The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1922-11-10
TIE INDUSTRY
IS HARD LIFE
Husky Swedes Armed With
Axes Fell Trees For
Railroad Use.

Thermopolis, Wyo.. Nov a.
Scores of muscular, bronz-faced "tie
hacks" are today heading for the
great tie camps along the Du Noir
Creeks, west of here and just south
OF Yellowstone Park, prepared for a
winter of isolation and more or less
hardship in the Telling of trees for
the millions OF railroad ties that next
spring they will drive" down the
rapid creek waters into the Big
Wind River to the terminus in Riv-
erton. Wyo.
The annual "tie drive" is a pic
turesque event, and the cutting and
taking to market of railroad ties has
become an industry OF trem ndous
proportions in Wyoming.
From October to early June the
hundreds of "tie hacks" mostly of
Scandinavian descent, work in the
below-zero WEATHER of the mountain
country, Telling the lodgepole pines
anu luftu lliAh AiNof
Wade in Chilled Water
Then. when the. me citing mountain
SHOWS have swelled the streams TO
almost freshet pitch, the ''tie hacks"
work. often waistdeep in cold water.
for many weeks driving" the ties
downstream.
The timber is cut far back in the
mountains. east OF the Continental
Divide, and is fashioned into rail-
road ties during the later winter and
early spring. The making Of ties is
not only laborious work, but calls
for a very high degree of skill with
the ak. The cite hack" first fells
the tree, making a low stump to avoid
waste and trims off the limbs with
"A double-bitted ak, scattering the
limbs over the ground so that they
will rot quickly. The log is then
fIattened on each side with a broad
ak and later is sawed into lengths Of
eight feet. Then the bark is peeled
off, and the ties are piled along roads
thru the woods leading down to the
waters Of the creeks.
The men, in woods n shirts, eordu-
roy trousers and heavily spiked boots
work thru the zero weather of the
mountain winter, much OF the time
in deep snow, making it necessary
frequently to shovel their way TO
the trees before Telling them.
The process of hauling them to the
banks of the creeks is highly inter-
esting. some OF the hacks" actual
ly hauling ties on their improvised
sleds, galloping wildly down steep
embankments ahead of their loads
and in imminent danger of being ov-
ertaken and crushed by the heavily
loaded, speeding sleds.
.Drives" In Spring
The low waters OF the creeks dur
ing the winter season allow the ties
to be piled across the streams from
bank to bank. and with the melting
of the SHOWS in the spring everything
is in readiness for the drive" down
stream,
AS soon as the water is deep
enough the breaking" crews start
with the pile of ties farthest down.
stream; the center piles go out with
a rush due to the backed-up water
behind them. and the crews continue
to work upstream until all the ties
have been started on the crests of
the creeks for their 100-mile jour
ney to Riverton.
Fight Log Jams
Jams occur constantly in the
course of the long drive" but men,
working in freezing water above
their hips, straighten out the tangled
masses, while others are stationed at
sharp bends in the creeks and along
deep canyons to keep the long line Of
ties moving to their destination. Oc-
casionally, however, 1t is necessary