The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1881-06-18
Saturday, June 10, 1881.
NUMBERING IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

About all the mills on the coast
streams. from San Francisco MP to Mems
docino City, have bad to raise the
wages of laborers. on account OF the
scarcity Of men. A San Francisco pa
per says that two years ago they paid
from $50 to $40. Last year they paid
1876 TO s45. This year they pay $40 10
10 $50. These men are also boarded.
This rate OF wages is for hands in the
woods, choppers. cbain-tenders. saw
yers and swampers. The common
roustabouts, such rs swampers and
sawyers. get tie $40, and the choppers
and chain-tenders, $45 and $50. The
common mill hsnds have also been
raised to $35 and board. OF courss
the moro skillful get larger wages.
Foremsn in mills get about 500. &C
cordiLg to experience, etc. Engineers
get S75; the head sawyer about SO;
OK Transfers about $40. They former.
ly paid 2H cents apiece for saving
ties, 2X cents for having them, 2H
cents for swamping and telling. max
ing about 10 cents. Now they pay ca
cents for the saving and splitting. and
3H cents for the hewing. Then there
is the swapping and telling. At Cas-
par they now offer 25 cents spiece for
ties at the landing. Las. year they
could only get 20 and % cents.
There 10 sclass of men who stay on
the coast right along. and who do the
kind of work referred to. During the
past two or three years. while times
have been dull. the lumber trade has
been dull. and many OF the mills have
either shut down or run on short time.
Many Of the men have sought other
employs ent or gone away. and the de.
sirable labor is therefore scarce now
that the lumber busioess is reviving
and the mills are Starting up. The
demand for lumber Is now increasing
and the mills are again at work.
Beginning At Rookport, south of
Mendocino, the sawmill at that point
is running and cutting about 1000
feet . day. The Ten-Mile river mill
is running and cutting about 80, 900
feet day. The Noyo mill, We be-
lievs. is not running. The Caspar mill.
which can cut about 10000 feet. is cut
ting about 10000 feet Q day. The
Mendocino mill at Big river. which has
o capacity of 10000 feet day. is cut
ting about 40 600 feet. At Little river.
the mill is, we believe, closed down.
The Albion is saving about $4,000 feet
day. There are two mills at Salmon
creek. one Of them now being built by
l. Il White. The other Is saving
about $4,000 feet day. At Navarro
river they are doing about the same
The mill ut Greenwood creek. Cuffey's
cove, run by A ID Moore. is saving bs-
tween $4,000 and IS. 900 feet q day.
The Gualala mill is cutting from 49,
900 to $4,000 feet now. The Duncan
mill, which ships by railroad. is. we
understand, cutting about $4,000 feet.
The six mills at Humboldt bay. one ut
Trinidad and two at Crescent City, are
not affected by the advance in wages
The demand for lumber is now greater
than for some years. The available
acreage of Humboldt county redwood
lands is figured at 5lo. 900 acres. There
are hundreds of thousands. of acres OF
timber lands along the coast yet,
which are untouched. Now that bus.
iness is picking up again. q revival Of
the NUMBERING interests Of the coast has
occurred.