St. Paul daily globe., 1891-12-06
hopping at the edge of the green TIM

THAT 'un III be the next" said John,
pointing to an eight-foot tree of surpass-
ing beauty. "She's mddlin' soft, an
the grain is straight. You kin tell that
by the bark. an she's sound as dol
lar. The green top shows it.''
Gold. premeditated MURDER" Frank
said to himself, and then aloud: (which
way are you gOin' TO send her?''
Between them two stumpS," point
ing across the hill. There amt no
room TO spare; but if she's as near
plumb as think she is can land her
safe enough" He took a plumb from
his pocket, squinted up along the ex-
tended line at the tree, and was salts
fed, for he said: "Get Alec'S axe and
snipe off the inner corners of both them
SthinpS whilst l fix the bedding"
Both were soon busy: John telling a
couple of arrowy frs, which he after
wards cut up into movable lengths, to
be used in filling up the hollow that was
III the line of direction, while Frank
rounded off the stumps as instructed.
The next thing, after the bed was
made, was the construction of staging,
or scaffold. They cut socket-holes in the
tree. and inserted the supports, known
as the "drivers." Across from driver
to driver the stage boards were placed.
and on these the men now stood. The
with the corner of his axe. had scratched
line OIL the face of the tree, to indi-
cate the height and extent of the notch.
Ihe hbrous, Springy bark is hard to
cut. and keen axes will often bounce
back without making a visible incisiOn.
You'll have to hit more slanting lick
to get into it." John said. The effect
was almost disastrous. Frank made
sWlpe at the tree, the axe glanced and
MD itself between his feet. John
stopped. Now, my son." said he, I've
must hit where you look, an take vo1r
time. or you'll cut yer damn feet off,
BY noon the undercut was put in and
the tree 'gunned." A tree is "gunned''
when line drawn across the stump
from corner to corner of the undercut
notch will be, at its center, at right
angles to the point where the top of the
tree is intended to fall.
A choppers geOmetrical methods are
simple. Stripping fern of its leaves
and using the stem as measure, he
finds the center of the line aforesaid.
ana from this point extends gun
Stick' at right angles. The "gun-stick"
IS straight and slender, and about four
feet long. "A square is not used to find
the right angle. Fern-Stak measure
ment answers the purpose fully as well.
lie then sights along the stick, and, if
it points exactly in the intended direc-
tiOn. the work OH the front of the tree
is complete: if not. the notch must be
chipped into until it conforms to the
mathematical requirements.
After dinner they moved their staging
to the back of the tree ana began saw
ing. This work came to Frank nat
nrally. He was Timber as an eel, and
the swaying motion suited him. They
rested occasionally. During one of these
spells John said: 'lf yon had as much
Sleight with the AK as yOu have with the
saw, ia rather have you for pardner
than Alec"
When the saw was we'll buried they
drove wedges III the kerf TO keep the
tree from pinching down, and then
worked on until there were but few
inches of timber left between the saw
kerf and the undercut. Now, me son,
you kin take off you handle. The
wedges ii do the rest" said John.
1t was done and the saw Withdrawn
and carefully hidden away, and, in a
trice, the woods were ringing with the
indeScribable sound that the steel
sledges make when hammering steel
wedges into the body of tree to break
its heart. Frank was getting a little
nervous, and his blows were uncertain
and poorly directed, and the big man
remarked: Guess there's been a good
many wedges you've never drove;"
and, to atons for his sarcasm and en-
courage the boy. continued: Take yer
time, my son. Make every lick count
one, and don't try to hit too hard. Dye
know that little blows Kill the DEVIL
We've raised her SOME already. See
you can stuff your fingers in the gap
now" A wind had sprung up, and was
gently Swaying the green top. Now
watch when the wind swings her from
us, and tap the wedges In lively.
"SlashwayS- hill Watch
-out-belO-O-ww
Two peelers heard the warning.
dropped their bars, and made Oft out OF
reach OF limbs.
The siedging went on, and there were
few swapping cracks, each of which
made Franks heart jump; but he
stayed until the last loud breaking
boom. when they both jumped from the
staging and ran TO the stub.
Slowly she began to sail, making a
wider gap for the sky to be seen through;
quickening by degrees, her top made a
swIshing sound as it parted the air.
faster and faster, nOiSier and nOiSier,
grazing the standing trees near by, and
causing shower of limbs. But she fell
at length, with crash that shook the
earth, into the bed they had made for
her, and at the same time the butt
dropped off the stump.
Saved her! from butt to browse and
from heart to bark, by the great Maca-
nOyi" exclaimed the big man, when the
cOmmOtiOn of Swaylng trees and falling
limbs had subsidized, and he was pacing
back and forth on the trunk. See
how pretty she sets between the Stumps.
There amt a foot of room on either
side"
Frank was elated, and wished that
the absent partner would stay in town.
''sick, or drunk, or sumthin', for the
remainder of the season. Perhaps what
followed was a Judgment upon him for
the wickedneSS of the Wish-but | must
tell the story.
In week Alec had not come back,
and Frank was learning the craft rap
idly, They had moved to a steep cOun-
try where the timber was small and
scattering. They felled most of the
trees ''up-hill'-that is. the tops point
ed up the hill and the butts rested on
the stump.
"Hinging 'em on to the stump" is the
way John expressed it when the butts
rested on the stump.
They hinged" several, and Frank
had asked him:
"DO they ever take notion to slip
down hill?''
Yes, sometimes" was the reply.
whats Teller gOin' TO do to get
out o. the way? They might roll over
or flip up and come clear back over the
stump"
"Thats SO; but you've got to take