American Charcoal Making (continued)

It was at this point that the collier and helpers stepped into the picture. As a woodchopper during the winter season he had worked at cutting billets and lap-wood and now, with the passing of bad weather, he was ready for a summer's job "on the hill." He first cleared his hearth of all vegetation which had grown there since the last time the tract had been coaled—possibly 30 years before—and raked out all the old dust to its edges. His next move was to locate the center of the hearth and to throw back enough of the lap-wood to enable him to get down to the surface. The fagan, a green pole some 18 feet long and 3 or 4 inches in diameter, was driven in at this center point so that it stood upright. A helper handed down to the collier the lap-wood that had been thrown back on the pile, and these pieces were used to construct the three-cornered chimney around the fagan. The chimney had an opening of about 8 inches and was constructed by laying lap-wood triangularly, using each piece as a leg. In this way the chimney could be built as high as necessary.

Dust ring to be used for covering the pit.

After the chimney was about 5 feet high, the helper handed to the collier the billets that the latter carefully leaned against it, allowing each piece to protrude slightly at the base. When the first ring of billets had been placed, another ring was begun, the base protruding a little more each time, so that when the ring of charcoal dust finally was reached there would be enough slope to the sides of the pit to enable the final covering of leaves and dust to rest securely without sliding off. Lap-wood was fitted in whenever possible to take up the air spaces. Each billet and piece of lap-wood was placed so that the biased cut of the chopper's ax sloped up toward the chimney. That helped to form the final rounded top and sloping sides of the finished pit.

After this first tier of billets and lap-wood, which was called the foot, had been set out from the chimney far enough to give the collier a footing, he climbed up on it, built the chimney up another 4 feet or so, and then started to set the second tier of billets and lap-wood, called the waist. Setting the foot and waist out together, he and his assistants worked until all the billets were used up and just enough lap-wood was left to construct the shoulders and head.

Standing on the waist and again building the chimney upward another 3 or 4 feet, the collier set the remaining wood, not on end this time, but in a horizontal fashion radiating from the chimney as a center point. Building up shoulders and head in this way to the full height of the chimney, and shortening each layer of the radiating lap-wood until the top of the chimney was reached, he fashioned a rounded structure. Throughout the entire operation great care was taken to set and fit the pieces substantially together to prevent the whole from reeling or twisting. A pit hastily slapped together was certain to reel.

Gathering leaves to cover the pit.

Covering the pit with leaves and dust.

Lapping-off was the last move in completing the construction of the pile. This consisted merely in using what lap-wood was left to fill in all possible air spaces and cracks on the sides before the final covering of leaves and dust was spread on.

The pit now "set," the collier and his helper busied themselves in notching out a crude ladder from an 8-inch log long enough to reach from the ground to the head. Enough chips and fine kindling were cut to fill the chimney within a foot or so of the top, and a bridgen of three billets and several pieces of lap-wood to cover the chimney made the pit ready for "leafing and dusting."

A crude wooden rake, consisting of six or seven 6-inch teeth placed about 2 inches apart in a small head, was used to gather up the scattered leaves on the forest floor. The job usually was done by the collier's helper who, after raking the leaves into piles, carried them to the head of the pit in the collier's basket and scattered them uniformly over the pit to a depth of several inches. These baskets were made by the collier during the dull winter months by weaving together thin strips of lath or reeds around an oval hoop. They held, when heaped over the brim, from 2-1/2 to 3 bushels of charcoal.

Dusting the pit.

The long-handled collier's shovel was used to spread on the dust which had been raked to the circumference of the hearth in a ring during the early preparation of the site. A slight twist of the wrist in manipulating this tool spread the dust in a scattered spray so that all parts of the pit were covered evenly. Several inches of dust were required for the sides and at least a foot on the head and shoulders.

Firing the pit.

The pit was then ready for firing. This was done by carefully moving back enough of the dust and leaves from the bridgen, and two of the bridgen billets themselves, to allow a shovelful or so of red-hot coals from the collier's cooking fire to be placed on top of the kindling in the chimney. Care was taken that no dust or leaves fell back into the chimney when the bridgen and covering were replaced.

The lighting of the pit usually was done toward evening in order that the collier might have at least one more good night's sleep before the constant watching began; for it was not likely that the pit would "burn through" or need "dressing" until the following afternoon. Before turning in that first night, the collier first made certain there was ample dust on the head. This dust usually was carried to the top of the pit by the collier's helper and raked around at least 1 foot deep. It was considered necessary to have one bushel of head dust for every cord of wood in the pit.

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