The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1905-01-11

of a record cut. The difficulties o
snow. accident. topography, wer
swept aside like straws. Little tim
was wasted and no opportunities |
did not matter how smoothly affair
happened to be running for the mo
ment; every advantage. even the small
est, was eagerly seized to advance til.
work. A drop of five degrees durin,
the frequent warm spells brought on
the sprinklers even in the dead o.
night. AT night the men fell into theil
hunks like sand bags, and their las
conscious thought, il indeed they ha6
any at all, was of eagerness for the
morrow. 1t was madness. but it wa:
the madness these men loved.
For now to his old religion Thorpe
had added a fanaticism, and over the
fanaticism was gradually creeping a
| film of doubt To the conscientious
energy which sense of duty supplied
was added the tremendous kinetic
force of a love turned into other chan
nels. And in the wild nights while the
other men slept Thorpe's half crazed
brain was revolving over and over
again the words of the sentence he had
heard from Hilda's lips, "There can be
nothing better than love-"
| His actions. his mind, his very soul.
vehemently denied the proposition. He
chung as ever to his high Puritanic
idea of mans purpose. But down deep
q TsU ffrary -
heart very small voice sometimes
made itself heard when other more
militant voices were still: "It may be.
1t may be-"
The last month of hauling was also
one of snow. Each day little fell.
BY and by the accumulation amounted
to much. In the woods where the wind
could not get at it it lay deep and soft
above the tops of bushes. On either
side of the logging roads the snow piled
so high as to form kind of rampant.
When all this water in suspense should
begin to flow and to seek its level in
the water courses Of the district the
logs would have plenty to float them
at least
So late did the cold weather last that,
even with the added blowing to do. the
six camps beat all records. On the
banks at Camp One were 100000
feet. The totals of all five amounted
to 100000. About 100000 of this
was on French creek, the remainder
on the main bank Of the Ossawina-
makee. Besides this, the firm up river,
Sadler & Smith, had put up some H.
100000 more The drive promised to
be quite an affair.
About the 10th Of April attention be-
came strained. Every day the mount
ing sun made heavy attacks on the
snow; every night the temperature
dropped below the freezing point The
river began to show more air holes, oc-
casional open places. About the CEN
ter the ice looked worn and soggy.
Some one saw a flock of geese high in
the air. Then came rain.
One morning early Long Jim Pine
came into the mems camp bearing a
huge chunk of tallow. This he held
against the hot stove until its surface
had softened. when he began to swab
liberal quantities Of grease on his
spiked river shoes. which he fished out
from under his bunk.
"She's comm, boys" he said
He donned pair of wooden trousers
that had been chopped off at the knee,
thick wooden stockings and the river
shoes. Then he frightened his broad
hn1 oh Sc
cooked his little hat over his ear and
walked over in the corner to select a
peavey from the lot the blacksmith had
just put in shape. peavey is like a
cant hook except that it is pointed at
the end. Thus it can be used either as
a hook or pike. At the same moment
Shearer, similarly attired and equipped
appeared in the doorway The opening
OF the portal admitted a roar of sound.
The river was rising.
Come on, boys; she's ont' said he
sharply.
Lively, boys, livelyr' shouted
Thorpe. She'll be down on us before
we know itr'
Above the creaking of dead branches
N the wind sounded steady roar like
the believing of wild beast flashing
Itself to fury. The freshet was abroad. |
The men heard it, and their eyes |
Frightened with the lust of battle. |
They cheered.
AT the banks of the river Thorpe is |
sued his directions. The affair had |
been all prearranged. Immediately |
above the first rollways was Dam
Three, with its two wide sluices
through which a veritable food could |
oe loosened at will: then four miles far
her lay the rollway of Sadler & Smith,
he up river firm, and above them tum-
lied over a forty-fiye foot ledge the
beautiful Siscoe falls. These first roll
ways of Thorpe's, spread in the broad
marsh fat below the dam, contained
bout 100000. The rest of the sea-
on's cut was scattered for thirty miles
long the bed of the river.
Already the ice cementing the logs
ogether had begun to weaken. The ice
ad wrenched and tugged savagely at
<,a 1rol% - n 4