Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-01-07
CHAPTER VII.

|
IN ADwAY returned to camp by the
IK 9th of January. He went on
INI snowshoes over the entire Job
~ and then sat silently in the Of
flee smoking. The jobber looked older.
The lines of dry>good humor about his
eyes had subtly changed to an express
sion of pathetic anxiety. He attached
no blame to anybody. but rose the next
morning at horn blow, and the men
found that they had new master over
them.
Now il became necessary to put the
roads in shape for hauling All winter
the blacksmith had occupied his time in
fitting the iron work on eight log
sleighs which the carpenter had hcwed
from solid sticks Of timber They were
tremendous affairs. with runners six
feet apart and hunks nine feet in width
for the reception of logs.
The carpenter had also built two i'm.
mense tanks on runners, holding each
some seventy barrels of water and with
drawal Of plugs the water would flood
the entire width of the road. The
sprinklers were filled by horse power.
A chain running through blocks ot.
tached to solid upper framework,
like the open belfry Of an Italian mon
8stery, dragged barrel up a wooden
track from water hole to an opening
in the sprinkler. When in action this
formidable machine weighed nearly
two tons and resembed moving
house. Other men had felled two big
helnlocks. from which they had hewed
beams for v pillow.
The V plOw was now put in action.
Six horses drew it down the road, each
pair superintendent by driver. The
machine was weighted down by a num-
Der Of logs laid across the arms. Men
guided it by levers and by throwing
their weight against the fans Of the
pillow. 1t was gay, animated scene,
this. full of the spirit Of winter-the
Flooding, straining horses, the brilliant
ly dressed, struggling men, the sullen
yielding snow thrown to ei.h.r side,
the shouts, warnings and commaS DIS.
To right and left grew white banks of
snow. Behind stretched a broad white
path in which ccant inch hid the bare
earth.
| For some distance the way led along
comparatively high ground. Then.
skirtins the edge of lake, it plunged
into deep creek bottom between hills
Here earlier in the year eleven bridges
had been constructed, and perhaps a.
many swampy places had been "coi
duroyed" by carpeting them with long
parallel poles. Now the first difficulty
began.
Some Of the bridges had sunk below
the level, aud the approaches had ID
be "corduroyed' to n practicable grade
Others again were bumped up like tom.
cats and had TO be pulled apart en-.
tirely.
Still that sort of thing was to be ex.
pected. A gang Of men who followed
the pillow carried axes and can't hooks
for the purpose Of repairing extern
poraneously just such defects which
never would have been discovered 9th
erwise than by the practical expert
ence. Railway himself accompanied
the plOw. Thorpe. who went along as
one Of the road monkeys" saw now
why such care had been required OF
him in smoothing the way of stubs
knots and hummocks.
When the road had been partly
cleaned Railway started one Of his
sprinklers. Water holes OF suitable
size had been blown in the creek bank
by dynamite. There the machines
were filled. Stratton alta ched his horse
to the chain and drove him back and
forth, hauling the barrel up and dowr
the slide why. At the bottom it was
capsiZed and filed by means Of Ions
pole shacliled to its bottom and manip
ulated by old man Heath. At the tor
1t turned over by its own weight. Thu.
seventy odd times.
Then Fred Green hitched his team
ON and the four horses drew the creak
ing, cumbrOus vehicle spouting dowr
the road. Water gushed in fans from
the openings on either side and beneath
and in streams from two holes behind
Not for an instant az long as the flow
continued dared the teamsters breath,
their horses. for a pause would freez,
the runners tight to the ground.
tongue at either end obviated the ne
cessity Of turning around.
That night 1t turned warmer. Thu
change was heralded by shift o.
wind.
"Shc's goin' to rain" said old Jack
son. THE air Ia kind O. holler."
"Hollow" said Thorpe, laughing
How is that2"
II dom know" confessed Hines, "bu
she is She Just feels that way"
In the morning the icicles drippet
from the roof, and the snow became
pockmarked on the surface.
Railway was down looking Mt tn
rond.
"Shes holdin' her own" said he
"but there amt any use putting mos
water on her. She amt freezing ,
mite Well pillow her out"
So they finished the job and plowet
her out. leaving exposed the wet
marshy surface Of the creek bottom. on
which at night thin crust formed.
She'll freeze little tonight" said
Railway hopefully. You sprinkler
boys get at her and wet her down."
Until o'clock in the morning the
four teams and the six men creaked
back and forth spillng hardly gath