Mower County transcript., 1904-07-06


After time tine tug puffed up to the
booms, escorting the pile driver. The
latter towed little raft Of long, sharp
ened piles, which it at once began to
drive in such positions as would most
effectually strengthen the booms. In
the meantime the thunder heads had
slyly climbed the heavens, so that a
sudden deluge of rain surprised the
workmen. For an hour it poured down
in torrents, then settled to a steady
gray beat. Immediately the aspect
had changed.
Solly, the tug captain, looked at his
mooring hawsers and then at the near
est crib
"She's riz two inches in tn last two
hours" he announced, land she's run
min like mill race" Solly was a
typical north country tug captain, short
and broad, with brown, clear face
and the steadiest and calmest of steel
blue eyes when she begins to feel
tn pressure behind" he went on.
"there's goin' to be trouble"
Toward dusk she began to feel that
pressure. Through the rainy twilight
the logs could be seen raising their
ghostly arms of protest. Slowly, with
out tumult. the jam formed. In the
rear they pressed in, were sucked un-
der in the swift water. and came to
rest at the bottom of the river. The
~ ho nj tn rrntpSf
pressing it's hydraulics through the mar
rowing crevices. The situation demand
ed attention.
A breeze began to pull offshore in
the body of rain. Little by little it in
creased, sending the water by in gusts,
rufi1ing the already hurrying river into
greater haste, raising far from the
shore dimly perceived whitecaps. Be-
tween the roaring of the wind, the
dash of rain and the rush of the stream
men had to shout to make themselves
heard.
Guess you'd better rout out the
boss," screamed Solly to Wallace Car
penter This waters comm up an
inch an hour right along. When she
backs up once she'll push this jam out
sure"
Wallace ran to the boarding house
and reused his partner from heavy
sleep. The latter understood the situa-
ton at word. While dressing he ex-
planned to the younger man wherein
lay the danger.
"If the jam breaks once," said he,
nothing top of earth can prevent it
from going out into the lake, and there
scattered it is practically total loss."
They felt blindly through the rain in
the direction of tho lights on the tug
and pile driver. Shearer, the water
dripping from his faxen mustache,
Joined them like a shadow. At the
river he announced his opinion. eve
can hold her all right" he assured
them. ut IL take few more piles, but
by morning the storm III be over, and
she'll begin to 60 down again."
The three picked their way over the
creaking, swaying timber. But when
they reached the pile driver they found
trouble afoot The crew had mutinied
and refused longer to drive piles un-
der the face Of the jam.
'lf she breaks away she's going to
bury us" said they.
"She won't break" snapped Shearer
'Get TO work" 4 sszs:aass;11st:rrnHa~.
TITS dangerous" they objected sui
lenly:
"You get off this driver!' shouted
Solly. "Go over and lie down in ten
acre lot and see IL you feel safe there!'
He drove them ashore with a storm
Of profanity and multitude Of kicks,
his steel blue eyes blazing.
There's nothing for it but to get
the boys out again." said Tim. II
kinder hate to do it,
But when the Fighting Forty, half
nsleep but dauntless, took charge of the
driver catastrophe made itself
known. One of the elected men had
tripped the lifting chain Of the ham.
mer after another had knocked away
the heavy preventing block, and sc
the hammer had fallen into the river
and was lost. None other was to be
had. The pile driver was useless.
A dozen men were at once dispatched
for cables, chains and wire ropes from
the supply at the warehouse.
Its part Of the same trick" sai6
Thorpe grimly. 'Those fellows have
their men everywhere among us.
don't know whom to trust"
"You think it's Morrison & Daly?'
queried Carpenter. astonished.
"Think? I know it. They know a:
we'll as you or l that If we save these
logs We'll win out in the Stock Ex
change, and they're not such fools a,
to let us save them If it can be helped.
"What are you going to do nowY
'"The only thing there is to be done
Well string heavy booms chained to
gether between the cribs and thel
trust to heaven they'll hold. I thinl
we can hold the jam. The water will
begin to flow over the bank before
long, so there won't be much increas
of pressure over what wn have NOW