The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-10-18
ETWEEN the men Of Pinerlft
lumber camp and those of
Camp Seven, farther up the


Camp Seven, farther up the
6 river, there at all times was
strong rivalry. velvet joe" the
biggest and possibly the toughest
Plnerift man, averred 1t existed ION
gin'ral principles"
Did Camp Seven perform some par
ticularly hazardous feat in Jam break
ing, Plnerlft took no peace until It
had equaled and, If possible by any
known means, eXcelled the Camp
Seven achievement. Had Plnerlft the
champion team for hauling, Camp
Seven bestirred itself diligently until
it had matched the champion. The
feeling extended even to the cooks
and the chore-boys.
Honors had for a long time been
about evenly divided between the two
camps, but at last Camp Seven had
won a victory, to its great and osten-
tatlous delight. Tom Patengill, the
son Of Camp Sevens foreman,
strapplng young fellow Of eighteen,
had on two distinct occasions per-
formed feats of jam-breaking which
even the older men of either camp
had found it impossible to excel. Ger
tainly none of the Pinerift young fell
lows had equaled the exploits of
young Patengill, and Camp Seven
claimed the championship with noisy
acclaim. Heretofore the Pinerift men
had fully held their own, and this,
their first unmistakable defeat,
ranked
IF old Turner only had son now,
stead Of that gal-boy of his that's
afraid Of the waterw growled Velvet
Joe to his mates in great disgust.
But shucks"
That's so, Joe, all right enough"
assented Pete Adams, a grizzled
driver. "Dicky Turner would be
afraid Of victim his fete, let alone
riding lot of rollin' logs"
Turner, the foreman, himself felt
the loss of prestige that the camp had
received, and several times Dick
Turner caught his fathers eyes fixed
upon him Independently. Dick
was quiet young fellow, with square
shoulders and broad, deep chest that
showed plenty Of power to endure.
On the whole, he had perhaps more
than ordinary courage, but he had an
uncomfortable aversion tO-perhaps it
would not be too harsh to say fear Of
the swift, swirling waters Of the
river. The feeling had been born
with him, and try as he might, he
could not overcome it.
''Well, 'now, if the critter amt
skeered of the Waterv' Velvet Joe had
said, in a tone of mingled pity and
disgust when the truth was first
borne in upon him. And he expressed
the sentiment Of the camp. Young
Turner, the only young fellow in
their camp with sufficient strength
and quickness to attempt to pick ur
Tom Patengill's gauntlet, was "skeeret
of the water"
Unable to understand in the least
this ''queerness," as the men termed
it, they had come to feel contempt fol
the quiet young fellow Haf-hidder
hitherto, out Of respect to the sturdy
foreman, the feeling now began t.
show outright Dick Turner under
stood, and it cut him to the quick
but he gave no sign.
There were things which he coulC
do if he could not drive logs on the
river, and one thing he could do es
pecially well. He had a wonderful
gift for handling and training horses
This talent he had doubtless inherltef
from his father.
About a year before the foreman
had bought a noted stallion, whicl
for size, strength and beauty was fam
Gus far and near. The splendid ami
NAL also had the well-earned reputa
ZION Of being in disposition the uglies
brute that ever paved the turf.
He was said to have killed on
trainer, and to have been unde
sentence of death therefor whe
Turner bought him. But the dauntles
lunmberman believed he could trai
the horse into submission.
But after several futile attempt
and two or three narrow escapes froI
death, he had acknowledged himsel
defeated, and had condemned th
stallion to be shot. 1t seemed a pit!
At least so Dick Turner though
Never had so gallant an animal bee
seen in that part Of the country. An
the boys heart, like that of a certai
illustrious horse tanner Of old, swelle
with the desire to conquer and subdr