Short stories, American; United States -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
A light jam had formed that morning at a place the drivers called a
_tournant d'eau_, about a mile above. This was broken by getting a
haul on it from the shore with a dog-warp. Thereby several thousand
logs were liberated at once, and went down together into the rapids.
The older drivers exclaimed that it would make mischief when it
started; but nothing could be done; it broke and went out with a rush.
We, who were ahead, ran on down the ledges to see it go through the
falls, and we had to run fast to keep up. The instant the logs entered
the rapids they left us behind. We could see them going down, however,
end over end, and hear them "boom" against the sunken rocks. Turtlotte
and a Welshman named Finfrock were ahead. I heard Turtlotte call out
in French that the logs were jamming, and saw the butt ends of great
sticks fly up, glittering, out of the water. The logs had struck and
hung on one of the centre rocks, and on the shelving ledges upon the
east side. The ends of three large sticks, three or four feet across,
stood out fifteen feet or more. We ran on, clambering from crag to
crag, till we came to a point looking down on the glut, sixty feet
beneath; and that was about near enough, for the ends of the logs flew
up almost on a level with our eyes, as they went over, and the spray
drenched our faces. The ledges under our feet trembled as if an
earthquake were shaking them, and not a word could be heard, even when
shouted in the ear. The combined noises were louder than thunder,
heavier, deeper. It was a warm forenoon, and the sun shone into the
rock dazzlingly bright, making a vivid rainbow. It was the hottest,
maddest chasm that can well be imagined; and to see that brilliant
rainbow hanging there so still and motionless amidst all that uproar,
gave one a queer sensation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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