22 TREES AND TREE-PLANTING. 
stumps, either of which, if struck, would have shivered 
it; there was less than a foot to spare on either side. 
All will at once understand that the point is to at once 
work up the timber without loss or delay and to the 
best advantage. A mistake made in lodging one of 
these huge fellows against another would entail hun- 
dreds of dollars in the expense and trouble of clearing 
away the débris. 
“Tn the older settled states there are few men left who 
could take their fathers’ places as ‘corner-men’ at a 
house-raising. Enough are left to bear witness to the 
wonderful efficiency of an axe when wielded by skilful 
hands. It requires more judgment to manage than does 
the handling of his weapon by a swordsman. This was 
made plain during the war of the Rebellion by the great 
superiority of lumbermen and Western men over others 
when it came to slashing timber for rifle-pits and road- 
making. 
“The mill machinery consists of one sash-saw, cutting 
logs eight feet in diameter (larger ones have to be 
slabbed), a circular-saw, edge-saws, and a planer for 
dressing and finishing. There are two cross-cut saws in 
the woods, following the axemen. Each saw is run by 
one man. 
“When we arrived, the logging-gang were hitched to 
a log which they dragged along the ground, sled-fashion, 
to the mill. Before hauling it the bark was peeled off 
and the end of the log slightly rounded. Buckets of 
water poured along the track made it slippery. Then, 
resting a few times by the way, the oxen ‘snaked’ the 
log, five feet in diameter, to the ways at the mill; with 
a slight purchase and a pull by steam it was rolled on a 
car and began to travel to the saw. There it was cut 
by the sash-saw into three huge slabs, which were left 
clamped together, then rolled over to the circular-saw, 
which could now manage the pieces. Every twenty 
seconds a huge plank was sliced off and sent to the 
