The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-08-07
Foreman Says Drives Here
after Will Consist of
Four Foot Stuff
LOGS FLOATED DOWN
AS EARLY AS 1892
Have Passed Through Here Annually
Since 1869-Big Log Rats in Fifties
French Canadians Succeeded Maine
Rivermen in the Woods.

Tins year S log drive OF the Connect |
cut Valley Lumber company, which is
now passing through Brattleboro, may
be the last big drive. If reports are
true and they are founded on state
ments made by no less a person than
Mr.. Mcdonald, the boss of the drive,
there will be no big drive by the Con
necticut Valley Lumber company, which
is a Stone & Webster company corpora
ton, next year. After that the drives
will consist of "four-foot stuff for
the mills at Ryegate, Lancaster, Wild
er and Bellows Falls. 1t is understood
that contracts for the foor-foot sticks
have been given the lumber company
by the International Paper company
for the years 1917, 1918 and 1919. 1t
is not known what viii be done after
that.
1t is the idea of those in charge of
| the destinies of the International Paper
company in Bellows Falls and in other
towns to have the four-foot logs sent to
| the four towns named above and used
| At point near the Williams river it
| is expected that railroad accommodate
tons will be made so that the foor-
foot stuff may be loaded on cars and
1
| Falls n. Y, for use in the mills there.
| At present the Glens Falls mills are
| receiving their pulpwood from Canada
| by way of Lake Champaign and the
| Champlain canal. 1t is supposed that
| through shipping of freight there will
be a saving of money.
The great majority of the logmen
are French-Canadians. The old-fash-
toned Maine riverman has had his day
| and has been succeeded by these sons
of the northland. They are fearless
| carefree and not afraid Of work. Go
ing into the woods in the fall they re
| main there all winter. When the big
drive starts down the stream (this
year it came from Paul stream, a Cana,
dian branch of the Connectieut), only
| the men who have gained regulations
i as willing workers are taken along. The
others are given their pay and turn tC
other occupations until it is time to &C
into the woods again. The men Whc
have the work of taking the big drive
down the river to the mills at Mt
Tom, near Holyoke, Mass, are those
who viii stand the gaff. The log!
are made into lumber at Mt. Tom, the
waste going into pulp-wood at the pa
per mills.
This year many of the men have qui
since the drive left the woods and il
, their places all sorts of men have beer
taken in order to get the driv,
through. Forty three million feet ar,
in the drive of 1915. Last year TIT
! drive consisted of 65,00O,000 feet.
| The passing of the logs through
| here has been an annual happenin,
since about 1869. Many persons II
town remember the drives of that yea
and of those of 10, II and the late
years. Not in recent years has TIL
| water been so high as it is this year.
| But logs were sent through here pre-
vious to 1869 According to the histor.
of the town of Rockingham, written b.
| Town Clerk L. S. Hayes, rafting o.
| the Connecticut river has always bee
] an important part of the commerce o
: western New England. In chapter 2
of this interesting book we may Tea,
about the old time log RATS He says
'tThere is record of the floating 0
| logs down the river to be used 70
masts in the English navy as early a
1892. A few RATS of boards were mad
up and passed down the river fror
below Bellows Falls as early as 1875
but not many until the close Of tn
II French and Indian war in 1853.
| "fThe earliest navigators were tn
4 Indians, who with their bark canoes
Il or dug outs, passed up and down upo1
Il their warlike and murderous excursions
Il either upon other tribes or upon tn
II early settlers
II Again we read of the extensiv
U operation of log RATS. In the fiftie