Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-05-03

~ but at the end of the week,
when the water began to recede, they
came upon mass Of flesh and bones.
The man was unrecognizable. The re-
mains were wrapped in canvas and
Marquette. Three of the others were
never found. The last did not come to
light until after the drive had quite fin
ished.
Down at the booms the jam crew
received the drive as fast as it came
the broad extent of the rivers mouth
| heavy booms were chained end to end
effectually to close the exit to Lake
Superior. Against these the logs car
omed softly in the slackened current
and stopped. The cribs were very
heavy, with slanting instead Of square
tops, in order that the pressure might
be downward instead of sidewise. In
short time the surface of the lagoon
was covered by brown carpet of logs
running in strange patterns like wind
rows Of fallen grain. The drive was
all but over.
Up till now the weather had been
clear, but oppressively hot for this
time of year. The heat had come sud-
denly and maintained itself well. The
men had worked for the most part in
undershirts. They were as much in
the water as out of it, for the icy bath
had become almost grateful. Hamil-
ton, the journalist, who had attached
himself definitely to the drive, distrib-
uted punches of papers, in which the
men read that the unreasonable condi-
lions prevailed all over the country.
At length, however, it gave signs of
breaking. The sky, which had been Of
a steel blue, harbored great piled thur
der heads. Toward evening the thun-
der heads shifted and finally dissipat-
ed, to be sure, but the portent was
there.
Hamilton's papers began to tell OF
washouts and cloudbursts in the south
and west. The men wished they had
some of that water here.
So finally the drive approached its
end and all concerned began in antici-
patton to taste the WEAKNESS that
awaited them. The few remaining
tasks still confronting them all at once
seemed more formidable than what
they had accomplished. The work for
the first time became logged. distaste-
! full. Even Thorpe was infected. He,
too. wanted more than anything else
to drop on the bed in Mrs. Hathaway's
boarding house. There remained but
a few things to do. \ mile of sacking
would carry the drive beyond the in
fluence of freshet water. After that
there would be no hurry.
He looked round at the hard, fatigue
worn faces of the men about him, and
he suddenly felt great rush of affec-
| ton for these comrades who had so I'M
reservedly spent themselves for his af-
fair. Their features showed exhaus-
ton. it is true, but their eyes cleaned
still with the steady, half humorous
purpose of the pioneer. When they
caught his glance they grinned good
humoredly.
All at once Thorpe turned and start.
ed for the bank.
''That II do. boys" he said quietly to
the nearest group. "Shes down."
1t was noon. The sackers looked up
in surprise. Behind them. to their very
feet, rushed the soft smooth slope of
Hemlocl rapids. Below them flowed a
broad. peaceful river The drive had
passed it's last obstruction. To all in.
tents and purposes it was over.
Calmly. with matter of fact direct
ness, as though they had not achieved
the impossible, they shouldered their
peaveys and struck into the broad wag-
on road. In the middle distance doomed
the tall stacks Of the mill, with the lit,
tie board town about it. Across the eye