A Lumber Camp of To-day 



burn? Not yet, and not all. They are cut into six-foot lengths 

 on the table, by saws that jump up in response to foot pressure. 

 Then they are ripped into 2 by 2 inch sticks and descend to the 

 lath mill on the lower floor. The fragments left behind follow two 

 paths. The bark and rotten stuff go by a shute to the bonfire. 

 The good wood fragments are dropped into a hopper — the cavern- 

 ous maw of "the hawg." An awful roar issues from this beast's 

 throat whenever it is fed. It is the noise of grinding wood into 

 sawdust. A stream of it flows to the furnace room, where it 

 accumulates above two doors that open into the fire boxes. 

 Tilting the lid lets this light fuel slide into the fire. A man lies 

 on the hot sawdust here operating the two circular lids and so 

 regulating the heating of the engines. His is the vision of Dante 

 all day long. 



In summer hemlock logs cut near the main stream are piled 

 into it. The freshets bring them down in spring to the mills. 

 The streams are but brooks up where the pine stands, and the 

 railroad, which follows the camp of the "fallers," carries logs 

 to mill without delay and without the inevitable deterioration 

 that water transportation involves. 



There is no atmosphere of hurry in the woods nor about the 

 mills. The hum of industry is heard from seven o'clock until 

 six. Then the night watchmen go on duty, and the day men 

 enjoy the library and reading room above the main office, or 

 talk things over in the store or barber shop, or go home to rest for 

 the next day's work. No liquor is sold in the place, and a case 

 of drunkenness means a workman's discharge. Each day's 

 work is the quiet filling of orders from the mill or the yards. 

 Supply and demand are at proper tension and prices keep strong. 

 Big timbers for bridge work are a paying specialty. Fair treat- 

 men and good wages keep a good class of workers in permanent 

 employ, and it is the boast of the company that it has never had 

 a strike. 



469 



