The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-10-09

tie royal with the waves and the logs.
Under the tremendous pressure of the
water the logs are sent flying in every
direction, end over end and in all
conceivable fantastic shapes. And still
it is by no means uncommon that
a dozen men will pass through
break of this kind, jumping from log
to log, watching with quick eye and
ready with 4 sure foot to seize the
first foothOld on a log that is less in
danger than others, and finally all get
safely ashore with nothing more seri-
GUS than a wet skin or perchance 4
few slight bruises.
1t was to such 4 life as this that
for ten years the present governor de-
voted himself, and there is many an old
lumberman alive to-day who will insist
that of all the bold, hardy crew who
sailed and waded Rum river from 1857
to 1867, none were more bold or daring
or industrious than Dave" Clough.
The Spring Drive.
The most trying ordeal of the lum-
Der season is the drive, but the most
trying ordeal of the drive is sack
ing" This is the work Of taking in
the struggling, stray logs which hang
up on the banks or get lodged on the
islands or in the meadows along the
stream after the main body of the logs
has passed. This is the most unpleas-
ant part of the work because the work
men must be in the water up to their
knees, and frequently to their waists,
for whole days, all the time performing
the hardest kind of bodily toll.
Imagine the hardship of working all
day in deep water in which great burgs
and blocks Of ice are floating, keeping
the temperature down all the time to
freezing point, and one has a fair idea
of what 'sacking' means. And yet,
strange as it may seem, and probably
due to the robust physical condition of
the men engaged at the work, it was
very seldom in the olden times that
there was sick list OF q sick man
in driving crew. During recent years
the streams upon which logs are bank
ed have been largely cleared Of obstruc-
ting snags and rocks, short curves have
been heightened and dams have been
so constructed that the work of driving
has been greatly simplified and has
become much less expensive and labor
iOus.
Then, too, in the old times the fare
was not what it is to-day. Then the
supplies had to be ''toted" in, some
times as much as 100 miles by team,
and as this had to be done while the
ground was still frozen and the sled
ding good, the supplies were of a very
simple character. Salt pork, beans of
the navy" pattern, flour and Il few
simple condiments constituted the ma
terial from which the Strong-armed
cook prepared the food for the men.
An occasional mince pie, a fearfully
constructed article, made up of odds
and ends, and enclosed in crust that
defied the opening powers of anything
but a 'jethroe" approached nearer to
Il delicacy than anything which found
it's way to the fiat side of the slab
which answered the purpose of a table,
and the jolly crowd Of registering men
consumed it with a relish-and careful
ly avoided the water for several days
following, as it was known to be Il fatal
Sinker.
Strikes out for Himself.
In the fall of 1871 Gov. Clough, after
having worked at every odd job con-
nected with the lumber business and
after acquiring a perfect practical
knowledge of every detail Of the work,
used what means he had acquired while
working by the month in the purchase
of Exit" of his own and went in on
the west branch of Rum river to do u
little business ON his own account
For the five years previous to this
time Clough had been employed by
Henry +. Brown, at that time one of
the leading lumbermen of the state,
and the friendly relation established be-
tween them then has never been dis
turbed. Since attaining political promi-
nence the governor has been, of course,
subject to the demands of many poll
ticians with a pull" but no man has
yet been found with sufficient force of
traction to unhOrSe H. Il. Brown from
the position which he held and ever
holds in the esteem of his erstwhile
employe. The success which had at
tended Dave" Clough as following the
vocation of farmer, teamSter and river
; driver did not desert him when he en-
barked in business for himself, and
i'll 1873 he so enlarged his operations
that he found it necessary to open an