MY FIRST YEAR RAFTING 67 



and rendered many years of excellent service. When 

 she was condemned and sold, in February, 1924, I was 

 the successful bidder. So I owned her at last, over forty- 

 five years after I first saw and wanted her. I soon sold 

 her, at a profit, but let her go with great regret, as she 

 was a peach to work with. The United States engineers 

 condemned her so they could buy the Mayo's pleasure 

 boat "Minnesota," to replace her. I got the "Ada B." 

 for $1250.00, and the United States paid $35,000.00 for 

 the "Minnesota." 



As my duties going up river were very light, I could 

 spend considerable time in the pilot-house, where I 

 could be learning the river. Pilot Tromley gave me 

 every encouragement, and I will always hold his kind- 

 ness in grateful recollection. He was a French-Cana- 

 dian, and, not having learned to read, had retained 

 much of his native dialect, using many expressions that 

 were just delightful. Though not educated, he was 

 bright and well informed. He was a pleasant man to 

 meet casually or to stand watch with, day and night. 

 Though he had been on the river forty-five years, and 

 was about seventy years of age, he was straight, hand- 

 some, and healthy, not only the liveliest person in the 

 crew but the best company I ever had through a sea- 

 son. Several years after, when I was in charge of the 

 "Ten Broeck" and the "J. W. Mills," I had him with 

 me as my pilot-partner. He was just the same genial, 

 kindly, fun-loving, old Canuck as when he gave me my 

 first lessons in piloting, on the "LeClaire Belle." 



In 1871, Taylor Williams opened coal mines at Rap- 

 ids City, Illinois, at the upper end of the LeClaire 

 Rapids and soon built up a big trade supplying coal to 

 steamboats, at LeClaire, Iowa. The coal was loaded 

 into small cars at the mines, one and one-half miles 



