RIVER LIFE. 1G5 



column of rushing water, which, hke the heavy pressure upon 

 an arch, confines the whole more closely, would decide otherwise 

 than that the mass must lay in its present position, either to de- 

 cay or be moved by some extraordinary convulsion. Tens of 

 thousands of dollars' worth lay in this wild and unpromising po- 

 sition. The property involved, together with the exploits of dar- 

 ing and feats of skill to be performed in breaking that "jam," 

 invest the whole viath a degree of interest not common to the or- 

 dinary pursuits of life, and but little realized by many who are 

 even famihar with the terms himbcr and river-driving. In some 

 cases many obstructing logs are to be removed singly. Days and 

 weeks sometimes are thus expended before the channel is cleared. 

 In other cases a single point only is to be touched, and the whole 

 jam is in motion. To hit upon the most vulnerable point is the 

 first object ; the best means of efiecting it next claims attention ; 

 then the consummation brings into requisition all the physical 

 force, activity, and courage of the men, more especially those en- 

 gaged at the dangerous points. 



From the neighboring precipice, overhanging the scene of op- 

 eration, a man is suspended by a rope round his body, and low- 



