The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-04-08
RIVER SLOWLY RISING
Drives From Lower Camps Will
Soon Begin.
READY FOR HIGH WATER
Twenty Million Feet of Logs on the
Bleckfoot This Year - Big
Jam in the River Above
Bonner.

,Mssouia, April THE river con-
tinues to rise gradually and is now
about foot above the low-water notch.
The lumbermen are watching the water
closely, and if the present conditions
prevail, it will not be long before the
drives from the lower camps will be-
gin. On the Blackfoot there are be-
tween 100000 and 100000 feet of
logs that will be sent down early.
Nearly as many more are at the land
inSs of the upper camps waiting for
stage of water high enough to bring
them down the stream to the mills at
Bonner. The Cunningham and Kilburn
camps are the lowest down stream and
their logs are all at the river ready for
the high water Their drives will be
the earliest and will be followed closely
by the others. Those in Deer Lodge
county, farther up the river. will be
later in getting down, as it will be some
time before they can be started. The
drive on this river will be an unusual
ly large one this spring and the at
traction of the big jam in the river
above Bonner. will probably be visited
next month by many interested spec
tators.
The mills up the canyon and down
the Occur d'Alene branch have their
logs nearly all in, ready for business.
John Purtle, John Lynch, Donlan
Brothers, e. Goughnour and the ST
Regis Lumber company will all have
large cuts this year. Their logs are all
hauled into the yards from the timber,
with few exceptions, and the milling
season will soon open with them. John
Purtle has probably the largest cut of
logs on the branch, his cut amounting
to a little more than 10000 feet. Up
the canyon, w. j. Kendall. McKeen &
McQuarre, Levi johnson and other
saw mill men are getting out a large
amount of lumber already. In this sec
ton the conditions have been very faV-
ora BILE for logging operations and the
loggers have had better success than in
other parts of this district, where the
snow has not been as heavy. The Black
foot country had good snow part of the
winter, but in the Bitter Root and down
the branch there has been a scarcity of
Sleighing all winter.
On the Bitter Root branch w. J. Zen
dali has a saw mill in operation at pres
ent and has purchased the Dunbar &
Johnson mill. of which he will take pos
session in a few weeks. McKeen &
Erickson have their mill in shape and
are turning out lumber again. OF the
operations in the upper Bitter Root, the
Western News has the following to say:
Logging on sleighs terminated a
couple of weeks ago and what camps
| that are doing any numbering are do
ing it on drays. Camp was the first to
| succumb to the chinook winds and
| warm rays of the sun, on account of
the soft places in the logging road
Foreman Dominick Mcclure has a crew
of 20 men and a few teams building
breakwaters on the Bitter Root
"A. w. Armstrong's camp hauled its
last dray load Saturday and a small
crew of Is men are now devoting their
time and energy to facilitate log drv-
ing on the Lost Horse. This camp will
continue the work of improving the riv-
err until the drives start and will take
the logs to the river.
Charles Veiteh, at camp 6. has a
crew of 20 men and few teams on a
dray haul to the river in anticipation
of the spring drives.
"A camp 4 John Stevens is working
80 men with teams enough for that
size crew, and is draying to the river
With the winding up of the spring drive
and when the roads are dry enough to
allow trucking, camps and will con-
tinue to haul until the second drive,
and possibly log all summer. When the
drives will start is a matter of conject-
ure, for if the prevailing cold nights
continue it will retard driving for weeks
to come
I'm summing up the winters work
of the A. c. M. Co. logging Department.
one familiar is amazed at the amount
of logs put in on such little snow A
short month only. favorable to success
full numbering, was the extent of the
good sleighng.
The harvest has been between 22,00O,-
900 and 25,000.0 600 feet, and all doubts
as to the mill being supplied for sea-
sons run have vanished"