And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Those were some hard, hard men. They'd chop away at that tree from dawn to dusk for days until it came down. I'm reading a very interesting novel set in that place and time : "Deep River" by Karl Marlantes, who was also the author of the excellent Vietnam novel "Matterhorn".
"The Giant Trees" - a modern story about the discovery of a unique biosphere that exists in the tops of the redwoods.
"The Hot Zone" - a true story about the Ebola virus, its communicability, and the work of the CDC trying to cope with its spread. This book formed the loose basis for the movie "Outbreak", but Preston has also written about smallpox and anthrax. The first chapter of this book describes the physiological breakdown that is going on in an Ebola-infected man as he travels out of Africa on an airliner, and it will scare the crap out of you.
Debunking the myth that lumberjacks were large, burly men. I saw a documentary years ago on lumberjacks and their average weight was something like 140 lbs and they burned up 6000 calories a day.
Those axes are for making the hole into which to place the boards they are standing on, what made that cut is leaning against the tree ( which I missed seeing when I first looked at the photo ). I live in a town which used to be a lumber town in the PNW. We have a museum that has many tools which were used by lumber men of that era. People are still harvesting trees around here, not many days go by without the sound of a chain saw and a truck hauling cut trees going by and down the main street daily.
Those were some hard, hard men. They'd chop away at that tree from dawn to dusk for days until it came down. I'm reading a very interesting novel set in that place and time : "Deep River" by Karl Marlantes, who was also the author of the excellent Vietnam novel "Matterhorn".
ReplyDeleteTwo books of interest, both by Richard Preston:
ReplyDelete"The Giant Trees" - a modern story about the discovery of a unique biosphere that exists in the tops of the redwoods.
"The Hot Zone" - a true story about the Ebola virus, its communicability, and the work of the CDC trying to cope with its spread. This book formed the loose basis for the movie "Outbreak", but Preston has also written about smallpox and anthrax. The first chapter of this book describes the physiological breakdown that is going on in an Ebola-infected man as he travels out of Africa on an airliner, and it will scare the crap out of you.
Both are great reads.
Debunking the myth that lumberjacks were large, burly men. I saw a documentary years ago on lumberjacks and their average weight was something like 140 lbs and they burned up 6000 calories a day.
ReplyDeleteA good reason to keep your axe sharp.
ReplyDeleteOccasionally I see a massive old stump with springboard notches in it.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing the guy on the right was a lefty?....
ReplyDeleteThose axes are for making the hole into which to place the boards they are standing on, what made that cut is leaning against the tree ( which I missed seeing when I first looked at the photo ). I live in a town which used to be a lumber town in the PNW. We have a museum that has many tools which were used by lumber men of that era. People are still harvesting trees around here, not many days go by without the sound of a chain saw and a truck hauling cut trees going by and down the main street daily.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post.
Paul L. Quandt