MEN PROMINENT IN THE RAFTING INDUSTRY 223 



methods in business he deserved more profit than he got 

 out of it. We cannot help feeling that more caution 

 mixed in with his operations would have secured better 

 results. 



Captain Winans made his home for many years at the 

 Merchants hotel in Saint Paul until his death, January 

 22, 1926. 



* CAPTAIN E. J. LANCASTER 



John Lancaster, as he was known on the river, was 

 born and raised in LeClaire, Iowa. 



His father, Thomas Lancaster, was a very competent 

 millwright and ship carpenter. 



John enlisted when only eighteen years old, saw very 

 active service in the Civil War, was captured and con- 

 fined a long time in Andersonville prison. He only 

 weighed ninety-five pounds when he was released, but 

 picked up rapidly after he came home, and soon went 

 on the river and learned it while pulling an oar on a 

 floating raft. 



Towing by steamboats was then coming in vogue and 

 Johnny Lancaster was quick in catching on to the new 

 way and was successful from the start. He always had 

 employment on good boats like the "J. G. Chapman I," 

 "Mountain Belle," "Stillwater" and "Eclipse." He 

 was not only a skillful, safe, pilot, but a careful, intelli- 

 gent master who took care of his boat and had excellent 

 control of his crew. 



His last rafting was on the steamer "Eclipse" that 

 was owned by Lindsay and Phelps and the Cable Lum- 

 ber Company of Davenport. He ran all the logs for 

 these two sawmill companies from 1885 until they shut 

 down in 1904. 



This expression from Mr. Fred Wyman of the Lind- 



