Rafting in Black River
         By EMIL HEINTZ


DESCRIPTIONS of life in the pine
    forests among  the lumbermen
 of Wisconsin   and    neighboring
 states are  found   in  numerous
 places. In serious writing and in
 fiction the work and play of the
 lumberjacks has been set forth in
 detail. To a lesser degree the pic-
 turesque  scenes  and   dangerous
 work of the rivermen who drove
 the logs to market down the rivers
 have been described. But little or
 nothing has appeared in print that
 tells how the logs were made into
 the great rafts that floated or were
 towed down the Mississippi in the
 decades  when this industry was
 flourishing. This will form   the
 chief theme of the present paper.
 First, however, it may be well to
 sketch briefly the story of cutting
 the timber and floating the logs to
 their destination at the mouth of
 the Black river.
   The life in the woods was peril-
ous. To fell a great tree properly
required great precision and judg-
ment. At first the trees were mere-
ly chopped down; later, however,
the cross-cut saw became univers-
ally used. A notch was first cut
into the tree about 18 inches above
the ground   on the side   toward
which it was to fall. The saw was
applied to the tree from the oppo-
site side. One danger was that at
any   time the tree    might split
lengthwise, thus spoiling the log
and at the same time imperiling
the lives of the cutters.

  When    the tree was   upon the
ground the limbs were cut from the
trunk  by   a  "swamper."   These
limbs, often of large proportions,
together with the tops were later
burned. Sawyers    with  cross-cut
saws then cut the trunks into logs,
most frequently of 16 feet lengths
though 12 and 14 were common
and some   were cut longer. The
lengths would depend, of course,
upon how a trunk would cut to the
best advantage.   On the side of
each log the "swamper" cut the
owner's mark with an axe.


   The logs were then "snaked"
 (dragged by means of a chain) to
 the "skidway" by    the "skidder"
 and his team. If the log was very
 heavy so that it was difficult to get
 a chain around it "skidding tongs,"
 which   resemble ice  tongs, were
 used. For this work    oxen were
 much   better than  horses, being
 steadier, less nervous and more de-
 pendable. It was while    on the
 skidway that the owner's end mark
 was placed on his logs. In making
 the skidway parallel logs were laid
 on the ground for some distance,
 the last two being elevated at one
 end to the height of a sled. Along
 the skidway and up the inclined
 plane to the sled the logs were roll-
 ed by two men with their cant
 hooks. A third man assisted and
 acted as "top loader" when    the
 pile became high. The inclined
 logs had  spikes in their   upper
 sides. In this way very large logs
 were put up, some of them weigh-
 ing as much as 18 or 20 tons. The
 sleds were drawn to the stream, at
 first by oxen, later by horses.
   The skidway was located on a
road which penetrated the tract of
timber being cut. This road led to
the stream down which the logs
were to be floated. In making the
road, first the "swamper" cleared
away the underbrush, fallen logs
and stones, and roughly leveled the
ground. When the road      became
worn and dangerous a "road mon-
key" was kept busy fixing it up.

  If snow was not plentiful, ditches
were plowed in the ground and
filled with ice, forming ruts over
which   the sleds could  be easily
drawn. In    soft weather water
must be sprinkled on the road to
freeze at night.
  At the creek the logs were piled
carefully upon the bank, ready to
be floated when the ice went out.
The piling of the logs on the banks
of the stream was, perhaps, the
most dangerous part of the entire
industry. The first log was placed
upon the ice near the shore. The


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