the clearing, and
she torch was applied to the heaps of
ogs. and when the darkness came on,
he old folks went to their homes and
eft the young ones to enjoy burning
he brush and sparkling. The next
lay there were some sore muscles in
he neighborhood, but no headaches
ike those experienced by the jewellers
If to-day, and Sam Smiths clearing
vas ready for the plow. Through
lask.