The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1893-02-01
MARK 1wAlN,s nla nAMEsAkR.
How q Piece of It was Secured for the
American Museum of Natural History.

In the fall of 1891, the American
Museum of Natural History of New
York City sent one of its staff, Mr.. S.
ID. Dill, to the Pacific coast iu order to
obtain there specimens of certain trees
which were needed to complete the
@Jessup Collection of North American
Forestry" Among the trees desired
was the big-tree, and am asked to
tell you about the one he procured.
After reaching San Francisco, Mr..
Dill was fortunate enough to meet
gentleman who owned a grove of big
trees at Sequoia Mills in Tulare Coun-
ty. This gentleman generously offered
to give the museum any tree in his
grove which Mr.. Dill might select.
There are two sawmiIls in Sequoia
Mills which each day during the sum-
mer season cut 130, 1000 feet of big-tfee
wood into boards, fence-posts, railway
ties, etc. These are sent to the nearest
railway station, distant sixty miles, by
means of "iume." The fume, or
trough, is wedge-shaped, with sides
about eighteen inches wide, and is
supplied with water by reservoirs.
After being cut into the proper lengths
the lumber is stored until it is partly
dried, and then it is placed in the
fiume and started on it's sixty-mile
float down the mountains, making the
entire journey in about twelve hours.
In some of the big-tree groves the
larger trees have received names; and
often small board bearing the name
is fastened to the trunk of the forest
giant.
The tree selected for the museum, oi
which at least portion of the trunk
was to be saved from the all-devourine
mill, was known as the mark Twain.
The "Mark Twain" was not the largest
tree remaining in the grove, but it wai
one of the most perfect. At the base
it was thirty feet in diameter, while
for $50 feet it's columnar trunk wal
unmarked by limb, and its topmos
branches were 800 feet above the
ground. 1t was estimated to contain
10000 feet of marketable lumber.
The ground where the tree was in
tended to lie was cleared of all opposing
obstacles in order that it might not bt
injured in its fall. Then staging
was erected on its trunk about twelve
feet from the ground, and mounting
this, two axmen commenced the attack
As their labors progressed the staginE
was lowered, and after chopping il
tree, it was removed to the oppositt
side, and the operation was repeated
The remaining portion of the trunl
was now small enough to admit of tn
use of double-handed saw, and afte
chopping out small section from tn
third side to serve as shoulder" o
hinge, for the tree in its fall, the say
was applied to the fourth side. Wedge
were driven in the opening made b.
the saw, and the tree was made to fal
in the desired direction. After thre
weeks of chopping and saving th
giant yielded, and with a roar whic
echoed throughout the hills, it fel
prostrate upon the long track prepares
to receive it.
1t was now the end of the lumbe
season, and before going down to tn
valleys for the winter, number of th
employees of the mill were photo
graphed on the trunk and also on tn
stump of the tree. Three tiers of me
were grouped one above the other o
the cut section of the trunk, Will
fifty-two formed a circle around th
outer edge of the stump.
But the museum did not want a
entire big-tree, and in order to obtai
the section desired two double-hande
saws, each thirteen feet in length
were joined by bracing, and sectio
four and half feet long was save
from the trunk just above the plac
where the axmen had commenced I
chop. This section is about twent
feet in diameter and weighs abol
thirty tons. To reduce it to portab
size it was split into several smalle
pieces. The lumbermen use dynamii
for this purpose, but on this occasio
iron wedges were employed. 1t ws
proposed to cart these specimens
the railway station at once and shi
them eastward to the museum, but
heavy fall of snow prevented their r.
moval, and it was necessary to wa
until the following spring.-Frarsk 4
Chapman, IN st. Nicholas.