The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1910-02-10

The twenty-six foot logs were placed
side by side. slanting from point two
feet below the rim of the fall to the
ledge below. They were bolted to-
gether top and bottom through the
-FOUR holes bored for that purpose. The
task finished. they pried the fash
boards from the improvised dam.
piled them neatly beyond reach of
high water. rescued the sawhorses and
piled them also for a possible future
use and blocked the temporary chan
mel. The river. restored to its imme-
mortal channel by these men who had
so nonchalantly turned it aside. roared
on. Orde and his crew tramped back
to the falls and gazed on their handi-
work with satisfaction. Instead of
plunging over an edge into a turmoil
OF foam and eddies. now the water
flowed smoothly, almost without a
break. over an incline of thirty de-
grees
"Logs II slip over that slick as a
gun barrel" said Tom North.
Quite cheerfully they took up their
long. painstaking journey back down
the river.
The trail led the crew through many
minor tabors. all of which consumed
time. At Reeds mill Orde entered into
diplomatic negotiations with old man
Reed, whom he found singularly
amenable. The skirmish In the spring
seemed to have taken all the fight out
Of him. or perhaps. more simply. Orde's
attitude toward him at that time had
won him over to the young mans side
Orde's crew built new sluiceway
and gate far enough down to assure a
good head in the pond above.
In September the crew had worked
down as far as Redding. leaving be-
hind them river harnessed for their
between Redding and the lake. Orde
here paid off his men. few days
work with pile driver would fence
the principal shoals from the channel.
He stayed overnight with his par
ents and took the train for MOnrOvia
to meet Newmark.
Hello. Joe." greeted Orde. his teeth
face. I'm done. Anything new since
you wrote last:"
Newmark had acquired his articles
of incorporation and sold his stock.
Perhaps his task had in 1t as much of
difficulty as Orde's tanning of the river.
Certainly he carried il to as successful
a conclusion. The bulk of the stock,
he sold TO log owners. Some blocks
even went TO Chicago. His own little
fortune of twenty thousand he paid in
for the shares that represented his half
of the majority retained by himself
and Orde. The latter gave a note at
10 per cent for his proportion Of the
stock. Newmark then borrowed fif
teen thousand more. giving as security
a mortgage on the company's newly
acquired prOperty-the tugs. bOOms,
buildings and real estate. Thus was
the financing determined. 1t left the
company with obligations of $l.5OO
year in interest. expenses which would
run heavily into the thousand and an
obligation to make good outside stock
worth at par exactly $4,000. In addi-
ton Orde had charged against his ac
count burden of $1,000 year inter-
est on his personal debt. To offset
these liabilities, outside the river i'm
provements and equipments. which
would hold little or no value in case of
failure. the firm held contracts to de-
liver about 1OO.0OOOO0 feet of logs.
After some discussion the partners de-
cided to allow themselves $500 apiece
by way Of salary.
''The only point that is at all risky
to me-" said Newmark. lis that we
have only one season contracts. If for
any reason we hang up the drive or
fail to deliver promptly we're going
to get left the year following. and then
it's b-u-s-t-bust.'