Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-04-25
Pons-Devotsd to Literature Local and General News.
THE LAND.LOOKER's METHOD.
Every Man Has His Own Idea Of the
Way to Report.


Among the mostpicturesque figures
of every part Of the country in which
timber abounds are the timber-cruis-
ers, or land-lookers-men whose pro-
fession it is to inspect the standing
timber and report to their employers
the quantity and quality of the mar
ketable wood upon given tract Of
land. Their methods vary in differ
ent regions. In fact, each man has
his own method; but the successful
cruiser employs generally some such
system as that reported in the Out.
look as the work of veteran of the
Lake Superior country.
When the party had made theil
camp, the veteran went out to locate
the quarter section post from which
he was to make his start. The tract
was to be Cooked" by sections, and
each section by "forties." The post
for which he was looking was in the
middle of the south line of the first
section.
A short distance down the tote
road from the camp stood tree on
which was white, fairly recent
blaze, on which some one had pen
cilled, "140 PAGES west by south to
quarter section post"
Taking a compass from his pocket,
the old man turned into the woods,
and with an eye to the needle rap
idly paced off the required distance
west by south. 1t brought him to
fairly clear spot, on the edge of
which stood a very aged beech tree,
leaning toward the north, and having
the scar of an ancient blaze on the
sheltered side. The cedar post which
had once marked the corner was
gone, but this tree was one of the
two "witness trees" one each side
of the line, with which the original
government surveyors had marked
the place.
The next morning the veteran with
his line runner returned to the wit
ness tree to begin actual work. The
"forty" was, of course, a quarter or
a quarter section, and contained forty
acres.
The line runner, taking his start
from the witness tree, set out, COM
pass in hand, straight to the north,
pacing his distance rapidly but accu-
rately one hundred and twenty-five
PAGES, or, approximately, three hun
dred and thirty feet. Having gone
that far, he made a right angle, to
the westward, and, followed by the
timber cruiser, set out straight to the
west, still pacing his way, and going
three hundred and seventy-five PAGES
in line parallel with the south boun-
Diary of the forty, and about three
hundred and thirty feet from 1t.
Turning then straight to the north,
he paced two hundred and fifty PAGES
that way, and then, turning east
ward, paced three hundred and sew
enty-five. This brought him back
again to the east line, up which he
had started from the witness tree.
1t will be seen that, as the quarter
section was approximately five hun.
dred PAGES on a side, he had come
within three hundred and thirty feet
of every tree in it-a fact any one
who will draw map of it can verify.
Behind him all the way walked the
veteran cruiser. relieved of the bur-
den of finding his way, surveying in
tently the trees by which he passed,
and making notes of what the forty
would cut.
Twenty thousand feet of beech
forty-five thousand of maple, fifty
thousand of hemlock, seventeen thou
sand of birch, and one lone pine tree
were in the tract.
The next forty had corner run
ming down into swamp, and there
the cruiser found quantity of cedar
ties and posts and handful of tele'
graph poles, besides some fifty cords
of spruce and balsam wood pulp. The
third was all hardwood and ran heav'
lily to birch-a valuable forty.
Thus it went on through forty af'
ter forty. The cruiser went over q
dozen or more of them every day.
and their contents, estimated witt
acute judgment, went down in hii
note book, to be reported to the pros
pectiye buyer.