Frontier Forestry Products Incorporated

Frontier Forestry Products Incorporated

House Barzoni was given articles of incorporation by the late Duke Fitzhugh II (heir of Squasili Provence, protector of the wilted tulip, Sovereign of the high states, justice exemplar to the high court and consort to Queen Baratra (may she live forever)) to form an section of their business dealing with lumber importing. Duke Fitzhugh was a lover of all things crafted and woodworking in particular. He sought out the most exotic and rare woods to work with. As such, he commissioned several companies to venture to the colonies and trade for wood supplies. Ever a trend setter in carpentry his designs and materials were popular with the major furniture craftsmen in all the civilized cities. As such, even after his death the commissions were maintained by his heir, mainly for their now lucrative commercial value as supplies to most furniture manufacturers in the world. Frontier Forestry Products Inc. is one such company.

Frontier specializes in harvesting the rare briarwood trees that grow in this region. Large stands of these trees can be found deep in the jungle. Frontier employs scouts, timber assessors, lumberjacks, pack animal handlers and teamsters, as well as raft men for its ventures. Once trees are located they are tagged for harvest, and lumberjacks are lead to the site by the scout. Pack animals (mostly donkeys), teamsters and raft men accompany the lumberjacks and scout upriver using charters on boats and barges bound inland. They make a camp on the banks of the river and begin work. The lumberjacks fell the tress, the teamsters drag the logs along makeshift paths through the jungle to the camp where the raft men are busy making rope and tackle. The large trees are lashed together into rafts which will transport the entire team back to the city.

Once the rafts arrive they are broken down into logs again which are cut at a local sawmill into transportable lengths and then loaded onto a ship bound for the colonial powers. The sale of these logs is done by broker to the major furniture factories and their transport is paid for by the company.

Going on a Frontier expedition is very hard work. Employees are expected to provide their own tent and most supplies. Basic foodstuffs are provided by the company. Workers are expected to rough it in the bush for up to a month at a time while the stand of briarwood trees is being harvested. The hardest job is being a teamster, as they are expected to drag a log many miles through uncut jungle. A primitive road is often cut through the jungle by the first few log trips, and this often crosses existing trails used by animals. Exposure to insects and predators is common, and most expeditions have several casualties (or even deaths) by their end. As there is no way to leave the camp early and no doctor or cleric on site an injured man may lie in his tent for weeks before being evacuated to the port city for medical attention. To top it all off, the pay is not even that great, though it is a large enough sum paid at one time to provide for a few months of living the high life in port (ie. Drinking and whoring and gambling). The kind of people who excel at this work are the survivalist type, who don’t mind living in the jungle for long periods of time and can be self-sufficient.