For many years, especially in the steam donkey days, tongs were used for loading logs at the landing. The landing is where the spar tree was located and where most of the action took place. Two steam donkeys were located here - one called a yarder and one a loader. These powerful donkeys handled huge logs, many times 6-feet to 7-feet and larger in diameter. To handle logs of that size, it took large tongs to move them, sometimes taking two men to place them in position on the log.

Tongs damaged the outer rind (clear wood) of the log. With improvements in technology, grapples were developed to save this valuable part of the log.

Landings were usually located in an elevated area, out on the nose or point of a mountain ridge where the lines (wire rope) could reach out long distances (sometines over a half mile) to yard in the logs. Yarding was done uphill so the lines would remain tight for better control of the logs.