The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1901-08-29

Pity Their amt no such men alive
nowadays!"
To this bantering narrative VIII
listened without undue gravity, but
after while, unobserved by any one,
he opened the cheese-box in which
were the dynamite and fuse used by
the foaters to blast jams and dam
eerous rocks. He put four sticks of
the stuff into his hip pockets, and
length of fuse into his blouse.
Then he went up the creek round
tie bend to his house and took
small corl,ed bottle full of dry
matches. The old pike-pole his father
had used was under the caves of the
wood-shed. He threw it over his
shoulder and started for the creek.
He was soon atioat on little log
that was easy to guide, and he worked
his way to the middle of the stream,
lodging or Tending off other logs.
He watched the current ahead to see
that an unexpected drift did not carry
him out of his course; he stood with
his knees slightly bent and his head
forward, and the quarter-inch spikes
in the soles of his shoes gripped the
log till it splintered.
Ahead of him was the jam, with
logs hitting it every minute. Some
Of them diyed out of sight instantly
Others slged round sdewise and
climbed the back of the jam. The
whole head of the jam was rolling,
twisting and heaving; there could
hardly lie a more dangerous place for
a mans legs.
10 miss .hese rolling logs and yet
find landing was Wills hope. To
90 too far down would be to risk the
pitch into the gorge and the proba-
blity of being carried past the jam.
But as he plunged into a drift of
logs and was unable to steer out of
L in time, he had to take his chances
MS they came.
There wasn't really any great choice
in the matter. IT would be a leap for
life, anyhow, wherever the log struck,
and il might as well be a big leap as
little one.
VIII was within a hundred feet OF
the jam before any one saw him.
Then small boy shouted, There's
VIII Conway on a log!"
\ hundred men. and as many women
| and children, looked in time to see
VIII poise himself for the leap as his
log approached the Jam. Instead OF
| holding the pole for mere balance
as he had been doing. he turned il
parallel TO his log and stopped for a
yaulting jump,
Log after log struck, each with a
heavy. musical thump-a half-dozen
of them. Suddenly VIII crouched
dropped his left shoulder, struck tho
iron pole point home in log, and
then sprang forward and up-up
while the log he had just left plunged
down into the vortex.
He struck fairly on his feet and
ran lightly over the uneasy logs tc
the motioaless ones. Then the crowd
on shore tossed its arms aus cheered
The first and least of the dangers was
overcome.
Will walked down the Jam, stepping
from log to log, taking his time al
was very great. He looked the tanolC
over; some of the logs fairly stood
on end, others were piled crosswiss
and lengthwise \ big one. its bacl
plintered-almost brokcn--was eyi
IDENTIFY the key. As it lay broadsidC
TO the current, the water poured owe,
il six inches deep at one end.
under it. and were lodged against the
aowlder Just below the key log. il
the water beside the bowlder, wa,
the place for the dynamite, so VII
decided after the examination. TheI
he Went TO work
While the crowd on shore looked
On, wondering what he would do next
not knowing that he had dynamite
VIII moved his pike along the jam
mi found a straight spruce saring
light feet long and bare of bark
which some lumhcrman up at the los
dump had used as a handspike.
He carried this to the key log. anC
kneeling Gown, tied the dynamit,
sticks, one by one to his saping
!ashing them fast with a stout string
as he had seen the men do. Then he
fastened the fuse and ran it along
the stick, steadying it by Irvine. Thi,
took only few breathless
ones to the onlool;ers.
Then viii examined the logs again
20 he sure that he would put the
'harge in the right place When Boss
Koch saw him doing that, he said
The coolest chicken ever sec,"
1t last the sapling was shovel
home, the dynamite was three feet
under water and the end of the fuse
vas nearly foot above the surface
Ihcn VIII stood up and looked into
he gorge below.
lie knew how the water ran there
Tor he had lived within a mile of il
III his life. The story of his fathers
ride was rot new one; indeed, his
father had pointed out to him the
black streak of navigable water he
| had followed on that memorable drive
of years ago.
VIII could see the streak for a short
| distance along the right bank of the