Humboldt County, CA History Transcribed by Kathy Sedler This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter. All persons donating to this site retain the rights to their own work. History of Humboldt County California - Historic Record Co., Los Angeles, 1915 CHAPTER XVII. History of the Lumber Industry. No history of Humboldt county would be truthful or at all complete without an exhaustive account of the great redwood forests and the lumber industry. Although the lure of gold first drew men to the wilds of this virgin region the lumbermen soon followed in, the wake of the pioneer gold-hunter, and it was not many years before brawny men and women from the Atlantic seaboard�men acquainted with the logging business�began to see how they could lay the foundation for many fortunes by following the vocation which they and their forefathers had followed in the East. Some of the early settlers were much impressed with the great silence of the magnificent forests of gigantic trees which stretched over a vast expanse of lowland and hill from the northern to the southern limits of the county. When men like Bret Harte first beheld these glorious forests they began to wonder how old they were. It was not many years before men of science told them that these trees had reached maturity long before the birth of Christ. They were old when Daniel was thrown into the pit, before Cicero was born�before Plato tried to solve the mystery of human life, before mighty Caesar ruled the earth. For more than sixty years white men have stood with uncovered heads in these ancient groves, and men of faith have looked toward the infinite. Everybody has always been impressed with the fact that California has no competitor in the redwood industry, for no other state has ever contained this monarch of all trees. Washington and Oregon may boast of their pines and firs, but the redwood belt ends at the Oregon line. It is a narrow belt, following the coast rather closely at broken intervals. The durability of redwood was testified to by the fact that the cabins built by Captain Grant in the '50s were in good order, though they had stood the storms of the years between 1852 and 1885, since which they were gradually torn down by relic hunters and others. The walls were solid and sound, while both doors and windows had perfect joints. Strangely, too, the shingles gave unimpeachable evidence of the great merit of redwood. They had neither rotted nor shrunk, and a number of them were on exhibition at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1892. The history of the manufacture of lumber in Humboldt, the stages of progress made from the first saw log to the present time, is a most interesting page in the record of progress and development of Humboldt county, but the general merits, the adaptability of this timber to supply the demands of commerce and of structural work, at once involve the question of the area covered�the entire belt�as an available source of supply. This can be estimated only approximately, for two reasons: The redwood, even where it is the sole occupant of the land, varies exceedingly in density; and, second, in many places it is intermingled with white fir, spruce and pine, in quantity sufficient to constitute nearly or quite one-quarter of the area and total stand in feet; that is to say, of the estimated acreage of original standing timber in Humboldt county 125,000 acres may be accepted as timber other than redwood. The same illustration will apply to the whole belt. Humboldt and Del Norte contain that portion of the belt which is held to be the best stand, clearest timber. George A. Kellogg, for many years secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, has made a careful study of the redwood industry and of the forests themselves. He has written many booklets and newspaper articles on this subject. From those articles the following facts and paragraphs, many of them in his own language, are gleaned: He calls attention to the fact that the most prominent and interesting physical feature of the land lies in her unparalleled forest of redwoods. Aside from their consideration as factors in the commercial and industrial world these forests fascinate every beholder. He who sees them in their primeval majesty for the first time is likely to gaze upon their gigantic trunks and towering spires in wonder and admiration that find no tongue. Nothing can be more awe-inspiring and impressive to the visiting stranger than to pause in the very heart of a dense forest, where the trees reach upward from two hundred to four hundred feet, completely shutting out the yellow shafts of light of even the brightest day, and casting twilight shadows among the boles and trunks of the giants. These scenes remind one of Emerson's description of a forest as having the light and softness of perpetual morning. Like the sequoia gigantea, these immense trees now stand as the most remarkable monuments of vegetable growth on earth�gigantic in size, symmetrical and straight as an arrow, firmly planted and strongly rooted. No wonder they impress the observer as the unmoved and changeless sentinels of the passing centuries, except that they grow larger, taller, and more grandly majestic as the centuries slip like shadows into the past. Almost from the initial settlement of Humboldt county in 1850, its magnificent redwood forests, reaching down to the very shores of Humboldt bay, indicated by the near conjunction of exhaustless timber and navigable waters what the principal industry of this favored region was to be. Hardly had the first settlements been effected until enterprising spirits began to convert the endless forests into marketable lumber, and never since that time has the long procession of white winged sailing vessels, or their successors, the steam schooners and the foreign tramp steamers, all laden with Humboldt redwood, ceased to dot the blue waters of the broad Pacific. Year in and year out this traffic has been maintained and increased, always holding sturdily its position as the main factor in the trade and commerce of Humboldt bay. And for many, many years to come will this pre-eminence be maintained. The beauty and majesty of these redwood forests have long impressed upon far-seeing people the great necessity of preserving a considerable tract of this timber as a public park for the benefit of future generations. And several efforts have been made along this line, but so far without successful result. At the present time a bill is pending before Congress which authorizes the appointment of a commission to visit Humboldt and investigate the necessity and advisability of securing some tract of these trees as a public reserve and park. And recently a large timber owner, Charles Willis Ward, now resident here, has initiated a plan to secure a tract of some fifteen thousand to twenty thousand acres, the plan being to obtain large subscriptions from wealthy and public-spirited citizens sufficient to cover a considerable portion of the cost, and then ask the government to make up the balance. It is sincerely to be hoped that one of these efforts, or a combination of the two of them, will bring about the desired result. The redwood forest in Humboldt extends in an irregular but compact belt from the southern to the northern boundary of the county, parallel to and near the coast, for a distance of about one hundred and eight miles. It varies in width from two or three miles to ten and even fifteen miles, averaging about five miles in width. Originally there were about 538,000 acres of this remarkable timber in Humboldt, of which some 458,000 acres are still standing. At the commonly accepted estimate of 100,000 feet of all timber products to the acre, there is still 45,800,000,000 feet of uncut redwood in Humboldt, sufficient to last for more than a century at the present rate of cutting. The stumpage value of this great timber belt is an immense present and future resource of this section. Twenty years ago this value ranged from fifty cents to $1 per thousand feet. Now the minimum price is $2 per thousand, and as high as $4, and even more, has been paid for tracts with especially favorable locations. And these prices will be steadily augmented as other available timber sources grow scarcer, and as the demand increases with the growth of population throughout the country. Applying the present minimum value of $2 per thousand feet to the forty-five billion feet of standing redwood and we find that this one resource of Humboldt county is now $90,000,000, and this value is constantly increasing. And it is safe; for redwood forests in their natural state will not burn. Being without resin, and protected by thick, non-inflammable bark, and with the constant condensation of moisture from the foggy atmosphere of Humboldt due to the thick and heavy stand of these great trees, it is impossible for fire to gain any headway, or to do any serious damage to these compact standing forests. Redwood has no pitch, and the acid in it seems to resist combustion. It is difficult to ignite, and a fire of it is easily extinguished. It strongly resists decay, the lower portions of the trunk especially, being the equal if not the superior of any known wood in this respect. No known land insect will prey upon it, and only the teredo, against which marine scourge no wood is proof, will injure it. Redwood shrinks but little in drying, and none at all after that. Neither will it, when once dry, swell to any extent on being wet. Its shrinkage lengthwise is, proportionately, much greater than across the grain. It is little affected by extremes of weather conditions, and so is especially adapted for patterns, mouldings, tanks, vats, flumes, house finishings, and railroad ties. Its color is a rich red, varying from that of light red cedar to the deepest mahogany. In general appearance and qualities it resembles red cedar more than any other wood. Quite a percentage of it is curly grained, and this variety is especially adapted for interior finishing in its natural color. The great size of the tree and its freedom from knots render it possible to get planks of almost any desired width without knot or flaw. Much of this lumber shipped to Australia and other foreign countries as "rough clear" is in great planks of pieces six or eight inches in thickness, and from twenty-four to thirty-six inches or more in width, absolutely clear. Redwood is soft in texture, and easy to work. This, taken in connection with the extra widths that may be had, and its weather enduring qualities, make it a most convenient and serviceable wood for building purposes. The manufacture of lumber in Humboldt began in 1850, but was at first confined to pine, spruce, and fir, as the great size and weight of redwood logs placed them beyond the primitive facilities of that early date to handle and saw. Nor were the good qualities of redwood as a lumber known to the pioneer lumbermen of that day, while they were familiar with the other woods mentioned. In 1855 the first cargo of redwood lumber was sawed and shipped to San Francisco. In 1862, the introduction of the circular saw gave additional impulse to this industry. In 1886 the band saw began to replace the circular saw, and its economy of timber and other advantages soon gave it the lead, and now all the mills in the county are fully outfitted with band saws, which, perfected by time and experience, seem now to be the acme of progress in this direction. In the beginning, the old-fashioned sash or muley saw mill would cut from 4,000 to 8,000 feet per clay. Now a single band saw mill is rated at from 60,000 to 80,000 feet per clay, while a double band mill, especially if provided with a band splitter, may produce from 200,000 to 240,000 feet of lumber per day. The eleven large mills now operating in the county are rated as having an aggregate capacity of 1,500,000 feet of lumber per day, or 450,000,000 feet in a working year of three hundred days. The improvement in methods and facilities in logging has fully kept pace with the advancement of the mills. Owing to the great size and weight of the trees and their thick stand on the ground, redwood logging offered many problems not met with in other woods, but these conditions have been met and conquered, and now redwood logging moves along smoothly and systematically, conducted by men who know how. In the beginning, the logs handled were small and comparatively light, and they were moved by means of oxen, on bob-sleds. Soon heavy trucks with solid wooden wheels replaced the sleds, but with oxen still as the motive power. In the early '70s the oxen were partially replaced by horse teams. About 1874, logging railways were introduced, and in 1882 the steam donkey began to be used to assemble the logs in the woods. Ten years later the heavy and powerful bull donkey came in. At first these were mostly stationary, but later on they were made removable, making changes of location readily practicable. And now the bull donkey and the logging railway have replaced all other forms of logging machinery and adjuncts, and the glory of the ox team and the horse team as essentials in redwood logging has passed away forever. One of the unique features of redwood logging still further illustrates the security of this timber from fire. After the trees are felled, freed from limbs and the bark peeled off, a fire is set and all the trash and underbrush burned off. These fires never penetrate the adjacent standing forest, and the logs on the ground are seldom appreciably injured. In no other commercial timber would this proceeding be possible. Prior to 1889 no attempt was made to record the output of the mills or the shipments of lumber from the county. But by figuring from the amount of land cut over during that period it is estimated that the total lumber production from 1885 to 1888, inclusive, was about 2,500,000,000 feet, of an approximate value of $40,000,000. Beginning with 1889 fairly accurate records have been kept of the shipments from the county, no attempt being made to include the amounts used within the county, although the amount so used is considerable, as practically every building and structure in the county is built in whole or in part of redwood. It should be remembered that the following figures include not only what is commonly known as "lumber," but also any and every form of manufactured timber, such as shingles, shakes, posts, bolts, ties, etc., that is capable of reduction to approximate lumber feet. The figures from 1889 to 1913, both inclusive, are as follows: YearFeetValue 1889120,545,800$2,296,135 1890161,455,0003,067,645 1891152,517,6132,897,834 1892166,855,2622,502,828 1893152,749,7132,222,610 1894111,751,2641,588,570 1895128,785,7091,795,410 1896100,460,5811,320,005 1897133,717,2781,778,085 1898128,291,2551,802,330 1899163,640,5902,336,000 1900162,635,5602,242,520 1901218,280,0603,148,060 1902221,595,4863,830,410 1903272,054,8604,816,600 1904274,054,8604,816,600 1905313,495,5605,632,300 1906360,671,0907,201,000 1907374,539,4007,702,205 1908300,804,5706,101,820 1909339,891,5006,093,000 1910368,527,7006,552,560 1911367,139,7206,505,460 1912415,925,4007,494,500 1913369,633,7666,820,800 Totals for twenty-five years, 1889 to 1913, 5,880;422,877 feet; value, $102,525,607. Totals for thirty-four years, 1855 to 1888, 2,500,000,000 feet; value, $40,000,000. Grand totals, fifty-nine years to 1914, 8,380,422,877 feet ; value, $142,525,607. The above figures seem stupendous when considered as the result of only one industry (although the principal one) of Humboldt county, for the fifty-nine years from 1855 to 1914. But when one reflects that less than one-sixth of the available redwood in this county has been cut and manufactured, the immense potentiality of the remaining timber resource may be in some measure realized. On this one industry alone Humboldt might live and thrive through the next century; for it is certain that for all that time to come the hum of the band saw or some improved machine, as it eats its way through the giant logs of the Sequoia Sempervirens, monarch of all commercial timbers, will make sweet music for the ears of the lumber manufacturers of fortunately endowed and happy Humboldt. Under the American development, so far as the authentic accounts give us history, the manufacture of lumber in Humboldt was commenced in 1850, but the manufacture of redwood for the lumber market did not commence until 1855. Those who engaged in the lumbering business were eastern men, from the Provinces, and from Maine, accustomed to the pine, spruce and fir of that region. They knew those and kindred varieties of timber, and their adaptability to the manufacture of lumber and construction work, but by reason of both the incapacity of the mills at that time to handle the large redwood logs, and lack of knowledge as to their adaptability for lumber manufacture, no redwood was manufactured or shipped from Humboldt till 1855. As a proof of this statement, it is only necessary to mention the fact that the first cargo of lumber was manufactured and shipped in 1851; it was sawed at the "Pappoose" mill, owned by Martin White, which had a capacity of about four thousand feet a day. From that initial cargo of lumber from Humboldt in 1851 to the summer of 1855, all the lumber manufactured and shipped from Humboldt bay was spruce, pine and fir. In the summer of 1855, the Muley mill (then operated by William Carson), by picking out the smaller logs, and not handling anything that exceeded five feet in diameter, got out a cargo of 200,000 feet of redwood lumber and shipped it to San Francisco on the brig Tigress. From that time on, the manufacture of redwood increased but slowly up to 1862, mainly on account of the incapacity of the sash and Muley saws to cut the huge logs. In 1862 the circular saw was introduced, when the manufacture of redwood gradually attained greater dimensions. As early as 1852 a commission was appointed, composed of Hon. James T. Ryan and W. H. Kingsbury on the part of the mill-owners, and William Carson on the part of the loggers, to adopt a standard of measurement for the scaling of logs. They decided that all logs twelve feet long and sixteen inches and up to and including thirty inches in diameter, should be measured by the Spaulding scale, and that all over that size should be measured by the Scribner scale. These provisions for log measurement applied to spruce, pine and fir only. There was never in the pioneer days, and is not now, any exact rule, method or scale by which to measure redwood, on account of the size, shape and peculiarities of the timber ; then as now it was scaled by a method made up of both the Spaulding and Scribner rules, combined with the judgment of the scaler. The logs for the first few years were cut where Eureka now stands and rolled into the bay and floated to the several mills. While Humboldt was not the first to manufacture redwood into lumber, yet, after 1862, when the circular saw came into use, it soon took and has always held a leading position as a source of redwood lumber for both the San Francisco market and the lower coast. Thus it is seen that in the last fifteen years the lumber cut has trebled in volume, and those in best position to know, hold that the outlook is favorable for a twenty-five per cent increase in production the present year, over that of 1903. From the crude methods in vogue in 1851, when the first sawlog was rolled into Humboldt bay, the successive stages of improvement in lumbering form an interesting chapter in the history of Humboldt's progress. The first logs handled were small, and were moved by means of ox teams on bob-sleds ; then heavy trucks with solid wooden wheels, bound with heavy iron bands, were employed for the longer distances. Thus the pioneer lumbermen worked, selecting such logs as they were able to handle with the means they had. The more notable improvements that have been made in the half century from 1852 to 1903 may be summed up briefly as follows: In 1862 the circular saw was introduced; this brought the need of surer, quicker means of getting logs to the mill; the steam locomotive and railroad were put in operation in 1874; 1882 the steam donkey ; 1886 the band saw, 1892 the bull-donkey. Each advance seemed to solve and settle the problem of the need of better methods, but each in turn has developed accentuated needs in other directions, and now when it would seem that perfection had been so nearly reached, we are at this date promised new methods as important as any that have preceded, in the electric saw for felling trees and sawing logs. Redwood is a soft timber, yet among the many varieties of timber that have come prominently to the front in construction work, it is safe to say that none has developed so many and excellent qualities, or such wide range of adaptability as the redwood of California. In classifying lumber cut from redwood lands into three classes, the proportion would be as follows: The first quality would average fifty-five per cent; second quality thirty per cent ; the refuse or third quality, fifteen per cent. Each one of these is often subdivided into several grades. The third class is divided into two or three grades, and is used extensively for doors, windows, panel-work, wainscoting and all construction in which short material can be used. The market for redwood at the present time covers a wide field besides the United States. Looking over the destinations of foreign shipments, one will find cargoes of redwood going to England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Sandwich Islands, Mexico and New South Wales. In the matter of testimony and proof as to the many merits of redwood, it would be impossible to give them all. A few are appended which have served to crystallize the minds of the people upon the facts as they exist. It is certain that no timber has been so much relied on, or so carelessly used, with such general good results. In the hurry and rush of the wonderful development of the western shore, redwood has been used in every need in structural work ; taken dripping with sap or water from the forest or pond, run through the saw mill, and hurried into place without a day's time in which to season, used for main timbers or for furnishing, it is only occasionally that a piece shows the effect of shrinkage upon becoming dry; and it takes paint and holds it equally well in any condition. One writer has put it that "San Francisco, a city of 400,000 inhabitants, with over three-fourths of its buildings sided and shingled with redwood, need not be ashamed to compare fire records with any city in the United States, whether built largely of brick or other materials," so slow is it to ignite, and easily extinguished when fired. Eureka, a. city built entirely of redwood, with the lumbering mills built all along its northern edge, thus subjecting the whole city to the fire risks from the line of mills during the northern trade winds, has never had a destructive conflagration, such as has visited every other California city once or more. All the Pacific coast railroads, use redwood ties on all their lines as far as the cost of transportation will allow. Their testimony is that redwood ties do not rot and are impervious to the attack of all insects by reason of the acid the wood contains. After reviewing the non-combustible qualities of redwood, Charles Towe, fire marshal of San Francisco, says: "I sincerely hope we shall never see other woods substituted for redwood; and I wish the proper authorities would throw the mantle of protection around our redwood, so as to prohibit its total destruction." George H. Tyson, general agent for the Pacific department of the German American Insurance Company of New York, writes : "From an intimate knowledge of the fires that have occurred on this coast during the last sixteen years, I can state without fear of contradiction, that as slow-burning wood, the California redwood has no equal. In the insurance business on this coast, it is a well-known fact that in our coast counties, where redwood is largely used for the construction of frame buildings, a much lower rate is charged than in the northwest district and mountain counties of California where other woods are exclusively used." W. H. Curtis, of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, says : "As indicating the great life of this timber against ordinary decay, I have pleasure in informing you that we have today left in sidetracks not very much used, some redwood ties which were put into service in 1855. On other parts of the line, we have in service many ties that were laid from twenty-five to thirty years ago. For the siding and roofing of cars, for the foundations, siding and roofing of buildings and for water tanks, this timber is the most durable of any that I know of, and when used for building purposes it has the valuable quality of not being easily set on fire, and when set on fire, it burns very slowly." H. J. Small, superintendent of motive power and the machinery department of the Southern Pacific Railroad, testifies to substantially the same facts. W. B. Storey, of the Santa Fe Railroad, concluding a letter of some length commending redwood for car work and railroad construction, says : "In conclusion, I would say that we consider it one of our most valuable woods in railroad construction, and I heartily recommend its use for all purposes as above described." It is interesting to note that many attempts were made in early days to extend the use of redwood into the commercial channels of the East. Owing to its softness it is barred from many uses common to pine and other competing lumber. During the last eight or ten years many efforts have been made to use redwood for railroad ties. These efforts have been partly successful, especially in Africa and Australia. Where large ants abound the railroad companies have long been hunting for a wood possessing durability and unattractive to the large ants. Reports from Africa indicate that, while the ants destroy the redwood in time, they eat it very slowly. In Australia the orders for redwood ties have been increasing rapidly during the last few years, and it is believed that it has proved distasteful to the ants of that country. Owing to the softness of the wood it is necessary to use flanges unless the sinker redwood�being heavier and tougher than the other�is used. It may be interesting to note the following facts concerning some of the uses to which redwood has been put. In 1897 B. F. Durphy, then of the Vance Redwood Company, selected and shipped to the New England Piano Company, in Boston, Mass., a cargo of redwood, and it was made up into piano cases and exhibited. It was a special exhibit at their salesroom on Washington street and attracted much interest and attention. It was placed side by side with the fine mahogany, rosewood, black walnut and ebony pianos, and was considered as fine, beautiful and desirable an instrument as any made. This test of the use of redwood for piano cases has been so completely successful and satisfactory that it has become very popular and in great demand for the fine finish of costly houses throughout New England. The well-known piano firm of Vose & Sons, in Boston, Mass., one of the largest piano firms in the United States, in 1898 ordered several carloads of redwood, to be worked up into piano cases. In the early history of piano manufacture, Mr. Vose had a thorough test made of all the different woods grown in the United States and in some foreign countries, and it was demonstrated and established beyond all question that redwood made the most perfect sounding board for pianos; besides, it had a great advantage in that it would not warp, twist or crack. In 1874 Abbott & Co., of Boston, Mass., large lumber dealers, loaded five million redwood shingles on one of their ships in San Francisco, and transported them to Boston. The next year these shingles were sold to the Fitchburg Railroad Company. This company had a large stockyard out at Uniontown, and had erected sheds for sheltering their stock. The roofs of these sheds were covered with a patent roofing, but on account of the flat pitch of the roof it proved unsatisfactory. The company had this patent roofing removed and a part of it replaced with redwood shingles. The other roofs were replaced with some shingles from New England and Michigan. Those replaced with the New England and Michigan shingles were completely worn out and decayed in 1897. In 1892 there were but a very few cedar shingles left on some of the roofs. In 1898 the redwood shingles that had been used on the other roofs were sound and all on the roof and in perfect condition, so far as their being warped and decayed is concerned; the only breaches being where the nails had rusted off and the wind had blown the shingles away. There was adjoining these sheds a large stock barn which was built five years later than the date the shingles were placed on the shed; this barn was shingled with New England shingles, as the railroad company could procure no more redwood shingles; the roof was very much steeper and the shingles should have lasted much longer than the shingles on the shed, but were completely decayed and the barn nearly bare of shingles in 1892. In 1890 the Fitchburg Railroad Company made inquiries of all the New England lumber dealers who would be likely to have redwood shingles, with the object of getting them for the purpose of reshingling these buildings, and they refused to accept any but redwood shingles. It is a common method in vogue among the lumber dealers in and around Boston to send their customers out to the old Union Stock Yards of the Fitchburg Railroad Company, to show them that there is no shingle known having the value and durability of the redwood shingle; and those shingles, used in 1874, are now the strongest argument they can and do use against other shingles and in favor of the redwood. William Roch, who was a director and the purchasing agent of the Santa Fe Railroad when it was first put in operation in the Central states, was the first purchasing agent of what is now the Santa Fe system in California. Mr. Roch purchased and shipped around the Horn from Boston a large quantity of machinery, cars, engines, railroad iron, etc., and on the return trip ladened the several vessels employed with redwood. He used a part of these cargoes to build his summer residence at the sea-shore in those earlier days. That residence at the sea-side is now one of the most perfect buildings there. It was built entirely of redwood lumber and redwood shingles; the doors and window frames are perfect, never having warped or twisted, and the shingles on the roofs are the same that were put on when it was built twenty years ago. They are in much better condition than those on many other fine residences built ten or fifteen years later. This residence in the far east is a monument of credit to the excellence and durability of redwood, and is continually referred to as proof of its many merits by lumber merchants. In 1899, after the loss of the Boston and Portland (Me.) steamship, the steamship company entered into a contract for the building of a magnificent steamer to take the place of the one lost, to run from Boston to Portland, Me. The steamer was to cost nearly $2,000,000, and there was great competition among lumber dealers to secure the order for furnishing the lumber. The matter was submitted to a board of architects, who examined all the woods to be used in the finishing work, both plain and ornamental, and the contract was awarded to Mr. Smith of the Bartlett Lumber Company, to furnish this finishing material, and the specifications called for redwood for this purpose. Among the statistics used in reaching this decision were important facts furnished by the late H. D. Bendixsen of Humboldt, in his report to the board of architects, who investigated the subject ; which report convinced the board of the superiority of redwood for inside finish for cabins, staterooms, etc. Another still more notable triumph for redwood in the various tests in fine and rich finishing work was presented at the World's Fair at Chicago, by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in 1892, built a magnificent train of passenger coaches to run from New York to Chicago. Immediately following this move, the New York Central ordered a richly finished train built, which was accounted a finer equipment. The Pennsylvania Railroad then ordered another splendidly finished and appointed train to best their competitors of the New York Central ; and again the New York Central followed suit by ordering another train to compete in magnificence and out-do the Pennsylvania Company in richness and beauty. Then the Pennsylvania Company, after considering the course pursued by their competitors carefully, went to George Pullman and explained the situation, and what they wanted, which was to have the finest passenger train in the world to run from New York to Chicago, and it was left entirely to him how, and of what materials it should be constructed�the only point insisted upon was that it should be the most completely equipped and magnificently appointed train in the world. Mr. Pullman drew a plan for a train of cars in which were included an observation car, library car, dining car, and several compartment sleeping cars. In the specifications for the work the material selected for all of the inside finish was redwood. When placed upon the road it was acknowledged then, and for a long time afterwards, to be the most magnificent and complete railroad train in the world. Other uses for redwood are almost past enumeration. It goes to the Argentine Republic and to the East India Islands, where the red ant is known to be so destructive to all other woods, which they perforate, eat and destroy, while the redwood remains wholly untouched. It is used for doors, window frames, etc., where the people are able to purchase it in these distant localities. Mr. Hearst, proprietor of the New York Journal, has finished his private office in the various qualities and different grains of redwood. The effects are beyond description. In 1898 a folding bedstead of redwood was made in San Francisco by one of the bankers there and sent to the ruler of Denmark as a present, and it was placed in his sleeping apartment for his personal use. Some time ago an order was received here from the Chicago Curtain Pole and Fixture Company for fifty car loads of lumber, being intended for ironing boards, cake-boards, screen-door frames, curtain poles, mouldings, picture frames, etc. The scientific wood expert of the New York Central Railroad Company, being instructed to make an exhaustive test of all woods available, and particularly of cypress and redwood, as to their value and adaptability for car-building, reported to H. Walter Webb, third vice-president and manager of the road, in favor of redwood for sheathing, siding and roofing, on account of its quality for holding paint, resisting fire, and that it does not warp or shrink, and is least subject to decay. At present and for four years past, the first architects in Boston have made it a rule to embrace in all specifications to contractors, in all cases where Oregon and Washington shingles are to be used, that such shingles shall be well soaked in water before putting in place, for the reason that if put on dry and ordinarily close together, when wet, they will swell, crowd and warp to such an extent as to draw the nails and seriously injure the roof. No such provision is made in regard to redwood shingles, as they are affected by the elements in only a very small degree. The superintendent of the Boston and Maine Railroad built himself a fine residence in Exeter, N. H., and after careful observation and examination of all woods available for that purpose, decided that nothing but redwood should go into its construction. In 1898 there were sent to Boston fifty doors made from redwood. These were placed on exhibition in the Mechanics Fair, after which they were given away�distributed among the various door manufacturers and dealers as samples. From this one practical advertisement, there are at present orders with one door company here for over one hundred thousand doors; this result coming directly from the free distribution of those fifty doors. It would be hard to conceive of a limit to the uses of redwood, or to the possible market for it, if systematic and united effort were made to place before the people of sections where it is unknown the practicable evidences and testimonies of its merits, which may be had by diligent inquiry. The possibility for the expansion of the trade has been greatly enhanced since the freight rates from Humboldt to points east of the Rocky mountains and the Mississippi have been decreased and systematized. At this time redwood shingles can be shipped from Humboldt bay to Chicago on a sixty cent rate and to New York and Boston via the Isthmus on a sixty-seven and a half cent rate, being the same rate allowed to other lumber districts. These reduced rates have made it possible for redwood to be used in the Eastern states, and thus bring a demonstration and comparison of its merits home to the people in the various localities, particularly its superiority over all other soft woods as a finishing material and as shingles. While the use of the higher grades of redwood is by these reasons increased in the various branches of construction work, increased use for the lower and poorer grades is also extending. Quite an amount is now being used by the asphalt manufacturers. Since the development of the oil wells the industry has brought into use large quantities of the poorer grades for barrel purposes. A popular make of lead pencils, "Dixon's Sequoia," proves that soft clear redwood is not surpassed by cedar or other woods for that purpose. For general or special purposes redwood is thirty-five to forty per cent cheaper than Oregon or Washington cedar or eastern pine. While among other woods the range of adaptability is narrow, redwood covers nearly every known use in construction work, for under ground or above ground work, for both inside and outside finish, for heavy work and light work, for durability or ornamentation. Wherever the possibilities of transportation place it in competition with other woods on equal ground, the redwood scores a success without fail; and now that transportation is placing this lumber on the eastern seaboard at figures that make its use in the construction of fine residences possible, it may be reckoned upon as certain that in the very near future the now worthless gigantic stumps will develop a value, and specially constructed mills will before long be erected to reduce them to merchantable building material, particularly for fine finishing work. Next in importance to redwood is the timber known as Oregon pine, a species of fir. It is found mixed with redwood in the eastern edge of the redwood belt, and beyond that occurs in large and compact bodies. Within the past couple of years, since all of the redwood lands have been taken, investors have turned their attention toward the pine, and already much of it has been located. Pennsylvania capitalists have just concluded a deal by which they have come into the possession of 127,000 acres of pine lands lying in the eastern portion of Humboldt and the western portion of Trinity county. They have made arrangements for the building of a railroad some sixty miles long into this tract, and have plans drawn for the erection of mills, one in the timber and another on the shores of this bay. Construction of the plant will begin this spring (1915), as soon as the weather will permit of the work being prosecuted to advantage. This will be the first operation of any consequence in the pine forests of Humboldt. Heretofore the only timber of that kind cut was for the ship-building yards, and was simply taken as it happened to be found with the redwoods. There are other bodies of pine being held for investors, and it is only a question of a short time before they will be sold and plants erected to convert them into lumber. Of the mixed timbered lands, three-fifths to three-quarters is oak of the various species. The gathering of tan bark has become an important industry, but in this business, under present conditions, there is an almost criminal waste of millions of feet of most valuable wood, for the tan bark oak makes an excellent furniture timber, and is particularly adapted to chair-making. Thousands of cords of this wood are stripped of the bark every season, and left to rot on the mountain side. The quality of tan bark found in this county is the very highest, partly explaining the fact that the leather made by the Devlin tannery took the highest award at the World's Fair and other expositions. Thousands of cords of tan bark have been shipped out of the county, and there are still many thousands of cords to be gathered. The exports of tan bark will be less in the future probably, as there is now being operated at Briceland, in the southern part of the county, a plant to extract the active principle from the bark and put it in the form of a solid, looking something like resin, but of a dark red color. The importance of this industry may be gauged by the fact that this plant cost over $25,000, and yet will draw upon only a comparatively small portion of the tan bark area of the county. The plant is owned by the Wagner Leather Company, of Stockton, Cal. The pepper wood, or California laurel, is a hard, beautiful wood, adapted to furniture and wooden ware, and is considerably used in mill and machine work. The black and white oaks are by no means devoid of merit, being strong, firm and durable, but have not as yet come into general use, mainly because their merits have not become known, and also because they are more difficult of access. Madrone will rank next to oak in quantity of acreage, though it never occurs in bodies, being scattered through the oak, or redwood, but mainly occupying the higher ground and crests of the ridges, as is also the case with the oaks. The madrone has a future before it as a furniture wood when there is need for it and manufacturers have learned to treat it successfully. When seasoned it is very hard and strong. The tree presents a beautiful appearance, giving a brilliant touch of color to the woods, with its bright red bark. No article concerning the manufacture of redwood would be complete without a statement of the wages paid those whose labor results in the finished product. The range is from $1 to as high as $10 per day, depending upon the class of work and the skill necessary to execute it. The lowest wage mentioned is for boys in the sash and door factories and the planing mills. Most of them, however, receive $1.50 per day. The wages of the men in the woods and in the mills varies from $2.50 to $10. Ordinary rough labor commands the former price; from that the gradations are according to the skill necessary, the top figure of course, being paid to the foremen of departments and superintendents. These figures include board, and it must be said that the table set for the laborers, both in the woods and at the mills, is far above that of other lumbering sections. The very best of food is furnished, and in great variety. In fact, visitors have often remarked, after partaking of the hospitality of the camps, that they had been better fed than at many first-class hotels.