This
rigidity speedily exhausts the vital force.
So much for the philosophy of it. Its practical side might be
infinitely extended. Woodsmen are tough and enduring and in good
condition; but no more so than the average college athlete. Time and
again I have seen men of the latter class walked to a standstill. I
mean exactly that. They knew, and were justly proud, of their physical
condition, and they hated to acknowledge, even to themselves, that the
rest of us were more enduring. As a consequence they played on their
nerve, beyond their physical powers. When the collapse came it was
complete. I remember very well a crew of men turning out from a lumber
camp on the Sturgeon River to bring in on a litter a young fellow who
had given out while attempting to follow Bethel Bristol through a hard
day. Bristol said he dropped finally as though he had been struck on
the head. The woodsman had thereupon built him a little fire, made him
as comfortable as possible with both coats, and hiked for assistance. I
once went into the woods with a prominent college athlete. We walked
rather hard over a rough country until noon. Then the athlete lay on
his back for the rest of the day, while I finished alone the business
we had come on.
Now, these instances do not imply that Bristol, and certainly not
myself, were any stronger physically, or possessed more nervous force,
than the men we had tired out. Either of them on a road could have
trailed us, step for step, and as long as we pleased.
Pages:
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145