[00:00.00] I first met him in a small lumber town. I was sitting in front of a hotel watching people pass by. It was a warm day, now and then a group of laughing rivermen marched by. One group especially caught my eye, they wore bright red shirts and heavy boots. Suddenly one of them came up to me, " Say, Mister." he said, " You look mighty interested. Are we your long lost friends?" His voice was friendly enough, but he seemed ready for any answer, trouble if I wanted it or help if I needed it. " Can you tell me where all these people are going?" I asked. He pushed his little cap farther back on his head. "Burling match," he said, " come on." I joined him and we followed the crowd to the river. There we saw six men running toward a river with the peaveys they used to control logs. They used the round metal hooks on the end of the peaveys to push a heavy log into the water. Then one of the men took a long leap and landed on the end of the log. The force of his jump pushed the log out into the middle of the river. The man, arms folded over his chest, stood straight up like a statue of bronze. The crowd roared its approval.