The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1895-01-05
FEELING BIG REDWOOD TREES.

| fCIIiINS oIS hEOWO0O
Expert Judgment Required In Throwine G
the Huge California Giants.
One of the most remarkable tim.
Der belts in the world stands in Hum.
boldt and Mendocino counties of this
state, says California exchange. It
embraces 4.125 square miles, con.
tainil g 1s2, 600. 600, 900 feet Of timber.
With the aid Of the microscope scien.
fists have found the age Of some of
these trees to be nearly 5000 years.
Some Of the fallen trees have re-
mained where they fell from 300 to
1000 years, SO it is estimated, with
scarcely any deterioration Of the
wood. Eastern tourists in Califor-
mia know little Of these redwoods
(Sequoia sempervirens). They usual
ly see the few mammoth redwoods
Of Calaveras (Sequoia gigantea), and
go home and tell eastern friends
about this disappearing tribe Of
giants.
The lumber redwoods of Humboldt
are less talked about, yet one Of its
trees will yield over 10000 feet of
boards and fill freight train with
logs. Telling these trees, which are
$50 to ESQ feet high, is fine art &C.
quired only by the most expert chop
per. This man must have excellent
judgment as to the lean Of the tree
and its other peculiarities which may
affect the direction Of the fall. He
drives stake 100 or $50 feet from
the base of the tree and prepares a
level bed in direct line from base
to stake. On that line the tree must
fall. An ak kerf or cut is then made
in the trunk on the side the tree is to
fall. The apex of the obtuse trian.
gle made by this kerf points exactly
at the distant stake. The tree is cut
one-t third through with the ak.
On the other side of the tree, oppo
site the ak kerf, a saw is started
This is done by boring two holes hor
izontally and driving the wooden pins
on which the 12 to 20 foot saw rests
until the kerf is sufficiently deep to
steady the saw. Broad, thin iron
wedges are driven in after the saw to
prevent the doomed tree from pinch
ing it. At each end Of this saw "ears"
are bolted on, which can be removed
and saw withdrawn in case of trouble.
Wedges are made to follow the saw
until the wood dividing the saw from
the ak kerf is narrowed to a width
where the wedges can be made to
force the tree, with all its great
weight, to lean in the direction it is
to fall. The tree is toppled over, and
so exact is the choppers work and
calculation that almost invariably
the falling trunk drives the stake
aimed at when the operations were
begun. Any error in the fall of the
Uee is likely to cause the tree to
break and cost the lumberman more
than choppers wages for month
-S125.
The virgin forests are 30 densely
timbered that, if cleared at once,
there would not be room enough ON
the ground for the tree trunks. Peel
ers" follow the choppers. With long
steel bars, fattened on one end, they
pry off the thick bark and burn it.
Then comes the crosscut saw man,
who cuts the tree into logs. These
are transported to the mill by rail,
cut into boards and shipped to mar.
ket. Redwood is SO free from resin
GUS matter that it will not burn east
ly, and when fred it chars. The i'm
munity from fire of towns built Of
redwood lum beris remarkable. Large
confagrations are unknown. This
lumber shrinks so little it is used by
builders in green state. The beauty
Of the wood for finishing consists in
its curly face and also q birdseye
grain.