Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-06-17
If / had you outside for minute
BY STEWART
EDWARD
WHITE

In moment tne ueIldnCe udu Come
| endangering the careful structure
! Thorpe had reared with such pains
| The young man was suddenly angry in
I exactly the same blind, unreasoning
manner as when he had leaped single
| handed to tackle Dyers crew.
| Without word he sprang across the
shack, seized two bladed ak from the
pile behind the door, swung it around
| his head and east it full at the now
frightened teamster. The latter lodged.
and the swirling steel buried itself in
i the snow bank beyond. Without an in
stant's hesitation Thorpe reached back
| for another The man took to his
| heels
II don't want to see you around here
again. shouted Thorpe after him.
Then in a moment he returned to the
| office and sat down, overcome with con-
! triton.
| at might have been murder" he told
| himself, awe stricken.
| But, as it happened, nothing could
have turned out better.
| Thorpe had instinctively seized the
only method by which these strong
! men could be impressed. Now the en-
| tire crew looked with vast admiration
| on their boss as man who intended to
/ have his own way no matter what diff
ficulties or consequences might tend to
| deter him. And that is the kind Of man
they liked.
Injun Charley, silent and enigmatical
as ever, had constructed log shack
| near a little creek in the hard wood.
There he attended diligently to the
| business Of trapping. Thorpe rarely
I found time to visit him, but he often
| glided into the office, smoked pipeful
of the white mans tobacco in friendly
/ fashion by the stove and glided out
| again without having spoken dozen
| words.
Wallace made one visit before the
| big SHOWS came, aud was charmed. He
/ ate with gusto of the salt horse, "
baked beans, stewed prunes, mince pie
/ and cakes. He tramped around gayly
| in bis moccasins or on the fancy snow
shoes he promptly purchased Of Injun
/ Charley. There was nothing new to
4 rsrort in regard to financial matters.
! TIE loan had been negotiated easily On
/ t. basis of mortgage guaranteed by
| Carpenters personal signature. Moth
Ing had been heard from Morrison 4
DAILY.
BY the end Of the winter some 4,QO0..
600 feet Of LOGS were piled in the bed or
= ckSN 10, mn
derstand what that means you must
imagine pile of solid timber mile in
length. This tremendous mass lay di-
rectly in the course Of the stream.
When the winter broke up 1t had to be
separated and fioated piecemeal down
the current. The process is an interest
ing and dangerous one and one Of
great delicacy. 1t requires for Its sue
cessful completion picked men of skill
and demands as toll its yearly quota Of
] cripples and dead. While on the drive
men work fourteen hours a day up to
their waists in water filed with float
ing ice.
On the Cssawiriamakee, as has been
stated, three dams had been erected to
j simplify the process of driving. When
the logs were in right distribution the
gates were raised, and the proper head
of water foated them down.
| Now, the river being navigable.
i Thorpe was possessed of certain rights
on it Technically he was entitled to a
normal head of water whenever he
needed it. or special head. according
| to agreement with the parties owning
the dam. Early In the drive he found
that Morrison s. DAILY intended to cause
him trouble 1t began in a narrOws OF
the river between high, rocky banks.
Thorpe's drive was floating though
close packed The situation was tic
klish. Men with spiked boots ran here
and there from one bobbing log to en-
other, pushing with their peayeys, hur-
rying one log, retarding another, work
ing like beavers to keep the whole mass
straight. The entire surface of the wa
ter was practically covered with the
floating timbers.
In moment, as though by magic,
the loose wooden carpet ground togeth-
err. A log In advance appended. another
thrust under it. The whole mass ground
together, stopped and began rapidly to
pile up. The men escaped to the shore
in a marvellous manner of their own.
Tim Shearer found that the gate at
the dam above had been closed. The
man In charge had simply obeyed or
ders. He supposed NJ. & d. wished to
back up the water for their own logs.
4 Tim INDUCED In some picturesque
language.
You amt got no right to close off
more'n enough to leave us TIL natral
flow unless by agreement" he conclud-
ed, and opened the gates.
Then 1T was a question of breaking
the jam. This had to be done by pull
ing out or chopping through certain
key" logs which locked the whole
mass Men stood under the face of i'm
minent run-over them frowning
sheer wall Of bristling logs. behind
which pressed the weight of the rising
waters-and hacked and tugged calmly
| until the mass began to stir. Then
they escaped A moment later, with a
roar, the jam vomited down on the
spot where they had stood. 1t was
dangerous work. Just one half day
later it had to be done again and for
the same reason.
This time Thorpe went back with