"Slab" is the lumberman's name for the outside piece of a
log which is sawn off in squaring up the sides. We made a raft of these
materials and floated them down the river to Lake Placid. The bridge was
made by anchoring the barrels in the channel about eight feet apart, and
laying on them the floor beams, which supported a flooring of slabs. The
floor beams were narrow planks 1 inch by 4 inches, taken from the bridge
wreck, and they were placed on edge to prevent sagging. Of course we had
no anchors for securing the barrels, but used instead large stones
weighing about 100 pounds each, around which the anchor lines were
fastened. We found it rather difficult to sink these improvised anchors at
just the right places, for we were working at the very mouth of the
mill-race, and were in constant danger of having our scow sucked down into
the swirling channel. Once we were actually drawn into the mill-race and
tore madly down the rushing stream. By Bill's careful steering we managed
to avoid striking the shore, and just as we were off the Tiger's Tail
Reddy succeeded in swinging a rope around an overhanging limb and bringing
us to a sudden stop. A moment later we might have been dashed against the
rocks in the rapids below and our boat smashed.
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