Logging is – and has always been – a dangerous profession, especially in steep terrain, such as that found in Graham County.
Much of the early logging required the use of horses to skid the logs out of the woods to log landings. One of the problems encountered was that as the logs were skidded down a steep hillside, they picked up speed and would overtake the horses resulting in injuries to them and the logger – if he was not quick on his feet.
Mountinelle “Mount” Stewart came up with an invention called a “J Grab,” called as such due to the “J” shape of it. Mount whittled out the pattern of the J Grab from some bark and took the pattern to a blacksmith, who made the very first J Grab.
How this all worked was that as the horses approached the log landing, they would turn aside into a “J hole,” which was an area cleared of brush. When the horses made this turn, the J Grab would unhook, freeing the horses from the logs. The logs would then continue sliding down hill to the log landing, leaving the horses and the logger in safety.
Buster Stewart – who provided much of the information for this column – said that Mount possessed other skills, including doctoring horses and making fine moonshine; the latter not being an unusual profession in those days. Many Graham County natives have a moonshiner somewhere in their family history.
Mount was also responsible bringing in the logs for the construction of the first Cedar Cliff Baptist Church. He never applied for a patent on his J Grab, or received any money for it.
Perhaps providing safety for fellow loggers was more important to him than financial gain.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He is retired from the Graham County Rescue Squad. Email him at mcclungs@email.com.