COMPLETE LIST OF RAFT PILOTS, 1840-1913
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The following facts about raftsmen and rafting and the complete list of
all pilots engaged in the work in any part of the period from 1840 to 1913 are
taken from an article in the Davenport 'Democrat' and republished in the
'Waterways Journal', December, 1913. {The list was very carefully made up and
I had many to help me. If we have missed any one, we have not been reminded
of it since. In January, 1928, I only can count thirty of the list above.}
The towboats are sunken and dismantled and disintegrated hulks, the bones
of many being the relics of an almost forgotten industry are strewn
along the shores of the river. A few - and what a few they are - are working
as sand-boats and towboats and general river craft.
The great rafting traffic on the big river, in its infancy in 1841, slowly
matured year by year, growing larger with each succeeding yearly cycle until
in the 1880, the river traffic of rafts was reckoned one of the largest and
most profitable industries in the United States.
Then came the decline. Later in the eighties the rafts coming down the
Mississippi began to fall off in numbers, the towboats plying up and down the
river to be fewer and fewer and gradually but surely the business dwindled.
The falling off of the river traffic has continued until the present year
when during the entire season, but three rafts went down.
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TOWED BY THE ‘OTTTUMWA BELLE’'
These three reminders of the old days were towed through by the 'Ottumwa
Belle,' the only survivor of the great fleet of ninety raft-boats
that were in the business on the crest of the wave in 1880. The season of
1914 will see the end of the rafting business, when the 'Ottumwa Belle'
will take three rafts through, the last three rafts ever destined to go down
the river, and the knell of the once great traffic will be rung. The 'Ottumwa
Belle' is owned by S. & J.C., Atlee of Fort Madison. The master of the
'Belle' is Walter Hunter, one of the few remaining raft pilots.
And the masters, pilots and crews who manned the big fleet. Of the army of
pilots, numbering over two hundred and fifty, who were the guardians of the
fleet in their trips up and down the river thirty years ago, but
seventy-three are known to be living. There may be other survivors, but they
are not known to Captain W.A. Blair, who has compiled
the complete list of those who were engaged in piloting in the early days.
Of the seventy-three members of the profession, for it was indeed a
profession, several have retained high places politically, others have
abandoned the river and taken up a less romantic vocation, and still others
have drifted to other navigable rivers to continue their chosen work.
OLD RIVER MEN MEET
Prominent among the one-time raft-boat pilots is Colonel E.W. Durant,
who is perhaps one of the most noted members of the body. Colonel Durant, who
was once Lieutenant-governor of Minnesota and twice served
his state as state senator, at the age of eighty-four years is, hale,
healthy and happy.
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He is an ardent follower of Isaac Walton and likes nothing better than
sunning himself with a fishline in hand. He is also a great story-teller.
On a trip of the 'Morning Star' in 1912 from Davenport to Saint Paul, I
had Colonel Durant and Captain S.B. Hanks as my guests and I greatly
enjoyed their company and their reminiscences and they aided me in completing
and checking up the list of raft pilots which I had prepared with the help
of Captains Cyprian and Joseph Buisson and John Monroe.
Captain hanks piloted his last raft June, 1844. His death occurred in August,
1917, at the age of ninety-four.
THREE IN OLD GUARD
Three pilots, S.E. Lancaster of LeClaire, Iowa, O.J. Newcomb of Pepin,
Wisconsin, and Morrel Looney, of LaCrosse are still following their chosen
profession on the Yukon river in Alaska during the summer months. Others well
known are Peter Kirns of Saint Louis, who for years was engaged in that
business in Saint Louis.
John McCaffrey, another of the old-time pilots, is a planter in Louisiana.
Captain McCaffrey is a teller of wonderfully interesting stories of the old river and raft-running and is not at a loss for listeners.
Joseph and Cyprian Buisson, two of the pioneers, are still piloting on the Mississippi. Cyprian was master of the steamer 'Helen Blair' last year and
Joseph Buisson piloted the 'St. Paul' during the past season.
Three of the living river pilots are located in Clinton. Joseph Duley is at
the present time engaged in the unromantic calling of liveryman, but secretly
his thoughts turn to his first love and enters the sand and gravel
business "to get the river smell," he says. O.P. McMa- …
269
Picture: Henry Whitmore
Engineer - Fitted out first real rafter |
268 through 273
… hon and A.E. Duncan,
also of Clinton, have retired from business with a comfortable fortune, The
latter two were designers and builders of the steamer 'Silver Crescent.'
In the following list of old rivermen, who piloted rafts down the river, those marked with a star (*) are known to be living, while the others which are by far the greater, have run their last line:
| Adolph | Christ | | Hanks | David | | Parker | John |
| Alexander | Silas | | Hanks | S.B. | | Parmelee | David |
| Allen | Nelson | | Hanks | Samuel | | Payne | W.A. |
| Allen | Washington | | Hawthorne* | Jos. | | Pearson* | John |
| Baldwin* | Russell | | Herold | Geo. | | Peavey | H.L. |
| Barlow | Aug. | | Herold | Pembroke | | Peel | Thos. |
| Barnes | Charles | | Hill | Albert J. | | Pell | Vincent |
| Bernard | Frank, Sr. | | Hire | Peter | | Penney | George |
| Biglow | Vol. A. | | Hitchcock | Samuel | | Penny | Wiley |
| Blair* | W.A. | | Hollinshead | Al | | Perro | Jos. (Big Jo) |
| Blair* | W.H. | | Hollinshead | Horace | | Philamulee | David |
| Blow | Jos. | | Hoy | John | | Philbrook | Caleb |
| Bradley | C.G. | | Hoy | Thos. | | Quinlan* | John |
| Bradley | John | | Hugunin | Harry | | Register | Samuel |
| Brasser | George | | Hugunin | James | | Rellis | Jas. |
| Brazee | Hiram | | Hugunin | John | | Ressor | Jacob |
| Brown | Sherman | | Hunter* | Walter | | Rhoads | Bradley |
| Bruce | Surveyor | | Huttenborn* | Ed. | | Rhoads | Charles |
| Buchanan | Wm. | | Irwin | Robt. | | Rice | Daniel |
| Buisson | Cyprian | | Jenks | A.T. | | Roman | C.B. |
| Buisson | Henry | | Jenks* | I.B. | | Rook* | John |
| Buisson | Joseph | | Johnson | Samuel | | Root | Ed. |
| Burrow | Vetal | | Jonson | Hugh | | Roque | Antoine |
| Butts | James | | Kerz | Adam | | Roundy | Robt. |
| Carlton | Peter | | Kerz | Paul | | Rutherford | George |
| Carpenter | Alf. | | King | Cyrus | | Ryder | H.L. |
| Carpenter | Chris | | Kirns | Peter | | Savage | Wm. |
| Carpenter | Geo. | | Knapp | Cornelius | | Schmidt | John |
| Cassidy | R.M. | | Knippenberg* | Al | | Schricer | C.W. |
| Chacey | E.J. | | Kratka | Wm. | | Seabring | John |
| Chacey | I.L. | | Lamb | David | | Seeford | Christ |
| Chapman | A.J. | | Lambert | Andrew | | Shaw | Albert |
| Cheshire | John | | Lancaster | John | | Shea | Daniel |
| Cobb | Hiram | | Lancaster | S.E. | | Short | A.M. |
| Coleman | James | | Langford | John | | Short | Charles |
| Corcoran | Owen | | Langford | Perry | | Short | G.L. |
| Cormack | John | | Larivere | Peter | | Short | I.H. |
| Cratt | David | | Larkin | Andrew | | Short* | Harry |
| Darling* | Lysander | | Law* | D.C. | | Short* | J.E. |
| Davidson | Chas. | | Lawrence | Phileas O. | | Short* | Lee |
| Davis | Jack | | Laycock* | John | | Simmons | William |
| Davis* | Gordon | | Leach | John | | Sloan | Jos. |
| Davis | Wm. | | LePoint | Frank | | Slocumb | Chas. |
| Davison | Daniel | | Lindley | J.T.R. | | Slocumb | Henry |
| Day* | A.O. | | Looney | Carl | | Slocumb | W.R. |
| Day* | L.A. | | Looney | Frank | | Slocumb | Wm. |
| DeCamp | Ira | | Looney* | Morcell | | Smith | Harvey |
| Denberg | Gary | | Lucas | N.B. | | Smith | Peter |
| Denvier | Joe | | Macey | Samuel | | Smith | Russell |
| Desmond | Wm. | | Martin | Al | | Smith | Wm. |
| Diamond | Frank | | Martin | French | | Stafford | Henry |
| Dixon | E.D. | | Martin | Geo. | | Thompson | O.J. |
| Dobler | Wm. | | McCaffrey | Hugh | | Trombley | Geo. |
| Dodds | Robert | | McCaffrey | John | | Trombley | Geo. Jr. |
| Dolson | Thos. | | McCaffrey | Wm. | | Trombley | R. H. |
| Dorr | Wm. | | McCall | R.B. | | Turner* | Jerry |
| Duley* | Jos. | | McCarty | John | | Walker | Henry |
| Duncan | Thos. | | McCarty | John (Mushrat) | | Walker | Jack |
| Duncan* | A.E. | | McDonald | D.A. | | Wallace | George |
| Dunham | Edward | | McDonald | John | | Wasson | Isiah |
| Durant | E.W. | | McDonald | Toliver | | Weir* | Wm. |
| Efnir | Edwin | | McGinley | O.E. | | Wetenhall | Frank |
| Egan | Lafe | | McIntyre | Frank | | Wheeler | Harry |
| Elliott | Wm. | | Mcinzie | John | | Wheeler | R. J. |
| Flynn | Daniel | | McKane | John | | Whistler | James |
| Follmer | James | | McLarney | Robt. | | Whistler | Nelson |
| Forbush | Thos. | | McLean | Daniel | | Whistler | Wm. H. |
| Fox | Patrick | | McMahon | O.P. | | White* | Charles |
| Fuller | Henry | | McPhail | Sandy | | Whithrow* | Alfred |
| Fuller | Ira | | Miliron | Herbert | | Whitney | Edward |
| Fuller | John | | Miller | Edward | | Wild | Frank |
| Gabriel | John | | Mitchel* | Abram | | Wilson | Thos. |
| Gainor | John | | Mitchel* | Brainerd | | Winans | Aaron |
| Gainor | Patrick | | Mitchel* | W. S. | | Winans | George |
| Ganley | Wm. | | Monroe | John | | Winans | Mahan |
| Gerlach | Paul | | Moore | J.G. | | Withrow | Steven |
| Germain | St. | | Newcomb | Boyd | | Withrow | Thos. C. |
| Gilbert | John | | Newcomb | W.B. | | Wooden | Wm. |
| Gleason | James | | Newcomb* | Frank | | Woodward | Asa |
| Goodnow | John | | Newcomb* | Isaac | | Wray | David |
| Gordan | WW. | | Newcomb* | James | | Wray | John |
| Grant | Ed. | | Newcomb* | Rufus | | Yonker | Adam |
| Guardapee | Joe H. | | Nichols* | George S. | | York | Wm. |
| Haggerty | James | | O'Connor | John | | Young | A.R. |
| Hallam | Sherman | | O'Rourke | Peter | | Young | Jack |
| Hampton | John | | O'Rourke | Thos. | | Young* | Joe H. |
| Hanford | John | | Owens | Rueben | | Young | Wm. |
Of the thirty pilots in the foregoing list who were alive January 1, 1928, one nine were still in service on the Mississippi during the season of 1927, viz:
J.M. Hawthorne on the United States towboat ‘Louise.’
J.H. Laycock on the United States towboat ‘Minneapolis.’
Isaac Newcomb and William Weir one trip on the ‘Altair’ of Wabasha.
W.L. Hunter in Streckfus Line and on United States towboat ‘Genl. Ashburn.’
Harry Short on the steamer ‘Kalitan.’
Joe Young on the towboat ‘Lone Deer.’
Chas. White on the United States towboat ‘Gen. Ashburn.’
WA. Blair in the Streckfus Line and on the United State towboat ‘C.C. Webber.’
HISTORY