Among the logging terms are some truly remarkable expressions. The uninitated may learn the distinction between a “ball hooter” and a “boom rat,” between a “bull cook” and a “cattyman,” and find that none refers to any lesser animal than the logger himself.
Among other creatures of the camp may be numbered also the “alligator,” the “dolphin,” the “dog,” the “pig,” and the “road donkey,” all objects endowed with life by the vernacular.
The “alligator” is a boat used in handling logs; the “dog,” a short piece of steel; the “pig,” a rigging sled, and the “road donkey,” a donkey engine mounted on a heavey sled. Birds are represented by the “blue jay” and the “rooster,” reptiles by the “snake,” and insects by the “katydids.”
SOME OTHER TERMS
GATHERED BY THE AMERICAN DIALECT SOCIETY
cross haul, n. phr. An imaginary article used in logging. A greenhorn is often sent to the boss to get one.
linkumsloos, n. Fabulous creature in woodsmen's lore, arboreal in its habitats, apt to drop upon a person out of a tree.
