Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-04-22
CUTTING MAHOGANY.
The Work of Handling a Giant Tree
in the Tropical Jungle.

While the camp is being made the
hunter" is off exploring. The precious
swietenia mahOgani does not grow in
! cIumpS and groves like our pine and
walnut, but each monarch stands alone
| IN solitary state amidst a dense growth
of other huge trees, its trunk concealed
by wild tangle of vines. orchids and
underbush, requiring the closest atten-
| ton OF the experienced woodsman to
detect it. In a tropical wilderness,
where the trees are so thick that one
can hardly force his way between
| them, the whole hung with an i'm
penetrable mass of verdure, as with a
curtain, their mingled tops a solid wall
| Which makes eternal twilight below,
| and every trunk twined round and
round with crepers-it is not an easy
matter to distinguish species The
hunter climbs the tallest trees that he
can find comparatively clear and from
its top his practiced eyes detect the
foliage Of the coveted mahogany. He
then counts the trees in line, notes
| carefully the direction, distance and
lofty observatory and proceeds to cut
and blaze trail to his find" This
done he marks the tree with his ma
| chete and returns to camp. Each man
IN company is assigned his particular
Work-some to fell the trees, others to
cut truckroads through the Jungle.
others to collect and haul the wood and
camp as soon as it is light enough to
| see-which in the TALL dense woods
means much later hour than in the
regions where the sun has a better
chance to show itself; and generally by
noon tree cutting for the day is fin
| lshed. All work is done by the task
system, which is said to be the only
way of handling native labor; that is,
one mans "stent' is to cut two trees.
| from to 10 feet in circumference:
two men are given three large trees to
bring down, or four men are detailed
to lay low some forest giant, perhaps
! twenty-five feet in circumference
To the tenderfoot that seems a task
impossible of accomplishment. Owing
to its enormous buttresses the trunk
cannot be cut near the ground so the
axmen are obliged to rig up a platform
! 10, Is, 20 or as many feet high as
the buttress extends These platforms
are called 'barbecues," though how that
word applies nobody but an English
man who prideS himself on correct use
OF the language can say. The bar
becue" is made Of slim poles, one ON
each side OF the tree, on supports, and
two other poles laid across them also,
| enc on each side of the tree The ak
men mount this platform, with one
| foot on each pole, two men to a tree,
on opposite sides, and rapidly fell the
tee 1t is a marvel how men can
| stand on these slender poles and chop
! down enormous trees; but they DO. it,
and quickly, too. In an incredibly
short time the stately monarch of CEN
| turtles totters and falls crashing its way
| through the crowds of smaller trees.
| The trunks and branches are then
squared, and are ready for transporta-
| ton. In telling a valuable tree every
| precaution is taken against breaking
or splitting it and thus spelling the
lumber This manner of cutting on a
platform seems very wasteful, as it
leaves in the stump an average Of 400
feet of the best part of the tree, so far
as beauty and grain is concerned-to
say nothing Of the gnarled and twisted
| roots, which bear the same proportion
ate additional value that our walnut
roots do to the rest of the tree but no
better way has yet been devised Three
hundred trees are considered a good
seasons work for one camp, each tree
yielding 1000 feet of timber, on
modest estimate of the average
When the mornings stent is COM
pleted, the men are free the rest OF
the day to hunt, fish, sleep or gamble,
to search on their own account for
India rubber, sarsaparilla and other
marketable products of the woods, or
to make canoes, paddles, bowls, ETC.,
from the mahogany stumps for their
own use or to sell when they return.
to the haunts Of man. The logs are
hauled to the camp at night, 50 as to
avoid the intense heat of the day.
Where the place is not TOO remote,
oxen do this part of the work