In 1902, a remarkable photograph captured men posing atop a massive log raft along the Columbia River in Oregon. The raft was constructed from large, tree-length logs, all meticulously lashed together using enormous chains to create a floating platform. This incredible feat of engineering was typical of the lumber industry at the time, where logs were often transported down rivers for processing. The image showcases the scale and strength required to build such a raft, a testament to the hard work and ingenuity of the era.
According to the description on the back of the photo, the raft contained millions of feet of timber—an enormous amount of wood that represented a full year's worth of labor for the camp workers. The value of the raft, once completed, was estimated at $8,000, highlighting the profitability of the logging industry during this period. The Columbia River, with its swift currents and strategic location, served as a major route for transporting timber, and these massive log rafts were an essential part of the process.
probably made in the USA too
ReplyDeleteNo fat bodies there.
ReplyDeleteWas born early enough to remember log rafts in NH and Maine, miles of rafts would be waiting the saw mills, a large furniture industry grew up along the river banks, for decades there where logs which got hung up lining the river banks, some spots you could walk out and drop a line, as these patches of tangled up logs created ideal spots for native brook trout fishing.
ReplyDelete". The Columbia River, with its swift currents and strategic location, served as a major route for transporting timber,"
ReplyDeleteAnd does so to this day. I have visited the Weyerhaeuser along the river there. Quite an operation.
Reminds me of the movie "Sometimes A Great Notion", from the novel written by Ken Kesey.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, a great book and film. High adventure with the stubborn Stamper family.
DeleteThx, couldn't remember their surname. Back in 1991 I visited a couple that moved from Boone, NC to Eugene during the Downtown Eugene Festival. Two highlights - Kesey and his bus "Further" in thr parade, plus seeing the Delta House.
DeleteBig chain? I saw a bigger chain made of Gold around Mr. T's neck
ReplyDeleteIf it's real, how would the raft be steered around the many twists and turns that are found on rivers? Too long, too rigid, too heavy. Rafts need to be flexible don't they? Looks more like a treadway for a floating bridge.
ReplyDeleteI wondered that too/
DeleteLinear feet, board feet, or cobic feet?
ReplyDeleteBoard feet. In the West most everybody in the timber industry gets paid by the thousand board feet. Some loads of small logs get weighed, but it's still based on scale.
Deletethe pic looks like it was taken in the Canadian section of the river by looking at the trees on both sides of the river compared to the size of the river. When you get into the western side of WA/OR the river is easily 4-5 times that width.
ReplyDeletewhat the hell, no one else posted it:
ReplyDelete"that's what she said."
Something isn't quite right about that pic. It sits too high in the water for one. If they used those "boom chains" to lash them all together, where are the other ones besides those in the foreground?
ReplyDeleteI saw many log rafts as a kid, on many Oregon rivers. I never saw anything that looked like that. When I expanded it, it looks like it runs back into the trees on shore. The next lower set of logs doesn't appear to be in the water, either, and it appears to be somewhat concave, but only slightly.
ReplyDeleteBack in the summers of 1967 / 68 at the tender age of 17 / 18 I worked a summer job as a deckhand / cook on a 5 man costal tug based out of Vancouver. Our primary task was assembling log booms as we made our way through the inside passage between the mainland and Vancouver Island. It was not unusual to have these booms stretch over a mile in length with tens of thousands of board feet of lumber that had already been graded and measured and whose value already calculated by " scalers " of which my father was one. They were towed down to the Fraser River where they were fastened to pylons along the banks, disassembled in small batches and towed by small river tugs to the mills along the river. Part of my job was carrying toggle chains which could weigh up to 100 lbs. over the slippery and sometimes waterlogged logs, often by spotlight in the middle of the night ( time is money after all ) to lash the booms together through pre bored holes at either end of the booms. Falling in was a regular occurrence but god help you if you lost one of those expensive chains. That being said they were nowhere near the size of these pictured here. One bonus I'll never forget was meeting John Wayne at a floating gas station in Desolation Sound where he was refueling the converted minesweeper he owned when he used to come up in the summers for the salmon fishing.
ReplyDeleteAin't no DEI bullshit there.....
ReplyDelete