River Drivers with Cant Dogs, Maine, ca. 1865. Courtesy of the Maine Historical Society.
River Drivers with Cant Dogs, Maine, ca. 1865. Courtesy of the Maine Historical Society.
This tintype photograph shows two river drivers dressed in their work clothes and holding their essential tools, a peavey, ax, cant dog, and shovel. Peaveys and cant dogs served as levers to move heavy logs.
The logger on the left holds a peavey, which was an improvement on the cant dog that the logger on the right holds with the blunt end up. In 1860, Joseph Peavey of Stillwater, Maine, added an iron point to the end of his cant dog which helped him better control logs. He also improved the swinging hook to make it more manageable. In 1870, two of Peavey's grandsons founded the Peavey Tool Company of Bangor, Maine, which is still in operation today.