Document text
T ALL T ALES IN 7.TE LUMBTRJ AC Y, ?MIMI
:By May Swenson.
"It Was So Cold That", John aiver's story.
Here is a no ther job where the in te rvi e.%er's *ork and the
content are both 100 per cent.
interviewer's work
The 11111111111mmilumnie perfect selection of informant; witty
and vivid descriptions; excellent obsm„yation; perfect
repvoduct ion of informant's language rtp, nnerisms, humor,
odd expressions.
-'.a.ting 100
In the story the humor and imagination are excellent
throughou t; story holds interest; works to good surprise
climax; the occupation picture is clear and interesting;
s trona- feeling for the social group. sating 100
(NOTE: As a personal nrejldice I rate tall tales' sli jatly
below humor based on no exa.i:ge ration or this reason
I put the Medicine Show ahead of Tall Tal es as my first
c hoice.
(HATCH)
Swenson
#701127
,4eptember 29, '38
Informant: John Rivers
656 West 179th St.
3rd floor
Subject: Tall Tales in the Lumberjack Region
Description informant's house and surroundings:
John Rivers lives in a four -room walk-up apartment with
his daughter-in-law and her husband. Back room, apparitly
his quarters,(7indow looking on alley) containing iron bedstead,
table with blue and white checked linoleum cover; Sewspapers,
two Ilirbicycle" decks of cards, pipes, copies of Western and
Adventure mags, a copy of "Call of the Wild", National Geographic
mags. A copy of latest issue of "Esquire" also on table, strikes
incongruent note. -High-backed chair of spring -rocker type,
with faded cordoroy upholstery, contraption extending from
arm holding ashtray, standing near window. Three calendars
with
on walls, all of different years; the larges-q46mani\dramatic
picture in color,of railway engine and train hurtling round
the bend, flaming smoke trailing over top, switchman leaning
out of window. A framed photograph of a-milimismilim stud horse
hanging over bed.
(2
Description of Informant
John Rivers is a man 72 years old. Stocky, square
build. "I'm six foot four 4 -if I straighten up," he told me.
A hunch in his shoulders makes his neck thrust forward
sharply. He is big -sculled, has prominant cheekbones and a
flat, broad nose which gives his face a bull -doggish appear-
ance in profile, especially since the lower jaw has a forward
thrust. He has no visible teeth and his wide, flat underlip
continually sucks at a pipe, making a wheezing sound.
Hair black, close cropped up the back, leaving a shaggy tuft
in front. The tuft is a yellowish grey. Eyebrows black.
Hands large, crooked and gnarled,with flat uneven nails. The
forfinger on his right hand is missing two joints.
He was wearing worn black trousers and vest (Unbuttoned);
no coat; a soiled white shirt further set off in its, shabbiness
by a clean starched detachable colar. Wearing a spotted white
knit string tie, the ends of which must have been dunked in his
s our/
Talks ramblingly in order to tease listener and create
at>
suspense; story interspersed often with,Wee husky chuckle.
His small alert brown eyes dart up and down over listener
as he talks, and he gets huge appreciation out of listener's
1/11A40 -1 -r
response to a joke or sly mosp.
"IT WAS SO COLD THAT...."
Wal, it was back in '83 or 4, that cold spell we had.
Nothin been seen like it since. And it gets pretty cold every
winter up in Wisconsin-- plenty cold every year in the
mountains buokin* logs. Y' gotta buck the timber durin winter
so's when the thaw sets in early spring, they're ready to send
down the river. Th' logs go down the river soon's the ice
breaks... Course that was them days-- now they skid*the logs
down diff'rent ways, by rail in some parts, by team and
tre43--- but mostly in the north around the Lakes there, the
river's still the best way for skidding timber ever invented.
By golly that year --'83 I believe it was-- it was so cold
that-- that theIMMUMMOMMO. lumberjacks ain't quit talkin about
it yet.... And that reminds me of Happy Jack-- he was in our
outfit.
'Bet you never heard of Happy Jack and his Derby hat.
The boys always kidded this feller Happy lack about how he was
alwaysnwearing a. derby. Wherever he went he would have this
derby'stuck onto his head-- Wouldn't matter if it was morning
or night or if he was in a parlor or a poolhall or out buckin
timber or what-- winter or summer, rain or shine, this feller
Happy Jack had on his derby, And some said he slep,in his derby
too, because he'd feel like he was takin an arm or ear off if he
(4
off his derby which was just like some part of himself like
an arm or a foot-- see?
Wal, and some said Happy Jack musta been born with that
derby on, and couldn't take it off. And the boys around the
logging camp was always kidding him about it like that,
By golly, one feller a close pal of this here Jack even
used to say he remembered how when Happy Jack got married and
they had the church wedding down to town, how he just simply
balked at taking off his hat in church. And that old greasy
old derby nodded up and down when he said "I dcW" And after
that his wife couldn't make him ever take it off either, and
sure enough it sure looked like he'd worn it4in bed-- it was so
bent and buggled and battle -worn...
Hey! I started4out to tell how cold it was that there
year, didn't I? Golly, I almost forgot about how cold it was,
'splaining about Jack and his derby. But well, you/11 see
how this here derby of his came to be the most important part
of the story. Ypp if it hadn't been for Happy Jack's
derby---
W
al, you see around the logging camp in 'Consin back in
them days, that winter that it was so cold-- coldest winter
I've ever seen-- Nobody yet can tell you the exact temerature
because of course it was so cold that any thermometer couldn't
hold together for a minute-- the thermometers they all just
went out of commission for 200 miles around. But the very
coldest spot in the whole district was right there in camp
where we was holed up in our Auadilit- bunkhouse almost two
month, and not a single tree was bucked during that time
we couldn't do no work
(5
it was so cold. And as for getting down canyon to town to get
mail or provisions or anything, it was just out the question.
You step two paces away from the fire-- just two or so feet
away and you darn near paralyze with the frost.
Wal, so after two or three weeks we was all out of grub
and starvin. Alright, something had to be done-- something
had to be done about getting some food. Wal, the most
possible thing we hit on was to go out to the river, down around
there a little ways- where the logs were floated down
a half mile from camp it was-- and bore a hole in the ice and let
down a line and SOW snub some fish. So it might work and it
might not, but anyhow the men cut cards to choose who should
try it. Wal, Happy Jack got the deuce of spades-- and that
being the shortest number, old Happy Jack saw how right there
he was in a "deuce of a fix!"
But anyhow, being good-natured and willing to try anything
to get his bellyfull especially, he said OK get me a piston
drill and get me a hacksaw, I'm goin. Wal, we gave him a drill
case the ice wouldn't give to the saw, and first we rigged him
up in all the coats and jackets and woolen shirts we could
spare and still keep ourselves from freezin. And he put on all
these duds and four pairs woolen socks and his leather boots and
top o' them a pair hightopped rubber boots-- and when Happy Jack
was ready to go out he looked like something to make your eyes
bung-- he looked like something stuffed up and bloated out and
(6
was as big as a brood mare and musta weighed pretty near as
a
much. Yes sir, being not 'xactly/lean sort of a feller to
start with, and all togged out like that, he musta weighed
about 350 to 400 pound.
Wal, Happy Jack picked up the torch and the saw in his
mits-- ne had 6 pair mits on, 3 wool and 3 leather, furlined--
and muffled up to the ears. And on top of his ears o'course
was settin that little old derby. That was all he would wear
on his head was t his same old derby. And Jack took a long
swig out the bottle to keep his gut warm and said OK so long,
and he opened the door and was barely able to edge through
sideways, and he went out the bunkhouse.
Now we waited and waited for Jack to come back. And it
was three days we waited th'out knowin what might a happened
out there. Course we knew it might take some time to get
through that thick floor of ice and some more time for the
fish to bite-- but we figured if Happy Ack couldn't make a go of
it, he'd show up to tell us so-- and as for his having perished of
cold-- if Happy Jack with all that pertection went and froze to
desth, where would be the sense of any of us leavin the fire and
going out to find him and sure get froze to death too?
6o we just waited, taking turn cuddling the bottle, and
playin 21. And it was hard playin too on account our fingers
would stick to the cards, they was so coldzxxtimizzxki maxzkiff
tikixkukixafxglimm It was hard shufflin em, they was like
hunks of glass, and every card you could hardly see the numbers
or colors they being filmed white with frost.
7
Anyhow, after three days the cold let up a little--mjust
a little. We could tell by rubbing our beard and hair. The
—iginatinkle of the icicles in our hair and heard had a
different sound-- and by this we knowed the spell was lettin
up some. So it being not quite so bad, the bunch of us
decided to take and wrap around us the blankets and things we
had, and padding with newspapers and one thing another around
the house, to keep us as warm as possible-- and go out to the
river and look for Happy Heck.
Wel, it was a sad procession, we running out there
we all of course expectin to have to skid Happy's corpse back
with us. And one of the boys I 'member said kinda mournful,
Jack's gonna look mighty queer in his coffin with that derby
hat on him-- but I for one am here to see that no one tries
to take it away from him Might happen his Maker wouldn't
recognize him without It
We all ran out there to the river tuififtlrfeeling fearful
sort of-- and looked around for Jack. Well the ice on the river
stretched clean across and it was as solid as a bridge of
steel 50 inches thick-- and clean swept-- not a mark orLa sign
of a human foot on it.
Then far out near to the middle, one of the boys spotted a
little bitack object-- and when we got close we saw it was
Happy sack's hat layin there on the ice. Just his hat layin
there alone -looking on the ice.
Wal, golly, it looked mighty funny to see that derby without
its owner stuck on to it. In fact it made tears come to our
eyes. And that wasn't so good because the wetness right away
(e
froze over our eyes before it had time to trickle down, and made
everyone of us a pair of goggles, so we looked like a bunch
of near-sighted professors!
But anyway we ran fast as we could up to there and one
the boys reached down for the derby. But it 'peared to be
frote fast to the ice-- and nobody could budge it. Will;
WEITmikitxmitk Still an all you could hear a sort of burbling
sound underneath there and around that hat the ice was a darker color
like water near the surface, and we came to condlude that Happy
Jack had fell in the hole he'd made and the ice had frozen over
again, but not had time yet to freeze so thick.
Walt what with kicking at that derby and hacking at the
ice around, finally a piece broke away around the rim of that
ol hat and as many hands as could grab hold got a hold of
that derb and all yanking together, we lifted er up, and the
ice making a screeching and.crackling as it busted loose.
And what was rammed on to the rim of that derby hat
frozen hard as a clinker.
but Happy Jack hisselff Yes sir, that derby was rammed on so
tight it held up a man weighing about 400 pound, and more with
the coat of ice on him. )4 Yup, it had held him up and kept
him from drowning.
Vial we all started a-slappin his back and rubbin his face
and pumpin his arma and legs up and down, and he finally came to
and crqcked a smile. I mean he worked his jaws i till a couple
inches of ice cracked loose, and we could see him grin. Then
he reaches down in his boots and drags out a string of fish
14 yards long-- nuff to last us ample over the cold spell.
9
"When I was hangin there by my hat, they clime and swam into
my boots," Happy Jack said. "Guess the poor critters was -glad
to find a place some warmer than that river in this weather."
So, wal, course we went back to the bunkhouse and had
us a right smart juicy fish dinner. Yup, and it seemed like
right from that day the thaw set in and the cold spell was broke.
But it never did get warm enough to thaw that derby off ol
Happy's head. Nope, Happy Jack couldn't let go of his deity
no way-- itistatakxionxktanaliamigla IffinxtkmargAtima it stuck to
him through thick and thin. -Yup, through thick and thine
that derby stuck, and that was one time it even saved his life,
by golly.