The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1885-11-17
RAFTING.
The Most Remarkable Season il
Twenty iears... Reasons for its
Being so.

The folio wing from last evenings Dav
export Democrat concerning the extent o.
rafting the past season. will be read witt
interest:
THE only rafters that are still voya G
ing are the Menominee, on the way from
Reeds Landing to Boston Bay with a
raft of lumber, and the Lizzie Gardner,
also with q lumber raft from the same
place for ST Louis. All the other raft
ers, eighty>five in number are in winter
quarters" was the reply of Capt. Jack
McCaffrey to a question asked by re
porter this morning.
Been pretty successful season for
the rafting traffic. | reckon
ut has been the best season in the
rafting business in twenty years-all tht
old time steamboat men will tell you thai
there has been nothing like it since 1865
That is the year we look back to AS the
great year for rafting, and we have had
just such a season this year. Why, it has
been remarkable year, when you think
of it. never knew the river to remain
at such peculiar stage before. 1T has
been in such an even stage of just the
right water. The water has been inside
the banks all the time, with not u wasl
over single day. Iou could take all thu
chances better than in high stage. ii
you saw "A storm coming up you could
r.n right along without danger until you
came to a good place to lay 10. When the
water is high and "A storm comes on you
have TO make the first landing your car
get, no matter where, and more likely
der the trees nothing of that kind thi.
year-just good luck from the opening o
navigation until now. have made ninety
trips this season from Beef Slough t.
Boston Bay with the TenbroeCk-- mad,
the same number las, year, to be sure, bn
it took us longer to do it,
How long have You been on the river
captain?"
"My first season was in 1S65-it is Al
even twenty years since ! began rafting
on this river"
Sixty five was in the floating era, wa!
it not?"
Yes, and l think it was about the be
ginning of the end of it, too. think tn
first use of steamboats, in rafting occurrct
that year.
"What is the difference between
floating raft and raftmade up for tow
ing. captainY'
why now our RATS arc 21O TO 300 fec
| wide and 500 feet long-avcraglng 800.
feet of logs. The floating RATS used tt
average 600 600 feet--once in while
million feet, but the logs were big. 4
| floating lumber raft would complis
200, 900 to 500, 900 feet; now we TAX
1900, 900 to 5000, 600 feet of lumber in
single tow. Now the average time from
Reeds Landing to Davenport, 2l3 miles
is six days with lumber or logs-th
round trip, mind you-in the floating er
it was twelve days. We make it from
Reeds to St. Louis, $40 miles, in twelv
| days, with the iloaterS it used to take II
| twenty to twenty-five days. Raflin:
| was hand work in the old days-the eS
poSures and hardsllips were great; nOe
the raftsman on the Mississippi has
comparatively easy life, is subject to Yer.
little exposure and no hardship --he i
sheltered from storm and sun, and live
on the fat of the landa great and profit
able change
"But to think of this seasonit will b.
noted as the lucky season. said the cap
tain, who seemed to find pleasure IL
thinking of the raftsman's good forum
this year There have been one hun
dred and fifty days of just such weather
as we wantcd-couldn't have been better
The average time of good wate. is bu
ninety days. Time has been money th
year, you may believe