The 3,000-Foot Log Shute That Fed the Lumber Boom

The amount of lumber manufactured in this section has caused a scarcity of the raw material at all points easy of access, and mill men are now obliged to go farther afield for logs than in the past. A railroad and timber shute, for which the surveys are completed, is about to be constructed at Aukeny's Landing, a few miles below Cathlamet, W. T., which is one of the most extensive—if not the largest—of the kind ever undertaken in this region. The bluff at this point rises 700 feet above the level of the river, and on the top of this is constructed a railroad which is intended to tap the timbered lands in that section, and which will be extended back from time to time as the timber along its line becomes exhausted. A 15-ton locomotive for this road has been purchased in the East by Geo. Weidler, and is now on its way here. At the end of this road an immense shute is being constructed, down which the logs will be sent to the river. This shute is 3,000 feet in length, the upper part being formed by a deep cut at the top of the bluff, into which the logs will be rolled from the cars. The shute will be formed of railroad iron laid bottom side up, so as to present a smooth surface. Each length from the top down will be laid a little lower than the one behind, so that no obstruction will interfere with the free passage of the logs. The fall in the shute for the last 100 feet will be 30 feet; for the next 700 feet at the grade of 67 feet to the 100, and for the remainder of the distance it will be more gradual. The angles in the shute will be made with vertical curves, so that the logs will pass down the shute during the entire descent. An extension boom will be placed in the river to hold the logs. There is said to be a good tract of timber land adjacent to the proposed road, and no doubt the investment will prove a profitable one.—Oregonian.