132 A RAFT PILOT'S LOG 



We had a few narrow escapes on our first trip, but 

 made Muscatine in good time and with the raft in fine 

 shape; got a clear receipt and enough cash to pay ofif 

 the crew and all bills and then "lit out" for Beef Slough 

 again. 



We ran three more of these four-brail rafts. Then we 

 tried five brails - a two-brail piece and a three-brail 

 piece, making a raft two hundred and twenty-five feet 

 wide, and having good luck with this one, we ran five 

 more like it and our work was highly satisfactory. 



Then the river fell so much the heaviest boats could 

 not follow their rafts down the shore at Sycamore (be- 

 low LeClaire) and Pilots Long and Rambo called us 

 to do rapids work. I reduced the crew to suit the job 

 and this work gave me fine practice on the rapids, as I 

 always took the boat back up even if night caught me 

 on the way. 



While boarding at the Gault House in the spring 

 with an excellent family named Bard, I became greatly 

 interested in the oldest daughter, Elizabeth, three years 

 younger than myself. She had been teaching the "Indi- 

 ana" school while I had been at "Browns Corners," two 

 miles north. We did not meet out in the country as all 

 winter activities were strictly neighborhood afTairs. 



Miss Bard's winter term closed a week later than 

 mine, and on her return home she found me pretty well 

 established, and I soon made up my mind that I wanted 

 to be one of the family. 



As Mother had taken our family to an inland town 

 where they would have better educational advantages, 

 I certainly enjoyed the homey atmosphere of the Gault 

 House, and, my favorite place for tying up the "Last 

 Chance" between trips while working on the rapids was 

 directly in the rear of the house. 



