The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1916-04-16
OFFICE AND BAGDAD COMPANY


train was in charge of Conductor H.
f. Webb. Fireman Walker Parker
vas acting IN the capacity of "stoker,"
while Flagman L. Fl. Webb acted as a
sort of Second In command" It
would be hard to find a crew more
capable of handling a train or one
possessing a greater desire to be
courteous in every particular. While
our train was waiting for a consid-
cradle time out on one of the long
spurs for a loader to round out some
work, / had a splendid opportunity to
secure some views which prize most
highly. Mr.. Simon walked with me
for quite a long distance and took the
views with apparently as much salts
faction as he expresses when he sees
his Munson barber shop filed to
standing room only" and every bar
Der on his Job. After spending sew
eral hours in most pleasant way
out in the woods, where we watched
the busy men going about their tasks
with clock-work accuracy, we re-
turned to Munson at 1870 p. m, and
ate sumptuous, though late dinner.
While out in the woods 1 met Mr..
Jack Davis, the genial loader fore
man, and his crew of five men. Then
we went over to the slddder and I
made the acquaintance Of Foreman
S. H. Lowery, j. E. Adams and a
crew of twenty-five other men. It
was while watching these men oper-
ate the big slidder with its many
long wire rope lines leading off for
], 900 feet in all directions and pulling
in the long logs that I got my first
sight of some of the most dangerous
work which engages mems minds or
hands these days. Strong mules, rid
den by stalwart negro youths trained
for the work, pull the long lines into
the woods and the line man "hooks"
them around the end of the heavy
logs. When the skidder has all its
lines out it presents an appearance
much like a mammoth grand daddy
long legs, each leg bringing in huge
log for 1000 feet and tearing down
everything that happens to be in the
1 way between the starting point and
the finish line along the railroad
track. 1t is not altogether an unheard-
of thing for some one of this crew tc
be brought on a stretcher fhto gen
eral headquarters, where Drs. Thames
and Enzor have to perform the I'm.
pleasant duty of relieving him of {
finger or two, an arm or q leg. How
ever, this is all considered as matter
of fact and a part of the dangers IN
cident to latter day logging.
! At the switch coming in we passed
the general railroad construction
crew of Foreman o. Haskell will
Engine 5 and several cars of road
building material. The construction
of tracks in this part of the countr!
as it is carried on at this time is n,
, child's play, but requires larg
. crew of men who really know all tina
, is to be known about track building
/ Such is the knowledge possessed b,
! Mr. Haskell and his men.
The american loader" in charg
of Conductor G. R. Smith and Engin
l eer B. F. Colbert, was doing servic
: out on one of the long spurs. Engin
6 pulls this crew from early morn til
!, dark six days in the week.
0 Mr.. J. F. Stewart "keeps tn
E block" Just above town and sees to
e that no trains get together on any Q
4 the various spurs which thread thi
f whole section of country for mile
y and miles.
e During the afternoon had tn
$ pleasure of riding out over man
D miles of the splendid graded road
: leading out of Munson. Or perhar
a it would be better to say it as Capital
s Childerson, editor of the Munso
t Times, has so aptly said it befor
e ''the roads leading into Munson." tn
3 automobile of the Bagdad Land an
h Lumber Company in charge of M
a Albert Wilson, than whom there
e not better chauffeur anywhere, Wa
r rendered for breezy drive. We wer
e north for several miles over grade
:. lroad that would do credit to any Sc
ton. At one of the company's tu
pentine plants in charge of Mr.. A.
Enzor we stopped long enough for
} chat and liquid refreshments of Il
light type. Then we returned ar
took a trip out toward Baker ov'
what is termed the Spanish Trail
This road is being graded by the Bal
dad Land & Lumber Company fro
the steel bridge across the Escamb
river at Chumuckla via Munson
Baker, distance of about thirt
miles. For mile and half out
Munson going east water oaks al
pecan trees have been closely set o.
by the company and protected by his
uniform framed protectors which az
beauty to the scene. When this ros
is completed it will give Pensaco
the trade from one of the best agl
cultural sections of the country WI
will desire to settle up the thousan
of acres of fertile cut-over lands no
ihaf1r~ -,111 %1,a r1I0xr,,, q,