Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-02-13
MICHIGAN plNEkIES.
THE HARD AND DANGEROUS WORK
DONE BY THE LooeERs.

Nowhere ON the glnbe is the relation OF
horse aud man in the accomplishment of
great inrn and the production Of enor
uloils results so clearly seen as in the
numbering operations OF the north western
piaeries From the time when the first
log Is cut from the first fallen pine in
September until the last log is delivered
al he bankiug 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
loS liu with axes and cross cut saw
J he axes are tor the Incidental occasion
WHICH may arse for their use The saw
Is tile reai guilotine of the forest The
sawyers begin OH the standing tree op
posite ehe aforesaid notch and saw to
ward that If the tree leans that way it
wiz sometimes break through six inches
oil solid wood and swoop down with q
screech OF the sundering fbers that can
BIT heard long distance
The tree once down the leader Of the
gang thai fell II measures of the logs
ana tops it that is be trims up the
limbs where necessary and goes on to
notch anot her tree while the sawyers are
cutting the first into logs Then come
the swampers a gang of men and
horses who cut away the brush, roll one
end OF the log upon a drag and haul it
of TO the skidwsy where 1t is piled to
await being taken to the banking ground
The skidway is itself a rollway as the
banking ground Is II the logs are to be
loaded upon ears the skidway must be
built us high as the platform of the car
II upon sleighs then only high enough to
admit OF rolling them upon the hunks, or
bed of the sleigh But in either case
the piles of logs so gathered may be large,
and yet largest where they are completed
and left to be moved by sleighs | have
seen them piled in huge roof shaped
masses thirty and forty feet high Lying
thus snow collects in the interstices.
MEETS aud freezes until the pile has be
often found when the leaders approach it
to break down the pile and load it upon
the seighs
The work is often dangerous because
the logs are not taken from the top of the
pile but from its bottom Only the most
skllfui as well as powerful, cant hook
men make up the loading gangs have
seen gang break ont the bottom log of 8
skiaray that showed a perpendicular
trout OF thirty feet At its base in the
roadway stands the sleigh strong enough
to withstand the shock of a mountain s
fall the horses are unhitched and moved
away and ouly the men are in danger
foreman stands watchful over all, mer
pry and pull and strain together, moving
the resisting log only hairs BREADTH as
it seems SC cautious are they AS they
pull they watch the mass above them, anC
when at last It starts those men bound
away as if shot out of catapults, anC
down come the icy logs bounding with {
roar The sleigh is covered with them
and once in such fall saw a huge los
caught and held ON end on top of hal
loaded sleigh
Then comes the haul The roads arr
wide level and smooth and pair of thu
kingly horses trained to the work vii
haul a load of fourteen tons in "a day wheI
( the sleigh shoes do not stick to the snow
Such load peaked up into the air six fee
above the horses, with the teamste
astride of the top log talking familiarl,
to his Mig and Joe, OF some equally
domestic names by which his horses arr
known as they walk easily away will
the huge mass is sight that woult
make the boys-a and girls of the world wilC
with delighted establishment But Their,
is danger here, too A slight lurch side
ways will sometimes break a chail
binder and the load goes down.
All the banking ground, on clear COLI
winter day with the mercury 20 dogs
below zero the scene is unique This i
the only part of the work in which tn
horses cannot help The logs are rollet
out from the sleighs by the men 1t i
often hard work A green pine log tina
scales from 500 to 500 feet is heav,
thing to handle
RoIlways OF banking grounds are al
ways chosen at that point on stream o
lake where the height OF the bank and tn
depth of water will best facilitate pilin
logs in winter and floating them in spring
High bank and deep water are best. bu
the majority of roliways are on low bank
and shallow streams not from choice. bu
from necessity The logs are droppe
from sleighs OF cars upon the bank an
rolled of until the river is filled some
times almost across the channel, leavin
only a sluceway This dams the waite
and gives greater force that is utilized i
breaking the rollways in when the driv
begins The logs piled often a doze
deep or more weigh the ice down to tn
bottom the water rises among the bot
tom tiers of logs and they freeLS together
There is danger in breaking IN rollway
just as there is in breaking down a skid
way In both cases the work is done fror
the front and bottom OF the pile In tn
moving of frozen logs dynamite is ofte
used Cartridges are fastened to lon
poles the waterproof fuse is ignited an
the foreman thrusts the cartridge dow
through the water as well under the log
as his limited time will permit. -Ba
City Mich Cor Chicago Herald
Stocked with Chinese Pheasants.
Several years ago the Rod and Gu
cInb of Pnrtl land Ore mpOTfed a fe