@PopularMechanics _ March 2019 69At night, the riverjacks make camp alongside the river. After din-
ner, a big black cauldron is suspended over a roaring fire. This provides
hot water for bathing, shaving, and laundering. Boots are rinsed free
of sand and hung to dry atop the hickory handles of peaveys jabbed
into logs. When the boots shrink, it’s easy to fill them with hot water
before breakfast and pull them on—a kind of self-inflicted hot foot!
A “cat raft” (a Caterpillar tractor mounted on a raft) floats down-
stream in the wa ke of the main body of logs to help in “picking off ” or
“sacking” the rear—freeing logs that have become stuck or stranded.
In the rough upper country, as a general rule, logs are moved
by manpower, peavey, pike, and dynamite. “Cats” can’t be used
because timbered slopes come right down to the river’s edge and
at f lood crest tree trunks are below water. Downriver, nearer
civilization where the river is less turbulent, snorting cats on the
banks are used to unsnarl jams and free stranded logs.
A line pulled by the winch of a tractor on the riverbank is used to
straighten out wing jams and to snake logs away from bridge piers.
Larger cats with bulldozer attachments are used to push log jams out
into the river. They can operate in water almost up to the driver’s seat.
At the end of the drives, logs are stored in millponds until they
can be sorted according to species and mill schedule. The Clear-
water millpond of Potlatch Forests, for example, has a backwater
of 769 acres, which can easily handle the 50 million feet of a log
drive. Potlatch’s Clearwater sawmill at Lewiston, incidentally, is
the largest pine mill in the world.
Because they’re breath-taking, action-packed shows and a
colorful part of the American heritage, the Potlatch and Diamond
Match Co. log drives have become an important tourist attraction
in northern Idaho. Highways parallel the Priest River along part
of the 65 miles from Priest Lake to Pend Oreille River. You can
watch the Potlatch drive along the 40-mile stretch from Ahsahka
to Lewiston. During June 2, 3, and 4 this year, the Priest River
Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a “Log Drive Celebration,”
including displays of logging equipment and demonstrations of
birlers, saw yers, and axmen.
Log drives may be a vanishing art in most parts of the world—
but not in northern Idaho. Riverjacks are still riding logs down the
Clearwater and the Priest where the cry “She’s a-pullin’!” rings
across the turbulent white water.
- Other workers should
be twice as far [from the
person felling the tree]
as the height of the tree
that’s being felled. - Identify “hangers” and
“widow-makers”—
branches that may
dislodge and fall into the
work area from above. - Fuel the saw at least ten
feet away from ignition
sources. - The fuel container [should
not] exceed five gallons in
capacity. - Ensure electric chainsaws
are tested and certified
by a nationally recog-
nized testing laboratory.
Extension cords shall be
sized according to the
chainsaw manufacturer’s
instructions. - Start the saw on the
ground or another firm
support with the brake
engaged. - Keep both hands on
the handles and maintain
secure footing.- Do not cut directly
overhead. - Shut off or release throttle
prior to retreating. - Shut off or engage the
chain brake whenever
the saw is carried more
than 50 feet or across
hazardous terrain. - Higher-risk operations
may include: trees on
unstable ground or steep
slopes; trees with a heavy
lean; trees with stem or
root rot; trees known to
split; operating a chainsaw
above shoulder height or
above ground level, such
as from a ladder or tree. - Employers must pro-
vide...head protection,
such as a hard hat; hearing
protection sufficient to
reduce noise exposure to
90 decibels or less; eye/
face protection such as
safety glasses; appropriate
protective footwear per
OSHA standards; leg pro-
tection such as work pants
or chaps; work gloves; fall
protection as necessary.
- Do not cut directly
Logging may not be as dangerous now as it was in 1949,
but it’s still dangerous. In 2010, the most recent data
available, if you were a logger, you were 21 times more
likely to be killed than the average American. Most of us
probably won’t be running a flume anytime soon, so
instead, here are a selection of OSHA’s rules for operating
something more common to our backyards: a chainsaw.Football Dodge Dummy
Trains Ball Carrier
NOVEMBER 1935Health “Lighthouse” Peps Up
Workers inWar Plants
JUNE 1944MARCH
1966