RIVER LIFE. 155 



CHAPTER II. 



RIVER-DRIVING. 



Log-lauding. — Laborious Exposure. — Damming Streams. — Exciting Scenes. 

 — Log-riding. — Fun. — Breaking a Dry-landing. — A sudden Death. — 

 Thrilling Scenes on the " Nesourdnehunk." — Lake-driving. — Steam Tow- 

 boat. — Remarks on Lake Navigation. — Driving the main River. — Union 

 of Crews. — Substantial Jokes. — Log Marks. — Dangers of River-driving. — 

 Sad Feelings over the Grave of a River-driver. — Singular Substitute for a 

 Coffin. — Burial of a River-driver. — A Log Jam. — Great Excitement. — A 

 Boat swamped. — A Man drowned. — Narrow Escape. — Mode of Living on 

 the River. — Wangun. — Antidote for Asthma. — The Wangun swamped. — 

 An awful Struggle. — The miraculous Escape. — Driving among the Islands. 

 — Amusing Exertions at identifying. — Consummation of Driving. — The 

 Claims of lumbering Business for greater Prominence. — The Boom. 



The business of river-drivi?ig is not so agreeable as other de- 

 partments of labor in the lumbering operations, though equally- 

 important, and also, in many respects, intensely interesting. The 

 hands left at the camps at the time the team breaks up, to make 

 the necessary instruments for river-drtrui^, are soon joined with 

 the addition of such forces as are requisite for an expeditious drive. 

 As in most labor performed there is a directing and responsible 

 head, so is it in river-driving ; here, too, we have our " boss." 



As early as April, and sometimes the last of March, the high 

 ascending sun begins to melt the snow on the south of mountain 

 and hill sides, flowing inlervales and lowlands, forming consid- 

 erable rivers, where at other seasons of t he year the insinniiieant. 

 little brook wound its stealthy course among the alders, hardly 

 of a capacity to iloat the stall' of a traveler; but. at the p I 



referred to, by a little previous labor in cutting away the bushes 



and removing some of the stones in its channel, it is made capa- 



