156 REDWOOD FORESTS OF THE PACIFIC COAST 



The felling is done in the winter, the season of rains, when the 

 ground is soft, and the trees are left lying on the ground until 

 late spring, when things have hecome drier, when the whole 

 thing is set on fire. This fire burns the brush and branches and 

 much of the bark, but does not injure the trees themselves, which 

 are still too wet to burn. Then the work of cutting up the trees 

 and getting the logs out begins. The trees are sawed b} 7 hand, 

 with whipsaws, into logs, generally 16 feet in length, although 

 greater lengths are not infrequent^ cut for special needs. The 

 big logs are split into halves and quarters for convenience in 

 handling and sawing. From the end of the railroad, for railroads 

 have taken the place of streams in the transportation of logs, a 

 road is built to the logged area. This may be merely a dirt road, 

 of hard, compact cla} T , kept wet and muddy by liberal applica- 

 tions of water, packed in bags on horses, or it may be a skid road, 

 paved with small logs, laid crosswise at short intervals, and like- 

 wise kept slippery. A force of 50 to 75 men is emplo} T ed, and 

 two donkey engines. The latter do all the work, taking the place 

 of oxen and mules, and to a great extent of men, in the labor of 

 moving logs about in the woods and dragging them down to the 

 railroad. 



The donkey engine in the woods is anchored by wire cables 

 to stumps, at a strategic point, so that in subsequent operations 

 it will move the log and not itself. Then a wire cable, attached 

 to a drum on the engine, is carried through pu]]e} 7 s to the log to 

 be moved, and is attached by hooks, so that by winding up the 

 cable on the drum the log is moved to the desired position- 

 Often much ingenuity is required for the proper placing of pul- 

 lej^s in order to produce the desired result, but in all cases the 

 machine, directed by experienced heads, does its work quickly 

 and effective^. It is extremely interesting to watch the varied 

 operations of a donkey engine in handling the logs and clearing 

 away the waste lumber and not the least interesting part of it 

 is the quickness and clear comprehension of the men. There 

 is no fuss or noise ; everything in the varied operations goes on 

 quietly and smoothly. If the foreman gives instructions they 

 are general ones, and in detail each man knows his part, recog- 

 nizes what he has to do, and when to do it. Soon a train of logs, 

 10 to 12 in number, is on the road chained together tandem ; 

 then the cable-donkey is called upon. This is a stationary en- 

 gine, located at the end of the railroad. From its drum goes a 

 wire cable along the road up to the slashings, just like the cable 



