The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-11
Two Champion Woodchoppers
From the Circus Make Short
Work of Big Trees.
NEVER EVEN SAID "HAHr'
Tn Some Strange Manner
Movie Men Heard About It
in Time for Pictures.

he chops. II 10 an exhaiant custom re-
sarded in this country as a necessity
and reverenced by all as q tradition.
Yet Hank jackson and Pete McLaren
felled four monarchs Of tho East Twenty
! nrst street forest yesterday afternoon.
and when the last Of the noble grove
had beaten its outraged branches to
pieces against the trembling earth
neither Hank nor Pete had emitted \
single ''Hah" This violation OF the first
principle OF tree chopping and omission
Of a rite that 10 nothing less than sacred
20 enraged the multidute gathered to
see Messrs McEaren and jackson per-
form that only the timely arrival Of po-
lice reserves summoned from a box at
Twenty-irst street and Second avenue
by OFFICER McMalley. who at the same
time sent in an ambulance call. saved
the irreverent axernen from serious
chastisement As II was, they were
time into q taxi waiting at the Twenty
FIRST street curb in front Of No. ais and
to escape from the incensed populace
through a lane OF bluecoats. They were
treiied to Madison Square Garden. how
ever. and there the following fact In
mitigation of damages was established
woodchoppers BY Birth.
Henry Jackson and Peter McLaren
hail respectively from Baccarat and
Melbourne. In their mouths at birth
were cleaning articles at first supposed
to be gold spoons. but later discovered
by the respective nurses to be the cutest
little axes ever fashioned out OF virgin
gold. Approaching the Significance Of
this broad hint. the families OF Henry
and Peter apprenticed them at q tender
ago to the boss Of a logging camp.
When only II years old each OF them
had cut down, Henry in thirty sec
onds, Peter In thirty eight. blue gum
trees measuring ten feet and three
inches in diameter. There being nothing
bigger in Australia and q new time rec
ord for both plain and fancy chopping
having been established by these young
prodigies, they were Immediately taken
on as experienced hands and have been
pArdners ever since.
There Is no disposition here to con-
oeai the fact that they are now en-
pioycd by we'll known circus Arm.
choppins logs twice a day. afternoon
and evening under a spotlight. at sal
cries quite In keeping with the expecta-
lions Of the good fairies who put the
midget golden axes in their mouths In
Australia long ago.
When questioned yesterday as to the
utter absence OF "Hahs' from their per-
Torrance they replied simply that they
had never heard OF the custom, but that
II upon further investisa ton they found
that they could not WELD an axe with
out hahing at each stroke they would
try hard to acquire the habit, as they
wished to be successful in their chosen
vocation. -...
Getting back 70 East Twenty-frst
street, there Ia a row OF houses on the
south side, between Second and First
avenues. 80 old fashioned and out of
keeping with what everybody knows a
city should DO that they have front
yards. In those yards etood four trees
monstrous specimens. each measuring
at least foot in diameter. The real
estate columns duly noted not long ago
that this property had been bought, for
Improvement, by A. w. Rabe. proprietor
Of Rabies Wagon Works. The building
that Mr.. Rabe Is to put up will cover the
whole plot; hence the trees had to go.
Yes. the Movies Were There.
The East Side normally has plenty O,
professional wood choppers. but at the
moment they are ensa Eed in France a.
members OF the Seventy-seventh Divi-
sion. Despairtng OF ever getting his yards
cleared otherwise Mr.. Rabe went down
to Madison Square Garden and asked
Hank Jackson and Pete McTaren TO help
him out This they agreed to do yester-
day. although they were suffering from
colds IN the head. In some as ye. ur-
detected manner moving picture COM
pan!es heard what Hank and Pete were
going TO dc and when they were going
to Go II. SO when tho Australian mar
vels detrained from taxicab In East
Twenty first street so many cameras EN-
filaded them that the neighborhood got
the idea that William Armstrong Chalo-
ner and his secretary had arrived.
Pete's shirt was red and !Ian,:'s blue
but each wore n black pancake hat o.
ministerial or Mormonish appeara nee
They tested the edge OF their good old
axes, made In Pittsburg. Pa. b. whit
Ting pine sticks with them as II the
axes were jackknives
Sorry the trees aren't bigger" said
Eddie Norcross, who carried the bat
bag,
Big enough; We both feel kinda sick
to-day" said Peter McLaren.
As what followed took place so quickly
that extensive notes could not he taken,
movie artists hollering stop" and
"Go" throughout the slaughtering OF
the FIRST tree made Il useless as a speed
test, but by swinging their axes az
swiftly as the movement OF hunming-
birds wings and then cross-cutting with
a saw on the side OF the trunk opposite
the cash made by the axes Henry and
Peter got the next three trees down In
the elapsed time Of minute, IS seconds
and 36 seconds respectively. In fact.
they did so well that Mr.. Rabe sue-
gested that they stay and clean Zip the
litter. or at least chop A path through
the fallen tree tops to his row OF houses
at the back OF tho yard. And blessed
n those good natured Arzacs didn't say
that while they felt too grippy TO cut up
the debris yesterday they would get
up early and do II this morning. and
what Hank and Pete promise they'll do.
Forest Giants Unidentified.
An unidentified citizen who looked ar
II he might have arboreal knowledge
smelt Of the yellow chips g:rewn In Mr..
Rabe's yard and said he guessed the
trees were populs. Don Miguel Clarco
who has tamale stand In East Twen-
ty-second street. was sure that they
were splendid samples of the holy oak.
or roble santo. as he remenlb ered Il
from his boyhood in AIntsnzas Province.
Cuba. Eddie Norcross said that as he
was brought up in New York they were
Just trees. and why bother about tho
kind. Peter McI4aren said they were
new TO him. Henry Jackson said he
had the name on the tip OF his tongue a