A RAFT PILOT'S LOG 



pretty fair light, but it required close attention and at 

 best was generally criticized by the captain and pilot on 

 watch. 



The watchmen were expected to have a barrel of 

 kindling and a bucket of resin always ready so we could 

 flame up the torch on short notice. 



This would have been easy enough but for the cooks 

 who frequently stole our stock to start or hurry up the 

 fire in their big range. 



After running two or three nights without landing, 

 perhaps just as the watchman was nearly ready to turn 

 in the whistle would blow for a wood pile and the 

 "skipper" would call for the torch. 



Rushing down to start it, it was no uncommon thing 

 to find the kindling barrel empty and the resin pail 

 nearly so. Frequently we would find part of the kind- 

 ling and some of the resin behind the kitchen range. 

 Of course when the cooks got up at 4:30 A.M. and dis- 

 covered their supply (stolen from our stock) had van- 

 ished they made the air blue with all kinds of swearing 

 and threats and tried to pin the whole thing on the 

 watchman. 



That torch was the one serious bugbear that made 

 many nights miserable. After electric lights were in- 

 stalled the watchman led a different life. 



During the three seasons I spent on the "Silver 

 Wave" we only had one bad break-up. 



Captain Rutherford tried to run Cassville Slough 

 with the whole raft in the night and without any search- 

 light. Captain Van Sant was aboard that trip. He ad- 

 vised against trying to run it "whole." He urged Cap- 

 tain Rutherford to tie up and wait for daylight, but 

 Captain Rutherford was always ambitious to make 



