In the beginning, double bladed axes, double buck saws and oxen were used to harvest the humungus old growth trees. Teams of up to 14 oxen dragged 4 or 5 logs over greased skid roads to the river. The bull puncher was the highest paid man on the crew.
The oxen were replaced by the more efficient "iron" donkey. My friend Cliff gives it a sense of scale. I wonder if the donkey pulled its self along when it needed to be moved, or did oxen move it?
A 1.25 inch cable ran from the donkey to the bull block atop the spar tree and then down to the felled logs. They were then pulled and piled near the spar tree awaiting transport to the mill.
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| The bull block, |
For moving logs to the mill, oxen were replaced by steam locomotives which in turn were replaced by trucks which could go were trains couldn't.
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| Note the hard rubber tires. |
An early German chain saw.
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| The homemade version. |
Early attempts to mechanize the crosscut saw failed, but lead to this dragsaw useful for bucking firewood for the donkey engine and camp wood.
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