The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1908-12-09
WOODCHOPP|NC TEST,
Vermont Axlnan's Exploit to De.
eide a Wager.
STANDING TIMBER CUT DOWN

chopper of Vermont. recently added to
his fame by chopping, splitting and pill
ing five cords Of wood from standing
trees between sunrise. and sunset. He
Won 500 for his days work, and Max
we'll Evarts, Oldest son of the late Unit
ed States Senator William NJ. Evarts,
added $1,000 to his bank account, as
he backed Moote to accomplish the
feat.
There We're present Samuel G. Blythe
of New York, who had made the prin-
cipal wager with Mr.. Evarts, and many
prominent Nermonters.
The contest took place at Windsor,
near Amsden. VT, on a farm owned by
Mr.. Evarts. The chopping began at
sunrise, twenty-five minutes after ),
and was to end at sunset, ten minutes
to 6. Moote was attended by his son
Frank, to keep the aXes sharp, and he
handed these Instruments and the split
ting wedges to his father as fast as
they We're needed. c. NJ. Lawrence, a
civil engineer of Felchville, officiated
as the mcasurer.
Moote by half past 10 had cut down
eighteen trees, ranging in length from
sixty to seventy feet and from nine to
thirteen inches in diameter at the base.
He had chopped and split three and a
half cords. and he said that his mus
Gle was as good as when he began.
1t is seldom that a w~oodchopper has
had such q smartly dressed company
to witness his work. With occasional
lunches Of hash and more frequent
drinks Of milk and brandy. Moote
chopped away, and at noon about four
cords We're on the ground, cut and
split. but not piled. At that time he
declared the job would be finished at
4 O'clock. and the result proved the
accuracy of his prophecy. At just ff-
teen minutes after 4 o'clock the official
measurer announced that the long pile
contained five and o%ne-eighth cords of
wood, and Moote stopped work with
another eighth of a cord on the ground
already split. Twenty-Five pine trees
Seventy-fve feet tall had been cut down.
Mr.. Blythe. who showed himself a
good loser, joined Mr.. Evarts in his
NoLci iluldllolS, ANU AlCOlC IiOulllcu
the pile, TX in hand, while a hundred
cameras were focused on him. He had
done his task. with an hour and a half
to spare.
IN the town of Weathersfield, mid
way between Windsor on the Central
Vermont railway and Cavendish OF the
Rutland railroad, under the shadow of
Ascutney mountain, lies this little ham
let called Amsden. \. quarter Of a
century ago Charles Amsden built
there some kilns in which to burn the
lime which is found in abundance
along the Black river at Amsden.
Then he added a sawmill, a gristmill
and a general store. and Uncle Sam
added a postofIice. The place speedily
became q center of trade for miles
around and prospered greatly until the
death of Mr.. Amsden some ten years
ago.
Others then managed the property
with varying degrees of success until
it was brought to the attention of Mr..
Evarts FIVE years ago. The proposition
looked so good to him that he bought
the entire outfit and made Luther G..
White of Windsor his manager. The
property includes several timber tracts.
which are being cleared. In one of
the reports from White to Evarts the
former had told him of the timber cut
ting capacity of Ed Moote and had
rated Eds capacity at about twenty,
Il cords q week, cut, split and piled.
That looked like a pretty good record
to Eyarts, and, always proud of his ma
tive state and the prowess of its peo-
pie. he told the story to several of his
friends.
One of these friends was present at
q dinner which Mr.. Evarts gave to
some friends at the New Willard in
Washington last spring, and Mr.. Evarts
was asked to explain how this man
Moote could average more than five
cords of wood a day, cut, split and
piled. The explanation was not at all
satisfactory to his guests, and Evarts
was Immediately bombarded by offers
Of wagers that neither Ed Moote mol
any other Vermonter could perform
such a feat. Mr.. Evarts' sporting in
stinct is tempered with caution. and II
occurred to him that White might be
mistaken in his estimate Of Moote's ca.
pacity. So he wired White as follows:
1. c.. White, Amsden, VT:
Can Ed Moote cut Ave cords Of wood
in one day? lave mad that statement
and an jeered at. Wire me at once. II
he can, make your telegram strong, but
accurate, as we have to back this up.
NJ. E.
White promptly replied:
Maxwell Evarts, New Willard, Washing
ton, D.. c.:
Have competent witnesses to prove that
Moote chopped, split, but did not pile, five
and one-half cords rock maple in one day,
twenty-one cords in five days. He offers
to bet can repeat. L. C. W.
When Evarts got Whites message he
lost no time in accepting all the wagers
offered. and it was not long before the
aggregate amount was large enough to
make a trip to Vermont worth while.
The bets ran that "Moote must fell,
cut. split and pile five cords of market.