{"product_id":"2940013158177","title":"THE RIVERMAN","description":"The time was the year 1872, and the place a bend in the river above a\u003cbr\u003elong pond terminating in a dam. Beyond this dam, and on a flat\u003cbr\u003elower than it, stood a two-story mill structure. Save for a small,\u003cbr\u003estump-dotted clearing, and the road that led from it, all else was\u003cbr\u003eforest. Here in the bottom-lands, following the course of the stream,\u003cbr\u003ethe hardwoods grew dense, their uppermost branches just beginning to\u003cbr\u003espray out in the first green of spring. Farther back, where the higher\u003cbr\u003elands arose from the swamp, could be discerned the graceful frond of\u003cbr\u003ewhite pines and hemlock, and the sturdy tops of Norways and spruce.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA strong wind blew up the length of the pond. It ruffled the surface of\u003cbr\u003ethe water, swooping down in fan-shaped, scurrying cat's-paws, turning\u003cbr\u003ethe dark-blue surface as one turns the nap of velvet. At the upper end\u003cbr\u003eof the pond it even succeeded in raising quite respectable wavelets,\u003cbr\u003ewhich LAP LAP LAPPED eagerly against a barrier of floating logs that\u003cbr\u003efilled completely the mouth of the inlet river. And behind this barrier\u003cbr\u003ewere other logs, and yet others, as far as the eye could see, so that\u003cbr\u003ethe entire surface of the stream was carpeted by the brown timbers. A\u003cbr\u003eman could have walked down the middle of that river as down a highway.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the bank, and in a small woods-opening, burned two fires, their smoke\u003cbr\u003educking and twisting under the buffeting of the wind. The first of\u003cbr\u003ethese fires occupied a shallow trench dug for its accommodation, and was\u003cbr\u003eoverarched by a rustic framework from which hung several pails, kettles,\u003cbr\u003eand pots. An injured-looking, chubby man in a battered brown derby hat\u003cbr\u003emoved here and there. He divided his time between the utensils and an\u003cbr\u003eindifferent youth--his \"cookee.\" The other, and larger, fire centred a\u003cbr\u003erectangle composed of tall racks, built of saplings and intended for the\u003cbr\u003edrying of clothes. Two large tents gleamed white among the trees.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAbout the drying-fire were gathered thirty-odd men. Some were\u003cbr\u003ehalf-reclining before the blaze; others sat in rows on logs drawn close\u003cbr\u003efor the purpose; still others squatted like Indians on their heels,\u003cbr\u003etheir hands thrown forward to keep the balance. Nearly all were smoking\u003cbr\u003epipes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEvery age was represented in this group, but young men predominated. All\u003cbr\u003ewore woollen trousers stuffed into leather boots reaching just to the\u003cbr\u003eknee. These boots were armed on the soles with rows of formidable sharp\u003cbr\u003espikes or caulks, a half and sometimes even three quarters of an inch in\u003cbr\u003elength. The tight driver's shoe and \"stagged\" trousers had not then come\u003cbr\u003einto use. From the waist down these men wore all alike, as though in a\u003cbr\u003euniform, the outward symbol of their calling. From the waist up was more\u003cbr\u003elatitude of personal taste. One young fellow sported a bright-coloured\u003cbr\u003eMackinaw blanket jacket; another wore a red knit sash, with tasselled\u003cbr\u003eends; a third's fancy ran to a bright bandana about his neck. Head-gear,\u003cbr\u003etoo, covered wide variations of broader or narrower brim, of higher or\u003cbr\u003elower crown; and the faces beneath those hats differed as everywhere\u003cbr\u003ethe human countenance differs. Only when the inspection, passing the\u003cbr\u003egradations of broad or narrow, thick or thin, bony or rounded, rested\u003cbr\u003efinally on the eyes, would the observer have caught again the caste-mark\u003cbr\u003ewhich stamped these men as belonging to a distinct order, and separated\u003cbr\u003ethem essentially from other men in other occupations. Blue and brown\u003cbr\u003eand black and gray these eyes were, but all steady and clear with the\u003cbr\u003esteadiness and clarity that comes to those whose daily work compels\u003cbr\u003ethem under penalty to pay close and undeviating attention to their\u003cbr\u003esurroundings. This is true of sailors, hunters, plainsmen, cowboys,\u003cbr\u003eand tugboat captains. It was especially true of the old-fashioned\u003cbr\u003eriver-driver, for a misstep, a miscalculation, a moment's forgetfulness\u003cbr\u003eof the sullen forces shifting and changing about him could mean for\u003cbr\u003ehim maiming or destruction. So, finally, to one of an imaginative bent,\u003cbr\u003ethese eyes, like the \"cork boots,\" grew to seem part of the uniform, one\u003cbr\u003eof the marks of their caste, the outward symbol of their calling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Blow, you son of a gun!\" cried disgustedly one young fellow with a red\u003cbr\u003ebandana, apostrophising the wind. \"I wonder if there's ANY side of this\u003cbr\u003efire that ain't smoky!\"","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47147504599280,"sku":"2940013158177","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013158177_p0.jpg?v=1763577592","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013158177","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}