Log Marking

By A. H. SANFORD


N the article by Mr. Heintz and the
  present writer describing rafting
operations on the Black river, men-
tion was made of the fact that the
logs were marked while yet in the
woods.
  The system of marking logs as it
lingers in the memories of old ri-
ver men forms a most interesting
subject, and deserves to be record-
ed in permanent form. How essen-
tial this system was to the success-
ful carrying out of the logging and
rafting operations will be realized
when we remember that more than
a score of lumbermen, contractors
and mill owners were cutting tim-
ber in the Black river territory at
the same time, and that all of their
logs were thrown into the creeks
and streams that feed Black river.

  In the "drive" during the spring
it was inevitable  that  the  logs
should become mixed. Hence came
the necessity for the sorting opera-
tion  previously  described.  This
could not be carried on unless the
logs had been carefully marked.
  Returning now to the woods, let
us see the marking process in oper-
ation. The "swamper" cut the own-
er's "side mark" into the bark near
one end with his axe. Now, it was
often necessary for a mill company
or other operator to have several
side marks since his logs might be
"put in" during a certain season by
different contractors; or they might
come from different timber tracts
concerning which he might wish to
keep separate records. Again, since
logs have often "hung up" on shore
where they might stay for a season
or more, it was useful to have dif-


ferent marks to indicate the cuts of
different seasons.

  In the papers of Hon. George Gale
there are records of twenty-seven
side marks used by one Weston in
the 1850's. Probably this was Sam-
uel Weston, who came to this re-
gion from Maine in 1853.
  The "end marks" were not chang-
ed as were the side marks, but were
generally the same from year to
year. These were stamped on the
ends of the logs by one of the men
who worked at the skidway with
an instrument resembling a ham-
mer. Both heads of this implement
were square, and on them the des-
sign of the  mark   was raised. A
sharp blow with this marker set the
mark into the wood. The mark was
made three or four times     in as
many different positions so that it
was easily read, no matter that the
position of the log in the water.
  This process of end marking took
place when the logs were on the
skidways. It is said that on cold
mornings when the men were thus
engaged, the clear, sharp ring of
the hammer could be heard for long
distances.

  Through the co-operation of the
men who assisted the writer in com-
piling this article a number of log
marks have been recalled, and are
here reproduced.   The   individual
names given to many of the side
marks are interesting. It was in
these terms that the marks were
known by the loggers, drivers, sor-
ters, scalers and other river men.
The sorters, especially, must know
these marks on sight, and some
of them carried literally hundreds
of marks in their memories.