Before chainsaws were invented, the
logging industry in the United States & Canada was a
seriously challenging occupation and we
are only talking about 125 years ago. In the Pacific
Northwest there were forests full of
monster trees and cutting them down was done by hand. A
friend sent me these photos and I had to
share them with you.
Look at the length of the two-man hand
saw and heavy duty axes above that they used to
drop these tremendous trees. It is almost inconceivable to think of
cutting down a tree
this size with a hand saw.
The work required very strong men (and
horses) working long days for minimal pay. Could
you imagine doing this to earn a
living?
After a tree was finally
felled, it took a week or more to cut it up into
sections that could be
managed (somehow) and transported by
train to a lumber yard.
Maneuvering the logs down the mountain
to the train was a complex job. I didn't do any research on this, but I would
be willing to bet that many men lost their lives doing this dangerous work.
One slip and a hunk of wood as big as a hotel is rolling your way! The other
question that begs an answer is how did they get those logs
up onto the flatbeds of that train?
Hollowed out logs became the company's
mobile office. Can you imagine stacking such logs to build a log
home?
Two courses would produce a 30' ceiling.
Maybe that's why it was easier to hollow out a tree.
A long time before anyone ever thought
of a mobile home or RV, hollowed out logs were also used to
house and feed the logging crews
We are accustomed to our modern
conveniences like electricity and gasoline powered chainsaws, and it is always
such a mind-boggling experience to see how such monumental tasks were
performed before these conveniences appeared on the scene. Remember that
the picture above shows a hollowed-out log made into a travel
trailer.
Share this with your
friends.
Even those who don't live in a log home will
enjoy this blast from the past!
These folks didn't sit at home waiting
for their welfare, unemployment and food stamps to arrive.
Once upon a time --- People
weren't afraid to work for a living -----------
Source: Internet