A RAFT PILOT'S LOG 



the boat go back to Reads; his crew shipped up the 

 stern oars and they proceeded in the usual way to their 

 destination, Hannibal, Missouri. 



But Captain Winan's idea was correct; it only needed 

 working out. The next year Cyrus Bradley took the 

 same boat, the "Union," and successfully used her be- 

 hind a raft of logs to Clinton, Iowa, for W. J. Young 

 and Company. W. J. Young authorized Bradley to 

 charter the "Union" and was well pleased with the re- 

 sult and soon bought larger, better boats to use on his 

 own work. 



Captain Bradley soon after built the "Minnie Will," 

 a side-wheel geared boat -used her and later built the 

 powerful stern-wheeler "Mark Bradley." 



In the meantime Captain Winans secured the 

 "Union" and used her successfully in 1867 and 1868; 

 the little side-wheel "Lone Star" and the larger "Buck- 

 eye" in 1869. In 1870, when the first real raft-boat built 

 for the business came out, he chartered her for twenty- 

 five dollars per day and made a lot of money with her 

 in 1870 and 1871. This boat was the first "J. W. Van 

 Sant," built by J. W. Van Sant and Son at their yard in 

 LeClaire, Iowa. 



Captain Winans quit the river before I began, prob- 

 ably about 1874, with considerable money for that day. 

 He built a $40,000.00 hotel in Chippewa Falls and lost 

 it by fire, with no insurance. 



He then went to California and spent some time on 

 its rivers. He came back to the Mississippi about 1880 

 and got into the game bigger than ever and stayed in to 

 the last; he did a lot of work and cut prices on lumber 

 contracts; ran some very large rafts and took too many 

 chances; this resulted in many bad and expensive losses. 



With his skill as a pilot and his energy and honorable 



