Documented use of oxen in logging operations in Dickinson County

Michael Kenny Farm, Hylas, Dickinson County, Michigan, ca. 1900-1915: Taken during the first decade of the twentieth century at the Michael Kenny farm at Hylas, Breen Township, this photograph documents the use of oxen in logging operations in Dickinson County. The pair of oxen hitched to the bobsled in the background pulled a load of straight logs while the horses behind pulled a sprinkler used in building ice roads to allow logging sleds to move along more easily. Note the dog in front of the driver of the sprinkler and the water barrel at the far right. Oxen were used as “horsepower” in many of the camps in the early days. Two oxen weighing from 1,200 pounds to a ton each, hitched in a yoke, were more powerful than a team of horses of the same weight. In deep snow they worked more easily and efficiently than horses. [Beatrice Blomquist]