The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1904-02-25

"She's goin' to rain" said old Jock
son. "The air II kind o. holler."
"HollowY said Thorpe. laughing.
"How Is that?'
II don know" confessed Hines. "but
she is. She Just feels that way"
In the morning the Icicles dripped
from the roof. and the snow became
pockmarkeh on the surface.
Radwny was down looking at the
rond.
shes laoldin' her own" said he,
''but there amt any use putting moro
water on her She ain't freezing a
mite. Wei plow her out"
SO they finished the job and plowed
her out. leaving exposed the wet.
marshy surface of the creek bottom. on
which at night thin crust formed.
shell freeze little tonight" said
Radway hopefully. "You sprinkler
boys get at her and wet her down."
Until 2 o'clock In the morning the
four teams and the six men creaked
back and forth spilling hardly gath
cred water. Then they crcpt In and
ate sleepiiy the food that sleepy
xookee set out for them.
BY morning the mere surface Of the
sprinklcd water had frozen. Radway
looked In despair at the sky. Dimly
through the gray he caught the tint OF
blue.
The sun came out. Nuthatches and
woodpeckers ran gayly up the warm
Hng trunks of the trees: blue jays fluff
ed and perked and screamed In the
hardwood tops: covey Of grouse ven-
tured from the swamp and struttcd
vainly. pause Of contemplation be-
tween each step. Rndway, walking out
cracked the artificial skin and thrust
his foot through into Icy water. That
night the sprinklcrs stayed in.
The devil seemed In 1t. Men were
lying idle: teams were doing the same.
Nothing went on but the days of the
year. and four of them had already
licked Off the calendar. The deep snow
Of the unusually cold autumn had now
disappeared from the tops of the
stumps. 1t even stopped freezing dur
ing the night. At times Dyer's little
thermometer marked as high as 40 de-
Srees.
IL often heard this was u sort "
summer resort" observed Tom Broad
head. "but hanged II knew II was n
summer resort all the year round!'
by and by 1t got TO be a case Of look
ing on the bright side of the affair
from pure reaction.
Il don't know" said Railway; lit
won't be so bad. after all. 4 couple of
days of zero weather. with all this wa
ter lying around would FIX things up
in pretty good shape. II she only
freezes tight we'll have good solid
bottom to build on
The inscrutable goddess of the vii.
derness smiled and calmly. relcntlessly.
moved her next pawn.
1t was all SO unutterably simple and
yet 50 effective. 1t showed.
All night and all day the great flakes
zigzagged softly down through the air.
Radway plowed away: two feet Of II.
rhe surface was promptly covered by
second storm. Radway doggedly
plowed 1t out again.
| ulb tlule tuc l-DuutSS SttLucu W
lent. The ground froze solid. The
sprinklers became assiduous In their
labor. Two days later the road was
ready for the fir t sleigh. its surface
Of thick. CLASSY ice bhutiful to be-
hold. the ruts cut deep and true. the
| glades sanded or sprinklcd with re.
tarding hay on The descents. At the
| rirn. N hp MI ,rtptt,,I Sntts1
Radway breathed again. then sighed.
Spring was eigh, days nearer. He was
eight days more behind,
AS soon as loading began the cook
served breakfast at 3 o'clock. The men
worked by the light of torches, which
were often merely catchup jugs with
wicking In the necks. Nothing could
be more picturesque than teamster
conducting one of his great pyramid
ical loads over the little inequalities of
the road. in the ticklish places stand.
ing atop with the bent knee of the RO-
man charioteer. spying and forestall-
Ing the chances of the way with fixed
eye and an intense concentration that
relaxed not one inch in the miles of
the haul. Thorpe had become full
hedged cant hook man.
He liked the work. There is about 1t
a skill that fascinates. A man grips
suddenly with the hook of his strong
instrument, stopping one end that the
other may slide. He thrusts the short,
strong stock between the log and the
skid. allowing it to be overrun. He
stops the roll with sudden sure grasp
applied Mt just the right moment to be
effective. Sometimes he allows himself
to be carried up bodily. clinging to the
cant hook like an acrobat to bar, un-
til the log has rolled once. when, his
weapon lOosened, he drops lightly, cas-
! lily to the ground. And 1t Is exciting to
pile the logs on the sleigh. first layer
Of five. say; then one of four smaller. of
but three, of two, until at the very
apex the last is dragged slowly up the
skids. poised and just as 1t is about to
plunge down the other side is gripped
and held inexorably by the little men
In blue flannel shirts.
Chains bind the loads. And II ever
during the loading or afterward when
the sleigh is in motion the weight of
the logs canses the pyramid to break
down and squash out, then woe to the
driver or whoever happens to be near.
For this reason the leaders are picked
and careful men.
At the banking grounds, which lie IN
and about the bed of the river. the logs