, 1885-02-24
MICHIGAN LoGGERS.
THE REGULAR WORK OF A LOGGING
CAMP AMONG THE PINES.
Choppers, sawyors. "swampers" and "sidd-
ders"-The SPRINKLER" at work-A
Monster sleigh-"A Tight
PIace"-Losso OF Live.


First, the roads are located and graded,
for this is a business that utterly refuses u
move on bad roads. Next, the sSkidways,"
or raised bottoms upon which tho logs are TO
be piled preparatory TO loading them upon
the sleighs later In the season, are prepared.
Then, the work Of logging begins Crows or
gangs OF men, three in each; ono chopper,
who selects and notches the trees that are 10
be felled, and measures and trims them up
whom they are down, and two sawyers who
fell tho trees and cut the logs off, take the
lead. These arc followed by tho
Aswampers,r who, with woll-trained
horses, drag the logs TO the sideways, where
the '"skidders" take charge OF thsm, and,
with tho aid Of the horses, pile thom IN great
roof-shaped piles sometimes thirty feet high.
At the SAND time a gan OF men Is at work
on the road from camp TO river, whittier tho
logs are to be transported In winter. This
is n very important part OF the labor, as the
success Of the winters work depends upon
the ability to do n great deal OF hauling in a
short time. Hills must be avoided, and con-
sequently the road Will follow the low land,
and this must run through swamps that are
sometimes very difficult 10 got over. When
the cold weather sets In men are put into
such swamp 10 tramp the surface into a
miro. a. In that state It freszss moro readily
than when covered with grass, roots and
water.
As soon as the road will bsar a team, a
gang OF mon Is sent out at night TO work
upon It with ~ths sprinkler" This is n box
built upon logging sleighs for the purpose Of
hauling water over tho roads and sprink-
ling tho track at each side in which the
sleigh runners move. The water soon
freezes. and thus a road of leo Is formed lit
tie by little that will last for weeks after
snow roads nave entirely disappeared !
have seen a sprinkler at work that weighed,
when loaded, thirteen tons, and that was
drawn by one pair OF horses; and / have
heard lumberrhen say that for an all-wintsr
work Of cutting and hauling, they would
rather have no snow at all, proforring TO
mako their roads In this way, entirely Of ice.
Hauling begins with tho Freezing OF the
swamps, generally about the middle Of Do
cember. Then the piles Of logs
by the roadside arc broken down,
This work is often full Of danger TO limb and
life OF those engaged in It, and only the
strongest and most slrillful cant-hook men
are selected for leaders. Snow and rain
have frozen upon the logs, and they stick
The logs are not taken down from the top Of
tho pile, but brokon out from tho bottom.
Where thoy are frozen together you will
sometimes SEQ them worked out until a sheer
front Of twenty or thirty feet is presented,
at the bottom Of which tho mon must expose
Themselves 10 break out the bottom log and
bring tho whole pile down. have seen such
a pile como Town with n leap that sent great
logs flying like sticks clear out over the
sleigh, filling the road full
The sleigh Is in itself a curiosity 20 one
whose mental image OF a sleigh Is the light
dashaway cutter OF the fashionable drive
This monster OF the woods has four
runners, measure. about thirty feet
over all, Is from eight to nine feet
beam, weighs, whom fully equipped
$500 pounds, and has n carrying capacity
OF all you can pile o-n-amounting some
tlmos to twelve and fourteen tons-a load
that a pair OF these great horses, trained &c
camp work, will walk away with easily. In
our camp the logs are skiddsd along a road
that has n light d~own-grade that finally
reaches bottom with q somewhat abrupt
pitch that rises TO about an equal height on
the opposite side. II n team wore 70 hold
back IT. load coming down this hill, and
were 70 stop and take breath at tho bottom
before taking the uphill It would never
got lis load to the top. The load must 20 up
by virtue OF the law OF gravity. so-called;
the team and load arc a pendulum; the mo
mentum which II takes ON coming down 70
the centre will carry IL up on tho other side
Old campers know all about the trick Of
getting over such n grade; and II is a pretty
sight TO SEQ ono OF thom perohed on tho top
OF a huge load, sometimes six feet above his
team, come down that hill with tho horses
gradually increasing their speed, until by
the timo they are ~crossiny the bottom they
are going like the wind, and so continue up
the opposite side, until the load has gradually
exhausted its momentum, and they come TO
n walk and take up the slack of tho traces
just In time TO keep the load In motion over
the crown Of tho hill. Sometimes, too, IL Is
amusing to see a -mossback," that
Il, "A farm team aud tsanistor, now 70 the
business, como down that hill with a lond.
The first time they generally get stuck.
Then thoy will watch a camper do II, and
their success will depend on their power OF
initiation. The camp teamster Is not noisy
10 his team, rave whom II gets into "a tight
place. and then ho bursts his mouth over
1t like a thunderclnp, Occasionally n team
fail, 10 do all that is expected OF II, and then
TIE teamstar gets angry, and abuses the al
mot always willing and grand horses until
ssometimes ]. too, become indignant, and got
away where | cannot 700 what l cannot pro-
vent
Many "a mar has lost his life by an acct
dent in the logging camps In Michigan the
number OF deaths by such means reaches
from sixty TO seventy in a season. Tho team
sters arc the least exposed among the men,
although to an observer unfamiliar with the
dangers OF such IA plaoe, they seem to be
meat exposed. But driving team is terribly
cold work. People who get up at 8 o'clock
aul do thor work In warm rooms havo but
Il feeble conception Of what IL IS to got up
aud out To work two hours before daylight,
with the mercury column pitting On airs at
"a degrees below kSroi On such IA morning
the atmosphere "a 80 penetrating that it
makes mo dizzy. l seem 70 be drunk on
oxygen, and l wonder II IL isn't this cheap
method OF getting set up that makes these
Wild fellows love this life 20 we'll