nnoitred the river as a general reconnoitres his
antagonist, and had made his dispositions as the general disposes of his
army, his commissary, his reserves. At this point five men could keep
the river clear; at that rapid it would require twenty; there a dozen
would suffice for ordinary contingencies, and yet an emergency might
call for thirty--those thirty must not be beyond reach. In his mind's
eye he apportioned the sections of the upper river. Among the remoter
wildernesses every section must have its driving camp. The crews of
each, whether few or many, would be expected to keep clear and running
their own "beats" on the river. As far as the rear crew should overtake
these divisions, either it would absorb them or the members of them
would be thrown forward beyond the lowermost beat, to take charge of a
new division down stream. When the settled farm country or the little
towns were reached, many of the driving camps would become unnecessary;
the men could be boarded out at farms lying in their beats. A continual
advance would progress toward the Lake, the drive crews passing and
repassing each other like pigeons in the sown fields. Each of these
sections would be in charge of a foreman, whose responsibility ceased
with the delivery of the logs to the men next below. A walking boss
would trudge continually the river trail, or ride the logs down stream,
holding the correlation of these many units. Orde himself would drive up
and down the river, overseeing the whole plan of campaign, throwing the
camps forward, concentrating his forces here, spreading them elsewhere,
keeping accurately in mind the entire situation so that he could say
with full confidence: "Open Dam Number One for three hours at nine
o'clock; Dam Number Two for two hours and a half at ten thirty," and so
on down the line; sure that the flood waters thus released would arrive
at the right moment, would supplement each other, and would so space
themselves as to accomplish the most work with the least waste. In that
one point more than in any other showed the expert. The water was his
ammunition, a definite and limited quantity of it. To "get the logs out
with the water" was the last word of praise to be said for the river
driver. The more logs, the greater the glory.

Thus it can readily be seen, this matter was rather a campaign than a
mere labour, requiring the men, the munitions, the organisation, the
tactical ability, the strategy, the resourcefuln