252 REPORT OF THE 



any export of that kind. The bold raftsmen, undaunted by the display of mili- 

 tary, pushed out into the stream, the soldiers following along the shore. After a 

 brief exchange of musketry and rifle shots, in which no one was injured, the lum- 

 bermen crossed the line and proceeded on their way without further hindrance. 



ConstrQCtion of Rafts. 



Rafting formed such an important branch of the lumber business for many years 

 that some description of the methods employed seems proper here ; in fact, no his- 

 tory of the lumber business in this State would be complete without it. In 1865, 

 and for several years subsequent, the writer was engaged in rafting lumber on the 

 Upper Allegany, both boards and square timber, putting in his rafts at Olean, 

 Weston's and Portville, in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., and running them to Oil 

 City, Pittsburg and Cincinnati. The details of the business, its varied scenes and 

 incidents, are easily recalled to mind. 



Board rafts, pine or hemlock, were from twenty-four to thirty courses deep, a 

 " course " consisting of inch " stuff," or its equivalent in plank or joist. The number 

 of courses varied according to the height of the " fresh," and the judgment of the 

 pilot, on whose ability to handle the raft amid bars and shoals the owner was 

 dependent for a successful and profitable trip. In that part of the State all logs 

 were cut sixteen feet long, except a small proportion of twelves which were cut to 

 save timber when necessary. Hence the platforms of a board raft were sixteen feet 

 square. They were built up in successive layers, the boards in each course being 

 laid at right angles to the ones just below, thus binding them together securely. 



At the corners of each platform, and at intervals along the four sides, round 

 wooden stakes, about two inches in diameter, extended from the under side of the 

 raft to the top, passing through augur holes in some of the boards. These " grub 

 stakes," as they were called, were cut from sapling trees, the bark peeled, and the 

 roots cut away until only a knob remained at the lower end, a little larger than the 

 auger hole in the boards above it. These stakes were then passed through the over- 

 lying courses and were wedged solidly at the augur holes in the binding boards of 

 the top course so that they could not pull out. Five platforms thus constructed 

 were connected closely, forming a " five-platform piece." The larger rafts were 

 made up by coupling three of these five-platform pieces side by side, and fastening 

 three more behind them. A raft of this size would then be 48 feet wide and 160 

 feet long; and if it had twenty-five courses it would contain over 180,000 feet of 

 lumber, board measure. 



