Harper's New Monthly Magazine: No. XVI.—September, 1851—Vol. III.Various
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine: No. XVI.—September, 1851—Vol. III.
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
timber, were pressed down to the thickness of a man's hand. He was still
alive, and when they called out to him, just before reaching the sled,
he spoke up as promptly as usual, "Here am I," as if nothing had been
the matter. These were the only and last words he ever uttered. A "pry"
was immediately set, which raised the deadfall from his crushed body,
enabling them to extricate it from its dreadful position. Shortly after,
his consciousness left him, and never more returned. He could give no
explanation; but we inferred, from the position of the forward oxen,
that the load had forced the team into a run, by which the tongue
cattle, pressed by the leaders, turning them round, which probably threw
the teamster under the runner, and the whole load stopped when about to
poise over his body.
He was taken to the camp, where all was done that could be done under
the circumstances to save him but to no purpose. His work was finished.
He still lingered, in an apparently unconscious state, until midnight,
when his spirit, forsaking its bruised and crushed tenement, ascended
above the sighing pines, and entered the eternal state. The only words
he uttered were those in reply to the calling of his name. As near as we
could judge, he had lain two hours in the position in which he was
found. It was astonishing to see how he had gnawed the rave[4] of the
sled. It was between three and four inches through. In his agony he had
bitten it nearly half off. To do this, he must have pulled himself up
with his hands, gnawed a while, then fallen back again through
exhaustion and despair. He was taken out to the nearest settlement, and
buried.
At a later period, we lost our teamster by an accident not altogether
dissimilar. It was at the winding up our winter's work in hauling. Late
in the afternoon we had felled and prepared our final tree, which was to
finish the last of the numerous loads which had been taken to the
well-stowed landing. Wearied with the frequency of his travels on the
same road for the same purpose, this last load was anticipated with no
ordinary interest; and when the tree was loaded, he seemed to
contemplate it with profound satisfaction. "This," said he, "is my last
load." For the last time the team was placed in order, to drag from its
bed the tree of a hundred summers. Onward it moved at the signal given,
and he was soon lost to view in the frequent windings of the forest
road. It was nearly sundown, and, had it not been for closing up the
winter's work that day, the hauling would have been deferred until next
morning.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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