The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1874-09-01
agricultural department,
,ONOUcTtD BY ALBERT CHAPMAN,
THI REDWOOD FORESTS.
RrssIAN RIVER Mills, Cal. !
August /, 1874. (

The nearest mill was twenty miles distant.
But, such is the purity Of the atmosphere,
the timber can be distinctly seen looming
up in its gigantic height twenty miles a.
way, on the mountains. After a sharp
drive across the plain we descended to
the river through Pocket caryou, where
forests Of fir and laurel line the hill sides.
At this season the liver is stream Of fif-
ty feet 10 width, about knee deep. The
other bank is the margin of the redwoods.
A mile beyond we came to Murphy's
mill, located in valley in the heart Of
the timber. Though it has been running
continuously all summer, with force OF
twenty-five men, and capacity for saw.
ing $4,000 feet per day, they have not
succeeded in clearing the trees away from
dangerous proximity to the buildings.
Having read newspaper and magazine
articles. and books of travel, laudatory Of
everything here, to tircsome extent, L
took the precaution to carry tape line,
and propose to set down the sober results
of measurements, and will leave the spec.
ulative and poetical departments entirely
out. The men live in little houses scat.
tered along a trout stream near the mill,
the stumps of the trees being as large, in
many instances, as the houses The mill
building is 40 by 90 feet, two stories
high. The engine is 60.horse power ,hav-
ing furnaces consuming less than one.half
the sawdust and slabs produced. a car
bears the surplus away to pile, always
on fire. The gang Of laborers is divided
as follows: 16 men in the mill, s in the
woods, one cook, aud four yokes of oxen.
The wages for the eight Cinnamon are
500 per month other common laborers,
$40. The engineers and sawyers receive
from S65 to $50, and the axemen who
fell the trees are paid $50 per month, all
being " found" The axeman is the most
important man on the premises, for the
reason that if he is not expert in falling
the timber. great annoyance and destruc-
ton would follow. The timber is soft
and straight grained, and splits better
than chestnut His axe is light, with a
narrow blade, aud helve AZ inches long.
All trees are cut from two sides only
there is no girdIing or haggliDg. He chops
both right and left handed yet has to
reach long way when the trees are very
large. In contriving to throw the trees
away from the mill, or away from other
timber, no matter how they lean, brings
out the skill Of the woodsmap But he
docs it every time. Not only that, but
his employers will wager that, bis skill is
so great, he will drive stake set $50 feet
distant, with the falling tree; and showed
me where he dropped ten.foot redwood
between two stumps, either of which, if
struck, would have shivered it. There
was less than foot to spare on either
eide As will be at once understood, the
point is to work up the timber without
loss or delay, and to the best advantage.
A mistake made, in loading one of these
huge fellows against another, would entail
hundreds of dollars in the expenses and
trouble of clearing away the debris. In
the older settled States there are few men
left who could take their fathers places
as - corner men " at houseraising En-.
ough are left to bear witness to the won.
derfu efficiency of an axe, when welded
by skillful hands. 1t requires more judg.
ment to manage than does the handling
of his weapon by swordsman This was
made plain during the war Of the rebel.
lion, by the great superiority of lumber
men and western men over others, when
it came to slashng timber for rife pits and
road making.
MEASUREMENT OF THE TREES
The mill machinery consists Of one sash
saw, cutting logs eight feet in diameter
(larger ones have to be slabbcdl, circu.
lar saw, edge saws,and planer FOR dress.
ing and flushing. There are two cross
cut saws in the woods following the axe.
men. Each saw is run by one man. When
We arrived the logging gang were hitch.
ing to one which they dragged along the
ground, sled fashion, TO the mill. Before
hauling it the bark was peeled of, and
the end Of the log slightly rounded.
Buckets Of water poured along the track
made it slippery Then, resting a few
times by the way. the exen snakee' the
log, five feet in diameter, to the ways at
the mill with slight purchase, and q
pull by steam, it was rolled'on car, and
began to travel to the saw. There it was
Cut BY the sash saw into three huge slabs,
which were left clamped together then
rolled over to the circular saw. which
could now manage the pieces. Every
twenty seconds huge plank was sliced
of and sent to the ledger y; thence, in
narrower boards to the "paner," aud
before the mud was dry, it had become
dressed flooring, or rustic finish, for build
ing There were thirteen logs in that
tree, each sixteen feet long. Another
tree measured 28s feet from the stump tc
the end Of the last saw-log. 1t had cut
$4,000 feet Of boards; the top was left
at four feet diameter, and near 100 feet
in length. Still another, which they were
working into shingles, had already made
100000, and enough lay there in the log
to make 100, 900 more. 1t was perfectly
free from knots and wind shakes for 200
feet. They count, usually, on having
frst.class, clear lumber from the first l5(
feet We measured two large trees, stand
ing within fifty feet Of each other, which
were Al feet six inches, and Al feet, re
spectively, in circumference, at five fee
from the ground We afterwards saw
still larger trees, but did not measuf,
them, as some Of them grew in clumps
and were not fairly single stems. NJ,
opinion is, that the average size may b.
set down at about eight feet across tn
stump. The product will run from 200,
900 to 500, 900 feet Of sawed stuff pc
acre, as nearly as | could figure, depend
ing on the frequency Of the groups an
size Of them. There is no underground
and the ground is deep and mellow
black soil, capable Of producing anythn
grown in California. After clearing thcr
would be no trouble in blowing close II