| #14. River drive
Lumberjacks herded loose logs down rivers using pikes, poles, peaveys - a peavey was a long pole with a grabbing hook on it (refer to the picture on the cover of the book Early Loggers and the Sawmill)
Can you think of some dangers that might have faced the workers?
On their feet they wore shin high boots with steel caulks (pronounced corks) - the spikes in the these boots were like the claws of a cat
The lumberjacks rode the logs with great skill - they ran on them to spin and move them through the water
The first logs down would "grease" the stream - that means that they would fill the backwater bays and streams so that logs coming down behind would have a clear path
Some men rode the logs - even through rapids
"Jam busters" had to pry logs away from areas that became plugged
It wasn't uncommon for these workers to put in a 15 hour day - they took advantage of as much daylight as was available.
|
|
