Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-08-16
NONSIERIUNB[R RAFT
Nine Million Feet or Enough to
Build a Good Sized Town
Towed Into Frisco
ARE A MENACE TO NAVIGATION
Boat Captains Say Tremendous Rats
Threaten Wreck of Many Vessels
Enormous Amount Of Lumber Viii!
Be Required to Rebuild the Burned
City.

San Francisco, Cal, Aug. 16.-Tow-
ing lumber enough to build town in
one huge raft is denounced by ship
owners and navigators of the Pacific
as grave menace to ocean water
ways. but when 100000 feet of lum-
Der was trailed thru the Golden Gate
a few days ago the rebuilders of the
devastated city rejoiced This monster
RAFT was $50 feet long, chained into
a cigar shaped cradle, SO feet in beam
and 30 feet deep.
One vessel, the steamer Francis II.
Leggett, had the veritable floating is
land in tow, completing the journey
from the Columbia river to the har
Dor of San Francisco, in six DAYS
without a mishap. 1t was the great
est feat in the history of log rafting
on the Pacific coast. no other raft
ever having been constructed that
contained more than 100000 feet of
iuhlper, which is about 600, 900 linear
feet of piling
snip Owners Protest.
me last raft that was started from
the Columbia river for San francisco
went adrift and broke I'D and for
months the ship masters who nayi-
gate along the coast from Cape Flat
terry to cape san Lucas were In con-
slant dread of laundering upon some
OF the derelict piling. The prevalence
OF fogs on the Pacific coast great en-
hanees the danger.
III is now proposed to tow a 10. 0O0.-
ooo-foot raft from the Columbia river
to Shand'hat, Climatic first time
such feat has been attempted. The
Pacific ship owners are protesting
against 1T vehernently. Many efforts
have been made to secure congress
slonal interference, but SO far they
have all been in vain.
Building operations in many parts
or San Francisco have been standing
still because of the inability of con-
tractors to get the piling necessary
for founda ton work
Launching "FIoating cradlev
,Ghe Pacific northwest is the only
corner of the world where it lis pos
sible to find an almost inexhaustible
supply of trees that tower, straight as
the needle of Cleopatra to height
of 100 or 200 feet without a limb.
Such trees are spendidly adapted to
rafting on mammoth SCALE.
The invention of the floating era
die" has been the greatest factor in
promoting log rafting ON the Pacific
coast The earlier custom was to as
semble the big sticks on shore in a
whale shaped mass resting upon tim
Der foundations much as ship is
supported while under construction.
When it came to launching this
great bundle of logs, however, the task
was a mighty one. The cumbersome
craft wouldn't launch, no matter how
we'll the ways We're creased. Loggers
say it was like tugging at noun
tain and that the patience of a
mountain mover was indispensable
to success. NJ
Constructing Huge Craft.
Then so much time was consumed
in launching the unwieldly craft and
launching that necessity was called
upon to mother new process. So
Robertson devised a Cradle" which
COllSlSlS VI d IOIS SERIES Ol Immersed
half circles of wood, held in place 10y
ribs. The entire structure is riveted
and bolted together and when COM
pleted has the appearance of a skele
ton Of a. great ship.
When finished this great timber
receptacle floats anchored ito a row
of piles at the edge of the river, where
there is sufficient depth to allow it
to rise apd fall with the tide. The
logs are then lifted into the cradle
by dericks.
James l.. McLoughlin, a construct
ing engineer engaged in some of the
rebuilding enterprises in San Fran
CISCO estimates that at least $780,
100000 feet of lumber will go into the
reconstruction of the city. This is all
most 100000 miles or four times the
distance from the earth to the moon
Some of the buildings that are going
up on made land require 500 to 1000
piles to support the footings.
Exports of provisions last week