with floating logs in
Kotka,
Finland. When the first
sawmills were established, they were usually small
water-powered facilities located near the source of timber, which might be converted to
grist mills after farming became established when the forests had been cleared. Later, bigger
circular sawmills were developed in the lower reaches of a river, with the logs floated down to them by log drivers. In the broader, slower stretches of a river, the logs might be bound together into
timber rafts. In the smaller, wilder stretches of a river where rafts couldn't get through, masses of individual logs were driven down the river like huge herds of cattle. "Log floating" in Sweden (
timmerflottning) had begun by the 16th century, and 17th century in Finland (
tukinuitto). The total length of timber-floating routes in Finland was 40,000km. In the winter when things froze, a larger crew moved into the camp and proceeded to cut trees, cutting the trunks into lengths, and hauling the logs with
oxen or horses over iced trails to the riverbank. There the logs were decked onto "rollways." In spring when snow thawed and water levels rose, the logs were rolled into the river, and the drive commenced. To ensure that logs drifted freely along the river, men called "log drivers" or "river pigs" were needed to guide the logs. The drivers typically divided into two groups. The more experienced and nimble men comprised the "jam" crew or "beat" crew. They watched the spots where logs were likely to jam, and when a jam started, tried to get to it quickly and dislodge the key logs before many logs stacked up. If they didn't, the river would keep piling on more logs, forming a partial dam which could raise the water level. Millions of board feet of lumber could back up for miles upriver, requiring weeks to break up, with some timber lost if it was shoved far enough into the shallows. When the jam crew saw a jam begin, they rushed to it and tried to break it up, using
peaveys and possibly
dynamite. This job required some understanding of physics, strong muscles, and extreme agility. The jam crew was an exceedingly dangerous occupation, with the drivers standing on the moving logs and running from one to another. Many drivers lost their lives by falling and being crushed by the logs. to fuel the men working in cold water. It also provided tents and blankets for the night if no better accommodations were available. Each timber firm had its own mark which was placed on the logs, called an "end mark". Obliterating or altering a timber mark was a crime. At the mill the logs were captured by a
log boom, and the logs were sorted for ownership before being sawn. Floating logs down a river worked well for the most desirable pine timber, because it floated well. But
hardwoods were more dense, and weren't buoyant enough to be easily driven, and some pines weren't near drivable streams. Log driving became increasingly unnecessary with the development of
railroads and the use of trucks on
logging roads. However, the practice survived in some remote locations where such infrastructure did not exist. Most log driving in the US and Canada ended with changes in environmental legislation in the 1970s. Some places, like the
Catalan Pyrenees, still retain the practice as a popular holiday celebration once a year. In Sweden legal exemptions for log driving were eliminated in 1983. "The last float in southern Sweden was in the 1960s, with the floating era in the rest of the country ending completely with the last of the many log drives in the
Klarälven river in 1991." ==Popular culture==