to wood

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

To supply or get supplies of wood.--Webster. The boats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, in their long voyages, are obliged to make frequent stops for supplies of wood. The common phrase is to wood up.


The process of wooding-up is one of the first the passenger is made acquainted with. The steamer approaches a dreary shore, without any thing to indicate that civilized man has ever set his foot upon it for many miles above or below, save the wood-pile and a small cabin of the rudest description. The terms are usually agreed upon before the boat touches the bank; and when it does, fifteen or twenty hands throw on board from twenty to fifty cords, at a price varying from 2 to 3, for which the woodman pockets his money and seems a happy man, although cut off from the world.--N. Y. Tribune, 1848.

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