The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-06-13
WATER-SEAsoNEp TIMBER.
Furniture Made From Walnut That Soaked
elr Four-ScOre Years.

Furniture Made From Walnut That Soaked
~or Four-Score Years.
Some of the cabinet-makers of thi,
and other cities are making furniture
out of walnut that has been under waite,
for more than three-quarters of cen
fury. Lumbermen will tell you tina,
waterseasOned timber makes excellent
lumber, but it would hardly be exacted
even in filling an order for especiall,
fine furniture that the logs of which IL
is made shall have soaked in water
seventy-nine years. Such an order
however, could be filled by Indianapoli.
lumbermen
representative of one of the millers
and lumbermen of this city is stationed
at Reelfoot Lake, Western Tennessee
He has lease on several thousand acres
OF timber land fronting the lake. But
all the millions of lumber he has
shipped from Reelfoot has not come
from the woods. Much of it has come
from the lake, and there yet lie in that
peculiar body hundreds of logs, deer
under the surface, but sound as the best
of oak
ANONilOOG AdS d u1SGOIy dluOSO IL HOT
quite, unique. In 1911 where it now is
was splendid forest of oak and walnut
AS in the history of ''Lisbontown," Sc
here, it ''saw the earth open and gulr
her down." An earthquake thatchanged
the topography of that country, and
was severely experienced at the
present site of New Madrid,
Mo-, made hollow of what
had once been rolling ground.
Many of the great trees toppled to the
earth. Water gradually accumulated in
the hollows, and sloughs thathad former.
~ marked that territory became simply
channels in a lake twenty-five miles long
by six or eight wide.
When stranger first sees the lake he
is amazed at the unsightly stumps and
stubs of long dead trees that thickly
stud its waters. Here and there, rising
out of deep water, are groves of growing
cypress Occasionally an island lifts
Shiny. grass-grown head from the waters
The shores are thick in grasses, and the
shallower parts of the lake grow gigantic
lilies and other water plants.
AS you paddle over the lake, disturbing
the myriads of ''coots" and other water
fowl, or, perhaps, dropping line for
bass or perch or buffalo," your canoe
frequently strikes snag that has rotted
off as far down as the waves expose it to
the atmosphere. Below the water-line
the stump is sound and solid. All the
logs that have been constantly below
the water-level are as we'll preserved as
y, 10
timber under the best of shelter.
To recover the lumber from the lakes
has been the occupation of many lum-
bermen. The water is clear and the logs
are frequently easily discovered by the
eye. Drag-hooks have also been used.
Most of the more valuable tim
Der has been removed, but OCCASION
ally big log is found imbedded in the
leaves and mud at the bottom of the
lake. The logs, if found in deep water,
are raised by windlass to raft and
towed ashore. Frequently, if found in
shallow water, heavy logs have been
dragged ashore by oxen. Many thou
sand feet of walnut have been taken
from the waters and sold, just as the
logs are found, at $40 thousand. In
fact, for years it has been true that there
was more walnut in the lake than in the
forests around Reelfoot
The lake is one Of the most celebrated
game resorts in the South. But little
large game is to be found on land, but
at certain seasons of the year wild geese
and duck abound on the waters. There
are always many ducks on the lake, for
it is favorite breeding spot for them.
The stubs and logs standing thickly
throughout the lake afford safe place
for the wood duck especially to lay their
eggs. At the approach of cold weather
myriads of fowl come down from the
North, and the lake throughout it's
length rings with the roar of guns.
Some effort has been made by the Ten
nessee people to preserve the lake sports
for Tennesseeans, but the law having
that purpose in view is not regarded and
is not constitutional. 1t was directed
chiefly against Louisville hunting clubs,
which have built club-houses on the
lake and have filled the water with
shooters. -1ndianapolis News.