The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1905-12-21
BREAKING A LOG JAM
THE PERILS AND HARDSHIPS OF THE
HEROES OF THE "DRIvE.n

HEHO6S Or HE "DRiVE.o
A Work without Glory and Yet n.
Dangerous as Fighting Fire - The
Expert "White Water Men" and
Their Skill and Daring.
Among the occupations which are
brimful Of danger and in which men
take their lives in their hands is 'log
driving" 1t is work without glory,
yet it is Us dangerous as that of the
fireman and, one is tempted to say, as
that of the seacoast life savers Ger
tainly in the Adirondacks, Maine, Mich
igan, Canada and wherever it is car
ried on each year a large number Of
lives are lost, considering the few men
employed. 1t is an employment in
which the mans safety depends ON his
skill, coolness and quickness in per-
ceiving what to do at the right time.
The chief danger is the breaking of
log jams in midstream of rocky rapid.
The logs always pile up against the
rocks that are not covered by the flood
and form long pile two or three rods
wide, anywhere from one to thirty rods
long and perhaps six or eight logs deep.
Thus jam may contain 5000 or 10000
logs. TO break jam of this kind the
boss sends or takes out three or four
Of the best men in the log driving crew.
These experts are men known as
white water men, because of their
ability to ride standing up on log
through water that is splashing and
foaming over the rocks. They land at
the upstream end of the jam, where
one of the men remains with the boat
While the others go to the lower end
of the jam to pick away with their
peayeys, or levers, the logs close to the
rock against which the jam rests. They
seek for the ''key log which when
pried out starts the jam moving 50 that
it either "hangs up" again or breaks to
pieces.
When the men see that it is breaking
they run over the heaying. bounding
of the jam. A slip or a misstep means
a fall between the grinding and toss
ing logs. The logs may become SO sep
arated that it is impossible to reach
the boat. If this happens the ''white
water man. must make good his name
by making his way to the shore with
out getting wet or maybe killed.
Perhaps the floating timber spreads
apart to such an extent that he Is COM
PEELED to stick to single log, and here
it is that lie best shows his ability as a
log driver. He balances himself Oh the
upstream end of the log. steadies him
self upon his spike shoes and steers
clear Of the rocks before him. The men
OH shore stop to watch. He may ride
to safety and he may not.
Some years ago OH the West Canada
creek, in the Adirondacks, q foreman
of log driving crew who would never
send his men where he did not dare go
himself went out with two volunteers
to break jam in exceedingly swift
and rough water. With some difficulty
they reached the pile of logs and, after
a time, succeeded in starting them 60
ing. The logs started much faster than
| expected and We're soon scattered in
such manner that the two men could
| not set to the boatman and boat at the
head of the jam. They did the best
| they could to keep their feet and to
| work their way toward shore.
| The foreman was the more skilful Of
| the two and kept his log fairly steady.
but the other man was having hard
| time to keep on top. Having come
within fifteen or twenty yards of the
shore. the foreman braced his peavey
against the other mans log and then
| gave it shove, which sent it toward
| shore with the man. In doing this the
/ foreman's log was sent far out into the
raging stream. He had intended to
work his way back again Willie he was
cutting his log to stop it rolling, but
| it struck rock. He was hurled into
| the air and came down headforemost
upon the bowlder. His body was found
some days later mile downstream.
Although the white water man" is
skilifu in riding log, it is obvious
that he cannot ride over waterfall or
through an extremely rough rapid.
! When d jam forms above a waterfall
or rough rapid, as is often the case, the
/ danger of busting" is greatly increas-
ed, since here it is absolutely necessary
| to get to the boat or to the shore.
When one considers that in breaking
jams the drivers are often compelled
/ to ride to shore on log, the danger
can readily be seen.
Gene McBeth, one of the best driv-
ers that ever rode log, met his death
on Mill creek in just such situation.
| A wing JAM" so called because ex-
tending from shore into the stream,
had hung up" above rapids that could
not be passed even by boat. With
two other men McBeth went out on
the logs and began picking them loose
In search for the key log" After
working an hour, all at once the jam
leaped forward and was in full mo-
ton.
Tie men turned and started up the
jam, McBeth in the lead. When they
reached the single place over which
they could pass McBeth stopped to
help his less able companions and to
let them pass ahead OF him. 1t was
fatal move Oh his part. for the other
two men had just time to jump ashore
into the water waist deep. When his
turn came it was too late. He had
saved his friends, but now there was
ride for his life over the tangled
mass of groaning and tossing logs
When he saw what it all meant ht
turned about, held the peavey as bal
ance pole tight in both hands and faced
the hopeless fight for life.
The men on shore ran along thu