Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1906-02-10

TELEPHONES IN THE FOREST.


Jams In Streams Stopped aud Move-
ment OF Logs Facilitated.
Throughout the forests, from the st.
Johns to Vancouver, lumber camps be-
longing to the same interests are con-
nected by telephone wires and thence
to the saw mills or wood pulp works
at frontier towns, from which. says the
Electrical Review, communication can
be held even to the metropolis.
IL was formerly the custom OF each
lumber interest to maintain force OF
courlers, like the voyagers OF the Hud-
son Bay Company. and these hardy
men, with knapsack. would travel
twenty-five miles a day through the
wilderness. over rough forest paths
Now the mill calls each camp in turn
at stated hours and receives reports
and gives instructions to the foreman,
and II Is not necessary to dwell on the
commercial ADVANTAGES OF maintaining
such close touch between headquarters
and outposts In any enterprise. Let
tiers are read to men showed In the
forest fifty or 100 miles away and an
swers dictated by the lumbermen to a
stenographer who transcrlbes them to
the office and then mails them to their
homes.
The relative contentment among the
men which Is established by this fire.
quent communication is highly advan-
tageous to the working force. and
-. h.l,-
The applications OF the telephone to
the operations OF logging are alike
novel and useful. The lines are run
upon forest trees along the banks OF
rivers. and telephones which are con-
nected In shelterlng boxes are attached
to trees and connected to the line.
The bette nolr OF logging is the col
lectlng OF the logs together at some
narrow place in a turbulent stream and
pillng upon each other In Jam" to
which contributions are made by ev-
cry log floating down the river to this
spot.
The formation OF Jam results from
some obstacle and generally occurs
without warning and It requires great
labor, fraught with peril, to remove the
logs from their CONSTRUCTED position. 1t
is frequently necessary to use dynamite
and much lumber is destroyed by such
explosions.
With the use Of the telephone warn
ing OF the initial formation OF a jam
can be given by one OF the men patroll-
ing the banks, who telephones to the
men up the river to stop the further
flow OF logs at calm places termed
trips" and II is an easy matter to
break tho small jam, for which further
assistance can be had by summoning
men from points lower down the
stream.
As soon as the small jam is removed
the men above are told through the
telephone to release the logs held at
the trip. and the stream of logs is
resumed.
Under former conditions larger
number OF men were employed and
whom jam was begun ii was neces-
sary to send messengers from one to
three miles through the forest In vari.
Gus directions to direct the gangs to
stop the now OF logs and others to
summon help who are down the stream
to come up and break the jam, which
had, meanwhile. time 10 amplify, and
then. after the jam had been broken,
second messengers must be sent mp the
stream TO release the logs at the "trip. y
By the promptness OF telephone CON-
munics ton the rate OF sending logs
down the stream Is increased by the
avoidance OF delays.
Beyond this, the use OF the telephone
renders logdrivlng feasible on the
smaller rapid rough streams, where II
was formerly out OF the question.