146 A RAFT PILOT'S LOG 



moving around on the tie raft (from the Wisconsin 

 river), whom I judged was the pilot (a "floater") and 

 at my suggestion he made fast to his raft the end of a 

 good line our mate threw out to him. 



Then we slowly and carefully pulled him out of his 

 predicament and swung him well into the channel and 

 let him go, and we proceeded up river. 



Six weeks later we landed at the office in Beef Slough 

 to get our raft assignment. The "Robert Dodds" was 

 landed there also and when I met Captain Brasser he 

 had a merry twinkle in his mild blue eyes. After thank- 

 ing me for the little service that night six weeks ago, he 

 said, "I have good joke to tell you on my own self. On 

 my las' trip down my engineer say those biler (boilers) 

 need a clean out; so I tie up in same place I was that 

 night you see us there. Well, sir, I was woke up along 

 'bout midnight and when I step out my room what you 

 tink I see? Well my frien' there was another tie raf in 

 same shape like de one you pull out wit your boat dat I 

 hail you in. 



"Yas sir, and when I see big fellar walkin' towar's my 

 boat I see was de same pilot; so I call out, I say my 

 frien' aint dis river wide enough so you can get by me 

 sometime when I'm clear over one side? An here's 

 where de fun is on me. So soon I spik like dat he stop 

 right where he was and in dat big voice he'es got he say, 

 *Gawd-A-Mighty! Are you here yit?' " 



Once I had an Irish woman get a pretty good one on 

 me. 



We had lost a young chap on our last homeward trip 

 with the "Silver Crescent." He was the cook's helper 

 and lost his life by a foolish, risky caper, against which 

 we had warned him several times. 



The cook and clerk took his clothes and money due 



