GETTING THE TIMBERS
ONE day Heema jumped into the hut where Ama was sitting. “Where’s Docas?” he asked.
“Out making bricks. What do you want of him?” answered Ama.
“We are going up into the mountains to get a big tree. Father Joseph wants him to come and help drag it down.” Before Ama could answer him he was off to find Docas.
Soon Father Joseph, Docas, Heema, and a great many other Indian men and boys started off for the mountains where the redwood trees grow. They took several oxen and several chains with them. The day before, Massea and two other men had gone up to the hills to fell the trees.
About noon the party came to the place where Massea was. He had two trees cut down, ready for them. They rested and ate some dried deer meat. After that they fastened the oxen to one of the trees that Massea had cut down; then they drove back to the Mission. The log dragged along behind the oxen until it reached the Mission.
Massea had cut down two trees. There were no oxen left to drag the second tree to the Mission, so Docas helped fasten some long chains tothe log. Then all the Indian men and boys took hold of the chains and dragged the log down to the Mission themselves. It was not very hard work, for there were almost a hundred Indians pulling.
Early the next day they began to chop at one of the logs with their axes to make it square. When Massea saw that one side of it was flat he said, “Stop.” Massea and the other men tried to roll the log over on the other side, but it did not move at first.
“It is heavy,” said one of the men.
“Yes, but we must roll it over so that we can smooth the other side,” said Massea.
They gave another big pull all together, and the log rolled over.
At last, instead of a rough log with bark on it, it was a smooth, square piece of timber ready to use in building the church.