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Letting tree trunks drift downriver Log driving is a means of moving logs (sawn tree trunks) from a forest to sawmills and pulp mills downstream utilizing the current of a river. It was the primary transport technique of the early logging industry in Europe and North America. History [edit] When the very first sawmills were established, they were normally little water-powered facilities situated near the source of lumber, which may be converted to grist mills after farming ended up being developed when the forests had actually been cleared.

In the more comprehensive, slower stretches of a river, the logs might be bound together into lumber rafts. In the smaller, wilder stretches of a river, rafts couldn't get through, so masses of private logs were driven down the river like substantial herds of cattle. "Log floating" in Sweden (timmerflottning) had begun by the 16th century, and 17th century in Finland (tukinuitto).

The log drive was one action in a larger process of lumber-making in remote locations. In an area with snowy winter seasons, the yearly procedure usually began in autumn when a little group of men transported tools upstream into the timbered location, chopped out a cleaning, and built crude structures for a logging camp.

There the logs were decked onto "rollways." In Check it Out when snow defrosted and water levels increased, the logs were rolled into the river, and the drive began. To ensure that logs wandered freely along the river, males called "log chauffeurs" or "river pigs" were needed to guide the logs. The chauffeurs normally divided into 2 groups.

They viewed the areas where logs were likely to jam, and when a jam started, tried to get to it rapidly and dislodge the essential logs prior to numerous logs accumulated. If they didn't, the river would keep overdoing more logs, forming a partial dam which might raise the water level.

When the jam crew saw a jam start, they rushed to it and attempted to break it up, utilizing peaveys and possibly dynamite. This task needed some understanding of physics, strong muscles, and extreme dexterity. The jam team was an exceedingly unsafe occupation, with the drivers standing on the moving logs and running from one to another.