Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1901-10-18
ameter or more, it would entail a seri-

ameter or more, it would entail seri-
Gus loss.
Following the sawyers comes the
swamper." His work consists in
clearing all brush, windfalls, etc, away
from the space lying between the tree
and the nearest skid-road. Sometimes
the services of team of horses are re.
qulred to haul the old logs out Of the
way. The swamper" is busy man,
and if so disposed, is always able to
find something to do.
Following the swamper" are the
barkers." Their number depends
largely upon the time of the year when
the cutting is being done. In the
spring, when the sap is running, and
the bark comes off easily, two or three
men are able to do the same amount
OF work which requires double that
number later in the season. The bark
OF the Douglar fir tree is sometimes
eight or 10 inches thick, making it inn
possible to drag the log along unless
the bark is at least stripped from the
side which lies next to the skids. The
barkers usually cut through the bark
along the top of the log with their
broad -bladed barking axes, then use
their barking irons to pry it off down
each side of the log. These barking
irons resemble nothing so much as a
steel crow bar, with one end ilattened
and bent little to facilitate the pry-
ing Off of the bark.
When the log is barked the "hook-
tender" is the next man to take it in
charge. He casts his eye along all
sides of the log and decides on which
side it will ride" most easily, after
which he "snips" or bevels the end Of
the log on that side which it is to
ride, in order to keep the log from
humping against a skid and throwing
it out of place. A log we'll sniped and
riding along easily on its proper side
is the proof Of a hook tenders" skill.
The " hook-tender" has charge of the
log until the team takes it away to the
skid-road, and in this connection the
. hand skidder" comes in.
The latter gets small skids, five or
six inches in diameter, and arranges
them along the path the log is to take
to the skid-road. The log being all
barked and sniped and the hand skids
arranged, the team comes along with
the wire rope and steel block. The
log is first rolled on its "riding side ;"
then the block and tackle are used
several times, depending on the dis
tance and the nature of the ground,
until it is dragged to the skid-road,
where the team bitches to it direct and
starts for the landing. Not the least
important workman in the logging
camp is the "greaser," who goes in
front of the log with pailful of grease
and stick with cloth on one end,
with which he swipes grease on every
skid, go that the log will slip over cas-
lily. On the return trip he follows the
team and sweeps off every skid, so that
the road will be clean for the next log.
From four to 10 horses are required
to haul the logs, depending upon the
size of the timber. The locomotive
also plays an important part, and it
winds its way in and out among the
stumps and valleys back to the land
ing for another load. The logs are
rolled from the cars on to the roadw way
down which they slide into the water
where they are arranged into RATS
with from 30 to so logs to each Sec
ton, then they are ready for the tug
to take them to market.
Such crew of men will put in dur
ing the entire season an average OF
about 40, 900 feet day. If the logger
wishes to increase his output he must
put in another crew, as each man in
crew has his particular work to do and
merely to increase the number Of men
in crew is to tighten the work OF
some particular one without increas-
ing the output. Such a division of
labor and apportionment of work as
described forms what is commonly
termed logging camp. In compar-
ing the old way or logging where oxen
we're used in place OF horses and also
in the place OF the railroad, it is evil
dent that steam and horses can do
more, and in less time, than oxen, and
it is only question of time when the
horse will join the OK and modern ma
chinery will supplant the one as it has
already done the other. The exit of
the steam locomotive is also prophesied
in the near furure and with it may 60
the feller," for it is within the
bounds OF possibility that the giants
OF the forest will be laid low by means
of a hot electric wire and silent mo-
tors will carry the logs to the waters
edge.
To the Eastern logger these meth
ods OF the West may seem strange, but
with a few exceptions, the methods OF
the Puget Sound country differ but
little from his when the size of the
timber is considered. One of the
noticeable features is that in Wash
ington, where the logs are two to ten
feet in diameter, one man saws them
up while in the Rast, where the logs
are from only half foot TO two feet
in diameter, it takes two men to run
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