Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1920-12-31
CHAPTER Ill.

Throughout the happy years Of
Bryce's boyhood his father continued
to enlarge and improve his sawmill,
to build more schooners, and to &C
qulre more redwood timber. Lands,
the purchase of which by Cardigan
decade before had caused his neigh
bors to impugn his judgment, now
developed strategical Importance. As
a result those lands necessary to con-
solidate his own holdings came to
him at his own price, while his ad-
verse holdings that blocked the log
ging operations OF his competitors
went from hlm-also at his own price.
In fact. all well-laid plans matured
satisfactorily with the exception Of
one, and since 1t has a very definite
bearing on the story, the necessity for
explaining it is paramount.
Contiguous to Cardigan's logging
operations to the east and north Of
Sequoia, and comparatively close in,
Law a block of two thousand acres
of splendid timber. the natural, feas-
ible. and inexpensive outlet for which,
when it should be logged, was the
Valley of the Giants. For thirty
years John Cardigan had played
waiting game with the owner of that
timber, for the latter was as fully
obsessed with the belief that he was
going to sell 1t to John Cardigan at
dollar and a half per thousand feet
stumpage as Cardigan was certain he
was going to buy it for a dollar a
thousand-when he should be ready
to do so and not one second sooner.
Eventually the time for acquiring
more timber arrived. John Cardigan,
meeting his neighbor on the street,
accosted him thus:
"Iook here, Bill, isn't 1t time we
got together on that timber OF yours?
You know you've been holding 1t to
block me and force me to buy at your
figure. I'll give you dollar thous-
and stumpage for your timber, Bill"
"I want q dollar and a half"
"a dollar Is my absolute limit"
Then I'll keep. my timber"
"And I'll keep my money. When
I finish logging In my present hold
ings, I'm going to pull out Of that
country and log twenty miles south
of Seouoia. Remember. Bill, the man
who buys your timber will have to log
IT through my Iand-and I'm not go
ing to log that quarter-seetion in the
valley. Hence there will be no outlet
for your timber in back"
mot going to log lit Why, what
are you going to do with it?"
'Tm just going to let it stay there
until / die. When my will is filed for
probate, your curiosity will be salts
fied-but not until then. Better take
a dollar, Bill. It's a good, fair price,
as the market on redwood timber is
now, and you'll be making an even
hundred per cent. on your investment
Remember, Bill, If l don't buy your
timber, you'll never log 1t yourself
and neither will anybody else. You'll
be stuck with it for the next forty
years-and taxes aren't getting any
lower"
"rll hang on a little longer,
think"
81 think so, too" John Cardigan re-
piled. And that night, as was his
wont, even though he realized that 1t
was not possible for Bryce to gain
profound understanding Of the business
problems to which he was heir, John
Cardigan discussed the SQuaw creek
timber with his son. relating to him
the details OF his conversation with
the owner.
Bryce pondered. "But isn't 1t
cheaper to give him his price on Squaw
creek timber than go logging in the !
San Hedrin and have to build twenty |
miles OF logging railroad to get your
logs to the MILF"
1T would be, son, II had to build |
the railroad. Fortunately, do not.
I'll just shoot the logs down the hill
side to the San Hedrin river and
irive them down the stream to a log
boom on tidewater."
Bryce looked at his father admir-
ngly. 81 guess Dan Keyes is right,
Dad" he said. dan says you're
n fox. Now 1 know why
Tou've been picking up claims in the
San Hedrin watershed"
mo, you don't. Bryce. I've never
old you, but I'll tell you COW the
cal reason Humboldt couaty les no