The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1924-12-04

to get it from the forest to the mill
Where it could be hauled, there was
no special difficulty. Having hand
led pine, spruce and fir in the rivers
so many years, it was natural an at
tempt should be made to drive the
birch in a similar manner. 1t was
quickly discovered that this timber
would not go down stream that way.
On very high water some sticks
would travel along fairly well but it
fioated so low and so many sank that
driving by the ordinary means proved
impracticable.
Finally. some ingenious river man
conceived the idea of building the
birch sticks into RATS with spruce or
fir to help the foatition. So now
you find RATS made up in this way
with about one spruce log for every
half dozen OF birch Tied or bound
together in this form, they will go
down river fairly we'll. A good deal
OF this sort of thing gees on above
Bingham. There has been d good
demand for white birch since the
mills of the United Shank and Find.
ing Company, formerly known as the
American Shoe Finding Company were
established at that town nineteen
years ago. 1t is an interesting sight
to see man, on big raft, making
his way down past the islands and by
the big boulders. 1t is real art.
There are lots of rough places and
he has to have "a good knowledge of
the river, plenty of nerve and a pc
Culiar kind of skill Among those
who have been employed in this way
tho mast few Vpur- nrp. Erp1 ATnprp
Fred Beanc, Lee Hill Robert Arno,
William Robinson and many others
from Bingham and vicinity. These
men must of necessity be recruited
from those who have lived and
worked on the river most of their lives
To break man in as runner for
these RATS a good river hand is chos-
en- and sent down several times as
helper to the regular runner When
he has learned the tricks of handling
the raft he is allowed To take one
alone.
If the river was straight and there
were no bOoms. the matter of run
ming RATS would be comparatively
simple but such is not the case. For
instance about mile above Bingham
village is what is known as Parlin
Lodges. These lodges project into
the river in the form of fsh-hook
with the tip pointing little up
stream. As the main channel fol-
/ lows this shore practically all the
water rushes by this point at right
angles to the rest of the river. This
creates a series Of Whirlpools and the
raft man has plenty of excitement
before he gets by them and into the
steady current below.
Sometimes raft will not slide
gracefully around the point but will
jam against the ledge and stop Then
the runner must act quickly for the
rush of water will load the raft and
turn il up edgeWays and sink it,
leaving him to swim out as best he
may. if he has been too slow to jump
ashore The water is from thirty to
forty feet deep in the bend of the
hook. During the past summer a
raft damned and sank in this manner.
The raft was over thirty feet wide
and turned on edge against the ledge
and held there by the force of the
current. 1t was completely under
water All that could be seen was
one of the side logs and that was
three feet under water. The other
side was thirty feet below this II
required some skillful eng heerinG
and considerable brute force 10 work
it ny the ledge to where it would
come up again.
Another peril that awaits the run
ner is caused by the many booms.
during the period of high water, early
in the spring. These boomS extend
diagonallS across abe current to
sheer the logs into the proper chan
mel. At this time many RATS will
not sheer by hut will be sucked under
the boom. The hoadworks. device
built on the end of the raft to hold
the thole pins, will be torn off and
sometimes fin or two from the boom.
In the midst of this 1nelee the runner
must leap and jump from log to log
and endeayor to regain the raft as
it comes up on the other side of the
boom. All of this.is an ordinary ex-
perience to the Skilled riyerman but
stands out as an example of quick
thinking and nimble foot work to the
initiated.