The record-union., 1896-09-27
A FAMOUS RAFT.
The Largest Ever Put Together and
FlOated.
Adrift for Six Years-It Has Been
Lately Sighted OF the Coast
Of Labrador.


bark Lille b. His ship now lies in Erie
Basin and both the Captain and the
Lille B. are just recovering from a most
| singular adventure of the sea. When
questioned the Captain was reticent;
he is sane and honest Captain in the
American merchant marine and he OBJ
jects to gaining reputation as pur-
veyor of sea yarns. But there are many
old salts in his forecastle and no old
salt that lives could let slip q chance TO
tell what they saw when 800 miles off
the coast of Labrador on the 1st day OF
last July.
1t seems that the Lille b. was bowl
ing along on her course before a fair
| wind when the man forward espied
something long and black some two
points off the starboard bow 1t was
monstrous in size and lay quietly on
the water awaiting the ship. The man
| at the bow was nonplussed for mo-
ment The thing was not land. 1t was
not ship. 1t was not a whale. 1t was
not anything that enters into the ordi-
nary vocabulary of a man at the bow.
1t was mystery; that is all it could be
called. Recollecting his business, the
lookout cried: Something mysterious,
sir, pint off the sta board"
The mate went to the rail- and look
ing at the thing, said: 1T is not land.
1t is ont a ship, It is not whale. Then
what is it?"
Everybody on board went to the rail,
and. looking at the thing, said: 1T is
not land! 1t is not a ship! 1t is not a
whale! Then what is it?''
| Meanwhile the Lille B. was sailing
nearer and nearer to this formidable
object. Finally the mate grew nervous,
| and, going to the cabin stairs, called
down to Captain Hitler:
We've sighted something. sir and
it's not land. It's not a ship, and it's
not whale, and we don't know what
| it is''
The Captain came on deck, and. going
to the rail, looked at the object and said:
IT'S not Ia" But here he seized his
speaking-trumpet and an instant later
the wild orders roared through the yes
sci: slip the trolley. Throw the ship
onto a switch-send a man back with a
! flag-wire the Superintendent-hel to
pay-this here's a sea serpent"
Immediately all was panic on board
the Lille B. Men rushed to and fro
dragging at ropes and disappearing at
their misfortune while the Captain
| IOdIcu IllOIe Oiu6iS llldIl HlHt SllplO1GS
of sailors could possibly have obeyed.
But before they could stop the ship she
had sailed very close to the thing and
the Captain, going to the rail, said: ''It
is not land. 1t is not ship 1t is not
is not land, It is not a ship! It is not
a whale. 1t is not a sea serpent. but
may | have my own mainm'st stuffed
! down my throat if it is not the famous
lumber raft which was lost in the North
| Atlantic some years ago, and for which
| the U. S. S. Enterprise and the revenue
cutter Grant made such painful but
| useless search"
And so Captain William 3. Hitler of
the bark Lille B., now lying in Erie
| Basin, solemnly states that on July 1st
he discovered the celebrated raft some
800 miles off the coast of Labrador 1t
| was headed southwest. he says, but was
not making much more way than a
| foundry. The raft is larger than any
ocean liner, and it would be an ugly
! customer to meet under the conditions
of twenty-knot gait and dark night
The sea serpents do not object to navi-
cation by ships, but lumber RATS are
more unreasonable.
John Leary, the lumber expert, who
first conceived the plan of transports
ing lumber at sea by means of raft.
was recently interviewed at his New
| ton Creek sawmill. Il think Captain
| Killers story to be very probable 1
was employed personally in the con-
struction Of this raft, and know that
it was constructed as strong-if not
stronger-than many ocean steamers.
It's general compactness and solidity
made it almost as inseparable as one
great, massive log. This raft was the
largest by some 300 feet of any ever
| shipped by sea. In fact 1t was too large.
Nothing like it is now attempted. 1t
was constructed on an improvised drv
dock at Two Rivers, Nova Scotia. in the
fall Of 1890, and launched on the plan Of
| an Atlantic liners launching The
largest RATS we now undertake are 800
feet long, and weight about 1000 tons
The one we lost was 600 feet in length
longer than any liner. It weighs TO-
| 900 tons
| The method we used in constructive 9,
the monster was new, and has been pat
ented in this country, Canada and Eu-
rope. We now use it on a smaller scale
1t took US just one day over six months
to build the great raft, and we required
the steady employment of fifty five
men. The distinguishing feature of the
system now patented-and what makes
me feel positive that wherever the raft
is, it is whole-is the method Of fasten-
ing the structure together with chains
| 1t is not a matter of merely punching
| the logs and then binding them, as
| many might conclude. The method is
| il. fact quite ingenious. For instance,
the strength is all concentrated in one
| lorg and powerful center chain The
raft may be towed by either ter1nina-
tion of this chain. Side chains placed
Giagonally to the center are added at
! the ends so that the greater the force
| applied to the tow line the stronger the
logs are drawn together, and at every
yard or so along the body, chains lead
irg from the center line are brought
through to the surface, and after being
carried over a distance Of about six
feet return to the center chain
The great 600 feet of raft was sixty
two feet beam at it's widest part 1t was
constructed like a monstrous cigar, as
this form seemed to US most seaworthy.
The necessary tapering to accomplish
this design was mainly secured by ar
ranging the timbers with the butts to-
ward the center.
| When completed the structure con-
tanned $4,000 sticks of spruce and pine
Lumber, from thirty-five to ninety five
feet in length, and a great quantity of
beach. birch and maple, making a total
of 1900, 900 feet of timber. The dame
ters of the logs ran from twelve inches
| to thirtyfve inches at the butts, and
from six inches 70 ten at the tips. At
thu time it was launched and ready u