BEGINNINGS OF THE RAFTING INDUSTRY 37 



These logs were sawed into lumber by the first mill 

 in Minneapolis, owned by Franklin Steele and others. 

 It began sawing in September, 1848, by water power. 



The business increased rapidly, and settlers and im- 

 migrants poured into Saint Paul and Minneapolis. In 

 1856, the surveyor-general reported scaling 6,000,000 

 feet of logs for Borup and Oakes alone. These logs were 

 run over the Falls to be caught in the Saint Paul boom, 

 where they were rafted and floated down river to other 

 sawmills, a large number going to Saint Louis. 



Rum river was cleared of obstructions in 1850, and 

 logging on this tributary increased from 6,000,000 feet 

 in 1850, to 33,000,000 feet in 1854. 



The output of the Upper Mississippi above Saint 

 Anthony's Falls rose to 678,000,000 feet in 1899, and 

 totaled 11,000,000,000 feet for the fifty-two years from 

 1848 to 1899 inclusive. 



From i860 to 1887 very few if any logs passed over 

 Saint Anthony's Falls for down-river mills, as the many 

 large mills in Minneapolis sawed all that came down 

 from the Upper Mississippi and its tributaries within 

 the state of Minnesota. 



In 1888 the Saint Paul boom was opened, and rafting 

 logs for down-river mills was carried on here quite 

 successfully. When it finally closed, in 1913, the sur- 

 veyor's record showed an output of 1,555,854,900 feet 

 during the twenty-four years. 



Some pilots took pride in their work and the ap- 

 pearance and good performance of the crew, and made 

 few changes during the season. There was marked dif- 

 ference in piloting even a floating raft. A bright, sober, 

 intelligent pilot, who learned the drafts of water at 

 different stages, would make better time and give the 



