The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1867-05-16
Communicate,
For the Tribune.
A Description of Central Wisoon-
sin, and Of a trip down tho
Wisconsin, and part Of the Mis-
sissippi on a Fleet Of Lumber.

wisconsin, and part OF the Mis-
sisslppi on Fleet Of Lumber.
Continued from last Werk)
The oar stems arc thirty. feet
long, aud the blade projects fourteen
feet, and makes total of fifty feet
long. The blade is sixteen feet long,
fourteen to twenty. eight inches wide
on Que end, aud tho other two inches
thick. Tho complete oar stem is
neatly balanced ON the head block;
next aud last Of all, are put on what
are called spring poles, being a coup.
10 of hemlock polos, some twonty FIVE
feet long, aud six or eight inches in
thickness. The forward end is in.
serted under the outward end Of the
head block, tho pole is then brought
back over piece OF wood for o full.
orum, aud is pressed down by the
power of three or four men, raising
up the forward eud Of tho bow crib,
aud is then fastened down TO one OF
the grubs on tho second crib. This
Is a necessary preoaution, to keep tho
RAFT from catching on the rocks at the
bottom, when it dives in the eddos at
the foot of tho slides, frequently sub
merging tho RATS And men two or
three feet under water.
am afraid have taken too much
space in describing tho modus ope.
randi Of rafting, but it is insufficient
to do it we'll. | will give some Of the
particulars of our trip from Wausan,
Wisconsin to Dubuque, Iowa, which
is fair specimen of the whole.
On the last day of April, SO, we FIN
ished rafting, aud coupling up, ready
to start on the morrow. Long before
daylight the next morning the men
had breakfast, aud started for the
fleet, but upon going outof the shan.
ty, found mother earth robed in
mantle of white two inches in thick.
ness, and still ,oming, 40 the crew
went back growing about the wealth
er, as they were anxious to be off, for
they had been rafting for eighteen
days.
The snow needed not their growls.
but had its own way until now, when
it stopped its fury, leaving six inches
Of snow on the ground. Things look
cd dreary enough; the face Of nature
covered with u white sheet of snow,
the stately pines lowering their heads
with the weight upon them, while
some of the smaller hrs aud hemlocks
were bent to the ground.
The order camo to "tie loose"
which meant to put the cookery on
raft and start of. The men went to
the work with a will, some taking the
bedding, provisions, aud cooking
utensils to the raft. aud some clean.
ing off the snow to receive them; ard
soon all was ready and the last order
came to tie loose. Quickly the cables
were loosened from shore and our
feet, five RATS, were aAoat on the
Visions. The afternoon was pleas
ant and the men weru in good spir-
its. quite contrast to the forenoon.
We run before sun. down to the
head of Little Bull Falls, where We
tied up for the night, aud camped out
on the open raft.
Tue next day we run Little Bull
Falls, which desc YES some lltice, as
it is one Of the ugliest rapid on the
river for pilots. The Fall - about
sixteen feet, all made through mar
row gorge in the distance of quar-
ter Of IA mile, with an almost bottom.
less eddy at the foot of the main fall,
which every raft considers its duty to
sound. This dividing Of the RATS
makes it always dangerous to run aud
never attempted in very high water.
At the main Falls is a large rock
jutting out somo distance called the
jaw; ii "piece" strikes this it is all
broken up, aud the men have some
narrow escapes. There can only one
"rapids piece" run through here at a
time, aud we had ten, SO our crew
had to make ten trips.
At all the rapids, there live men.
whose sole occupation is to pilot the
lumber through the rapids, and
charge 80 much per trip. Here the
price was one dollar per trip, aud we
made ten trips before three o'clock,
thus it will be seen their wages are
very remunerating, though at great
hazard 70 themselves. There was a
man drowned here the day before VIC
run. All of our crew get on one
piece" though in large fats they
run two or three rapids crews, and
with tho pilot on the bow with halt
of the men, aud good man on the
stern f9rstearsman,--but get on with
us aud we will 60 through.
We ne loose, aud we are under way,
soon the water commences to run
swiiter aud swifter, while at the left
we are running close to loom, so the
men have little to do as yet, but now
the water runs like mill race, all on
the raft is still as death, aud the pi-
lot motions for the stearsman to pull
this way or that. while with a motion
of the oar, all Of the men are ready
TO help; onward we go, and some Of
the men turn pale, for this is good
place to try weak nerves, NOW we 20
to cracking over small dam but as
the water is high goes very easy
now we near the falls and their roar