Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-02-02
Ali Along the Road.

Ed. Register-Last week had oc-
casion to go down the road to make
| inquiries about the timber interests for
the government. A great many scien-
tific men think and say the day is not
far off when our forests will be all de-
stroyed. and there will be no timber
left for future generations.
Now, you know, that for the last
twenty-five or thirty years. there have
been mills cutting timber all along
each side of the railroad and shipping
lumber to all parts of the world. At
first they put up large mills and just
culled out the best and largest pines.
They thought pine was all the lumber
wanted at that time. AS soon as the
best and largest trees were cut, they
would move those large mills to new
and fresher fields. As soon as the big
mills were gone some man would put a
smaller mill right on the same spot.
When they had cut and culled few
years, in turn, would move, and SO on,
each man when he left thought he had
about cleared out all that was good for
anything. and SO it has gone on and on
up to the present time. And as pass
ed each mill saw the mills cutting to
their full capacity, and never in ali
my visits saw thessyards so full of logs
of all sorts and sizes; great piles OF
oak. pine and everything that would
make board or stick of timber for a
car frame. / saw immense piles OF
small white oak sticks of all lengths.
/ asked, ..What use do you make of
those little logs?" They said, .'hubs. y,
Those sticks are shipped to the wagon
factories and put into lathe and turn
ed into wagon-hubs. "What use do
you make of those great black oak
logs?" "They are for building rail-
road cars" They find that black oak
is just as good for inside work as white
oak. There is no species of tree but
they find use for now. Even sycamore |
and gum are used for furniture and to-
bacco boxes. What was for years |
to be of no value is now valu-
able timber.
saw at mos. every yard coal pitts
burning. When asked, ..What use do |
you make of the slabs now?" eve cut
them up into four foot lengths and
make charcoal of then" ..Where do
you sell the coal?" cit is sent to St.
Louis, for there are great many uses
for charcoal that stone coal does net
DO so well.' And when l looked at
The hills that were covered with snow.
which made good background, l
could see the hills covered with an i'm
nense growth of timber. Each tree
was made to show up against the snow.
lust to look a. the forests as you pass
along, it looked as though they had
never been touched. saw team after
cam of four horses or mules coming
rom every direction with logs piled
nigh on the wagons, five, six or seven
arge logs on a wagon. This winter
las been one of the best winters for
,imbering for years, the roads are hard
Ind dry and as smooth as possible.
How many million feet of lumber has
oeen cut and shipped from Hogan to
Piedmont would be hard to tell. Mills
It Hogan, a mill at Buford's, one at
,abula, one at Vulcan, one or two at
one or two at Des Arc and
lway back in the woods I don't know
low many, for all along the road you
zee great lumber yards with great piles
# lumber, where there is no mill, and
What change in the appearance of the
Everything look as if they
we're fixed for life. A kind of settled
lown look; good houses. stores, school
louses. churches and farms, which
ooked more like home. K
When / reached Piedmont I found
hey had one of the best new depots on
he road. After all the fires in that
own, they have put nice large brick
usiness houses. and everything looked
resh and new. and everybody seemed 8
. have plenty to do. Isaw the stores /
Iere doing good business. Piedmont t
as a large farming country laying b