Log rolling: the sport of the lumberjacks

The sport of log rolling, or burling as it is  sometimes called, grew out of one of the most dangerous jobs mortal man ever tackled — the  job of getting the logs from the forest to the sawmill. The usual way was to roll them into a  river — thousands upon thousands of them — and let them float downstream. Now and then, these  logs would jam in a narrow part of the river. It was then up to the lumberjack to skip out over the  logs with four or five sticks of dynamite tied to a long pole, find an opening, ram the dynamite  well under the logs, set the charge, and race back out of danger. Then, with a mighty roar, the  jam would loosen and go thundering downstream. Log rolling is the recreation of daring men,  descendants of the legendary Paul Bunyan, whose giant figure looms in the  background of this traditional tournament. Informal contests have  always been common in lumber camps, but the standardized rules and annual competitions  established by the Roleo Association have invested the game with the dignity of other amateur  sports. The game requires two contestants, usually fully clothed and wearing steel-spiked  boots. They stand on either end of a free-floating log. One or the other starts to twirl the  log, and his opponent keeps pace. Faster and faster it goes, spun by the heavy spiked  boots, reversing its spin now and then as one contestant takes it away from the other — until  one loses his footing and tumbles into the drink. A little entertainment is enjoyed  by the crowd before the opening of the world’s championship log rolling  contest held at Escanaba, Michigan. Bill Beauregard of the Odanak Indian Reservation  plays leapfrog on a pitching, rolling log. He has been on logging river drives for 44 years and is  still an expert log roller. If you’re thinking of taking up log rolling, here’s something you might  start with: step through a hoop while rolling a log. Frank Marchand of [unintelligible],  Minnesota, shows you how it’s done. After a few lessons, try this one — Frank Marchand  proves a good log roller always has good balance. Here’s something a boxer might  try to improve his training, Frank seems to be better at log  rolling than at skipping rope. As a final jest, Wilbur Marx gets aboard  a log dressed in a mother Hubbard gown, which he attempts to strip off while  maintaining his balance on the contrary log. The great match is on. James Running  of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Harley Foster of Junction City, Washington, stage  a fast and furious battle in the semifinals. They start slowly, feeling one another out. Running wears the checkered shirt.  He’s putting up a great battle, but Foster’s superior skill  and stamina prove too much. Jimmy Johnson in white and Elmer Swanson, who have  already lost out in elimination contests for the championship finals, compete in a consolation  prize. They’re good, but not quite good enough. Now for the finals in this great event: Jimmy Herron of Kelso, Washington, and Harley  Foster compete for world championship honors. Here’s the tops in log rolling. And this is the king — Jimmy  Herron — receiving the silver cup, emblem of the world’s champion roleo. But that’s not all, folks — the queen of the  lumberjills still has to be crowned. Yes, believe it or not — lady log rollers. And believe  me, they are good. Here are Miss Arbutus Wilson of Ladysmith, Wisconsin, and Marietta Phipps,  also of Ladysmith, rolling it out in the semifinals. Miss Phipps proves the better by  dumping Miss Wilson two times out of three. And now for the final match for the ladies’  championship between Miss Mary Mallet of Bloomer, Wisconsin, in a figured costume, and  Miss Sylvia Winters of Astoria, Oregon. Dumping her opponent for the second time,  Miss Mallet, overjoyed by her victory, dives gracefully into the tank. And here she is, proudly receiving the silver cup from  Bill Duquesne of the Roleo Association. The referees always seem to get the worst of  it. The log rollers throw referee Sheridan into the tank, as a farewell gesture to  the world champion log rolling contest.