The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1893-07-15
THE PERIL OF A. CHILD.
HORRIBLE FREAK OF A MAD
MAN IN "A LOGGING CAMP.
The Sound of q Baby's Sobbing-A Terri
BILE Ride Down Log Chute-A
Sagwa Mothers Pathetic s. 5f@s
:sss Gratitude. n 81

/
Blaine. Wash, is one of the longest
logging chutes in the Evergreen.
state. To see the great fir logs come
rum rum mnbling, rolling, groaning and
dashingg down their long concave
ca1lseWay, making the grand final
plunge of 100 feetinto the waters of the.
Puget Sound, sending up terrible
| curtain zof spray to the height Of
slx-score feet, is a fine spectacle.
! But, though witnessed it 100 times,
! twill now never be without shud-:
de- der OF horror. Behind that silver
curtain OF leaping spray would see
| q terrible picture, a scene witnessed
one evening not many months; ago. =:
| "A friend had taken me out for a
moonlight sail in his yacht. Sud
denly a strange, faint sound reached
my ears. It1was low, but, like all
| sounds upon the water, very distinct
/ we listened. 1t sounded nearer, and
like the sound of a child's sobbing.
We listened. Once more it sounded
and with increased distinctnes the
lusty cry of a baby - = Z > u. ..--
f.See, in the chute!' exclaimed nv
friend. He had sprung to his feet
and was pointing at sag in the
bend Of the chute, which afforded q.
few feet Of comparative level. There
We could both see the futtering of
some fabric or other. e.
I Before I could reply faint rumble
caught my ear. ! ~-s-e., ~....>
IA log! a log!' was adj could
gasp. as the sound grew in distinct
| ness. H. =. -. -. '@.,
My friend with instant foresight
had already shifted the yacht to the
shore J.: - a."
| Jump when I swing into land, :"
he said. | understood him. I was
to- grasp the child, and I also under
stood the hopelessness of reaching it
| before the end of the log would blot
out its little life and hurl it into the
depths Of the sound -->t ::.
On came the log, squeaking grind
ing, groaning. slowly down its narrow
groove. - " - = =.l:<.: ..:.> : - =
. The yacht deftly swung alongside.
1 "a jast as the log became dlimly visi bfe
toward the lower portion of the
chute.
It was forlorn hope, but leaped
ashore and sprang toward the child
seeing plainly, as Tough it had al
ready occurred, the end of it all;
there would be slight pause as the
log struggled over the partially level
stretch of shelf-like bank, which
broke for a few yards the sheer
declivity of the descent, then there
would be a swift, silent plunge which
would sweep the child into shroud
of silver spray.
| I was still rod from the child, I
think, when saw the log, under full
head, wriggling and gliding along
the smooth white lengths of the pros
trate, stripped sapling trunks which
formed the chute. One moment more
and it would be across the level
stretch. Unaccountably the log had
stopped. 1 leaped and tried to
snatch the child It was tied down.
Breaking the slight fastening lifted
| it out.
.'Safe!" I shouted to my friend,
whose foresight, together with the
unaccountable stoppage of the log,
really had rescued the little one.
..Hark! Another!'' he answered back
before [ had fairly begun to descend
toward the boat
A second log was coming down the
chute, It was, knew by the deep
roar and the trembling of the earth,
monster. The first glimpse of the
oncoming log showed a fearful sight.
Astride of it was man. In the moon
light his face looked as weird and
wild as the face of a fury.
The great weight of this log had
given it a terrific impetus. It struck
the rear end of the obstructed log
with a conclusion like a cannon's dis
charge. and shot the man into space
as though he were shell fired from
a mortar. His plunge into the
waters was concealed by spray, which
leaped up as the logs struck the.
surface r-. y 4 49,, ~ -...a - s3s- 8 ID
We at last found the body some rods
from the shore, hauled it into the
yacht and returned to Blaine, where
both it and the living child were
tenderly cared for. .5.=s. z.# {.
The man was identified as a young
lumber s.cruiser," who had recently
suffered a fall while descending the
steep slope Of a canyon, receiving an
injury to his head which caused
temporary insanity. The child was
returned to it's Sagwa mother, who
was absent from the tepee at the
time when the maniac stole the pap
poose, devoting it to destruction.
She was frantically roaming the
woods in search of it when the nearly
fatal incident occurred. Her joy Of
its safe return was pathetic beyond
description, and We, its rescuers,
could do no less than accept the
deliberately decorated caribou skin
moccasins which she brought to us a
few days after the event as a token
Of gratitude.