Re: Sanger Lumber Company & Converse Basin Exploration

The sad irony is, of course, the fact that the lumber made from Sequoiadendron giganteum was completely useless for construction due to its fibrous nature and its extraordinary brittleness. When these interior redwoods were felled, they invariably shattered upon crashing to the ground, rendering more than half of their wood useless for any commercial purpose. Strange methods to cushion their fall were tried, including huge trenches lined with waste branches and duff, none of which worked or were practical. Again sadly, nearly all giganteum wood wound up as fence posts or shingles, Also, I think it's obvious that many of these amazing monsters were cut down for no particular purpose than the thrill of doing it--- like hunters stalking the biggest and best male deer or elk.
As an aside, it was found that young S. giganteum are capable of producing good lumber like their coastal cousins, and are rather quickly renewable.
It's hard for us to imagine the sense of these trees and other resources as unlimited, as it seemed to our great-grandparents, but ,I guess, herein lies the lesson...
john