Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1893-12-07

pulled, let down to the ground, and the
trucks are removed. Men have already
dug about the roots and inserted strong
chains under them. These chains are
carried up to the eye which depends
from the lower end of the screw by q
collar, and hooked. The great chain or
cable has already been wound on the
drum of the revolving nut, which Is
termed the 'bullwheel." When all Is
ready, the chain is unwound, the bull
wheel revolves, the screw rises, and the
stump comes out-unless something
breaks.
The unwinding of the chain may be &C.
complished by attaching to its free end
one or more strong teams, which are
driven away from the machine with much
straining of muscle on their part and
shouting and whip cracking on the part
of the driver, or a winding drum may be
used. This machine is anchored at some
distance from the frame and is operated
by lever, to which n team is attached
and driven in circle. The chain is
wound upon this drum as it revolves.
When the chain breaks, as it some
times does, some one is apt to be hurt.
That some one is generally the man who
tends the bullwheel. The strain on the
chain is really enormous, and its frac-
ture is followed by rapid revolutions
of the bullwheel in a reverse direction,
the broken end of the chain flying about
with each turn of the wheel. To be
struck by this loose end means a broken
leg or arm almost certainly, and some
times the bullwheel tender is killed out
right or so badly hurt that death ulti-
mately ensues.
The lever is much more generally used
than the bullwheel machine. Its essen
tial parts are long, strong lever formed
of n moderate sized tree trunk, divers
rods and chains and "A" shaped tim
Der constructions, technically known as
braces" These braces are of three
sizes. 4 big brace" is IS feet high, a
middle brace" ii and little brace" 6.
The stump to be pulled is treated in ad-
vance exactly as the one to be extracted
by bullwheel. \ brace is set over it,
the chains and rods are connected, a
team is attached to the free end of the
lever and started up, and the stump comes
out-that is, as before, if nothing breaks.
The sweeping end of the lever is sup
ported by heavy wheel, which moves
in the arc of circle. Near the other
end the lever is chained to stump,
which acts rs fulcrum, and is for the
time called the anchor" and the take
up rods" which connect with the brace
rods" are hooked into eyes, shown in the
| cut, first on one side of the fulcrum and
then on the other, so as to get a purchase
| with the backward as we'll as the forward
movement of the lever.
The men who tend or hook up the
takeup levers bear somewhat similar
relation to the operation of this machine
as the bullwheel tender does to the other
machine, and they are in about the same
| physical danger. The breaking of rod,
| hook or IL chain link under the great
strain is almost certain to result disas-
trously, and have seen a man hit by
broken rod thrown 20 feet away, to be
| picked up unconscious. In this particu-
| lar instance the man was not seriously
hurt, but his escape was regarded as al
most miraculous. Hardly season passes
with any stump gang" that some one is
not badly injured.
A stump gang usually consists of 1907
Is men. although the actual operation OF
either type of machine does not require
more than four or five. The contracting
stump puller usually engages to put the
stumps into fence as well as to extract
them, and this work and the making