The Savage the Pig and the Dolbeer

[Humptulips]

I got nothin. How about another hint?

Well chaser comes from ground logging where on a long skid road the chaser followed the turn to the landing as in chased the turn. There would be a jerk line along the road and if the turn kicked out of the road someone had to be able to stop it so he would jump off and blow the stop with the whistle.
A PF man is another name for a chaser at the time and refers to the man riding the pig with the second word starting with f and seven letters long. Loggers have never been known for polite language more atuned to this forum.

 

[lfnh]

Well chaser comes from ground logging where on a long skid road the chaser followed the turn to the landing as in chased the turn. There would be a jerk line along the road and if the turn kicked out of the road someone had to be able to stop it so he would jump off and blow the stop with the whistle.
A PF man is another name for a chaser at the time and refers to the man riding the pig with the second word starting with f and seven letters long. Loggers have never been known for polite language more atuned to this forum.

Couple of times have run across the chaser referred to as frogger. just wondering if anyone else has ?

This was in reading some old books and forestry/timber journals around late 1800-early 1900.

 

[HILLBILLYREDNEC]

Logging and sailing have a lot in common. The early west coast logging was down by sailors to harvest ship mast poles. A lot of logging rigging can be traced to ship rigging of the pre 1850's sail ships.

 

[lfnh]

Rigging Sled

Couple of additional photographs.
Both are credited to Washington State University - Special Collections - Kinsey.

The first is a followup to the post of Dugout photographs (post 19).
The donkey engine is single drum Mainline and Haulback to the logs is by horse power.
This photograph clearly shows the horse hitched to the rigging sled. It'd be nice to see the hook or pin dogs on the sled, but still is a good picture.

Rigging Sled

The second is of a fast Washington Iron Works Yarder. The speed noted is just under 60 mph. So that gives new meaning to the term chaser. Paccity's photograph is on this scale.

The Flyer

 

[alleyoop]

that gmc is a 1918 nice pic paccty

:msp_rolleyes:

old gmc we have.View attachment 192633View attachment 192634

 

[paccity]

:msp_rolleyes:

welcome aboard alleyoop,i forgot the year in that. nice to have another nolagable person on this site. later bud.

 

[Humptulips]

Couple of additional photographs.
Both are credited to Washington State University - Special Collections - Kinsey.

The first is a followup to the post of Dugout photographs (post 19).
The donkey engine is single drum Mainline and Haulback to the logs is by horse power.
This photograph clearly shows the horse hitched to the rigging sled. It'd be nice to see the hook or pin dogs on the sled, but still is a good picture.

Rigging Sled

The second is of a fast Washington Iron Works Yarder. The speed noted is just under 60 mph. So that gives new meaning to the term chaser. Paccity's photograph is on this scale.

The Flyer

My Dad said he worked on a Washington Flyer for I think Schafer Bros prior to WWII. He said it was a big slackline machine with 2 inch skyline and 1 3/8 skidding line. I read in the days gone by column in our local paper of one being shipped south by barge from Raymond in the late 20s. It said it weighed 250 tons. He tells a story of yarding 4, 6 to 7 foot fir in one turn. Must have been a behemoth.

 

[lfnh]

Any of the names in the Flyer caption ring a bell ?

Thanks for the information on line sizes. Alot of these kinds of important things were not wriiten down many places.

 

[lfnh]

Another Rigging Sled

Another variation of the Rigging Sled that is slightly different than the others and a description of its use - kinda of - follows. The description is not for this particular photograph.

Credits as noted.

Credit


and a description of usage:

"In Its logging operations the appellant was rising two donkey engines, one, the yard donkey, to drag the logs from the place in the woods where they were felled to the main logging road or skidway, and the other, the road donkey, to drag them from the latter place to the milling plant of the appellant, where they were cut into lumber. These donkeys were stationary, and hauled the logs by means of steel cables long enough to extend from the engines to the location of the logs. The cable on the road engine was carried back by means of a second steel cable, called a "haul-back line," smaller in size than the logging cable, which was passed through a series of pulleys, fastened at intervals along the side of the logging road, to a point somewhat beyond the logs desired to be hauled, where it passed through a pulley called a "tail block," and was then fastened to the end of the logging cable. As the logging cable was drawn in toward the road donkey dragging its load of logs, the haul-back Hue was paid out, and was in turn hauled in when it was desired to haul the heavy cable back to the woods. It was the respondent's duty to hitch the logs to the heavy cable, follow them "to the dumping place, release them from the cable, and then follow the cable back for another load of logs. The chains and hooks used in hitching the logs to the cable were carried back to the woods by means of a sled fastened to the cable, and drawn back to the woods by the haul-back line. It was the respondent's custom to ride back on this sled. Just prior to the time of the accident a colaborer, working with' the yard donkey, acting under the direction of the appellant's foreman, without notice to the respondent, and without his knowledge, removed one of the pulleys near the tail block, letting the haul-back line drop on the ground. In dropping, the line caught on a projecting root, which held it in place while the main road line was being hauled back. It held in that position until the sled on which the respondent was riding reached a point near it, when it gave way, allowing the line to swing against the respondent with such force as to break one of his legs at the ankle."

Full Text and Credit

 

[lfnh]

Moving the Yarder and a Good Story

Impressive photograph of moving the Yarder. One of the previous references (Corbitt or Bryant - thinking it was Bryant) cited some numbers on the amount of time it would to take to move a distance over flat ground versus a grade depending on size (tonage) of the Engine.

Credits as given.

The Move


and a Story to boot.

 

[lfnh]

Couple of good photographs from Humboldt County, Cailfornia

Photograph from Humboldt County, CA of a Capstan Dolbeer Engine using manila Mainline. Dolbeer Engine is an early vertical rod drive. Mule is rigged with sawbuck saddle and likely carrying log hooks.

Long turn of Redwood on skid road. 10 ft dbh x 20 logs.

Credit for both photographs:
California State Library

 

[lfnh]

Building Skid Roads

Some photographs of building skid and pole roads.
Credits: Washington State University - Special Collections

Skid road 1900

Pole road 1921

First hand account of constructing a skid road. Also has good view of compound drive Donkey Engine on top of page 7. Skid Greaser is pictured sitting in front of turn with bucket and swab top of page 9.

Credit: Pacific County Historical Society and Museum

 

[CoolCat44]

Many thanks!

Fascinating pics and stories

Great!!! CoolCat44

 

[paccity]

you guy's that are interested in the old iron and logging history pm me for info on how you can be involved in the presurvation of said thing's.:msp_smile:

 

[lfnh]

Some more photographs of big logs, long turns on skid and pole roads showing transition from hook and pin to choker cables. Attempted to put these into sort of a related order.
Credits as sourced.

First a very short story on operating a first Donkey Engine

Willamette Donkey Sled sold by Hammond Lumber Co. Eureka, Cal.
Just in case you need to build one.

Inspection Day (you know who's running this show).
Frame similar to previous Drawing.
Mainline in, Backhaul out.

Snipped, pinned, and ready to haul.

Making up a turn with chokers.

End of the haul.

Long turn on Pole Road.Mainline out, Backhaul in.

Coupling Turns on Skid Road to next Donkey one mile distant.

18,500 feet of cable. Mainroad donkey engine on banks of Snoqualmie River.

Big four drum Donkey

A visitor

10,000 ft scaled haul on Capstan

Yarding crew loaded 93 cars at just under 1,000,000 ft scaled in 8 hrs.

Hauling boiler water by cans.

Washing up

 

[lfnh]

An autobiography

One person's life story from Appalachia to the Pacific North West running Donkeys and High Climbing. Simply told, but the descriptions of the work and travels are real. A long read, but worth it. Valsetz, Oregon mentioned.
Credit: As sourced.

Luck of the Seventh Son

 

[Joe46]

In the picture " end of the haul" , it was mentioned it was probably near Gettysburg, Wa. I knew it was near Port Angeles, and no longer existed. I won't go into the whole story, but there is tree farm near or on where the town was. It's for sale for 5.2 million If any one is interested. I'm willing to charge a very nominal fee for finding this for who ever has the money:msp_biggrin:

 

[2dogs]

I just found another pic of the working Dolbeer donkey engine.

 

[lfnh]

2dogs - Thanks for the photo. Nice to see an original Capstan Dolbeer in the flesh. Heck, it even has the swing fairlead complete with wear grooves and wood frame. Any chance you remember where the photo was taken and when ?

 

[2dogs]

2dogs - Thanks for the photo. Nice to see an original Capstan Dolbeer in the flesh. Heck, it even has the swing fairlead complete with wear grooves and wood frame. Any chance you remember where the photo was taken and when ?

That photo was taken by me at Sanborn Park in Saratoga. I forget the year but I think it was 2009. My son and I were helping with the Lucas Mill demo and skidding out a D-fir on blacktop! ( Don't ever skid a fir with a cable skidder on blacktop, esp with an operator who doesn't know how to lift the log.)The donkey is owned by Big Creek Lumber Co. They also show it sometimes at the Santa Cruz County Fair in September.

Northern California Society of American Foresters

Home | Big Creek Lumber

How's this for technique? Broken chokers anyone?