Vintage Pictures Of The Old-School Lumberjacks Who Fell Giant Trees With Axes, 1890-1935

After the Canadian Pacific Railroad was completed in 1886, the lumber trade began in British Columbia; it made the utilization of the interior forest possible. It ushered in trade with the Prairie market, which lasted until 1913 and brought sufficient capital to the industry for the first time.

Before logging machines and machine chainsaws were invented, the people responsible for the felling of trees were known as Lumberjacks. They achieved this process by using hand tools such as axes and saws. Although the work was dangerous, stressful and involved living nomadic lifestyles, the camps were always filled. 

Lumberjacks were usually seen where vast forests were located and wherever there was a demand for wood, especially in Scandinavia, Canada, and some parts of the United States. Lumberjacks were mainly of Scandinavian ancestry, so wherever they migrated, they maintained the family culture. 

They often worked long and hard, working six days a week while living in really jam-packed shanties which smelled of sweat and smoke. However, strict rules were put in place to govern these lumber camps. Alcohol was prohibited in most centres, and majorly there was no talking while eating. 

They were fed heavily and richly loggers because of the nature of their job; they usually use up roughly 7,000 calories per day. This explains why they’re heavy feeders.

The lumberjacks divided themselves into various groups, such as the chaser, whistle punk and high climber. The whistle punk was to sound a whistle to signal the operator in charge of moving logs. As a good whistle punk, he was always to be alert as the safety of others depended on his swiftness in passing information. 

On the other hand, the high climbers, also known as tree toppers, made use of iron hooks and ropes to climb. They cut the branches of the tree as they went up, and after that, they pulled the branches to the open lands. 

Then the choker setters attached steel cables to felled logs to assist the yarders drag the log to the land; after that, the chokers were taken off the records. 

Notwithstanding the widespread feeling that the trees were felled by loggers, the cutting and picking up of trees were done by trained fellers and pickers. 

With time, modernized tools were invented, and the job of loggers gradually disappeared.