The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1900-03-22
ICE ROADS OF THE WEST.
Con instructed for the Use of Lumber >leds
When Snow Fails.

When Snow Fails.
"We are getting along fairly well III
the woods hy making ice roads, said
Senator Buckman, "but we would
really like little snow, just rs a sort
of guarantee that we are really going
to have some winter" The senator
is cutting something like 40. 200, 900
feet OF logs III the Swan River district
in Minnesota this winter. He has up
ward of 800 men at work in his camps.
As his operations involve al eXpendi-
ture of $500 Il day, 1t may readily
be seen that the question of the
weather from day 10 day is one III
q passing interest.
in the u camps where my men
are now at work, > contiuued the sena-
tor, Il am rsing about 100 horses i'll
hauling water day and night to keep
the roads in condition. The water is
hanled in S0-barrel tanks mounted on
sleds, and an ar-"' cement of pipes di-
re Is the flow OF water i'll front of the
runners. OF course there was great
deal of preparatory work required.
The roads were laid ont and graded up
smooth in the fall, and wherever there
was brook OF pond convenient to
the roads pool was dug so that the
water might be loaded by the barrel
full. A tank is run mp to one OF
these pools, and au incline arranged
so that a barrel rugged like 4 huge
bucket may be raised and lowered
into the water, the lead team OF horses
furnishing the power. In this way it
doesn't take long to fill tank.
AS the ice forms the read is grad
ually raised, and we have rut-cutting
machine which cuts out he ice where
the runners of the log sleds run, and
throws it oIt nj the sides The roads
do not average more than four miles
in length to the landing places, and we
have been able to keep them in good
condition, but few warm days would
knock things out badly.
toned to such things how much team
can haul over these roads A thou
sand feet Of logs weighs roughly about
three tons. | had letter the other
day stating that they were now aver
aging about 5000 to the load. which
means 15 tons, but they expect to do
better I was talking with 4 lumber
man on the train, who told me that in
some of the camps they had adopted a
system known as trailing, hitching
three sleds one behind the other, and
were pulling them all with the same
horse power, loaded with S00a feet
each. This means "a, 900 feet, or -
tons to the trip.
81 remember an instance two or
three years ago when Judge Collins
was visiting in one of my camps, when
30, 900 feet. or 60 tons, was loaded on
one slel. They tell story of It man
who was hauling with two Of his own
teams and three hired teams. One
morning when they came ont to hitch
on TO the five loaded sleds, the drivers
of the hired teams struck for higher
wages and refused to make the trip TO
the landing. One of the other drivers
sugg sted that one of the extra sleds
be hitched on behind the one with
which he started. and the horses pulled
it OIL without any trouble Then the
other driver said he would try the
three remaining loads, and he got
away with them without difficulty.
The hired teams were allowed 20 go,
and the work was continued with the
owners two teams.
"The logs are loaded on sleds with
bunk" or bed il feet vide aud
piled up "a high in the air. They are
secured by chains aronnd the whole
mass. The outside bottom log on
one side is fastened to the sled with
a snort chain at each ccrper, which
goes around the logs and is caught
with a 'grab-hook' When the land
ing is reached these hooks are Knocked
ont with an axe. and this brings down
the whole pile.