From 1916 to 1929, the nearby forest was bustling with more than 200 high wheel log skidders pulled by four draft horses, big heavy animals well trained in logging. Over rough ground and logging slash, these teams hauled huge logs year round after trees were felled and cut into 16-foot lengths with crosscut saws. The logs were moved by high wheels about a quarter mile to landings and then loaded into railroad cars headed for the mill. A buncherman, using one or two horses, piled the logs into tight stacks, and a gopherman dug a tunnel underneath them so a chain could be wrapped around the logs and attached to the high wheel. As the horses drew ahead, the skidder's sliding tongue pulled out and hoisted the front ends of the logs off the ground, greatly reducing friction and making hauling easier. When going downhill, the tongue slid backward and dropped the logs so they could act as a brake and keep the heavy load from catching up to the horses. In 1929, diesel tractors, able to pull twice as much weight, replaced the horses. The reinforced 11-foot high wheels weighed 1,500 pounds each and were constructed of white oak spokes and eucalyptus axles, whose natural oil helped lubricate the wheels. These horse-drawn high wheels were part of the sights, sounds, and labor of early logging near Bend.