Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1865-05-04
FROM HARRISBURG.

should 1 attempt to describe oar trip? hear
some of the readers ask If you write at all for
the REPORTER, why not tell us something that We
did not know before. We know the river ike
book" Well did not know it like newspaper
even, till l went down it raft, with my goods
and all my family on the raft too, and such things.
On the fourth of April, Ammo Domini, one thou
sand eight hundred and sixty-6ye, at precisely
three minutes and two seconds past
pulled out from Towanda harbor, below the schute,
with our feet consisting of two hemlock RATS,
loaded with oak, beech, pine, birch, maple and
cherry lumber, and our household stuff. Our
crew was, first Capt. o. CHAMBERLAIN Pilot, End
Lieut. F. b. RICE, Supercargo, J. SMITH, W. FISH
Err, Steersmen, and C. ROCKWELL, Oarsman, Messrs.
! Bowman and SINNER, were deck passengers. The
cabin passengers were my wife, my son. our hired
! girl and myself l mention myself last ON ac-
count of my extreme modesty, as all writer's for
country newspapers must be modest, and say we,
when they mean /, and our when they mean mine,
this is allowed them rs a poetic license. Our cab
i'll fourteen feet long and twelve wide and but
! one very short story high. In it had sleeping
accommodations for eleven, cooking stove, all
the provisions for the voyage table, four chairs,
and conveniences for hanging up the outer gar
ments of the male and the head gearings of the
female members of tle party, and such things.
| Well, at precisely three minutes and two sec
onds past one o'clock, the Captain called out all
aboard" The friends that were on board to bid a
| long adieu to friends left the raft, the hands
sprang to their oars and the noble craft swung out
into the river. But alas for human hopes, it
moved about half its length, and then refused to
go further. Oars Piled boards brought
! in requsition to push with, all hands worked but
! the vessel refused to stir. 'sWhat now?" demand
ed my wife. "Stuck the first thing?" asked oar
hired girl. "Pry it off," said the owner of the
lumber. "Spring on the oars" ordered the cap
tain "Sheriff it," commanded the supercargo.
And Sheriff it they did, and thus swung it off
from the roots of a stump that had sunken in the
channel This application of a Sheriff to get
things loose, was a idea to me. had thought
that the business of a Sheriff is to make things
fast and keep them so, and when the order was
given to Sheriff it, )" expected to see Van FLEET
running toward us with execution in his hand
and such mean things
The world moves, and did our RATS and we
proceeded gently very gently, along down to Ing
hams Eddy, where chung up" for the night
to a river phrase. The captain, my wife, oar
hired girl and myself waded some rods through
the mud and then climbed hill about a mile up
and half mile down, to find place to sleep,
and were Hospitality entertained by Il Mr. QUICK,
who resides upon the brow of the hill.
At daylight on the morning of the fifth we again
started and tioated along as rapidly the water
would carry us, to Swartwood's Eddy, where we
stopped again for the night. Here again we sought
house in which to sleep. We stayed in a house
where the man had the liver complaint and his
wife the heart disease, and my wife, our hired girl
and myself, concluded that two of the young Ia
dies i'll the house troubled with the affection
of the heart, for they kept up q constant noise,
and all that, and when arose in the morning we
found them still up and enjoying the company OF
a couple of young gentlemen from the neghbor-
ing village, who made genteel call, but found il
so dark when they desired to return they were
afraid to drive back till daylight.
On the sixth ran about five miles and were
driven on shore by the wind where we remained
till the seventh at ten o'clock The day we started
we heard of the surrender of Petersburg and
Richmond. Since that we had heard nothing from
our armies and We were just about mad for the
want of news. We hailed every one that passed
but could hear nothing reliable Some said Lee
had surrendered. Some that the evacuation OF
Richmond was one of Old Abe's Jokes. Occasion.
ally man would tell us that he had heard that
Lee had left Richmond, but he did not believe it
and would walk on with mournful countenance
Others would hurrah for Grant, Sheridan and Lin
coin. We could easily tell the politics of those OF
whom we made inquiry for news This lying
under the bank when you are in a great hurry, is
not so pleasant We could look at the rocks, but
I will not describe them. They look just as they
did when the first raft of lumber descended the
river They are rough, jagged precipitious point
ed, shelving, high, barren, bleak solid, grand
sublime, and all that. Here we all slept in the
cabin Rather small lodging apartment for nine
large men and two women, but there was no alter
native. There were no houses where my wife, ON
hired girl, and myself could sleep.
On the seventh we moved gently along by Pitts
ton and Wilkes-Barre, at which latter place the
supercargo sold the feet, and we prepared to un
load our goods. but the purchaser discovered be-
rore it too late, that he had given too much
for the boards, and paid forty dollars and back
ed out.
My wife, or hired girl, my son and myself, were
glad that the noble craft that had borne us gent
ly down thus far was destined to go farther on
QUIZ we were all sorry 10 see man so small toe
sell himself for two RATS of hemlock boards be.
sides the seller was making good bargain, but
then all men don't think alike.
After dckering four hours on we went as rap
idly as water would carry us, and landed at tn,
head of Nanticoke schute for the night. Not feel
ing disposed to sleep nine in one bed another
night thet deck passengers left at Wilks- Barrie
my wife and or hired girl, went to a house stand
ing about forty rods above the harbor where oul
fast sailing fleet was safely anchored, and asked
the proprietor for the privilege of sleeping in his
house The house in appearance and convenience
and furniture and all of its surroundings was {
palace. The aged gentleman called unto him tn,
aged partner of his bosom, and they consulted
upon the important question after making in
quiries as to the places from which we came anc
whittier they were going and how they came to be
on raft and why they did not go some where else
to stay, and all that the two aged personages aided
by young lady, who was probabya grand-daugh
ter, decided that they could not incommode, them
selves so much as to accommodate them with one
bed for the night so they came back and we al
slept again in the cabin.
The name of this hospitabe gentleman is-wel
never mind he is coal operator at any rate, and