“In the jam of 1865 the river channel was filled nearly to the St. Croix dam, a distance of a mile and a quarter above Angle Rock. This being the first of the great jams excited unusual attention. Excursionists came up daily in the boats to look upon it. It was indeed a wonderful sight. The logs were heaped together in the wildest confusion, and wedged in at all angles. Men and horses were employed to break the jam, which at that time, owing to the inexperience of the workers, was no light task. The _modus operandi_ of jam breaking is to remove logs from the lower part of the jam till some log which serves as a key to the jam is reached. This being removed the logs above commence moving, and, if the haul be a long one, in a short time the movement is extended to the head of the jam. Perhaps the logs are so heaped above that no water is visible. It matters not; the tremendous current beneath sweeps downward, carrying the logs along, and the spectator beholds a wonderful scene, a river of logs, the current swiftest in the centre of the stream, the logs rolling, tumbling, crashing, grinding, sometimes snapped in sunder like pipestems. The jam breakers are in the wildest excitement, cheering and hurrahing, and some may be seen out in the current of logs, jumping from one to another, or making their escape to the shore. Others on the lower part of the jam at the moment of breaking are carried down the river. Though apparently a scene of great danger, comparatively few accidents occur. The workers are cool, experienced men with steady nerves and stalwart arms, a race of men not surpassed for muscular development.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
1291. INGREDIENTS.--3/4 lb of suet-crust No. 1215, 3/4 lb. of any kind of jam. _Mode_.--Make a nice light suet-crust by recipe No. 1215, and roll it out to the thickness of about 1/2 inch. Spread the jam equally over it, leaving a small margin of paste without any, where the pudding joins. Roll it up, fasten the ends securely, and tie it in a floured cloth; put the pudding into boiling water, and boil for 2 hours. Mincemeat or marmalade may be substituted for the jam, and makes excellent puddings. _Time_.--2 hours. _Average cost_, 9d. _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_.--Suitable for winter puddings, when fresh fruit is not obtainable.
Sources: The passage is from William H. C. (William Henry Carman) Folsom, Fifty Years In The Northwest: With An Introduction And Appendix Contai, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Beeton, The Book of Household Management of 1861, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — navy cloth, amphora stamp.