The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1889-09-10

The telegraph told few days ago of an i'm.
mense 4" log jam" at Taylor Falls, Mimi The
writer viewed one of these log jams at this
same place, Taylor Falls, on the St. Croix river.
The river is picturesque tributary of the Mis-.
ssspp, and has its source up among the big
woods of Wisconsin. During the winter, while
the ground is covered with four feet of snow
and the river with almost as many feet of ice,
the lumbermen cut the logs, sled them to the
river and pile them up on the ice. These lum-
bermen are mostly muscular Scandinavians and
other foreigners. They live all winter in the
woods, and spend their accumulated earnings in
few weeks or months carouse when they reach
the cities in the spring. When they 60 into the
woods they don three or four suits of red flannel
underclothes, and as spring comes on they occa-
sionally doff the outer suit, till they get down to
the last when they reach civilization When
the ice thaws with the spring freshes, the logs
go down with a rush and jam. The loggers now
work along the river to prevent the logs from
accommodating. At Taylor Falls, which is about
$50 miles from ST. Paul, through fine lake
country, the ST. Croix narrows between high rock
bluffs to about 100 feet wide, causing a rapids.
with also fall of ten or dozen feet. Cock
eyed Ben Butler owns all the surrounding land.
having bought it many years ago as specula-
ton when this was the head OF navigation. The
railroad has spoiled that.
In the spring of 1885 an unusual cut" had
been made and was coming down the river. 1t
was whispered about the sleepy village that a
jam was imminent Every one hoped it was
so, but no one dared say it. The logs did wedge
in the narrow place under the bridge. They
continued coming down the river for weeks, and
piled up in all conceivable shapes Just above
the Falls the river is half mile wide and very
deep. 1t was wedged with logs from shore to
shore, and from the bottom up to twenty and
fifty feet above the surface of the water. The
same condition existed for ten miles up the
river. There had been many jams at this place,
but this was the biggest. Excursion trains ran
from everywhere bringing people to see it, 1t
was said there were 1000 900 feet of logs in thu
mass How to move it was the question Dyna
mite was tried. 1t blew few logs into the
air, but that was all. An electric light plant
was put in, wrecking boat was brought up the
river, and a slow work begun. "Key logs ,,
were hauled out, bringing a small section of the
pile with each. Many weeks Of this work, day
and night, cleared out the channel, only to be
filled again. 1t was an all summers work, and
an immense expense to the mill men. All logs
are mixed, each owner having his mark on the
logs, and they are separated when they reach
the mills.
A log jam is god to the people Of Tay-
lor Falls It brings people to town. The lum.
bermen, in their red flannel underclothes, jump
from one floating log to another as nimbly as il
they were on land. They wear immense nailed
boots In every saloon along the river these
nails have worn a deep trench in the floor from
the door to the bar They have Sunday law
there. One saloon had d sign on the front door