October.
THE WEST SHOHE.
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I NO MILL AT TACOMA, W. T.
nt page, lhe purpose ol this is to prevent loss of logs by floating
When the boom is full, both ends are fastened together, thus
ning a huge raft, and by means of a tug it is towed to the mill,
lich may be many miles distant. These booms contain from 200,-
1 to 2,000,000 feet of lumber, and are towed from five to fifty miles,
"rom the chute, through the central portion of the tract selected to
pg trom, is constructed a skid road, upon which to haul the logs
the water's edge. This is made from twelve to fifteen feet wide,
i a continuation of small peeled logs six to eight inches in diam
br laid crosswise of the road from three to six feet apart, and firmly
Ibcdded in the earth so as not to be easily moved. These roads,
metimes, are many miles in length, and their construction is quite
expensive. Tributary to the main road are many short ones,
extending in every direction, so that all the available timber
in the region round about is secured.
The most important part in the active business of lumber
ing falls upon the axeman. To his judgment and skill in se
lecting the trees and carefully guiding their proud forms to
their earthly resting place, so that they will not be broken
up, nor inaccessible to sawyers and teamsters, the financial
success of the camp depends. It must be borne in mind that
every tree, no matter how erect and beautiful in appearance
to the casual observer, will not make good lumber. I'pon
many of the most faultless trunks to the uninitiated, will be
discovered by the keen-eyed axeman the scab or " konkous"
spot which invariably points to the worthlessncss within. A
lesson in life is here taught, that what is fair outside is not al
ways sound at the heart. After the tree is chosen, and me
direction in which to fall it determined, the chopper cuts a
narrow kerf into its side, into which he inserts a board about
eight inches wide, four feet long and one and a half inches
thick. Getting upon this he cuts another kerf higher up, into
which he inserts another board. In this way he climbs up
the tree from eight to twelve feet, where he proceeds to chop
it down. The reason for leaving so tall a stump is two-fold.
First, the large swell caused by the branching out of the
roots of 'the tree are avoided J and, second, it is much easier
chopping, not only because the wood is less tough, but for
the reason that the spring of the board gives added force to
the axeman's stroke. The ring of the woodsman's axe, as
the sound of each stroke reverberates through the grand old
woods, being ever and anon relieved by the deafening crash
of the towering monarch of the forest, forms enchanting mu
sic to those who take part in these scenes.
After the tree is down the sawyers take it in charge, and
with their keen cross-cut saws rapidly cut it into suitable
lengths, ranging from twenty to sixty feet generally. A good
idea of this is given by our illustration on the front page.
After the ends of the logs arc rounded oft" and one side di.
vested of its bark, so as to present the least possible obstruction
to sliding over the road, the teamster, with his half-a-dozen
or more "Bucks and Brights," "snakes" them one after
another into the main road. Here he hitches a number of
them together, and preceded by the oiler, who plentifully
strews the skids with fish oil, hauls, sometimes, a whole tree
to the chute at once.
The life of a lumberman is wild, rugged, venturesome, and
not unattended with danger. His life is one of exposure and
unremitting physical toil. He is generally sober and intelli
gent, his hospitality is proverbial, and his sympathy with one
in distress is as tender and gentle as a woman s. The casual
visitor of the camp, who can make himself " hail fellow, well
met," is always received with a right royal welcome by these
hardy toilers, and the liberty of their smoky cabins and rough
but substantia! fare is extended with the remark, H Pard, lit by
and take some of our rcg'lar beans. We live rough here, but
any feller that's one of the boys, and don't turn up his nose
at oacon, beans and cabbage, can stay as long as he likes,"
, . I . 1 . Ill I I 111 II
('111 mv. "i J jk jbSH
more than onc-quarUr of an inch in
sNSON.ACKERSOS 4 CO.'S WHARF, TACOMA, W. T. thicknesa.
THE STATE FAIR,
Although the annual exhibition of
the Oregon State Agricultural So
ciety proved a financial failure on ac
count of the disagreeable weather pre
vailing iluring that week, yet the gen
eral exhibit was finer thnn at any pre
vious fair ever held in Oregon. Es
pecially was this improvement notice
able in the grain, vegetable, fruit and
floral departments. The general ver
dict of newly arrived immigrants, is,
no other State in the Union can com
jK'tc with Oregon in those four depart
ment. TVcwIos thrie. the exhibit also
included some very fine articles of
manufacture and the usual number ot
pianos and organs, cattle, horses, swine,
goats sheep and poultry, all of which
have been reported and commented on
by the press of this Stutc. Our re
porter however observed the following
curiosities which no other journal has
yet reported : A Bee that didn't sting,
an Ort-goniun made of paper, a walk
ing "Blossom," a talking "Bloom," a
'Kerry" that couldn't float; a "Far
mer" who coiddn't plow; A "Turk" from
Ireland and an "Ireland" an American;
a "Hell" that could paint ; a "Star" that
didn't shine, and a "Moon" that gave
no light; a "Hall" that wasn't round;
a "Hatt" yiOU couldn't wear; "May" in
the middle of October; a "Miller" who
is a florist; a "Baker" who is a tailor;
a "Cooper" who is no cooper; a "Bar
ber" not a barber; a "Slater" not a
slater; a "Weaver" who is no weaver.
Then there was a "Newman" who is
old; a"Honeyman" not made of hon
ey; a "BlacUman" who is white; a
"Longfellow" who is short; a "Poor
man" who is rich, and a "Rich" who is
poor; a"Light"whoisdark; a"Long"
who is tall; a "Short" who is long; a
"Knight" who is not night. There
was a "Fountain" that don't play; a
"Brewer" that don't brew; "Cotton"
you can't spin ; "Wool" you can't
weave; "Pearls" you can't wear; "But
tons" you can't use; "Lamb" not to be
eaten ; "Porter" not to drink ; a "Wolfe"
walking around ; "Lyons" sitting down.
And there was a "Rose" without fra
grance; " uerrys without taste;
"Budds" without stems; "Figgs" with
out leaves; and "Wheat" without
flour; "Coffee" you couldn't drink; a
"Bean" not to be cooked ; an "Appel"
you couldn't eat; a green "Plumb;" an
uncut "Stone;" a "Hammer" without
nails, a "Carpenter" without a bench)
"Frost" in the sunshine"; "Snow" that
was warm; a "Branch" without a tree;
a "Limb" without a leaf; a "Tree"
without a root; a "Brown" that was
white; a "Blue" that was black ;"(Jray"
of no particular color; and "White,"
"Green" and "Red" of all colors. Then
I saw an "Eglc" without wings;
"Drakes" without feathers; "Cranes"
withhut bills; "Goslins" without down,
"Parrots" without claws. There were
"Hawks" that could sing and "Wrens"
that could not; "Birds" that could not
fly and "Rohbins" that would like to;
"Bohls" that were full; "Pitchers" that
were empty; a "Church" that could
talk; a "Chapel" that could walk; a
"Lake" that rould sleep; a"WeH"lht
could eat ; ;i "Salmon" that could dance ;
a "Pike" that could court. There was
a "Tubu" with legs; a "Barrel" with
arms; "Korn" without a kernel ; "Nuts"
made of iron ; "Green" dressed in grey,
and "Blue" that was black in white.
There was a "Locke" but no key: a
''King" hut no queen; a "Mate" but no
"pair;" a"Brusn"but nocomh. Again,
there was a "Fox" that bleeps in a bed,
and a "Hart" in a chair; and though
last but not least, there was "Water"
that was dry, and "Land" that was wet.
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