The Woodcutter Summary

The story of the woodcutter opens the final chapter. Uncle David tells of the time when he was a young man working in the logging camps of Minnesota. The forest is thick and the woodcutters stay perpetually busy cutting down every tree they can until large sections of the forest are empty. The logs are moved by horses along the frozen lakes and rivers.

Among the many strong woodcutters is one who stands out. "It was said that no man could use an ax like him," Uncle David says (p. 90). Men stop their own work to watch him wield his ax and many stories rise up about his abilities. One story says he can put a wooden match in a stump and split it with his eyes closed, while lighting both halves of the match. Another story told that he shaved...