The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-06-24

in long lines.
The men have been divided into gangs.
Some stay AT the head of the run, and
with their heavy cant hooks rool the logs
| down from the bank TO the water as the
river clears. Others go along the shore.
reaching out with their long pixies and
steering the loss straight The most ex-
pert ride the logs themselves Rough
herders Of rough flocks are these, armed
with slim, iron-pointed pixies. instead OF
crooks. They leap from log TO log. the
spikes in their shoes biting into the firm
bark, stepping sure-fooIedly on one stick
the instant il is. quiet, leaving It for an
other the moment II begins 20 toss IN the
rapids. Marvellous agility, coupled with
exact knowledge of the forces that rule
this turmoil Of water and legs, preserve
the drivers in their occupation, fun as il
IS with sudden perils, which reqIier in
slant courage 10 escape. Even the best
of them have TO leave the big sticks when
they rush down 2 quick reach OF water.
where the river losses its wild name and
leaps ike a stricken horse. There are,
however. long stretches Of quiet water.
where the logs push along. closing to-
gether and following one another like
sheep, and here the drivers can light a
pipe for a Whit before the next rapid is
reached.
If this were all TO a drive it would be a
pure pleasure. quickened with excitement
and a little danger, but the arduous part
of a. drive comes when a jam is formed
In some narrow stretches a log grounds
on a hidden rock, swings across the
stream and in an instant the furious
il, pilIing them UP Ike jackstraws in some
giant game. Behind this bulwark the
other logs pile up and the dam sends the
water back with a rush. As the water
rises more logs are piled on top and the
jam grows with every moment. each
added pound only settling It closer and
tighter together, until it seems as hope
less 10 set the tangIe free as TO lift out
the keystone Of an arch All the gangs
are hurried 10 the spot and with their
cant hooks. which suddenly seem puny
weapons beside the giant sticks which are
opposed TO them. the men rend at the
huge pile, in an effort TO md the log which
is the key to the whole and without
which the jam might be taken to pieces
bit by bit before the logs were set NOV
ing again. Sometimes the key is soon.
found. but more frequently il means
hours and perhaps days of hard and
dangerous work before the jam is broken.
Here the axes and saws come into use
and the logs which viii not yield 10 the
persuasion OF the hooks are sawn in
pieces and the bits set free.
Each moment is one Of extreme danger,
for the jam may break at any minute and
then, If there is anyone 50 unfortunate as
10 be in the way Of the sudden destruc-
tion-welI, weeks afterward something
horrible viii come 70 the surface Of the
mill pond miles below and the drive VIII
be recalled for q moment. Such acct
dents are not infrequent. If a driver falls
under the logs in swift water he is very
likely to be drowned before he can get
from beneath them TO the air, and il is
remarkable that. like sailors. the ma
jority Of the woodsmen are not swim
mers
When the key log is finally moved the
jam breaks with roar and the logs and
water sweep down stream in a terrific
wave. Frequently the logs, altogether
beyond guidance, smash together at the
next narrow place IL the river and an
other jam is formed. worse perhaps than
the first. II particularly bad luck marks
the drive half a dozen jams may be form
ed in as many miles. and the drive may
lengthen out into weeks before the logs
are herded together into the big basin at
the end of the journey.
Many tales are told Of the daring Of the
lumbermen who guide the logs down. and
more are left untold one Of the bravest
OF acts was performed by a sixteen-year-
old boy in one Of the Black river drives
a few years ago. His name was Jimmy
Carroll and he had hung around lumber
ing camps since he was eleven. This was
his first year as a driver, but there were
few men who could ride the logs down the
swift water with him There was one
place along the drive. where the water
narrowed and deepened between two
lodges Of rocks and shot down black and
smooth for twenty yards before it struck
the rocks al the bottom. Down this
stretch the logs shot at express speed.
The place was a comparatively easy one.
once the logs were started straight. and
It was the custom OF the more fooihardy
to ride the sticks as near as possible 10
where the first fierce tug Of the waters
caught them. and then TO escape over the
other logs 10 a place Of safety. Continual
danger Of this sort makes the drivers
careless, and one Of them went just too
close to the head of the run. without a
nearby log TO leap upon. Before a pike
could reach him the log tilted down and
shot over the tdge. The other drivers
stood agast as log and man went down.
In the first broken water he was hurled
from the stick hut with rare luck he
managed TO get a precariOus hold on
jutting rock little TO one side Of the
current. Above him was a black rush
Of waters. with a horrible death threaten
ing Il any Of the logs should happen TO
swerve a little and brush him. like a fly.
from the rock. Down stream he looked
into the whirl Of waters that would over
whelm any swimmer. and he couldn't
swim
Then Jimmy acted. He jumped to the
foremost logs. caught two under him. and
arged them TO the head Of the incline.
Down II he shot. riding the sticks as the
bareback rider in the circus rides two
horses. the logs clinging together. As he
shot out past the rock Jimmy reached out
and grasped the mans coat collar. The
shock. with the tumble Of the broken va
ter at the foot Of the run. sent one log
away from him like a bolt. but be man
aged TO fall astride Of the other and
harried and beaten by The water. the log
carried the two OF them down 70 the stili
reachsS. where they were rescued and
brought ashore. Jimmy with q broken leg
ans the other man unconscious ard bleed
Ing.
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