The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1867-05-23
lcon,Inuel from bod weekl

AT VI NlC uuuiS, Hnu Nut htuu VI Hluth-l
water We now have run over nine
dams, at one time VIC run three.
In running tho rapids, we have on
ly run one "rapids piece at time,
but now they are coupled together in
RATS Of two 'pieces" each. Two men
are now placed on a raft one as bows.
man, who leads the raft, the other as
tailsman. Every man now takes his
blankets aud luggage on his own
raft aud then builds scat or bunk
for sleeping in. Before this they
have all slept on the cook raft, any.
whore they could spread their blank.
cts.
The cook is not sorry for this
change, for each one would drop their
things where they used them, aud |
when they we're wanted ii would be,
cook, whore is my satcholp Whore is
an augurp Where is an nxop Where
is this or that, az the case may be.
The cook or feet of lumber is in
rather a trying situation sometimes.
Ilo is expected to know where every
thing is left aud to keep watch over
IL, and is always to have meals ready,
and to take the abuse Of any who
may feel cross, without saying word
in reply.
If any Of the crew loses an axe
or an augur it ia laidto the cook, and
in crev of mon, somo will like one
thing to cat that another dislikes, so
he must try aud please all,
On the lower river when raft
sticks, it makes no difference what he
is doing, he must take the skiff and
60 back to the raft that is stuck, per-
haps his hands are in the dough, per
haps he has just put the dinner on
cooking, some meat, some beans, &c,
he must drop all and start. Some
times it is four or five hours before
he gets back, tho fire is out, the
meat is burned, or whatever he may
happen 70 have on cooking, the
bread is spoiled, and the men are.
growing for their dinners, thon the
nook does hot have il so pleasant, but
again, on some cold day, or especial
ly some cold night when raft is
stuck, an 1 the men have to all go in
the water to their waists, or neoks to
hand spike il of the cook has it eas-
Ter, as he does not have to 20 in the
water. With every feet, there is a
lower river pilot, who gets double,
aud some times treble the wages Of
any Of the rest of the crew.
The pilot Is bowsman on the head
raft, aud leads the feet. His duty is
to hunt for, and keep in deep water,
or the channel, dodge sand bars and
other distractions. He can tell six.
ty rods ahead where every sand bar
is and how deep the water is on it,
and just where the edge or break Of
the bar is, from the surface of tho
water.
In just week from the time we
started from Wausan we left Point
Bass, which was an uncommon quick
trip over the rapids. We passed
some fleets that left week before we
did, and had better success than
ninety nine out of hundred, that is
in running all of the rapids without
staving single crib, and had mono
to raft over. There is scarcely ever
feet passes through but what has
more or less rafting over to do, some.
times half of tho feet.
From Point Bass, we run two days
and half and were at the second
goal on the river, namely the Little
Dell's, sixty miles below. This last
day every raft in tho feet was stuck
in different places on the sand bars,
as the river was very fat. Now comes
the hardships Of running the river,
whom the men have to bo in the water
halfof the time handspring off the
RATS.
In raft Of fourteen cribs, there
are over sixty thousand feet Of lum-
ber, then to have this immense
weight to stick on sand bar, it is
apt to frequently run on very hard.
5 The RATS are seven rods long and |
two wide; therefore not very small to
handle, but for all VIC landed at the |
head of tho Little Dell on tho night
of the tenth Of May.
There is one very striking point
between Point Bass aud the Dell
called Petonwell, from an Indian
word, PetOnwon,-a quiyer.
1t is a massive pile OF rocks, sever.
al hundred feet in highth, and re-
sembles at distance, aquiver filed
with arrows.
These Dells are worthy Of notice,
for they present the grandest sight
on the river, as here the river makes
frightful descent in surging rapids,
thl oagh crooked rocky chasm of
only sixty feet wide for six miles,
a1d an unknown depth, and dashing
from rock to rock, in an indesoriba-
bic fury and wildness. Through this
terrific ThermopyIac all the lumber
has to pass, yet the hardy lumber
man goes through with tho utmost
sangfroid. In some places II seems
as though the walls we're built by
hand, the columns are so true aud
regular, yet as grand and majestic.
Everything goes TO show that this
is an irmense broken dam. which be.
fore the chasm was made in it, must
have completely arrested the prog
ress of the noble river, and set 1t
back in large lake some sixty or
seventy miles to Grand Rapids.
In ono place in the Dells the walls
are not over fifty feet apart, and here
the river turns square corner, and
Just before the turn, where the turn
is the narrowest, lies the most dan ger
for on the right hand side thore is !
ss