In the days of log drives on the rivers of New England, whenever a riverman was killed in the drive, his comrades hung his spiked boots on a tree to mark the spot. As a youth, Robert Pike spotted such a pair of bookts, and from that moment was born his lifelong fascination with the history of the New England logging industry. The tales collected are narrated here by "Old Vern," a cantankerous back woods character. Here are legends and wild anecdotes...