The Yale expositor., 1910-05-13

81 ~ lOuE IOlCSs lAlCob Va
Eva them of cedar. are purchased
81 " and used by the telegraph and
telephone companies of the
United States each year. The average
life of these poles is from twelve to
fourteen years.
Three sources of supply are open,
the white cedar from the northern
lake region, Idaho cedar from the
Rocky mountain country and red
cedar from the Pacific northwest.
Cedar is used because of its straight
growth, although In some regions red
wood, chestnut, fir and cypress are
employed.
The cedar is the most durable and
it is the preferred timber. The red
cedar grows to greater height than
the other varieties, and almost all the
extremely tall poles are from the
states of Washington and Oregon.
Twenty feet is the minimum height
for telephone poles.
The pole getting industry is dis
tinct from general numbering. 1t has
its own special crews and its own
special nomenclature. The sawlog
man is a lumberjack, the pole cutter
a cedar savage. The cutting is done
in the fall and winter months, and the
hauling season is from the early
freezing period till the spring thaws.
Cruisers pick out and mark the
timber that is to be cut, and a. COM
pass man runs the lines. After him
come the foreman and the crew that
lay out the camp and put up the
necessary buildings to house the men
and horses and store the supplies.
Then comes the roadmaking
Roads are laid out as nearly direct
as possible from the standing timber
to the landing place next the rail
road, allowing for grades and eleva-
tions. Trees are cut down close to
the ground and a smooth bottom is
prepared for the road, which is in
variably of ice. If snow precedes the
coming of the road gang ploughs are
utilized to get it out of the way and
give the frost chance at the ground,
often swampy in character.
a number of tank sleds that sprinkle
water on the roadway are kept run
ming in alteration with a machine
called rutter, which cuts deep ruts
in the ice road as it slowly forms.
When finished the road is composed
entirely of ice foot or so in thick.
ness, with six or eight-inch ruts on
each side. These ruts are made for
the purpose of furnishing a place for
the runners of the pole-laden sleds to
glide through and thus make hauling
an easy task.
Pole cutting is done usually by piece
work, but in order to prevent the
cedar savage from hunting out the
punches of timber most to his liking
the foreman causes the strip for each
pair of men to work in to be marked
off by line of blazes along the trees
He must confine his operations to
merchandise timber, avoiding the
crooked trees.
AS he goes he must make a path
through which the trees may be rolled
or slid down TO the road or so that
the horse and chain that snake them
thither may be able to work with
ease. This is insisted upon by his
boss. He must exercise skill In ma
king the cut trees fall In such q way
that they can be easily handled with
branches and tops removed.
Hauling begins as soon as the road
is completed and the cutters get q
sufficient supply stacked up ahead
The peeling is usually left until after
the winter rush Is over and the mer
are brought from the woods to the
yards. The bark is removed either
with a heavy draw knife or a by s
inch chisel with four or five-foot
handle called a spud.
The pole cutters are usually sup
piled with list showing the sizes de
sired. Long experience enables then
accurately to Judge the size of tree
at a glance. The smallest cuts are
seven feet tall and are sold for fence
posts. Longer sticks are used FOL
shed timber. All over 20 feet go into
the pole class. This practically in
sures the cutting of all the stands.
AS each pole is cut II is marked
with the cutters number and checked
up by a man whose task II Is TO keel
tab on the work. For detectives h,
gets no credit
Sometimes at the railroad LANDING
place, but usually In the assemblin,
yards. the poles are sorted according
to size and decked, which means
piled up. The greatest activity fol
lows the Christmas season, wheI
each crew is working at top speed q
keep ahead OF the next crew tina
handles the poles.
This top speed Is again reached a