Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-10-31
The Rivers, Lakes and
Wells Are Filled.
Conditions Favorable For Good
Winter In the Woods.
High Wages For Woodsmen...The
Process Of Making Roads.

The land is rocking with moisture
Th" swollen rivers, bounding streams
and bulgina lakes have reached q linn
II Unusual at this season of the year.
The wells OF tn" farms are We'll filled
or filled Wcll. No chance for the man
who likes 10 tell the story of how, when
ne Was 4 boy, TIL drought was so great
he W"$ obliged 10 drive his fathers
cows three miles for water and to ford
tive streams III doing, it, A drenching
rain at this season of the year-one
tina. washes the land and fills the
as the rain Of the past few days has
Gone, means better conditions next
spring. better conditions in the l1m-
Ger woods during the coming winter
and Better ice for next summer. The
light debris of the river shore will have
been packed down solid when the
streams close with ice and the water
be clearer ard pu1el rs a natural con-
sequence
The lumber operator likes to see the
stream" and lakes close well filled
with water. When the heavy frost
comes md The ice thickens. the swamps
are accessible 10 Il greater extent than
when The water is low or the ground
is dry under :, mound OF snow.
The old weather prophet says we are
gong to have heaps OF snow during
the coming winter. but that the ground
IS not going to close early. The real
snap Of the e&r-bittinS frost may come,
say these old prophets until well along
into December. but there will be cold
Wca :her sufficient to please the most
fastid!ous wood and coal merchant and
the stove dealer
Lumber operations on the Kennebec
river and its tributaries will be on
about the same scale as last winter.
Wages. however, are rather better
than for many years. This year the
man who 20 years ago received but $15
Ter month for his labor as a chopper,
SLED tender, sWamper or landing tender.
Will receive from $50 to $t5 per month.
One resident of Waterville who owns Il
pair OF good work horses has been Of
frrcf SO per month for himself and
team on a short haul road where the
camp is house and the howell q sta
Die. The offer includes the boarding of
bot! man and horses.
For two months the big operators
have had crews of choppers and saw
y%rS in the green timber yarding the
logs short distances to regular logging
roads and generally preparing to rush
the seasons cut to the landing as soon
as good shedding is to be secured. The
street sprinkler scheme is to be work
ed more than ever on logging and tote
roads this winter. Where before the
snow made the roads, IS the SHOWS
pile one storm on another and the
sleds pioYed along over and through
that snow, now. when few inches of
sno" comes ard the night is cold, q
bob sled With a water box attached and
this tapped in several places. will be
sent over the roads which have been
ltVe!led by sho"elers. The water
freezing will make the roads icy and
hard and as each storm and sprinl<ling
adds. more zee To the rOadhcd. il is plain
to he seen that when the soft weather
ot the latter portion of the winter
comes there Will be no Slumpng and
bare ground.
The aprnkling of the wood roads in
The past few winters has been the
means of saving many landings which
would otherwise have failed to attain
their intended dimensions and conse-
Gucntly the result has been very salts
factory ~ the lumber operators