THE NOTED RAFT-BOAT "SILVER WAVE" 119 



check its headway and stop it, but once under way the 

 same boat or one of equal power, will shove fourteen 

 strings of lumber one-fourth to one-half a mile an hour 

 faster than she will fourteen strings of logs. In calm 

 weather a lumber raft will float a little faster than one 

 of logs. 



The usual speed of a standard size raft towed by a 

 boat of average power was four miles an hour except in 

 Lakes Pepin or Saint Croix where it was only two and 

 one-half miles an hour. The speed was considerably 

 affected by the stages of water and the force and direc- 

 tion of the wind. 



A pilot's reputation depended almost entirely on the 

 time in which he made his trips, and there was constant 

 effort to get all the speed possible and to lose as little 

 time as possible at the bridges or at the rapids. The 

 owners of the boats did not have to urge their pilots to 

 "make time"; the rivalry between the pilots kept them 

 all doing their best. It was racing against time and 

 each other all season. 



The engineers and mates deserved a large part of the 

 credit for the good time made, but the captain, who was 

 also first pilot, got the lion's share of it while the others 

 got their full share of the blame if the boat lost any 

 time, or was a little longer than usual on her trips. The 

 rivalry between captains in the same line or on boats, 

 owned by the same company, was sometimes bitter. 



