Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-12-09

A correspondent writing from De-
post. n. Y, to the New York Times,
says: "The lumber business has
been the mainstay of the Delaware
and its tributary valleys for 100 years.
but the onslaughts oil the woodsmen
have been so persistent and fierce.
especially during the past quarter Of
a century, that is is believed the pres
ent season will see the almost total
exhaustion OF the lumber supply. The
Delaware lumber region embraces a
large portion of Sullivan and Della
ware counties, N L.. and Pike and
Wayne counties, Penn. Ten years
ago the average quantity Of lumber
sent TO market by RATS on the Dels-
ware alone amounted 10 100 600, 600
feet. nine-tenths of which was hem
lock. In 1870 Wayne county's supply
of lumber was over that amount, 80
900, 600 of which was shipped by rail,
and the remainder by water. The
spring freshet of the present year has
been an unusually favorable one for
the running of lumber, but the guam
tty RATED and run from all the re-
gions has not exceeded 10000, 600
feet. OF this amount about one-third
has been forwarded by one operator,
William Holoert. of Equinunk,
Wayne county. The rest was cut
principally in Sullivan and Delaware
counties. The rail shipments will
amount to about one-half of the
above amount, and are made over the
Erie, Delaware & Lackswana, and
New York & Oswego Midland Rail
roads. To secure even this compar-
atively small supply the country has
been secured from far and near.
Pine, which was once the staple pro
duct of the Delaware region. was ex-
hausted many years ago. When the
first settlers came into the valley the
whole region was dense pine will
derness, and for severity years the
hemlock was left untouched, not be-
ing considered Of any value. Lum'
bermen still in the business hereaSuut
remember that the very best quality
of pine was manufactured and RATED
to the Philadelphia markets and dis
posed of at 50 per thousand, while
now it must be imported for home
consumption and six times that price
paid for il. In those days there
were no circular saw-mills, but only
primitive upright mills here and
there in the forest. The first circu-
lar mill was erected in the Delaware
valley, about 81 years ago, and Others
were quickly introduced until there
were ores of them..at work, some of
them capable Of manufacturing 50,
600 feet of lumber day each. The
result has been the rapid exhaustion
of the forests, until there is but a
small area of the original timber left
standing, aud that is in the hands OF
q very few individual operators.
1.-The work of cutting away the
timber on the headwaters of the Del
aware, on the West Branch, was
prosecuted with such vigor that il
has been many years since RATS
have been run from above Walton,
and the East Branch drains what was
ten years ago the almost primitive
wilderness of Sullivan and Delaware
counties, but whichs is now vast
field of stumps. or tracts OF second
rate timber. The work Of exhaus
ton has not been allowed days
cessation, although during the past
ten years, with the exception of 1881
SO, the price obtained for hemlock
was barely sufficient to cover the
cost of production. This seemingly
suicidal policy on the part of the
operators, they claim, was to no
small extent forced upon them blythe
fact that the bark on immense tracts
of timber land was purchased by
tanners, who had the privilege of fell
ing trees and peeling the bark, which
they did as they needed 1t. The tim
Der once felled and peeled, it was
necessary for the lumbermen to util-
ize it, as years lying in the woods
would decrease its value. The de-
struction of the forests has also affect
ed the tannery interest. so that many
of the largest establishments of the
kind in this region have been aban-
doned for want of bark. A few
years ago Wayne county was the
second largest leather producing
county in the Union. and had the
largest tannery then in the world.
| When the lumber business was at
its hight in the Delaware region not
less than 10000 persons were en-
ployed as choppers, sawyers. team
sters and raftsmen, and most of the
towns and villages owed their own
support, if not their existence. to the
industry. Not even one-third of
that number are now required to
carry on the business, and many set
Elements are almost deserted. For
tunately, the land once occupied by
the forest is capable of being tunred
into the finest Of grazing farms. and
it is being utilized by those who can
no longer depend on the lumber bus
mess for SUPPORT"