Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1923-06-13

cepC on a much larger scale. Of
course, that was only natural. In
the early days, whenever Paul was
broke between logging seasons
ne travelled around like other
lumberjacks doing any kind of
pioneering work he could find.
We find him at one time working
with the Puget Construction com
pany which built Puget Sound.
Paul was the record dirt shovel
Ter. In shovelling contest with
Billy Puget SO much dirt was
thrown into the sea that islands
were formed. The San Juan Is
lands are said by some to- be the
result of this contest.
In the fall, before the logging.
season starts, we find Paul down
In the central states husking corn.
He was very efficient husker.
Working on six rows of standing
corn at time Paul moved down
the field with his team on a trot.
He threw the husked corn in the
wagon-box without looking UP
from his work. He kept a bushel
OF corn in the air all the time and
when he came to the end of the
field he had to wait ten minutes
for the corn which was still in
the air to come down in the box.
A grizzled old Scotch lumberiack
up in Polk county, veteran log
driver" of the St. Croix river, de-
clares that Paul Bunyan is re-
sponsible for the Columbia river.
According to the Scots story Paul
dug out the Columbia as a sluice-
way for the logs used in building
the Spanish Amanda.
When Paul lived in northern
Wisconsin the region was infested
with many animal forms now ex-
tinct. Many of them were large
and ferocious; others were harm
less but interesting. The upland
trout was a fish which made it's
nest in the top of a tall tree. The
pinnacle grouse had but one wing.
a peculiar adoption which allowed
it to fly in one direction around
the top of conical hill. This
bird was obliged to lay square
eggs so they wouldn't roll off the
pinacles.
The Ramptifusel and the Hodag
were ferocious forms much feared
by the lumbermen. 1t is said that
Paul, single handed and with the
aid of an axe defended the Onion
River camp against the onslaught
of drove of the dreaded Hodags.
He threw snuff in their eyes and
then applied the axe.
The year of the two winters the
Pacific froze over and snow
snakes came over from China. Of
course it was only temporary
evil, but for many years the ten
derfoot in camp never dared to
venture outside the clubhouse af-
ter dark because the old timers
kept the image of the terrible rep
tiles ever fresh in his mind.
The mosquitoes of Paul's time
were far more terrible than the
degenerate remnant of the species
we have today. The giant an
cestors of the present race meas
ured from fifteen to twenty inches
from tip to tip. One winter they
were so numerous that Paul had
to keep his men in the camps
with the doors and windows bar
red. For twelve days the men
fought them with pike-poles and
axes as they tried to force en-
trance. The big buck mosquitoes
fought among themselves in the
mad scramble and trampled down
the weaker members of the swarm.
To this fact Paul and his crew
owe their lives because the food
was nearly exhausted when the
swarm had decreased enough to
make it safe to leave the camp.
Paul determined to conquer the
pests before the next season, so
he sent Jim Liverpool to Louis
lana for several yoke of Southern
Bundle Bees to combat them. Jim
found the Bees, strapped their
wings with surcingles, provided
them with shoes, and led them
overland on foot to PauPs camp.
In this venture Paul was sorely
disappointed. The mosquitoes and
the bees made a hit with each
other and so intermarried. The
offspring, as is often the case in
nature, were worse than their par
rHl.o--