WHEELED VEHICLES 187 



carrying capacity of from 5000 to 15,000 pounds. Spikes are 

 used on the back bolster to prevent the logs from sliding for- 

 ward when hauling in a hilly region. Steel axles are not as 

 popular as skeins, because of the difficulty of repairing them in 

 the camp blacksmith shop. 



Log wagon wheels are sometimes boxed with boards to keep 

 mud from accumulating on the spokes. The box is constructed 

 of rough boards nailed to the rims and closely fitted around the 

 hub. 



From two to five mules or horses, and from six to ten oxen 

 are generally used for draft purposes, although heavy wagons are 

 sometimes drawn by traction engines. 



Four-wheeled wagons range in weight from 1300 to 2000 pounds 

 and with cast skeins can be bought for from $115 to $175 each, 

 including whiffie trees, evener and neck yoke, or tongue chains 

 and stay chains. The bare wagon is offered by some firms for 

 from $100 to $110 each. 



In some parts of the Inland Empire very heavy log wagons 

 are employed for hauling from storage yards or skidways to the 

 logging railroad. 



Wagons used on an operation in Montana had standard height 

 wheels with 6-inch tires, bunks 6 feet long and 10 feet apart, 

 with outer ends fitted with sway bars for the attachment of 

 binding chains. The rear trucks were equipped with heavy hand 

 brakes operated by a man who traveled on foot behind the load. 

 From 2500 to 4000 feet, log scale, were loaded on the wagons by 

 gravity from elevated skidways at the terminal of a log slide. 



The road was one mile long and mostly downgrade, with some 

 pitches of 6 and 8 per cent. Four horses were used for draft 

 and each team averaged five round- trips per day between the 

 railroad and the log chute and handled from 15,000 to 18,000 

 feet, log scale. 



In the sugar pine region of Cahfornia very heavy 4-wheeled 

 trucks of twelve tons' capacity are used for log transportation 

 when a traction engine is employed for draft power. These 

 wagons have 54-inch solid or skeleton wheels, 20-inch tires, 

 a short coupling tongue, and are equipped with hand brakes and 



