Page:Early Reminiscences.djvu/53

Rh rafts, and, without paying any duty, to convey them by water to the Netherlands. The felling of the trees took place in winter, and when the poles reached the water, they were bound together with withies to form rafts, and the descent of the Rhine continued from spring till Michaelmas.

In order to launch the rafts, the confluent rivers above were damned up, and at a signal the water was discharged in one mighty torrent that whirled the "Float" along. On reaching the Rhine several small rafts were fastened together, and enormous rafts 2000 ft. long descended the river. Upon them were wooden huts for the accommodation of the floaters and their wives, if they took any of these latter on board to serve as cooks. Such only were taken as had no children at home to be looked after. As many as forty or fifty men formed the crew. There were upper and under steersmen, and all were subject to the control of a captain, who shouted his orders—"Hesseland," which signified "More to the right!" or "Frankenland," which meant "More to the left."

The time for the departure of the raft to that of the return of the crew was from ten to twelve weeks. The return of the crew was looked for with impatience, especially by the children, who expected that their fathers would bring them toys from Holland. There ensued a domestic feast, at which a calf's head was eaten, but of which only the eldest son was given a share; the other children walked round the table and were contented with a sniff.

At one time as many as one hundred rafts were launched annually on the Rhine from the mouth of the Kinsig Valley alone, and of these none were under 1500 ft. in length.

No raft was suffered to pass a great town during the night; it remained moored to the shore from sunset to dawn.

On more than one occasion a huge raft would break loose from its anchorage. When this happened at Cologne, for instance, it caused consternation, as the bridge between the city and Deutz was of boats, and as many vessels were moored to the piers.

On such an occasion, the Captain despatched a man in a boat to give warning of impending danger. The alarm-bells rang, the bridge was loosed in two making a wide passage between the ends, and the ships in the river were huddled out of the current.