Chapter 11:Successful Felling
Following a night of vigilant rotations, Allen woke everyone early the next morning.
Among the team, aside from himself and Pete, none had experience with felling trees.
In the lush rainforest, felling a redwood with the girth of a waist directly from the base would surely lead to the entire tree collapsing onto other forest trees.
This would necessitate the cutting of surrounding trees to retrieve the mahogany, substantially increasing the workload.
Therefore, advanced felling techniques that start from higher up the tree were necessary.
Even Pete was not skilled in these methods.
Thus, Allen had to take the lead.
He approached the redwood, securing himself to the trunk with thick hemp rope.
Three loops in total, adjusting the nooses to be snug and secure.
A gap left between his chest and the trunk allowed for breathing.
Then, using the rope loops as leverage, Allen braced his torso straight and his lower body coiled, pushing forcefully against the slippery tree surface with specialized ropes, swiftly ascending the stout tree with hands clad in hemp gloves.
About ten meters up, Allen paused.
Bernice had never witnessed such a method of felling and watched Allen's movements with curiosity.
This was a unique technique Allen had adapted from Earth's lumbering methods.
Seeing Allen stop, Bernice couldn't help but shout out to him, concern in her voice:
"Captain, is there a problem?"
Allen paused for a moment before replying to the team below: "Don't worry, I'm about to start. You all need to back up to a safe distance!"
Once everyone had retreated, Allen swung the sharp axe towards the unoccupied direction, making an angled cut.
It was to direct the fall of the tree when it would be cut through.
Mopping the sweat from his brow, Allen moved to the opposite side from the angled cut and rapidly swung the axe to begin his work.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before long, the robust tree started to teeter.
Allen moved to the safe side and, with might, brought the axe down on the large notch for the final blow.
Crack!
The immense crown of the tree fell in the direction of the angled cut.
Thud!
The ground trembled beneath their feet and a flurry of leaves filled the air.
Then, Allen slowly descended from the tree.
Watching the complete workflow, the team members all learned something.
Pete climbed up the tree to fell it second, followed by Bernice, and then everyone took turns.
By the time the redwood was reduced to a mere five meters tall, daylight had brightened the sky.
Sunny rays pierced through the forest canopy.
The Tyndall effect, combined with the sunlight obstructed by the treetops, heated the rainforest.
As the leader, Allen was tasked with completing the final stage of felling.
With his upper body bare, muscles rippling smoothly, he wielded the axe in a frenzied effort to cut through the thick redwood base.
Glancing up at the obscured sky through the branches, Allen frowned.
The forest rangers of the central estuary rainforest patrolled the forest area daily.
According to regulations, he had only a little over an hour left.
Rules be damned.
Allen commanded everyone to chop together; there was strength in numbers.
After about fifteen minutes of collaborative effort, the last thick piece of the redwood thundered down.
Crack! With a resounding thunderous noise, the ground was littered with scattered branches and leaves.
Seeing the giant tree finally felled, the efforts of several days had not been in vain.
Allen instantly commanded: "Now is not the time to rest!"
The core of the redwood, the portion as thick as a thigh in the center, was the most valuable part.
Allen informed them that the previous segment of redwood obtained from the river didn't require the support of a sheepskin raft to float an adult man.
That was a sign of low value, for the most precious redwood core cannot float on water.
To sell for a price as high as over seven thousand, or even more than ten thousand copper coins, only the core of a matured redwood can achieve that.
"The redwood we've just cut down, it's too thick! It's too long!"
"We must segment it into 2.5-meter sections, the thick sections of the redwood core. Cleanse the bark and mixed timber right away!"
Allen's orders brooked no debate.
Time was pressing; they must move quickly.
Only the redwood core that was meticulously attained was of the highest quality - blood-red, timelessly unchanging. Once thrown into the water, it would sink straight to the bottom.
"Yes, boss. We'll get right on it," they all replied in unison and set to work.
Motivated by the potential of significant profit from this redwood, even Bernice joined the felling team.
After a sweaty half-hour, two pieces of crimson and oddly fragrant redwood core were finally laid before them.
Everyone, including Allen, collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
But there was no time to rest.
Allen once more issued orders for notches to be chopped at one end of each redwood segment.
Lengths of hemp rope were then bound within these notches, with segments extending out to either side.
These were meant for the team to pull and move the redwood along the incline.
"We have seven people in total. Six men, three to a group, assigned to either side of the redwood. Each group pulls on the rope, dragging the redwood uphill," Allen directed as he wiped the sweat away before looking at Bernice to continue:
"Bernice, you'll use a redwood pole as a lever at the back of the redwood, exerting force there."
"Any questions?" Allen addressed the team.
"No, boss, let's get on with it quickly, all in one go." Despite extreme fatigue, everyone's eyes brimmed with the prospect of wealth. Selling the redwood meant a significant sum for all, fueling their spirits amidst their tired bodies.
Throughout the process, everyone had to pull together strictly in sync with Allen's commands and release simultaneously.
Otherwise, if the nearly 300 KG redwood were to strike someone while being moved, serious injury, or even death, could result.
"One, two, three, pull!"
"One, two, three, pull!"
"One, two, three, pull!"
...
Along with a series of commands, they finally dragged the two redwoods to the cliff's edge atop the waterfall.
Next was the most perilous part: sending the redwood down the water!
The sheer drop of several tens of meters, coupled with the weight of the redwood, was a treacherous combination.
Should anyone's hands or feet inadvertently get entangled in the rope and they fall into the water, death was certain.
Allen reminded his team repeatedly to be careful.
Under Allen's seasoned guidance and the team's meticulous execution, the two pieces of redwood successfully hit the water.
The massive splashes indicated their success; the next step was to pull the redwood from the water and secure it to the sheepskin rafts, then float it down the stream.
Worth noting, the spot where the redwood hit the water wasn't the bottomless pool.
The waterfall covered a vast area, and many new shoals had been formed by its erosive force.
Wasting no time, Allen immediately led his team to retrieve the redwood from below the waterfall, securing it to the sheepskin rafts in the refreshing waters.
Taking a deep breath, Allen glanced somberly at Pete and Bernice: "Be extra careful! The redwood is heavy, and with the weight of you two, the raft will barely float. Any collision could have severe consequences!"
It wasn't his preference to assign them this task; they were the lightest and the best swimmers.
It had to be them.
Of course, taking on such a perilous job meant Pete and Bernice would receive a share second only to Allen when profits were divided.
Once they crossed the roughest kilometer of the river, where the currents ran wild, Allen planned to construct a wooden raft in the calmer waters and then head together to the largest black market in the rainforest region - the City of Bacha.