The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-12-28
LOGGING ON THE ST. CROlX
DA INC FRS AND FASCINATIONS OF 4
 DRIVE
In win-FIowing Water-IIow a Bad
 Jam is Broken.

NS ot' AioiA IlVeT, Wlln US nunef-
 ous tributaries, has been the scene of
 an immense lumber industry for more
 than a quarter of century, and is justly
 claSSed as one of the most notable
 lumber streams in the world, But this
 huge Industry will soon cease to exist
 owing to the supply of timber being
 nearly exhausted. It is a gratifying
 1act to know that the lands stripped of
 these large forests are being settled
 and developed to a degree far greater
 than the expectations of the most san
 gune.
 Until the last few years logging has
 been conducted in proportions of great
 magnitude along this river and even
 to-day it is done on an extensive scale at certain places but the large forests
 of valuable timber have disappeared,
 and added to this, fires have passed over the slashings, killing and destroy ing the younger growth.
 Converting these forests into logs, driving them down the river and saw Ing them into lumber has been a stu pendous work, furnishing employment to large army of men. They have
 now been compelled to follow the lum-
 Der industry further north or change their occupation. Most of them have taken the latter course, and are to-
 day prosperous agriculturists and business men,
 Although the logging industry has
 been carried on in very systematic manner in this section, many years have been consumed in reducing the supply. Each of the numberless mill lion trees had to be cut with a cross cut saw, pulled by two men. and then handled at least four times, being at first "slsidded' then drawn to the river "drove" down it. and carried into the mill each of which operations is great industry in itself. Any one can readily understand that it is not the lumber itself which possess the main value, but principally the labor which 1t represents.
 Undoubtedly the most fascinating work in the lumber business is the drive" When drive containing million logs starts down the river it is accompanied usually by thirty or forty men and sometimes by not fewe than 100 men, who take separate stations along the shore-generally bends in the river and break the jams"
 
 even makes a Chippewa Indian driver swear, but the islands, bends and rap ids, which are numerous in St. CroiX, mainly cause this difficulty. When a jam begins to form great efforts are put forth to dislodge the foremost logs,
 and this is an exciting and dangerous procedure for the driver who goes to the centre of the St. Croix, and, with ofl of bi ie, 1ic1pd dooc jor Starting the thousands of logs down a very swift current takes his life in his hands,
 By constant practice the log walk CT reaches degree of proficiency that is amazing He rides logs that will just support him; he runs and makes hairbreadth jumps; he spins" long, tamaracks at the rate of sixty revolu- tions a minute in midstream-in fact, he seems to have a faculty of staying on top, regardless of the circumstances.
 It must not be supposed, however, that the most proficient log walker does not occasionally receive a duck ing. These drivers" some of whom are Indians, will risk any adventure, and occasionally one of their number is drowned. Tn early Spring or late Fall, to miss his footing, or to have log roll" as the saying goes, and plunge into ten | feet of ice water, as in rapid cur rent, with logs shooting past is not desirable experience, but one which the l regular driver must be prepared to | meet. Crampng in such bath is the | main danger, and if one can avoid this he is comparatively safe, as he can grab a passing log and eventually get | on his feet.
 A wanagan and a half dozen or more bateaux follow each drive. The form er a stoutly built craft, carries the drivers provisions and tools, and is a good moving hotel. A first-class cook and one or two assistants accompany the wagon and administer to the needs of the hungry. The wanagan cooks have their share of work during the trip; in fact, it requires more hours of hard labor to accomplish their task than it does to break jams. Their us- ual days work is from fourteen to six teen hours, while eighteen hours is not while time is spent in mak- Ing and baking bread, cookies and pies, cooking meats, vegetables and sauces, and washing dishes. Excellent meals are served.
 They can eat pies faster than I can manufacture them" said a wana- gan cook; "why I have made $40 pies n one day and they were all eaten be- lore bedtime! Appetites! Good gra- ,ious, ordinary people don't know what m appetite is. There is nothing that will equal a drivers appetite. I have sometimes feared that they would eat he very stone griddles. They are good boys, though" The head drivers some of whom are , rom five to ten miles in advance of the get their board and lodging tt farm houses and at shanties erect d along the river for that purpose. Bateaux are constructed similarly to \ row boats, although they are quilt of two-inch material and are con- iderably larger, thus being stronger nd capable of withstanding hard us- .ge One requires the services of at , east two men to handle it, and it will ccomodate six men. It is used by the /, ear drivers to dislodge ''stragglers." :. Of course the river is free drive vay for all, except at dams, where a ominal fee is charged for passing the ogS through the fumes. Although the