[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
wouldn't release any down to me. But now you, John," and he pointed an
accusing finger at Captain Mina. "That dam of yours is taking forever to fill.
"
"Look, do you want my products or not?" John said quickly. "You need me if you
want to expand this second-fiddler operation."
"Second fiddler is it!"
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please," Andrew said, holding up his hand. "We both
need each other here, remember. I want John's operation with full water as
quickly as possible we all need what he can produce. Once that's done, you'll
have all the water you need. All right?"
"You heard him, John," Tracy replied. "Once that dam of yours is filled, don't
hold back on me. We've all got to use the stream."
"All right, all right, but colonel, sir, my men are waiting for you. Besides,
Private Ferguson is just dying to show you his new plans."
Refusing a hand, Andrew made his way back up the ladder and leaving the
sawmill continued up the hill. A hundred yards farther up they paused for a
moment to watch Fletcher's operation. Even as the mill operated a crew of
carpenters of his company were busy putting up siding provided by Houston.
This was one place that had to be protected from the rain.
The millstones were small ones, less than three feet across. They were
temporary affairs until a couple of boys from B Company could turn out full
six-foot stones of granite, which would take at least another month.
But for the Suzdalians it was still a wonder. Every day there was a steady
stream of people, most on foot, some driving small wagons laden with bags of
freshly harvested wheat, lined up outside the mill waiting for their grain to
be ground into flour.
By agreement with Andrew and Ivor the rates were simple enough one-tenth of
all grain ground was kept as payment, and as a result the regiment would soon
have fresh bread, for one of O'Donald's boys had been a baker and even now was
supervising the construction of several ovens to handle the demands of the
regiment.
Passing on up the hill, they came out upon the latest addition to the mill
stream's industries. The furnace and attached forge were small, with only a
ten-foot wheel for now. But Mina was already talking about expanding it over
the winter and building a great twenty-foot wheel by spring.
Smoke was billowing out from a brick chimney, and with each turning of the
wheel there was a loud rush of sparks as the bellows driven by the waterwheel
pumped in a fresh draft of air.
This project had been the most complex to date, requiring in one way or
another the labor of half the regiment to get it ready. Nearly a hundred men
had been busy felling wood for weeks, and following the lead of several
charcoal makers from the north country of Maine had soon cooked up hundreds of
bushels of charcoal of at least passable quality.
The men of B Company had worked across the river, cutting limestone with the
few tools available, crushing it with hammers to serve as a flux which would
Page 88
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
draw off the nonmetallic parts of the ore to form a brittle glasslike slag.
Finally there'd been the mining of the ore. A site had been located farther up
in the hills, and fifty more men had labored intensively using the few picks
available to cut the ore into workable chunks and then haul it back down the
hill.
Others had worked at building the dam, which now was nearly twelve feet high
and would finally rise to twenty-two feet to power the larger wheel already
planned to replace the temporary ten-foot one now in place.
Still others had helped to fashion the bellows from two whole cowhides, and
the huge earthen ramp to the top of the furnace, where the crushed lime,
charcoal, and ore were dumped in for the cooking-down to the final product.
The Suzdalians at least had brick kilns located upriver from the town, and in
trade for ten dozen bushels of Fletcher's wheat and several thousand board
feet from the sawmill a sufficient quality had been purchased, transported
downriver, and packed up to the hill to make the furnace.
Andrew had already noticed a creeping inflation starting to set in as far as
prices went with the Suzdalians, and he resolved that a brick kiln would be a
major priority, since there was always a need to supply the mills, and the
growing town of Fort Lincoln.
"We're ready when you are, sirs," one of Mina's men called as the officers
approached.
A regular delegation was waiting for them, including representatives from the
Methodist committee, who after intense negotiations had finally won approval
for the first casting to be used as a bell for their chapel.
Today's runoff would be modest; Mina had calculated it to be about five
hundred pounds of iron, which as soon as it had cooled would be turned over to
Dunlevy and his crew of apprentices. A mold for the bell had been fashioned
from clay, and when enough iron had been amassed it would be remelted and
poured in.
As Andrew looked around he realized that nearly half the regiment was here,
since so many had participated in getting this project started. Their pride
and excitement was evident in their looks of eager anticipation as
Andrew approached.
"Colonel, sir," a grimy private said, stepping forward and saluting, "me and
the boys working this here mill would appreciate a couple of words from you."
Andrew looked over at John, who smiled broadly. It was a common joke with the
regiment that the professor, whose job before the war had been talking,
somehow got tongue-tied when asked to give a speech to the men.
Andrew looked around at the men and smiled good-naturedly.
"I'm proud of all of you," he said. "Proud that you're Union men tested in
battle, the finest regiment in the Army of the Potomac," and with that the men
cheered at the mention of that most famed army of the war.
"I'm proud as well that you're Mainers, the best from the finest state in all
New England," and with that an appreciative growl went up from the ranks,
peppered with witticisms about their neighboring states to the south.
"This mill will be the foundation from which other projects will spring that
will be the envy of this world."
He looked about and suddenly realized that he had unwittingly slighted the men
working on other projects.
"Not to mention the sawyers, miners, and heaven knows what other projects you
boys are cooking up," he said hurriedly, and the crowd laughed appreciatively.
"All right, then, enough of the speechifying and let's see what we've got
here."
With a ceremonial flourish, John stepped forward and handed Andrew an iron
pole and pointed at the clay plug at the base of the kiln. Feeling somewhat
clumsy with his one hand, Andrew grasped the pole and thrust it at the plug.
After several attempts the clay broke, and as if by magic a hot river of metal
poured out into the rough troughs laid out in a bed of sand at the foot of the
furnace.
A loud cheer went up as hundreds of pounds of molten metal flowed out,
Page 89
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
shimmering and sparkling, the heat so intense that Andrew held his hand up to
protect his face from the glare.
Beaming with pride, John could not contain his excitement and jumped up and
down, until the runoff finally trickled to a stop.
"All right, load her up again!" John shouted. "Let's have a ton of this
beautiful stuff by tomorrow!"
John looked about and finally spotted the man he wanted.
"Ferguson, come over here."
From out of the crowd, a slight form appeared, smiling nervously. His glasses
made his pale-blue eyes appear owl-like, giving the man an almost ridiculous
appearance. Andrew had always liked the man, even though more often than not
he was in the infirmary, the hard rigors of campaigning simply too much for
his body. Several times he had expected to see Jim's name stricken from the
roll, but a week later he'd come dragging back, ever eager to try again. He
had offered Jim an easier job behind the lines with the quartermaster, but the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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wouldn't release any down to me. But now you, John," and he pointed an
accusing finger at Captain Mina. "That dam of yours is taking forever to fill.
"
"Look, do you want my products or not?" John said quickly. "You need me if you
want to expand this second-fiddler operation."
"Second fiddler is it!"
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please," Andrew said, holding up his hand. "We both
need each other here, remember. I want John's operation with full water as
quickly as possible we all need what he can produce. Once that's done, you'll
have all the water you need. All right?"
"You heard him, John," Tracy replied. "Once that dam of yours is filled, don't
hold back on me. We've all got to use the stream."
"All right, all right, but colonel, sir, my men are waiting for you. Besides,
Private Ferguson is just dying to show you his new plans."
Refusing a hand, Andrew made his way back up the ladder and leaving the
sawmill continued up the hill. A hundred yards farther up they paused for a
moment to watch Fletcher's operation. Even as the mill operated a crew of
carpenters of his company were busy putting up siding provided by Houston.
This was one place that had to be protected from the rain.
The millstones were small ones, less than three feet across. They were
temporary affairs until a couple of boys from B Company could turn out full
six-foot stones of granite, which would take at least another month.
But for the Suzdalians it was still a wonder. Every day there was a steady
stream of people, most on foot, some driving small wagons laden with bags of
freshly harvested wheat, lined up outside the mill waiting for their grain to
be ground into flour.
By agreement with Andrew and Ivor the rates were simple enough one-tenth of
all grain ground was kept as payment, and as a result the regiment would soon
have fresh bread, for one of O'Donald's boys had been a baker and even now was
supervising the construction of several ovens to handle the demands of the
regiment.
Passing on up the hill, they came out upon the latest addition to the mill
stream's industries. The furnace and attached forge were small, with only a
ten-foot wheel for now. But Mina was already talking about expanding it over
the winter and building a great twenty-foot wheel by spring.
Smoke was billowing out from a brick chimney, and with each turning of the
wheel there was a loud rush of sparks as the bellows driven by the waterwheel
pumped in a fresh draft of air.
This project had been the most complex to date, requiring in one way or
another the labor of half the regiment to get it ready. Nearly a hundred men
had been busy felling wood for weeks, and following the lead of several
charcoal makers from the north country of Maine had soon cooked up hundreds of
bushels of charcoal of at least passable quality.
The men of B Company had worked across the river, cutting limestone with the
few tools available, crushing it with hammers to serve as a flux which would
Page 88
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
draw off the nonmetallic parts of the ore to form a brittle glasslike slag.
Finally there'd been the mining of the ore. A site had been located farther up
in the hills, and fifty more men had labored intensively using the few picks
available to cut the ore into workable chunks and then haul it back down the
hill.
Others had worked at building the dam, which now was nearly twelve feet high
and would finally rise to twenty-two feet to power the larger wheel already
planned to replace the temporary ten-foot one now in place.
Still others had helped to fashion the bellows from two whole cowhides, and
the huge earthen ramp to the top of the furnace, where the crushed lime,
charcoal, and ore were dumped in for the cooking-down to the final product.
The Suzdalians at least had brick kilns located upriver from the town, and in
trade for ten dozen bushels of Fletcher's wheat and several thousand board
feet from the sawmill a sufficient quality had been purchased, transported
downriver, and packed up to the hill to make the furnace.
Andrew had already noticed a creeping inflation starting to set in as far as
prices went with the Suzdalians, and he resolved that a brick kiln would be a
major priority, since there was always a need to supply the mills, and the
growing town of Fort Lincoln.
"We're ready when you are, sirs," one of Mina's men called as the officers
approached.
A regular delegation was waiting for them, including representatives from the
Methodist committee, who after intense negotiations had finally won approval
for the first casting to be used as a bell for their chapel.
Today's runoff would be modest; Mina had calculated it to be about five
hundred pounds of iron, which as soon as it had cooled would be turned over to
Dunlevy and his crew of apprentices. A mold for the bell had been fashioned
from clay, and when enough iron had been amassed it would be remelted and
poured in.
As Andrew looked around he realized that nearly half the regiment was here,
since so many had participated in getting this project started. Their pride
and excitement was evident in their looks of eager anticipation as
Andrew approached.
"Colonel, sir," a grimy private said, stepping forward and saluting, "me and
the boys working this here mill would appreciate a couple of words from you."
Andrew looked over at John, who smiled broadly. It was a common joke with the
regiment that the professor, whose job before the war had been talking,
somehow got tongue-tied when asked to give a speech to the men.
Andrew looked around at the men and smiled good-naturedly.
"I'm proud of all of you," he said. "Proud that you're Union men tested in
battle, the finest regiment in the Army of the Potomac," and with that the men
cheered at the mention of that most famed army of the war.
"I'm proud as well that you're Mainers, the best from the finest state in all
New England," and with that an appreciative growl went up from the ranks,
peppered with witticisms about their neighboring states to the south.
"This mill will be the foundation from which other projects will spring that
will be the envy of this world."
He looked about and suddenly realized that he had unwittingly slighted the men
working on other projects.
"Not to mention the sawyers, miners, and heaven knows what other projects you
boys are cooking up," he said hurriedly, and the crowd laughed appreciatively.
"All right, then, enough of the speechifying and let's see what we've got
here."
With a ceremonial flourish, John stepped forward and handed Andrew an iron
pole and pointed at the clay plug at the base of the kiln. Feeling somewhat
clumsy with his one hand, Andrew grasped the pole and thrust it at the plug.
After several attempts the clay broke, and as if by magic a hot river of metal
poured out into the rough troughs laid out in a bed of sand at the foot of the
furnace.
A loud cheer went up as hundreds of pounds of molten metal flowed out,
Page 89
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
shimmering and sparkling, the heat so intense that Andrew held his hand up to
protect his face from the glare.
Beaming with pride, John could not contain his excitement and jumped up and
down, until the runoff finally trickled to a stop.
"All right, load her up again!" John shouted. "Let's have a ton of this
beautiful stuff by tomorrow!"
John looked about and finally spotted the man he wanted.
"Ferguson, come over here."
From out of the crowd, a slight form appeared, smiling nervously. His glasses
made his pale-blue eyes appear owl-like, giving the man an almost ridiculous
appearance. Andrew had always liked the man, even though more often than not
he was in the infirmary, the hard rigors of campaigning simply too much for
his body. Several times he had expected to see Jim's name stricken from the
roll, but a week later he'd come dragging back, ever eager to try again. He
had offered Jim an easier job behind the lines with the quartermaster, but the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]