Art & Words by
HOWARD B. TAYLOR

The old donkey shown is unique in that some owner could see no reason why the donkey puncher could not split the wood and fire the donkey if it were made in this handy manner with the firebox forward and near the controls. Of course loggers won’t even believe the photographs. The fact that Truman Clark is making the sled up the Coast Fork means that it will come out right.

I was axing and adzing on this sled only because Dad was catching up on his office work and the company wanted to keep me on the payroll. The carpenter would chalk a true block and rub the point, to show up the high spots, then plane them off with a giant chisel which he called a slick. When finished, his joints fit like paper to the wall. I also learned bridge work this way. Was usually on surveys and stuck with office work in between. Afterwards having joined the square heads one had to act civilized.