FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



January 



and turned straight up in the air. This 

 allows a chain which is wound about 

 the axletree to unwind one-quarter of 

 a turn, and as the tree is from 12 to 18 

 inches thick, the hook at the end of 

 this chain is lowered a corresponding 

 distance. The hook engages the chain 

 which encircles the logs, and the pole 

 is pulled down to its horizontal position 

 liy sending the team straight ahead, 

 hauling on a chain fastened to the upper 

 or forward end of the pole. This mo- 

 tion winds up the chain around the axle 

 and lifts the forward ends of the logs 

 clear of the ground. The axletree is 

 made eccentric, so that when the pole 

 has resumed its normal position the 

 weight of the logs hangs from the axis 

 of the wheels, and there is little ten- 

 dency to lift the neck yoke. The team 

 i then hitched to the pole, as usual, 

 .ind away goes the ponderous and un- 

 wieldy load to the skidway, harness 

 creaking as the horses strain at the 



collar, axles clucking to and fro in the 

 well-greased boxes, and pole vibrating 

 under sudden side strains from the par- 

 tial blocking of a wheel by a hillock or 

 a hollow 7 . The raised ends of the logs 

 swing beneath the axletree and the other 

 ends drag on the ground. Arrived at 

 the skidway, the load of logs is dropped 

 squarely across the skids at the end 

 away from the road by driving out a fid 

 which locks the chain around the logs. 

 The logs are rolled to the road end of 

 the skidway by hand and piled up layer 

 on layer, tw r o men working together 

 with cant-hooks or "peavies," which 

 multiply their pow r er sufficiently to en- 

 able them to roll one log upon another. 



So the work goes on until the skid- 

 way is full, unless the arrival of good 

 sledding opens the road to the river. 



After the first snow 7 comes and wheels 

 no longer work well, the logs are either 

 snaked in singly by the tongs method 

 (and this is by far the most common 



A BADGER RUTTER AT WORK. 



