James Spires Tribute Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This camouflaged peanutbutter jar sized cache is surrounded mostly by water/ice yet is accessible during every season and is winter friendly - careful of thin ice if you go in the winter time though, it was placed in the winter, but good times come to those seeking it in the summer!
Part of the mystique of the mighty Black is the leathered history of the loggers and river rats that worked this system not so long ago, as this article will attest.
OLD LOG DRIVES ON THE BLACK RIVER (1937) (Tombstone on Lake Arbutus Island.)
Pioneers Recall Days Of Pineries And River Drives
*** The Log drives on Black River, once a great business enterprise and a most thrilling feature of life in this region, have become a memory in the minds of a few old men or a tradition handled down to the younger generations.
From the earliest days of logging in the forties, beginning with the Mormons who cut timber for their temple at Nauvoo, Ill., on till 1907, millions of pine logs cut on Black River and its branches were floated down the stream to be sawed into lumber at the mills near its mouth. Lumber for the home market was sawed at local the mills, but the untold wealth of timber drifted away to build up the fortunes of down-river cities.
In the early days each logger hired a crew and drove his own logs when the spring floods came; [Edited text - full version at (]visit link)
One day last week Bob French of Levis and John Leopold, long a resident of that town but now living in Neillsville, dropped into the Press office to talk over old times and recite some chapters of log-driving history.
Mr. French had recently received a letter from Mrs. Helen MacWalters of Black River Falls, giving the names of some of the old foremen on log drives and reviving Mr. French’s own memories of these men. The first foreman on the company drive, recalled by Mr. French and Mr. Leopold was Hand Powers others they recall were Dave Mason, Amos Mason and Mike Collins. John Leopold came on the river with his parents when a small boy in 1865 and grew up familiar with all phases of business along its banks.
In 1907 after the last company drive Waite and Trow of Merrillan brought all the scattering logs up river, and Mr. Leopold took charge of the driving crew to clean up the river. Beginning at Little Black six miles above Medford, they “sacked in” logs along the bottoms and drove everything that would float down stream.
While the main river was under the control of the Black River Improvement company, loggers on the branches had to drive their own logs to the river, where the company crew took charge. A small corporation was formed to drive on East Fork and Mr. French and Mr. Leopold recall the names of Hi Goddard, John Paul Lumber Co., the Island Mill Co., L.F. Nichols and P.S. Davidson, who logged and drove on the East Fork.
Driving was not only thrilling, but also dangerous work and not a few lives were lost.
Lying flat in the sand, at low water on a island near the east shore of Lake Arbutus is an old fashioned tombstone, erected to the memory of James Spires, who was drowned there on the drive. The drivers took up a collection and brought the memorial at LaCrosse, and it was erected by the foreman, Amos Mason, and some of the crew, The legend carved on it can still be deciphered and reads “Remember me as you pass by; As you are now, so once was I, As I am now, you soon shall be, Prepare for death and follow me.”
The daring feats on the river in breaking jams and riding logs developed skill and courage and to a considerable extent a spirit of romance.
Mingled with the rough and crude outward life of the river men was a certain tender sentimental feeling that frequently found expression in the old songs and legends still known to the few who are left.
The story of the stirring days when the forests along Black river were felled and floated away is a great chapter in local history and should be preserved.
--The Neillsville Press
Some say if you visit this Island at dusk, you can faintly hear James Spires whistling a River Rats tune off in the distance - small matter for those intent on seeking out this cache…
Lake Arbutus has several County Parks with boat landings, and there’s a free public landing at N 44° 26.298 W090° 41.943. During the winter, you can access the lake from any of these points without charge as well. Those bird watchers out there will enjoy the bountiful waterfowl as well as a variety of raptors including a Osprey nest located at N 44° 26.298 W090° 41.943 that house young Osprey through the early summer months.
Oh, if you by chance find the cache, please replace it as if it were your own, thanks...
The Geocache Notification Form has been submitted to Peter Bakken, Black River State Forest Manager, of the Wisconsin DNR. Geocaches placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resouce managed lands require permission by means of a notification form. We would like to thank the State of Wisconsin for allowing us to place the James Spires Tribute geocache at this site for all to enjoy.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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