Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1921-04-06
IN THE REDWOODS.
Andrew p. Jordan Writes of Uum-
boring in California.

After returning from BOISE
| Idaho, we arrived at Boulder, Col,
the first of October and remained in
| Boulder four months. 1t was a
very fine winter there, only down to
zero once in that time, and only
| three small snow storms, the snow
being gone in three days.
| Feb. 20 we left Denver at 9.45 p.
m. Three days later l was picking
oranges in Los Angeles, and flowers
growing everywhere. When we
left Denver there was some snow on
| the ground, and it lasted we'll into
| New Mexico. In the southern part
of New Mexico the farmers were
blowing and the same in Arizona.
Our first stop-off was Los An
geles, where we spent a week. We
spent one day at the soldiers home
at Sawtelle, twelve miles from Los
Angeles. There are 1900 acres in
the park. It's beautiful place,
with palm trees in abundance.
There are 5000 soldiers there.
They can seat 1900 in their dining
room. There we're many large
buildings on the grounds, and sew
eral new buildings under con-
struction. / talked with several
old soldiers; the oldest was ninety
one.
We spent one day at Long Beach,
Cal, and saw people in bathing and
lying on the beach with only a bath
ing suit on. Long Beach is a very
pretty winter resort, with the
highest type of a midway" with
everything you would care to buy
or look at.
Our next trip was to Whittier and
Brea. Orange and lemon orchards
were in every direction. BY auto
mobile we made trip to the oil
wells. There were so many l could
not count them. l talked with
some of the men who worked there
A common laborer got IS day.
drill man got $40 per day. The
machinery runs 365 days each year,
day and night. That would be
good place for young man to To-
cate. 1t is twenty-five miles from
Los Angeles, with the finest climate
in the United States. Rents are
very high and scarce and many live
in tent the year around until they
can get house lot and build a
house. 1t costs about half as much
to build a house there as in the
East.
After leaving Brea, our next stop
was Stockton, Cal. We were there
week. 1t is city of 10000.
From Stockton we went to San
Francisco, arriving there March 4.
We stayed there only one day, bat
on our return we will stop in San
Francisco and Oakland several
weeks.
Having strong desire to see the
large trees of California, we came
here to Fort Brag, IT'S miles north
of San Francisco 1t is city of
5000 inhabitants. The only bust
ness here is numbering, but that is
all they need. There is plenty of
work and big pay, and no idle men.
l will give you description of the
numbering business as l saw it.
We got up party of four ladies
and four men and went up in the
woods fourteen miles from here
We went as far as we could Nby
automobile, and the rest of the
journey we rode on the logging
train which was going back light.
We rode to where the men were
CuIllllS dOW IL llC Sc IlCCS anu
loading them on fiat cars. The
trees are cut down by two men with
cross-cut saw, and then cut into diff
ferent lengths, from fifteen to
seventy-five feet. A donkey engine
hauls the logs to the cars by wire
cable and loads them on the cars.
Two trains of fifteen cars each
make two trips a day. Each car
will average 5000 feet of lumber.
They can unload fifteen cars at the
mill in seven minutes. Some of
the trees are $50 feet long; some of
the stumps | measured were four
teen feet across Some looked
much larger than that.
Six hundred men work in the
woods the year around. Wages
are from IS to IS per day and
board; regular hotel board After
the trees are cut, the men take the
bark off with an iron bar six feet
long sharpened at one end. The
bark is from two to eight inches
thick. All the logs that the mill
saw are hauled by railroad.
went through the mill with
guide and saw how they handled
the large logs. Band saws fourteen
inches wide, with teeth on both sides
of the band, cut when the carriage
went ahead, and again when it
came back. The band saws are
thirty-siX and fifty feet long. The
saws are sharpened with an emery
wheel by machine. They start the
machine. and stop it when the saws
are sharpened that is all there is
to it.
l saw in the mill fifteen young
girls working at the lighter part of
the work, wearing overalls and a
cap, and they go along the streets
the same way, not making any
change until they get to their
homes. They commenced mill work
at the time of the war, and they
make such good pay they did not
stop when the war ended Some
who work piece work have made as
high as SIS day. The sawdust is
dried and used for packing grapes.
A tree can be cut in one day, and
H. s,~