He has to be able to guide his horses by little steps over, through, and around slippery and bristling difficulties.

He must acquire the knack of facing them square about in their tracks.

He must hold them under a control that will throw into their collars, at command, from five pounds to their full power of pull, lasting from five seconds to five minutes.
And above all, he must be able to keep them out of the way of tremendous loads of logs on a road which constant sprinkling has rendered smooth and glassy, at the same time preventing the long tongue from sweeping them bodily against leg-breaking debris when a curve in the road is reached.

It is easier to drive a fire engine than a logging team.
But in spite of the naivete of the remark, the woodsman had seen something in Thorpe he liked.

Such men become rather expert in the reading of character, and often in a log shanty you will hear opinions of a shrewdness to surprise you.