102 THE PINE-TREE, OR 



CHAPTER V. 



The Skill and Enterprise of Lumbermen. — Method of taking Logs down 

 Hills and Mountains. — Dry Sluice. — Stern Anchor. — Giant Mountain 

 Steps. — Alpine Lumbering. — Warping a Team down Steeps. — Trial of 

 Skill and Strength. — The rival Load. — Danger and Inconvenience of Hills 

 in Logging Roads. — A distressing Accident. — Solemn Conclusion of a Win- 

 ter's Work. — Some of the Perils attendant upon Lumbering. — A fearful 

 Wound. — Narrow Escape. — The buried Cap. — The safest Way of Retreat. 

 — A Sabbath in the Logging Camp. — Sunday Morning Naps. — Domestic 

 Camp Duties. — Letter Writing. — Recreations. — Sable Traps. — Deer and 

 Moose. — Bear Meat. — A rare Joke. — Moose Hunt. — Bewildered Hunters. 

 — Extraordinary Encounter. — Conclusion of Sabbath in the Woods. 



Lumbermen not only cut and haul from clumps and commu- 

 nities, but reconnoiter the forest, hill, vale, and mountain side 

 for scattering trees ; and when they are deemed worth an effort, 

 no location in which they may be found, however wild or daring, 

 can oppose the skill and enterprise of our men. 



For taking logs down mountain sides, we adopt various meth- 

 ods, according to the circumstances. Sometimes we construct 

 what are termed dry sluice-ways, which reach from the upper 

 edge of a precipice down to the base of the hill. This is made 

 by laying large poles or trunks of straight trees together the whole 

 distance, which is so constructed as to keep the log from run- 

 ning off at the sides. Logs are rolled into the upper end, the 

 descent or dip often being very steep ; the log passes on with 

 lightning-like velocity, quite burying itself in the snow and 

 leaves below. From the roughness of the surfaces, the friction 

 is very great, causing the bark and smoke to fly plentifully. 



At other times, when the descent is more gradual and not too 



