The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-05-01

uuflAB the late cOld weather, anu
 Sweetwood, evidently tired with so much tramping, determined to use the
 logs as a means of more easily getting
 up the mountain. With the driver of
 the team away back out of sight,
 Sweetwood climbed on the foremost log
 and congratulated himself how much
 nicer it was than trudging along in the
 snow.
 In this pleasant mood he either forgot
 that when the logs reached &he top of
 the incline and began to descend the
 grade their transit suddenly increased,
 or else he was so absorbed In the pleas
 ures of his ride that he forgot where he
 was. Be that as 1t may, however, when
 the first log went over the incline and
 began going down Sweetwood was still
 on it, and before he could dismount the
 log was going at such speed that to
 even try to get off meant death.
 In this dilemma all that could be done was to hold on like grim death
 and await the worst, which to all in-
 tents seemed death in some form or
 other, and most likely a most horrible
 death. Talk of express trains, electric
 ity or rapid transit in any of Its vari-
 ous forms, they are not in 1t with the
 way that log trail went down the
 mountain side. From the summit to
 the west branch of the Susquehanna, where the drive ended, was at least six
 miles, and in most places the drive was
 quite steep. Gathering momentum with every foot of Rs descent, the log with Sweetwood on it sped on as if shot
 from some great gun. Trees and rocks were passed with such startling rapid ity that they seemed as one solid
 blurred wall; the snow was only glare of white, the log line itself seemed only
 diminutive line only faintly discerna- ble, winding in and out like a huge snake. Sweetwood early in the ride lost his hat, and his hair streamed out
 behind like the tail of bob tail horse; the wind sang deafening tunes In his
 ears and almost blinded him with it's velocity, while the frost in the air
 seemed like hail pellets striking him in
 the face. There was little time for
 thought, but even in the few seconds
 there were Sweetwood wondered what the end would be.
 Fortunately for Sweetwood, and the
 only reason that he is alive to relate his experience, the log on which he was perched was a large, smooth one, and glided along comparatively easy, with little turning and never once snagging on any protruding substance. Down, down went log and rider, and in less time than it takes to tell it, the glim- mering expanse of the Susquehanna burst into view. Although nearly un- conscious, Sweetwood remembers giv- ] ing one nasty glance toward the river and noting the fact that it was compar- atively clear of logs at that point and | the next thing he knew he was plunged | in about eight feet of water. Contrary | to his expectation of being crushed to 1! death, he was unhurt, save the sicken- l ing sensation of the thrilling ride and | the shock sustained by his sudden plunge into the river
 When he struck the water he was still on top of the log, and went under with | it, but when he arose to the surface he was alone and within a few yards of the opposite shore With some little difficulty he pulled himself out of the water, and after recovering to some extend the use of his faculties viewed with wonderment the scene of his ride and shudderingly thought of his mar row escape. In his descent he sup posed the entire trail of one hundred logs was following swiftly after the one 1 he was on, and when plunged into the | river he expected to be ground to pieces with the logs. Now as ne stood on, the I bank of the stream and looked, not an l other log was in sight and his wonder ment increased. Gathering himself to-
 gether as well as possible, he sought a
 sheltered spot, and with dry matches l found in an inside pocket kindled fire
 and dried himself and sought compos-
 ure after his thrilling experience.
 Several hours later he made his way down stream until he found a place to cross, then retraced his steps to the drive and started back to camp. About
 halfway up the mountain he found an 1 exclamation of the missing logs The