Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-07-20
A COLOSSAL LOG JAM.
THE WORK OF BREAKING IT UP
WATCHED BY THOUSANDS.

THE WORK OF BREAKING IT UP
WATCHED BY THOUSANDS.
Operations of Lumbermen at Tsylor's
Falls, Minn.-Many Feats of Skill.
Activity and Daring-BiIIy the Kid.
The Whole jam Moving.
The Dalles Of the St. CrOiX, as the rocky
gorge is called through which plunge the fall
and rapids of the river, are "A marvel Of
scenery worth long journey at any time,
but just at present, for space of three miles,
aot a particle OF water is visible nothing but
a vast chaos of logs jammel in between the
rocky Jaws of the gorge and representing
l5O, ,OO0. 900 feet of lumber. Huge trunks of
sre,,s. 30 to 80 feet long, they lie heaped in
svery kind of indescrihable position, some bolt
Upright like piles, some at Angles of - de
yrees, some headed down stream and others
straight across it. Meanwhile, the whole
force of the falls and rapids q great river
aas to work its way through and under the
enormous mass OF course, the problem is
aow to dislodge this tremendous block, 80
hat the logs can float down to the Mississippi
and the whole work has to be done at the
over end
As the visitor camps down on the rocks
overhanging the river to watch the sight he
feels for all the world like a spectator III an
Did Roman ampitheatre about TO witness
irht between men and the uglest specimens
IF the brute creation. Indeed, the choice
between grizzly bears, lions and tigers,
and the terrible forces of such huge tree
trunks with the pressure of an avalanche
a,l ilS that 10 fbaTl
individually leap and spin like many
bowling dervishes, is not one worth drawing
tots for. The conbatan ntS are taken in at II
glance as a hundred or more men, strong as
hons and spry as cats, clothed most of them
from head TO foot in Oright red flannel, and
armed each with ong pole, shod with
steel spike and hinged semi-cirrular lever,
for clamping round the logs and rolling
them over Three hundred yards below the
lam lies powerful steamboat. with a
caystan capable of eXerting a pull Of DO
horse power, and around which is wound n
hswser. the end Of which is carried on to the
lam. and attached TO what are called the
KEY stone logs, that is, the logs that evince
the most obstinate, dogged and absolutely
rebellious temper.
BEGINNING OF THE TUG OF WAR
And now the tug of war begins. The cap
stan slowly revolves the hawser lifts from
the river, fine jets of water spinning from it
under. the fierce tension. The upright tree
trunks writhe ami groan and twist. their
anarchical bark-ClotheS torn off under the
irresistible police grip i'll which they are held,
ill they are left all white and naked, and at
last slowly, sullenly, and with groans and
curses of despair, detachment Of perhaps
800 logs is torn away from the main body.
And now the fun comes Nimble as many
,ats the red-shirted, red-trousered lumber
uen leap on it TO break it up, Here dozen
are shouldering away with their levers 10
roll off e huge trunk at the top, here they are
pushing down under water to head the right
way a cross binding log. As the units Of the
mass get more and more dlslodged, huge
boles of trees shoot up from underneath, and
fairly leap like enormous fish out Of the
water Everything is now spinning and
plunging and an unlettered layman would
as lief attempt a promenade down hill ON the
sides of so many rolling barrels, as essay the
feats these agile fellows are easily up to.
Down below stands ready and manned a
rowboat for the rescue of any who should
fall into the rapids But the thing is not to
fall in, for the risk of drowning is as nothing
to the risk of being caught ami ground up
between the logs. Only once did we SO
man tumble off, but while women shrekei
and his mates tore round to a point of the
ledge where they could drag him out, the
brave fellow himself seemed to take it as "a
simple little incident of the profession
Every other time there We're logs enough left
between the torn off and captured detach-
ment and the main army 10 enable the men
to leap back from point 10 point, Billy the
Kid, as the universal voice had christened
one 1.-the, graceful, Yet powerful young tel-
low, was always i'll the lead He wore
white rose in his hat. Leaping like a deer
from log to log he was always at the point
where effective work was to be done, and 50
great was the glow Of admiration he awak-
ened in every Unlocking feminine breast that
he would only have had to leap dripping
ashore and fling himself, a soused Leander,
at the feet Of any Hero of them all 10 hays
borne her off as his forever.
THE FASCINATION OF THE SCENE.
Very curious is it to observe how, when-
ever a chance is given for seeing splendidly
developed human bodies in vigorous action. a
II perfect fascination sets i'll for watching the
sight There was one old lady, of a singu-
larly bright and intelligent face, sitting on
the rocks, who said she could not tear herself
away from it, that she sat there all day long
ard day after day. On my cravenly and
materially saying to her that must really
go up to the hotel to get something TO eat, she
broke out in the most reproachful tone, ''Oh,
let your dinner go; the men may any minute
start a quarter of mile of the jam, and then
it will be the greatest sight in the world I've
pFlarsl my Iippar m h. hrnuubt ont 70,
on the rocks" Such enthusiasm was truly
admirable.
Contagious as was her example, must.
still in contTition, confess that | did 90 up to
the hotel-some five minutes away-and had
Just sat down TO a bowl of soup, some beef
and canned corn, when cry was raised:
"The whole jam is movingT Billy the Kid
himself would have been put TO it To maxi,
better time than | for the river ledge What
a sight it was, For fully quarter of a mile
in length and 600 or 700 feet in breadth the
vast press and throng of the mob of giant,
were in furious motion. l could think of
nothing but a countless herd of frantic buffa-
loes leaplng over one another and tramplings
one another under foot, the irresistible ava
lanche of motion and terror from behind
sweeping before it everything to the front
ihhSVNi' ShV JAM " my
feet in depth, was working perpendicularly
up and down as well as forward along all it,
line. Whenever a temporary opening wa,
made, enormous trunks that had been sub
merged deep down would leap out into tho
cir and on to the backs of the Others with
precisely the motion 50 often witnessed III
herds OF cattle. Meanwhile the wrenChing
and groaning was such that It
seemed as though the whole mass must b.
ground up into pulp for the paper mills. For |
perhaps fifteen minutes this striking scene
lasted, when finally the vast body of logs be- |
,ame consolidated again in another jam \ |
quarter of u mile farther down the gorge, at |
the extreme end of which the same procea5 |
must be begun over again. Minnesota Cor |
Boston Herald
Took Advantage OF the Decline.
A newsAoy who was eating away at a yel-
Ow banana, while he had two red ones stuffed