The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-08-30

first. after leaving the cultivated lands,
no water was visible upon the sur
face, but as the train proceeded
the ground became damp, then wet,
with small puddleS here and there ana
finally all wet, excepting Immediately
around the bases Of the larger trees,
where their roots had lifted small sec
tions Of the soil out Of the morass.
The underground was thick, ana SO
tangled that it seemed 1mpenetrable.
After entering upon one branch
and then another, all the time turning
TO the left, the small its bur-
den Of half a dozen passengers, besides
the engineer and reman came upon a
piece Of track that reminded one OF
the %torturous outlines Of a grapevine.
Somewhere at the end Of this In the
depth Of the forest was a skidding ma
chine, or ~"skidder," as the lumber men
call it, which is used to pull logs out
of the woods to the track, where they
may be loaded upon fat ears and taken
out. BY and by, after the engine and
cars had pulled and creaked along
slowly for some time, the position of
the "skidder" was revealed by clouds
of steam and the voices Of the loggers
became audible. Then around an alb
rupt curve the odd machine came into
view as 1t tugged away at a heavy log
some distance off to one side Of the
rack. A wire rop more thar 100
yards long and with a hook at it's free
end was hitched about the log and the
drum Of the ''skidder' was winding UP
the stout cord while the heavy piece
Of timber came smashing through the
underground. moving down brush and
breaking and crushing the sapplings. It
caught once or twice, but the loggers
speedily detached it and it soon dang
led from the end Of the train over a
pile of similar timber beside the rails,
and then dropped upon the heap.
There is something thrilling about see
ing one Of these big logs, pulled by
the rope, come tumbling through the
bushes and smaller timber as lightly
almost as il it were a to be
dropped careleSsly upon the big wood
pile. OF course the strain upon the
~"skidder' is tremendous and it is
guyed and anchored firmly, besides
having legs which reach to the ground
on either side Of the car that conveys
it wherever it's services are required.
Its final strength lies in a steam en-
CINE supplied by a vertical boiler. From
the woods, by means Of the tram road,
the logs are gotten out and sent to the
mills at Belhaven, where with band
saws and other improved machinery
working in harmony they are speedily
cut up into lumber for building and
other including the manu-
facture OF blocks for street paving, the
black gum wood being found suitable
for the latter purpose
Thus is the story Of the reclamation
and the transformation Of the rich re-
zion where the Wilkinsons were born.
Just as the Manufacturers Record,
The Washington Post and other publi-
cations have told the story SO is 1T told
again and again by every visitor. The
richness of the soil, the advantages of
the climate, the proximity Of the newly
opened farms to both rail and water
transportation and the fact that labor
is on the ground today will all appeal
to those who are far-sighted enough to
take advantage of the opportunity and
join in the work Of making that par
section famous the world over.