Sawyers, Swampers, and Skidders, oh my!

Sorry again for the delay!  This time of year brings much maple syrup-ing in Northern Wisconsin!  20 pints and the sap is still flowing!




So I'd like to continue talking about the demanding and dangerous jobs of the loggers.  Last time I talked about all of the preparation that went into even getting the loggers out into the woods and today I'd like to talk about the men who did the actual work of cutting these giants down!
First and possibly most important was the walking boss.  He was the foreman's right hand man and was in charge of venturing out to find where the crew was going to cut then next stand of trees.
He was also in charge out in the woods so you wanted to make sure to stay on his good side.  The laws back then were much different than they are now.  If the walking boss didn't like the way you looked do you think he could fire you?  If you were from a country the walking boss didn't like could he fire you?  If you took too long to eat lunch could he fire you?  If you hurt yourself and couldn't work for a day or if you slowed down for a day could he fire you?
      The answer to all of these questions is yes.  Both the foreman and walking boss could fire anyone for any reason at any time.  This insured the men worked hard!

 After the walking boss decides where the crew is going to cut the trees the men go to work.  Now if you can imagine gathering five of your friends (4 if you're over 10 years old) and holding hands in a circle and stretching out as far as your arms would let you go.  This is as big around as the white pine trees were when they started cutting!


So the men in charge of actually cutting down the trees were called sawyers.  They had the job  that most of us think of when we think of logging.  They were only one part of the giant operation though!  They had the task of cutting down these enormous trees.  The thing I think is most amazing is that they did it without the modern tools we have today.  They used what is called a two man crosscut saw which means that each sawyer had a partner and they would move together throughout the forest to cut down the trees.


  

This saw depended on teamwork heavily.  Each sawyer would only PULL on the saw when it was his turn.  Pushing the saw to "help" out the other man would cause hiccups in the sawing and slow down the process, and with the walking boss watching at all times, that was the last thing you wanted to do!  Each end of the saw had a large wooden handle for the sawyer to hang on to.  They had to work together and even though there were two of them, it was hard work and very dangerous.  If a tree didn't fall where it was expected it could fall on someone, or themselves.  If they didn't cut on the same level on both sides the tree could jump as it was falling and easily kill someone.  It was not only hard work but dangerous too!  They were aware of the dangers and would yell out "TTIIIIMMMMBBBBEEEERRRRRRRR!"  when the tree was about to fall, telling those around them to be aware of their position in relation to the falling tree.  How about we all practice being a sawyer and say timber together....did you do it??


So the tree is on the ground, it's ready to be send to the mill right?  Wrong.  These trees were huge and moving them while they still had limbs was near impossible, so they were taken off by a group of men called the swampers.  They would go behind after the sawyers had cut the tree down and remove the limbs with a double bitted felling axe.

Now looking at their tool you can immediately see what danger they had to deal with.  Walking through the thick underbrush with a VERY sharp axe, cutting the limbs and branches off of giant trees; this surely led to missing toes and cut up legs!  Don't miss work though, the boss would have had you replaced in short time!
Not only did they have to remove the limbs from the trees but they were in charge of cutting a trail to the trees   for the sawyers and cutting the logs into 8-12 foot sections.  This made them more manageable for the men and horses to move.
After the logs are down and de-limbed they needed to be brought out to the road where the sleigh would come along to pick them up and bring them to the river.  This job was left up to the skidders.  These men were in charge of hooking a chain up to the log, attaching it to a harness on oxen in the early days and then horses in the later days, and leading the log out to the road.  Their tool was a large and heavy one called a cant hook.

The cant hook and peavy were very similar tools but the peavy has a point whereas the cant hook is dull at the end...


Being a part of the lumberjack community sounds fun on the outside but it was hard and dangerous work!  There was even more going on but we'll talk about that next time!

It's finally warm out and looking like it'll get warmer!  My lilies and iris are starting to poke through the soil looking for the warm sun.  I figure if they're hanging out in the sun we should all be too, so take it outside today!

The Minnesota Historical Society has great information and photos of logging in Minnesota.  Here's their link:
http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/fhc/logging.html




Here's some great spring coloring pages:
http://www.leehansen.com/coloring/Seasons/images/spring-poster-clr.gif
http://www.sherriallen.com/coloring/images/spring1.gif
http://www.myactivitymaker.com/ColoringBook/Spring.jpg










Crosscut saw photo:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/fspubs/04232822/fig01.jpg
Axe photo:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Double_bitted_felling_axe.jpg
Cant hook photo:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/fspubs/05232810/fig112.gif
Spring photo:
http://images.paraorkut.com/img/pics/images/i/its_spring-12372.gif