Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-03-03


you've been picking up claims In the
san Hedrin watershed"
NO. you don't, Bryce. I've never
told you, bu, I'll tell you now the
real reason. Humboldt county has
no rail connection with the outside
world. so we are forced to ship our
lumber by water. But some day
railroad will be built in from the
south - from San Francisco; and
when II comes, the only route for II
TO travel is thru our timber in the
San Hedrin valley. I've accumulated
that ten thousand acres for you, my
son. for the railroad will never be
built in my day. II doesn't matter.
son. You will still be logging there
fifty years from now. And when the
railroad people come to you for a
right Of way, my boy. give II to them.
Don't charge them cent. II has al
ways been my policy to encourage
the development OF this county, ana
| want you TO be a forward-lookins'
public spirited citizen. That's wn!
I'm sending YOU east toy college
you've been born and raised in this
town. and YOU must see more OF the,
world. Listen to me, son. You're
only a boy, and you can't UNDER
stand everything | tell you, but some
day understanding will come TO you
You mustn't fail the people VINO
work for you-who are dependent
upon your strength and brains ana
,h shanN ygth
opportunity for life, liberty. and the
pursuit OF happiness. When you are
the boss of Cardigan's mill. you must
keep the wheels turning: YOU must
never shut down the mill or the
logging camps in dull times just 10
avoid loss you can stand better than
your employees"
His hard, trembling old HAND
closed over the boys. II want you
10 be a brave and honorable man,
he concluded.
True to his word, when John
Cardigan finished his logging in has
old. original holdings adjacent 20
Sequoia and Bill Henderson's SquaW
creek timber. he quietly moved
south with his Squaw creek woods
gang and joined the crew aIreaoy
getting out logs in the San Heorin
watershed. Not until then dSd Hih
Henderson realize that John Earn1-
gan had called his bluff-whercat ne
cursed himself for a fool and poor
nudge OF human nature. He had ':!ee
hold-up game and had failed;
collar a thousand feet stumpaGe was
fair price; for years he had needed
the money: and now, when 1t was
too late. he realized his error. Luck
was with Henderson, however, LOT
shortly thereafter there came again
to Seuuoia one Colonel Pennington,
millionaire white pine operator from
Michigan. From a chair warmer on
the porch Of the Hotel Sequola. the
Colonel had heard the tale OF now
stiff-necked old John Cardigan mao
called the BLUM of equally SUN
uecked Bill Henderson: so for hle
next few weeks the colonel, under
pretense Of going hunting or fishing
on Squaw creek. managed TO make
fairly accurate cursory cruise OF 'he
Henderson tirber-following which
he purchased it from the delighted
Bill for a dollar and a quarter per
thousand feet stumpage.
No man is infallible, and in PLAN
ming his logging operations in the
San Hedrin watershed John CaTdl-
gan presently made the discovery
that ne had erred in Judgment. That
season. from May to November, his
woodscrew put thirty million feet OF
logs into the San Hedrin river. Whlle
the mill sawed on reserve supply
Of logs taken from the last OF the
old choppings adjacent To Squaw
creek. That year. however. the rain
fall in the San Hediin country was
SO per cent less than normal. ana by
the first of May Of the following
year Cardigar's woods crew had sue
ceedcd in driving slightly less than
half of the cut OF the preceding year
to the boom on tidewater at the
mouth OF the river.
Unless the Lordll gi' US lot
more water in the river" the woods
boss McTavish complained. II dinna
see how I'm to keep the mill run
MIN" He was taking John Car
digan up the river bank and explain
ing the situation. THE heavy butt
logs haze sun 10 the bottom he con-
tinued. "Wie a normal head o wa
the drappie we have the nee He
threw up his hamliHe hands despair
( ingly.
Three days later a cloud burst
filled the river 10 the brim: il came
at night and swept the river clean
. of Cardigan's clear logs. An army
OF Juggernauts. they swept down on
the boiling torrent to tidewater.
reaching the bay shortly after the
tide had commenced to ebb.
Now, a chain is only as strong as
I its weakest link, and log boom is
Il chapiet OF small logs. linked END
! to end by means OF short chains;
hence when the vanguard Of logs
/ on the lip of that flood reached the
! log boom. the impetus OF the charge
was too great to be resisted. Straight
thru the weakest link in this boom
I The fGge saw-iogs crashed and out
over Humboldt bar to the broad Pa
cific. With the ebb tide some OF
them came back. while others,
caught in cross currents. bobbed
about the bay all night and finally
beachcd at widely scattered points
Out Of the fifteen million feet of
logs less than three million were
! salvaged. and this task in itself was
/ an expensive operation
John Cardigan received the news
/ calmly. He turned from the manager
and walked away thru his logged
over lands, across the little divide
and down into the quarter section of
green timber he had told McTayIsh