Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-12-07
CALIFORNIA LETTER.


Friend Reed:-At Moscow Station, 50
miles north OF San Francisco on the North
Pacific Coast R. R. am at present to be
found. When I wrote you last was at Ty-
rome, changed my location to this place last
July, and for the past four months have
closely watched affairs in this modern sp-
pearing town with the ancient name. A
wide sweep of the river to the right, then
taking an abrupt angle to its former course
has seemingly pushed back these mountains
and left within this radius level tract Of
land. Here in this . shape stands the towE
of Moscow. Each morning my eyes drink
in the beauties of surrounding nature which
look down upon us. And an hour or two
after our neighbors of the plains have
beheld the morning sun, he too, comes slow
ly up the hills and peeps over upon US. We
are not commercial town but a manu-
featuring one, or in other words saw mill
town. Here man has built his mill sur
rounded with cabins for the workmen, and
the thrift and enterprise attendant upon
such an institution forms q lively place.
At o'clock in the morning the whistle
blows for all to turn out, breakfast at half
past 5, and to work at 6. Twelve hours
constitutes days work. From forty to
fifty men are employed in and about the
mill. one-third being Chinese. This mill
has capacity Of so thousand feet per day.
The power is furnished by two 16 inch cyl
inder engines, so connected, that if one
part of the mill is temporarily idle the re-
mainder can be at work. The log taken in
its rough state first goes to the double circu-
lar saws, here it is cut into sections, and
taken to the pony saw, where it is sliced of
piece by piece to the best advantage, and if
necessary the edger and trimmer then fash
ion it into merchsntile form. Two planers
with lsth and picket saws enable us to fill
most any order for building material. Our
lumber is. redwood with an occasional
sprinkling in Of pine log. The pine we,
have is our hardest wood more of the species
Of fir, and much unlike the eastern pine.
40urilogging campis shout mile from
the mill and is settlement within itself,
consisting of choppers, sawyers, barkers,
chain tenders. bull punchers.&c. with score
or more of Cinnamon, who are employed
making roads into different parts of the tim
Der which is found upon the side hills and
\ along the gulches, and as it. is dragged
from its bed by iaded and goaded oxen it
seems to cling with almost human tenacity
to its native soil. The logs are deposited
| on rollways near the railroad, loaded on cars
and. taken by 8 locomotive to the mill.
The mill is located near the North Pacific
Coast R. R. whose track serves a double
purpose, of bringing in the logs and taking
away the lumber. To run well regulated
saw mill requires great many men, and
lots of money. The mems wages are graded
from 100, down to 20 dollars permonth. Up
to July last, they were paid each month in
coin, now they only get it as they ask for
it, and not in bright dollars but in drafts
on the general Office in the city. This
caused some grumbling at first but in these
times when men are so plenty, and fairly
begging for work, labor will stand power
full sight Of oppression. Just think of climb
ing these hills for 10 long hours each day,
swinging an ak, drawing a erosscut saw, or
packing heavy jack screw, for 35 or 40
dollars per month. Yet it is done for even
less, and an economical man saves the
greater portion of his earnings, for it costs
mere nothing to live, he gets his board, and
pair of overalls, Shirt hat and shoes are
sufficient to cover his nakedness.
Within stones throw of the mill stands
Moscow Station house, neat tidy build
ing OF dimensions comparing with those of
the Lake shore road in its less important
towns. In one end is the mill office, Rail-
road, and Telegraph Office. The balance
1.-THE building is filed with an assor rted
stock Of merchandise, all under the SUPER
vision Of your correspondent, and to attend
to it all he puts in full time,-Sundays in
cluded. Our principle article of export is
lumber, with fair share of miscellaneous
goods. In September our Freight For
warded Report showed 2.SS0,57 pounds
with freight Of 8, 446 21-10O dollars In
October, ALL pounds with a freight Of
Ls4l, 64-1OO dollars. Passenger travel at
this station is light, amounting to about
loo, per month in sales Of tickets. Freight
received for October, POI, 2S4 pounds with
a collect freight of 300 s-1OO dollars.
These months are about an average with
the others. Making business enough to
keep one from rusting with inaction. The
] road with its water connections is 80 miles