''Hand-Loggers" of British Columbia. 565 



a mile and even 3,000 feet have been made, though the average 

 distance logged in this manner is probably less than 1,000 feet. 

 The amount of timber cut by the hand-loggers is considerable. 

 A crew of two men will usually put in from 2 to 4 thousand board 

 feet of logs per day, or about ten "swifters" (each containing 

 from 35 to 50 thousand feet) in a season of eight months. In 

 exceptional cases 700 and even 800 thousand feet have been 

 boomed in a season, by the more capable crews. In 1907, when 

 this industry was at its height, there were about 1,000 hand- 

 loggers' licenses in force, and the cut of timber under this system 

 must have approximated 100,000,000 feet in that year, — a not 

 inconsiderable quantity. 



The logs are usually sold in the boom at the camp, and the pur- 

 chaser assumes the cost and risk of towing them down to Van- 

 couver or some other mill-site. They bring the hand-logger $5.00 

 and up per thousand board feet. In the highly prosperous days 

 of 1907, prices as high as $8.00 and $10.00 were paid. Thus, for 

 a season's work a crew of two men will normally receive from 

 about $1,500 to $3,500. If the log market is unusually dull the 

 more thrifty logger will hold over his cut for a season, towing 

 his logs for this purpose into fresh or brackish water in order 

 to protect them from the attack of teredoes, to which both the 

 fir and cedar are subject. 



It takes a capital of about $300 to start in this business. The 

 complete outfit consists of a saw for felling the trees, a saw for 

 bucking them into logs, axes, wedges, a sledge, a jack-screw 

 (which costs about v$45.oo), and a row boat. A certain amount 

 of "grub," mostly in the form of canned food, is necessary to 

 start with, though the hand-loggers draw a large part of their 

 subsistence from the forest and water. Venison, squirrels, ducks, 

 trout, salmon, rock cod and clams form a considerable part of the 

 bill of fare. A stove, cooking utensils, etc., make up the rest 

 of the outfit. Since there are practically no roads or trails in this 

 country, and since, furthermore, the operations are often con- 

 ducted on isolated islands, a boat is indispensable. Every outfit, 

 therefore, possesses at least one row-boat, while often each man 

 in the crew will have his own boat. In the last year or two some 

 of the wealthier and more ambitious loggers have obtained inex- 

 pensive gasoline launches. 



As soon as the tract to be logged is chosen and the required 



