LOGGING IN THE DOUGLAS FIR REGION. 
125 
0kri£Cr/HG BLJiCt 
Fig. 38. — Block and fall outfit, Lidgerwood overhead system. 
Southeast. The original machine was invented by Horace V. But- 
ters, of Ludington, Mich., in 1883. It was a crude device, which used 
manila rope for skidding lines; improvements made from time to 
time have brought it 
to its present state of 
efficiency. 
The first Lidger- 
wood overhead skid- 
der on the Pacific 
coast was introduced 
in 1904. It was of 
the tree- rigged type 
and was the largest 
machine of this de- 
sign built up to that time, having 10 by 12 inch skidding and 9 by 
10 inch loading engines. While it did fairly satisfactory work from 
the beginning, several changes had to be made to adapt it to the 
new conditions. For the last 10 or 11 years it is said to have done 
satisfactory work. In 
1907 several 12 by 12 
inch overhead skidders 
were installed in the 
region. The following 
year a 12 by 12 inch 
skidder of a heavier 
type was introduced, 
and this is the type of 
machine that is now 
being used by a num- 
ber of operators. The 
manufacturers of the 
skidder are now build- 
ing a 13J by 16 inch 
tree-rigged machine, 
which they hope will 
successfully handle any 
log required by the 
conditions in this re- 
gion. During 1916 at 
least five coast opera- 
tors purchased steel- 
tower skidders. 
Machines. — The tree-rigged machine of the type that has been 
installed within the last few years is made up of two sets of double 
engines, one for skidding and one for loading. 
Fig. 39. 
HEAD SPAR 
-Main line extension, Lidgerwood overhead 
system. 
