Historic Hood River
Land Clearing, 1916
5-14-2015
Notes
We know the year (1916) and the title (Land Clearing) but nothing else, so the image will need to speak for itself.
The History Museum of Hood River County
Bringing the Rich History of Hood River County to Life
Buzz
Interesting mechanical contraption. Completely foreign to me, and would appreciate any enlightenment.
Kate
Buzz: That contraption the man is holding – It’s a saw… to cut wood… 🙂
Kate
It the man sitting in front of a High Lead?
Arthur
It turns out we have another picture with that same seated man and the same contraption from another angle. It is labeled "horse operated stump puller." Those must be very smart horses!
Buzz
Interesting what those old-timers dreamed up. Don’t understand how it worked, but it appears to use 2 or more blocks to get more leverage. The young guys with the axes must have dug down around the stump and cut off most of the roots first.
Jill
These could be the men that cleared my grandfathers land – he wrote about the stump pullers as well as using dynamite. It was right about this time.
nels
Wikipedia actually lists "horse drawn stump puller" with pictures and some for sale! Still don’t see how it works, but evidently a single stump in the middle of each field is somehow crucial.
Dale Nicol
The stump in the middle of the field is the "anchor" for the cable that the main block is connected to….the other block is chained to the stump to be removed and the two horses provide the power to pull the tackle line that is around the sheave blocks…..single line, block and tackle with multiple purchase. Simple and effective design.
Buzz
Figured it was something like that. Have used similar lashups to pull heavy equipment out of the tundra when it got stuck.
Lesa
Name’s for the above saw, was a two-man cross-cut, cross-buck, or whip saw. ; – )
Buzz
Or misery whip.