Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1888-06-14
MICHIGAN PINERIES.
THE HARD AND DANGEROUS WORK
DONE By THE lOGGERS.


ests of the Northwest-Work Done by
the "Cant Hook" Men-"Saidwcy' and
Banking Ground''-Dynamite.
Nowhere on the globe is the relation of
horse and man in the accomplishment of
great labor and the production of enor
nous results SO clearly seen as in the
numbering operations of the northwestern
pineries. From the time when the first
log is cut from the first fallen pine in
September, until the last log is delivered
at the banking ground, not later than the
ides of March, horse and man handle the
logs together. This is how the work is
done:
Camp established and the main roads
lined out through the timber to be cut.
gangs of men go to work. One man
moves ahead, selects trees, chops deep
notch on that side of the tree toward
which he wants it to fall Two men fol-
low him with axes and a cross-cut saw.
The axes are for the incidental occasion
which may arise for their use. The saw
is the real guillotine of the forest. The
sawyers begin on the standing tree op-
posite the aforesaid notch, and saw to-
ward that. If the tree leans that way it
will sometimes break through six inches
of solid wood, and swoop down with a
screech of the sundering fbers that can
be heard long distance.
The tree once down, the leader of the
gang that fell" it measures off the logs
and tops" it; that is. he trims up the
limbs where necessary, and goes on to
notch another tree while the sawyers are
cutting the first into logs. Then come
the ''swampers," gang Of men and
horses, who cut away the brush, roll one
end of the log upon drag" and haul it
off to the "skidway," where it is piled to
await being taken to the banking ground.
The skidway is itself rollway, as the
banking ground is. If the logs are to be
loaded upon cars the skidway must be
built as high as the platform of the car.
If upon sleighs. then only high enough to
admit Of rolling them upon the hunks, or
bed" of the sleigh. But in either case
the pilessof logs so gathered may be large,
and yet largest where they are completed
and left to be moved by slcighs. have
seen them piled in huge roof shaped
masses thirty and forty feet high. Lying
thus, snow collects in the interstices.
melts and freezes until the pile has be-
come solidifed. In that condition it is
often found when the leaders approach it
to break down the pile and load it upon
the sleighs.
The work is often dangerous. because
the logs are not taken from the top of the
pile, but from it's bottom. Only the most
skillfu., as well as powerful, "cant hook
men" make up the loading gangs. have
seen a gang break out the bottom log of a
skidway that showed perpendicular
front of thirty feet. At it's base in the
roadway stands the sleigh strong enough
to withstand the shock of a mountains
fall; the horses are unhitched and moved
away and only the men are in danger. A
foreman stands watchful over all; men
pry and pull and strain together, moving
the resisting log only hairs breadth, as
it seems, SO cautious are they. AS they
pull they watch the mass above them, and
when at last it starts those men bound
away as if shot out of catapults, and
down come the icy logs bounding with
roar. The sleigh is covered with them;
and once in such fall saw huge log
caught and held on end on top of half
loaded sleigh.
Then comes the haul. The roads are
wide, level and smooth, and pair of the
kingly horses trained to the work will
haul load of fourteen tons in day when
the sleigh shoes do not stick to the snow.
Such load peaked up into the air six feet
above the horses, with the teamster
astride of the top log talking Familiarity
to his Mig" and "Joe," or some equally
domestic names, by which his horses are
known, as they walk easily away with
the huge mass, is sight that would
make the boys and girls of the world wild
with delighted astonishment. But there
is danger here, too. A slight lurch side
ways will sometimes break a chain
"binder" and the load goes down.
At the banking ground, on clear cold
winter day, with the mercury 20 degs.
below zero, the scene is unique. This is
the only part Of the work in which the
horses cannot help. The logs are rolled
out from the sleighs by the men. It is
often hard work. A green pine log that
scales from 500 to 800 feet is heavy
thing to handle.
Rollways or banking grounds are al
ways chosen at that point on stream or
lake where the height of the bank and the
depth of water will best facilitate piling
logs in winter and floating them in spring.
High bank and deep water are best. but
the majority Of lollways are on low banks
and shallow streams, not from choice. but
from necessity. The logs are dropped
from sleighs or cars upon the bank and
rolled off until the river is filed some
times almost across the channel, leaving
only sluiceway. This dams the water
and gives greater force, that is utilized in
the rollways in when the drive
begins. The logs, piled often dozen
deep or more, weigh the ice down to the
bottom; the water rises among the bot
tom tiers of logs and they freeze together.
There is danger in breaking in rollway,
lust as there is in breaking down skid
way. In both cases the work is done from
the front and bottom of the pile. In the
moving of frozen logs dynamite is often |
used. Cartridges are fastened to long
poles, the waterproof fuse is ignited and
The foreman thrusts the cartridge down |
through the water as well under the logs
Is his limited time will pernit.-Bay |
City (Nlich.) Cor. Chicago Herald.