As he stepped into the office of the Medford Lumber2 Company, “Old Man” Medford, who was in earnest conversation with a keen-eyed, brisk-appearing gentleman, looked up, and as his eyes fell upon Mr. Thompson, he exclaimed, “The very thing. Here’s the man, Mr. Norman, that can do the job.” “Mr. Norman, this is Mr. Thompson, one of the up-river settlers. Mr. Norman is at the head of the Construction Company that has a contract to build the grade and bridges of the new railroad that is coming into town next summer,” was Mr. Medford’s form of introduction.
“The lay of the land is such,” went on Mr. Medford, “that the road must cross the head of the big boom pond, and that calls for a long trestle. I’ve been telling him that our regular crews have all gone into the woods, and we can’t get out the piling he wants, this season; but he insists that he going to have that timber
[129]
on the bank of the river to come down in the spring drive. Now what do you think of such a man?”
“I think he means to get his work done,” replied Mr. Thompson.
The big man’s eyes twinkled. “I may have to pay a little extra, of course, but I shall see that piling down here in the boom by the time my bridge builders are ready for them.”
Mr. Medford’s company owned a tract1 of young timber over which a fire had swept, and, while its thick growth had worked its ruin in that the trees had been killed, the trunks had not been destroyed, but stood tall and straight, and, if cut before the borers got in their destructive work, would make ideal piling timber.
The opportunity for securing a good price for this otherwise useless timber, as well as his confidence in Mr. Thompson, urged the lumberman to give bond for him that the required number and lengths of piling would be deposited upon the banks of the river in time for the spring drive.
By offering the extra high wages, which a successful completion of his contract would enable him to do, Mr. Thompson picked up a crew among the settlers along the river. Among them was Ed Allen, who, hardy3 and strong for his age, was well able to fulfill4 the duties of “swamper.”
As the contract would call but for one winter’s work, the camp houses were not so elaborate and substantial as those of the big woods further north, yet they were made fairly comfortable. After the cabins
[130]
were up, the first thing was to lay out the main logging road from the tract of timber to the river. While the road must be as direct as possible, it was necessary that the route selected keep to level ground. There could be no going up hill and down dale with the great stack-like loads which would pass over it.
By the time the hollows were filled, the trees cut away, and their stumps6 dug out, and even the small brush cut, so that a clear, level track extended all the way to the river, the foreman had selected a number of trees of the required length and diameter, and marked them with a “blaze” on the side.
Sites were chosen for the skidways upon little knolls9, where the logs would be rolled up in great piles, to be loaded upon the sleds.
And the chopping began.
The success or failure of a lumberman in the northern woods depended as much upon the weather conditions, as does the success or failure of the farmer. Long-continued and severe storms may shut in the crew for a week of precious time. Great snows may double the labor5 of swamping, skidding11, and loading. But more to be dreaded12 by the loggers is a winter thaw13. A mild winter, when the snow melts in the middle of the day, is, to the logger, as a rainless summer to the husbandman.
With this contract it was not a matter of how many of the logs might be hauled to the river, but a question whether the whole number was delivered. So every hour would count; every advantage of the peculiarities14
[131]
of the weather must be taken, both in felling the trees and in hauling.
It seemed to Ed that he would barely stretch himself in his bunk15 at night before he would hear the foreman’s “All out” in the morning, and with the others he would hasten into his mackinaws and felt boots, his sleep-heavy eyes hardly open before their plunge16 into the icy water, as the cry “Chuck’s ready” would be heard from the cook.
As soon as one could “see to swing an axe17” the crew would be in the timber tract, ready for the strenuous18 labor of the day. What matter if the mercury would register zero, and the snow lay knee deep on the level? did not their pulses bound with the rich wine of life? was not the very air a tonic19? and the hard work filled with the joy of achievement?
From about the tree selected the underbrush would be carefully cut away, for not only must there be free room for the rythmic swing of the keen axes, but the life of a chopper often depended upon a quick, unhindered leap to one side, as the forest giant sprang, swinging from its stump7. The inclination20 of the tree is noted21, and the place selected for its fall. The sharp bits of the axes eat a clean “scarf” straight across the trunk. A few inches higher up, a second cut prepares for great chips between, and a third drives the scarf beyond the center of the tree. A shallower cut on the opposite side of the trunk, a snap, a creaking shudder—a quick warning is called; there is a sound of rending23 branches overhead, the rush of a mighty24 wind, and
[132]
then a crashing roar as the great body stretches its length upon the ground.
With a rapid movement the woodsman measures with his axe helve the prostrate25 trunk up to the point where length calls for certain diameter, and the sawyers, having already squared the butt26 are ready to sever10 the top. What limbs there are upon the body are cut cleanly away, and the long log, or pile, is ready for the skids27.
In that day the “swamping” was done by ox teams. It was the work of the swamper to see that there was a clear pathway for the team to the fallen trunk, then, as it came alongside, to slip the heavy logging chain under the body, and bring it up and clasp the hook. At the word of command—and often cruel proddings with sharp goads28 accompanied, alas29! by the shocking profanity of the driver, the animals would brace30 themselves into the yoke31, straining this way and that, until finally the great log would be started from its bed in the deep snow and dragged to its place to be rolled with others upon the loading skids. The stacking up of these piles was work that could often be done when hauling operations were impossible. However, the hauling was not a less interesting part of the work.
The logging sled, or “hoosier,” bears about the same relation to the common road sled that a Missouri river barge32 bears to a pleasure skiff. It is hewn from the toughest beams of oak, and its huge runners—tracking six feet apart—are shod with plates of iron three to
[133]
four inches in thickness. The beams, or “bunks33,” upon which the load will rest, are often ten feet long, so that the loads may be of that width, and as high as the lifting power of the loading teams and the ingenuity34 of the men can stack the logs—provided always sufficient power can be attached to the load to pull it.
From the main road to the skids, a temporary road is packed down in the snow, and the huge sled is brought into position below the skids. Timbers are run to the bunks and securely fastened, for a slip may mean a broken rib35, or possibly a life quickly crushed out. A chain is fastened to the top log of the skid8 with a rolling hitch36, and the loading team on the other side of the sled, across from the skid, slowly rolls the great trunk from the pile onto the sled. The first tier of logs fills the bunks; a second tier, or perhaps a third, is rolled into place, and the load is fastened securely with the binding37 chains and pole. Then the loading team is hitched38 on ahead of the sled team, and with great pulling and tugging39 the mammoth40 load is brought to the main road. Here the head team is released, to repeat the process of loading for the next team, while the load continues its journey to the river.
So level and so smooth is the track that comparatively little force is needed to move these immense loads—but they must be kept in motion. There can be no stopping to rest once the load is started, for it is probable, in that case, the sled would remain at rest until a second team would come along to add its strength for another start.
[134]
Arriving at the river, the “brow boss” measures each log, entering the figures, in his “brow record,” giving also the totals of the loads and name of driver. Then each log is “end marked” and with cant41 hooks rolled off into the river, or “browed,” as the operation is called. Often the river bed is filled and piled high from bank to bank; then a new brow is selected up or down stream.
The second week of chopping, which brought the time up to Christmas, saw the contract well under way. While four or five nationalities were represented in the crew, the men were of that class which came into the wilderness42 to make homes—faithful, steady, and willing to give full measure of service for their wages. In many respects they differed widely from the “big woods” crew, gathered, as they might be in those days, from the very riff-raff of creation.
A spirit of friendly rivalry43 was shrewdly fostered by the foreman, among the choppers and the teamsters, which was not long in dividing the camp into factions44 loyally supporting the claims of their respective champions. Antoine Ravenstein’s half-Norman dapple greys had, so far, a slight lead in the record of big loads over Bert Clumpner’s bays, while the giant Dane, Olaf Bergstrom, was scarcely able to keep even with his smaller, wiry, dark-skinned rival chopper, Jim Dacora.
The work was now so well under way that Mr. Thompson suggested that the men celebrate Christmas day in holding a holiday of sports, and he
[135]
would have the cook prepare a big dinner for the occasion. Jumping, wrestling, boxing, throwing the hammer, and pitching horseshoes, were enjoyed with a hearty45, noisy abandon, in which these big, strong men sought to hide the tinge46 of homesickness that would creep in with the memories of the day.
As the fun was at its height, two men, one clad in a sleek47, brown minkskin, the other in a coal-black bearskin overcoat, were noticed approaching the cabins. The one with the bearskin coat, whose bristling48 red hair and stubby beard proclaimed his Hibernian ancestry49, walked up to Mr. Thompson, and without other ceremony or salutation began, “This is Calhoun, the sheriff of this county, an’ I’m Phelan. We’ve come to see what ye mane by cuttin’ the timber on my land.”
Without waiting for a reply, he proceeded, “Av ye pile yer dunnage onto yer tote teams an’ lave at onct, ye can give me yer bill o’ sale to the timber ye’ve browed, an’ we’ll let it drop. Ave ye don’t, well, ye know what we do here to timber thaves.”
The crew had gathered about, and a sound came from them like a low growl50 of an angry beast. The hand of the sheriff went to his hip22, but Mr. Thompson’s voice rang out clear and cold: “Stop, men! I handle this. Now you, Larry Phelan, I’ve heard of you. You certainly are qualified51 to talk about timber thieves—but you’ve got the wrong man this time. Mr. Medford took precaution to give me the field notes of this tract, and I have run the lines and know exactly where I am. Now I give you just ten minutes, you and your
[136]
bogus sheriff, to get out of sight, or my men and I will start a new game—and it won’t be a game of bluff52.”
There was that in the voice of the speaker which left no doubt that he meant what he said. And while Phelan cursed and vowed53 he would “have a posse upon them that would move them,” the two strangers turned away to where their team was standing54 in the distance.
Mr. Thompson was not altogether easy in his mind over the affair, although he felt sure as to his legal right upon the tract. He knew Larry Phelan to be the most unscrupulous timber thief in that section of the state, and who was more than suspected of having arrangements for his own advantage with certain officers of the courts. But more serious were his apprehensions55 of the threat of Phelan as to his “posse,” for a more reckless and desperate band of outlaws56 never served another villain57 than this Irishman had gathered about him in that northern wilderness. If Phelan considered the stake large enough, a descent upon the camp by these ruffians was something to be taken into consideration.
Shortly after the opening of the new year, the successful completion of the winter’s work was threatened in a way that served to put all thoughts of Larry Phelan out of mind. It came with a “January thaw.” Day after day the sun rose clear and bright in the heavens, and the south wind came in spring-like mildness. The melting snows filled the hidden hollows
[137]
in the woods with slush and water, into which the choppers unsuspectingly dropped, sometimes waist deep, while the wet snow kept the clothing of the entire crew constantly saturated58.
Notwithstanding the growing discomfort59 of the situation, no let up on the work could be allowed, as hope argued for a soon return of zero weather.
The pressure of the immense loads upon the main road had made of it an almost solid bed of ice, and so it was that with the aid of an extra team from the skidways to the main road, the hauling operations were not seriously interfered60 with at the first.
But the warm days continued, and the sharp calks of the horseshoes began to tear up the surface of the icy road. “If we could only keep the smooth ice surface on the road, we could make it; but a few more days of such cutting and the road is ruined,” gloomily exclaimed Mr. Thompson, as the crew gathered for a noon meal.
Ed started to speak, but being only a boy, and fearing the railery of the men, waited until he could talk to Mr. Thompson privately61. “I don’t know, Mr. Thompson, that the plan would work here, but I’ve an idea that you might think over, and try if you wished,” said he.
“Go ahead, boy,” replied Mr. Thompson. “Any sort of a suggestion will be welcome just now.”
“Well,” said Ed, “we boys used to slide down a hill one winter on skis, and when some warm days came that threatened to spoil our track, we watered it at
[138]
night, and the coating of ice held where the snow would have melted. I thought—”
“Boy, you’ve hit it! I suspect you’ve saved the contract,” exclaimed Mr. Thompson.
That was a busy afternoon for Lars Olson, the carpenter-blacksmith, but by nine o’clock that night a water-tight tank had been fitted upon a sled, with a rude attachment62 something like a street sprinkler, under control of the driver.
While the contrivance was open to improvement (which it later received as it took its place in the necessary equipment for logging operations) it enabled Mr. Thompson to give his road a coating of ice before morning, and, with the operation repeated night after night, to defy the sun’s destroying rays a little longer.
It would be interesting to tell how, in the race for the chopping championship, big Olaf grew careless and had a leg crushed by the unexpected side swing of a falling tree; how Mr. Thompson, at the risk of failing on the contract, fixed63 up a comfortable bed on a pung, and sent Ed with an illy-spared team to carry the wounded man to his home. It would make another story how Ed was lost upon his return trip, in the great snow storm that marked the end of the warm spell, and was saved from death by an old Irishman after he had already become unconscious. We would like to tell how, when the cold days returned, Antoine Ravenstein’s grays beat the bays with a prodigious64 load, that was talked about for years, as the record for hauling,
[139]
in those northern camps. We would like to live again with the reader the glorious days of February, in which the contract was completed, and in addition to the agreed wages, each man was given a bonus of ten dollars by Mr. Thompson. But I must leave these stories to be told at another time.
The winter passed; March came with its rains, and finally those of the crew who had elected to remain at the camp in order to be at hand to join the “drive,” one day were startled to hear the report as of a heavy cannon65, in the direction of the brows on the river.
When they reached that place they found Bally Tarbox with his crew of brow-breakers loosening up, with charges of dynamite66, the great ice-locked dams of logs which were filling the river bed.
“Hullo, you lop-eared nesters!” shouted the boss at the sight of the men from the camp. “Time for you to be hitting the trail and grabbing a peavy. Wangan’s above Big Bull.”
“Where’d you get that woodchuck?” he called as he caught sight of Ed. “Oh, it’s one of the Allen boys, ain’t it. Say, little sawed-off, your big Bud is comin’ down North Fork now.”
The next morning Ed started with the others of his crew up river to join his brother Rob on the spring drive.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
tract
|
|
| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
lumber
|
|
| n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
hardy
|
|
| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
fulfill
|
|
| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
labor
|
|
| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
stumps
|
|
| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
stump
|
|
| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
skid
|
|
| v.打滑 n.滑向一侧；滑道 ，滑轨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
knolls
|
|
| n.小圆丘，小土墩( knoll的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
sever
|
|
| v.切开，割开；断绝，中断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
skidding
|
|
| n.曳出，集材v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的现在分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
dreaded
|
|
| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
thaw
|
|
| v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
peculiarities
|
|
| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
bunk
|
|
| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
plunge
|
|
| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
axe
|
|
| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
strenuous
|
|
| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
tonic
|
|
| n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
inclination
|
|
| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
hip
|
|
| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
rending
|
|
| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
prostrate
|
|
| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
butt
|
|
| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
skids
|
|
| n.滑向一侧( skid的名词复数 )；滑道；滚道；制轮器v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的第三人称单数 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
goads
|
|
| n.赶牲口的尖棒( goad的名词复数 )v.刺激( goad的第三人称单数 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
alas
|
|
| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
brace
|
|
| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
yoke
|
|
| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
barge
|
|
| n.平底载货船，驳船 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
bunks
|
|
| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
ingenuity
|
|
| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
rib
|
|
| n.肋骨，肋状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
hitch
|
|
| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
binding
|
|
| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
hitched
|
|
| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
tugging
|
|
| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
mammoth
|
|
| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
cant
|
|
| n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
wilderness
|
|
| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
rivalry
|
|
| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
factions
|
|
| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
hearty
|
|
| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
tinge
|
|
| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
sleek
|
|
| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
bristling
|
|
| a.竖立的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
ancestry
|
|
| n.祖先，家世 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
growl
|
|
| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
qualified
|
|
| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
bluff
|
|
| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
vowed
|
|
| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
apprehensions
|
|
| 疑惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
outlaws
|
|
| 歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
villain
|
|
| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
saturated
|
|
| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
discomfort
|
|
| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
interfered
|
|
| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
privately
|
|
| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
attachment
|
|
| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
prodigious
|
|
| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
cannon
|
|
| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
dynamite
|
|
| n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |