Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-12-05

roads, the thrifty logger is often actual
ly at work considerably before. He is
chopping down the trees, saving them
into logs of proper length, and skid
ding" them by the use of ox-teams.
Skidding" is hauling them together
into considerable piles and placing them
on skids, convenient for loading them on
sleds. 1t isan easier and quicker method
than loading from the stump which
consists in rolling the log upon the sled
from the ground where the tree has
fallen The work of loading upon the
sled from the ground is accomplished
by the use of pairof oxe11,Sa chain
being passed from the sled under and
around the log and thence to the team,
which thus rolls it forward over pair
of skids to and upon the sled. A horse
team will haul from 1000 to 1000 feet
from the woods to the stream. AS l.
COO feet of logs will weigh nearly two
tons, an estimate may be made Of the
immense loads thus hauled But the
roads being generally fine, and in the
main having q downward grade, these
large loads are very readily managed.
The first logs landed" att the stream
are usually rolled directly upon the ice,
and the others following On top of them,
the ice breaks down and the front of
the roll-way nearly fills up the channel.
Then, as the logs are delivered from the
sleds by accommodating thousands, they
are landed one above the other until the
pile becomes too high for further I'M
Iloading, and d new section of river bank
lis resorted to. Thus, after successful
winters work. the bank is piled full for
miles along the stream with the log
harvest. until some time during the
month of March, when the days become
so long, and the.surl so warm that the
SNOW disappears from the roads, and the
logging season is ended.
There Is now an interval of inactivity.
1t is several weeks from the close of
hauling until the ice in the streams has
gone, the waters rise, and the work of
running commences. This inactive
interval is variously employed by the
logging crews, who are relied upon, when
1.-The time comes, to do the running If
their camps are located within a reason
able journey from the mills or settle
ments, they go there to spend the time.
They are well-paid set of men and ask
no fayors, and though they sometimes
go through town with the velocity and
effect of simeon, they are cOnscien-
tious about Strengthening UP wrecks and
paying damages. On one system of
logging rivers, especially in the West,
the expression has become a proverblal
one, "When we get through in the
/ 1x.o ,,H oil rr,, Iou,,, 70 q - ri
have q little fun with the boys" Hav-
ing "a little fun with the boys" is an
expression meaning "a good time" of
the widest sort And it means, to the
authorities of that town, to be ready
with an additional force of policemen
who wont mind getting their heads
broken on the occasion. If the camps,
however, are high up on the streams,
perhaps fifty or hundred miles, the
loggers spend these waiting weeks OF
inactivity in enforced idleness at the
camps. They, work, wash, and shave,
and mend their tattered garments. They
read every readable scrap Which is found
lying about the shanties, scarcely stag
Egering even at a speech in Congress.
The everlasting pack Of worn and greasy
cards is resurreeted from the bottom OF
the chest. The running and rafting
implements, pike-poles, etc, are made
ready, and the pleasant, sunny days OF
coming spring are largely passed in dis
cussing the big water" Will there be
water enough? Will there be too much
waiter? If the snow has been light, and
the spring early and warm, and espe-
cially if the previous fall has been dry
one, the melted snow is taken up by the
swamps and ground, or passes quickly
off down the streams before the warmth
has released the logs from their icy an
chorages, and by the time the streams
are open the water has gone. In that
case the logs cannot be started until the
annual freshet in June the "June
fresh,' as the loggers say. and in case
that fails, the whole crop is g hung up ,
for the balance Of the year-indeed
until the next spring Or, on the Other
, thand, with heavysnoWs and continually
warm days, the waters come pouring
down in such floods that, oyerf1owine
4 the river banks, they spread out or
1 either hand over the flat lands; and
the logs, if then Get adrift, are liable te
be. carried far and wide, and left, wher
Tie WdtoI Subsidies, uIStl anu uIy dG long
distances from the bed Of the stream
recoverable only at an expense which
sometimes exceeds their value But
presuming the running season to be q
good one, as it is in large majority Of
cases, the march of the winters crop
from the head-waters of the rivers down
to their mouths is quite as jubilant and
exciting as Sherman's march to the sea
and not without an agreeable spice O.
danger. The log run of large mill
reaching perhaps 30,O00,OO0 feet, viii
occupy a river for, five to ten miles of its
length; and with a gang of fifty to q
hundred men scattered in squads along
this distance, the work is as inspiring as
it is laborious. Each man has the soles
of his heavy boots armed with project
ing nails. or prods, to give him sure
foothold3 on the logs, and carries g
driving-pike" or heavy pole some eigh
feet long, fitted at one end with stou
pike, for the purpose Of prying out the
logs and releasing them from jams.
: is the effort of the drivers to- keep the
logs steadily moving forward in goo(