MY FIRST YEAR RAFTING 73 



"down the shore," or raft channel, on the Upper, or 

 Rock Island rapids (fifteen miles long, extending from 

 Rock Island, Illinois, to LeClaire, Iowa), but we al- 

 ways employed a special rapids pilot, and we never 

 started over until daylight. When the river got low, we 

 had to double-trip the rapids part way at least (that is, 

 take over one-half of the raft at a time), with a smaller 

 boat on the bow to shove ahead or back into, the narrow 

 crooked channel. 



These rapids pilots became very skillful in their 

 work. There was a sharp rivalry between them for 

 trips, when business was dull. During the busy sea- 

 sons, they all had plenty to do. At the time I began 

 rafting, 1878, J. W. Rambo and D. F. Dorrance had 

 nearly all the rapids work, but J. N. Long was edging 

 in whenever he got a chance, and soon held his own 

 with the others. 



Each of the pilots owned or had an interest in a bow- 

 boat, which assisted in getting these big rafts over in 

 low water. The pilots' own pay and their share in the 

 earnings of the bow-boats meant a good income, but 

 they spent it freely, and had very little left when the 

 business ended. D. F. Dorrance and John Smith had 

 the first regular bow-boat, the "Prescott." Then Dor- 

 rance bought the old "Wild Boy," cut off her cabin, and 

 after using her one or two seasons, dismantled her, and 

 used her machinery on a nice, new boat, built at Le- 

 Claire, and called the "Pilot." John McCafifrey had 

 part interest in this boat. He also had gotten into this 

 rapids game, after resting up from his arduous and suc- 

 cessful operations in running logs and lumber by con- 

 tract. 



At this time, Rambo and Long were using the "Last 

 Chance" as their bow-boat, getting a percentage of her 



