36 HISTORY OF LUMBER INDUSTRY IN NEW YORK. 



While on the skidways the logs are measured, or " scaled, " as it is 

 termed, the "scaler" taking the diameter of each log inside the bark 

 at the top end and tallying it down in his book, after which a man 

 with a marking hammer stamps the logs on both ends with the owner's 

 mark. (PI. XI, fig. 2.) The scaler generally has an assistant, for logs 

 in large piles must be measured at both ends in order to determine 

 which is the top, the bod\^ of the log being out of sight. Crooked or 

 rotten logs are cut or "docked"' in measurement enough to offset the 

 defects. 



While the cutting and skidding is going on the jobber usually em- 

 ploys a portion of his crew building roads from the skidways to the 

 main road, which in turn leads to the lake or river bank where- the 

 logs are to be unloaded. A diagram of the roads on a big lumber job 

 would resemble a tree with subdividing branches, although a somewhat 

 crooked one, owing to the curves and windings of the ravines or de- 

 pressions down which the roads must go. This laying out of roads is 

 an important part of the work, for upon the skill and judgment exer- 

 cised much of the profit in the job depends. All necessary roads must 

 be built, but unnecessary ones must be avoided. The jobber must 

 exercise no little engineering skill in selecting a line that will reach all 

 his skidways and at the same time preserve a practicable grade. It 

 should be downhill all the way from the starting point, so that large 

 loads can be hauled, and yet not so steep as to shove a team over the 

 bank. Skill and experience are called for in the construction of side- 

 hill or dugway roads, in bridge building, and in corduroying swamps. 



The camps having been built, the bark peeled and ranked, and the 

 skidways piled high with logs (PI. XIII), upon the first deep snow the 

 hauling commences. The roads are sprinkled from a large water tank, 

 drawn on a sleigh, until a good ice bottom is formed, while on the 

 steep grades sand and gravel are thickly spread to retard the speed of 

 the loaded sleighs. Soon the landing or banking ground becomes a 

 scene of activity. Teams drive up in quick succession to be unloaded, 

 binding chains are unfastened by the unloaders, and the huge loads 

 roll off the sleighs with a bumping, thumping noise as the logs rebound 

 from the frozen earth. 



The teamsters vie with each other in the size of their loads; and 

 with the wide "bunks" now in use, iced roads, and heavy teams, a 

 pyramid of logs is rolled up on the sleigh at the skidways until the 

 driver, astride on the top log, is perched 10 feet or more above the 

 ground. (PI. XIV, fig. 2.) Some of the "champion" loads contain 

 from 5,000 to 6,000 feet, although smaller ones are the general rule. 

 A teamster is expected to make a specified number of trips each 

 day, according to the length of the haul, which varies in most jobs 

 from 1 to 4 miles, sometimes more. He must needs go to sleep early, 

 because he must be up long before da3 T light, feed his team, get his 



