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Lyman, Laroy diary logging Robt Lyman News_PottEnt19660914BrianAdams

20240115GHLn-
Laroy Lyman Diary and Lumber
The Potter Enterprise
Coudersport, Pennsylvania •
Wed, Sep 14, 1966 p9
CLIPPED BY
brian59adams • Aug 1, 2020
• 1893 1920 OVER 90 YEARS OF SERVICE COUDERSPORT, PA., 16915, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 14, 1966
ROULETTE TOWNSHIP
1816 - 1966
Items of History, Researched and Compiled By ROBERT R. LYMAN
LUMBER RAFTS
Water-power sawmills appeared early in every settlement where there was sufficient water. The first in Potter County was built by Major Isaac Lyman at Lymans-ville, in 1810. The next in the county and the first in Roulette Township was built about 1815 by Benjamin Burt, at Burtville. The Streeters had a mill near the mouth of Fishing Creek. And Laroy Lyman had one at the north side of the river, a few hundred feet west of the Lyman Cemetery. There must have been others, unknown by this writer.
The most valuable lumber sawed was white pine and cherry. Other species were sawed, mostly for local use. To convert the production of lumber into gold, it was necessary to float it down the Allegheny River to the markets at Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and New Orleans. This was done by means of rafts.
The rafts were quite simple in construction but difficult to describe, especially by a writer who has never seen one. The bottom of each raft was three narrow plank runners, chamfered at the ends. White oak pins, or grubs, as they were called, about four and one-half feet long were inserted at the ends and in the middle of each runner in a perpendicular position. The purpose of the pins was to hold the lumber in place.
White pine boards were laid crosswise on the runners, between the pins, so as to build up a platform 16 feet square and 18 to 25 courses thick. Choice hardwood lumber and pine shingles were piled on top of the pine. Across the completed platform, binders were winched down and fastened on the pins; which extended up through all the layers of boards. A hut was built on the top to shelter the men and for a place to cook and eat.
Platforms 16 feet square were tied together by hinge-boards extending half their lengths onto the next platform, through which hinges the pins passed. Several platforms made up the complete raft, flexible, but strong. A long oar at each end, used as a guide, completed the raft.
Four platforms were coupled together at each end, with "cribs" three feet long, making a raft 73 feet long by 16 feet wide.
At Larrabee or at Millgrove, four rafts were coupled into a fleet 32 feet wide. At Warren, four fleets were put together to make up a Pittsburgh fleet. And so on all the way down the Ohio River.
There were lumber buyers at every city port. If the bids were low the fleets went on to the next market. Guides who knew the river well, with their great dangers, were hired along the way. Many of these were Indians. When the Lumber was finally sold at the best price, the rafting crew of men was paid off. Some returned home part way by river boats, or part way by train, when available. Many often walked the entire distance to save all the money they had earned.
The work of driving logs down the river to the sawmills, as well as floating the rafts of lumber to the markets, was done when the spring floods came. This was very dangerous 'for every man employed. Every mile of the river was filled with hazards which were constantly changing according to the depth of water. Those who were, young, strong and hardy enough to endure it, commanded double the usual rate of pay for other work. Broken bones, mutilated bodies and death by drowning were commonplace and expected. Some idea of risks can be gained from the following entry in Laroy Lyman's diary dated 24 April 1854.
"Run logs for Ensworth for $2.00 per day. Harris fell in and got hurt. I got my nose hurt. Charley Powers got hurt bad. Sam Card fell in and nearly drowned. Riley fell in. Knowlton got his raft in a jam and had a bad time of it."
Every place and hazard along the river had a name, well-known to the pilots and river men. In the year 1870, Laroy Lyman floated a raft from Roulette to Cincinnati in 49 days. He left a record, listing some of these descriptive names, and a day to day account of a very successful trip, with no serious accidents.
"April 5. We went to the mill early. Got the last of the rafts bound off and the oars hung. Started off. Passed to the right of the bend at Pomeroy Bridge. Struck the bank below, swung off and went on. Passed the dam and stuck on the bar. We turned an old log and root around so the raft could swing off and on we went. I got off at Hacketts and came home for my things and took both teams and went to Port Allegany for supper and then on to Larabee where I found some of my men.
April 6. Coupled up the rafts so that we had three Warren fleets. I fell in and floated down a long ways on some heavy planks. Then John handed me an edging and drew me on to some flood wood.
Got out safe.
"April 7. I ran one raft, Bill Brine one and Robins one. I gave an Indian $1.00 to get me two Indian pilots. We ran to Olean and landed. Went to the Fobes House with 25 men and two Indians.
"April 8. Got our rafts started by daylight and got to Shipmens Eddy by 9 o'clock at night. I cooked supper for 25 men.
"April 9. Got a lot of supplies and bought, a skiff for $6.00. Called for the men that wanted to go on to Pittsburgh. Up stepped 14. I wanted only 12. Lyman Fessenden and Lew White bought out the two Dutchmen. I paid off the rest of the men and they went for home. We went on the Warren.
"April 10. We stayed in the shanty on the raft last night. Started from Thompson's Eddy early and went on to Smith's Bar, Tidioute, White Oak, Shute, Big Hickory, Little Hickory, Hunters, Hemlock, Pillhole, Horse Creek, Oil City and Horse Eddy. Landed all safe three miles above Franklin.
"April 11. Went on in the rain to Little Sandy, Big Sandy, Serub Grass. Falhne Springs, and Montgomery Falls. At Craig City, George Samson took me off the raft in the skiff. I caught a train and went on to Pittsburgh.
"April 12. Was around the city all day. Towards night the raft got in and I found Jack Scrog and Frank Jones, the Indian pilots. They were tight. I found out they had hired another man without authority. They were ugly but finally came to time.
"April 13. Stayed at Scott Hotel. Jones $50.00, John Smith $20.00, Paid Jack Scrog, $50.00, Frank James Zimmerman $17.00, and Lew White, $13.50. Samson, Ed Meacham, Willoughby and Paige were working on the raft.
"April 14. Got up early and went up to the raft. Paid Walter Knowlton $10.00, Lyman Fessenden $30.25, Ed Meacham $20.00. Four of the boys went for home.
"April 15. Paid Ambrose Burt $20.00, William Brine $12.00, William Willoughby $20.00, and John Smith $10.00. All the men started for home except Samson and Paige. They stayed to watch the raft. The boys were a little homesick, I thought.
"April 16. Stayed at the Robinson House in Pittsburgh. Sam Short came. He was on a bender. A pilot came and wanted to go down the river for $65.00 and wanted five men.
"April 19. The pilot Brown, Dunning and Lewis came. We footed it up to the rafts and had dinner there. Got them off and floated until midnight before we stopped. I pulled all the way down.
"April 21. Stayed on the raft at Georgetown. I offered the
lumber to Colwell for $2,657.25. He concluded not to take it. .
"April 22. I decided to go home to see if the pigeons are flying. I left $300.00 with George Samson for provisions and to pay the hands and pilots. Told him to take the raft on to Cincinnati.
"May 9. We left home at 5:00 a.m. for the pigeon woods in Mc-Kean County. We went with the wagon, buggy and both teams. Coon, Levi, Jack, Isabel, Celestia, Mary Noether and Dora Boyington made up my crew. Went to Scaffold Lick, through the windfall, and on to Lyman coal bed. Shot a lot of pigeons and camped for the night.
"May 10. We stayed in a brush camp. Jake and I went to the Saltworks Branch. We shot 104 pigeons before noon. The girls had our dinner ready. They picked pigeons all day. Jake, Levi and I got 167 in the afternoon. Aaron came with his load, and shot himself soon after noon.
"May 11. The boys went to shooting pigeons and I went to look at a bear trap. Found a new pigeon city. They were nesting and laying and billing and cooing. Found a nice, big bear in the trap. I shot it and got three of the boys to help carry it in. Came back to camp by the Taylor place through the mud, sticks and stones.
"May 24. Stayed at the Broadway Hotel in Cincinnati last night. Sold my raft to Mr. Carter for $3,000.00. We figured the ash and cherry at $22.00 per thousand board feet. The shingles went with the lumber. He gave me a check of $300.00 on a New York bank, $500.00 on the Franklin bank, and $200.00 on the Cuba bank. He is to pay me the rest in three, six and nine months: I paid George Samson $100.00. Bought a ticket for Page Groesbeck and left for home."

Three Injured In Mishap;
One Driver Is Charged
Kenneth Okorn, 24, of Bridge-ville was arrested following a two-car collision Friday, Sept. 2, 1966. The mishap occurred on Route 6 about two miles east of Roulette. Okorn slammed into the rear of a Volkswagen driven by James Tronetti, 34, of Roulette. Tronetti had stopped to make a left turn.
Injured in the accident were three of the Tronetti children,
Tamila, 6, suffered cuts and bruises of the face and chest. She was released, but readmitted to Potter County Memorial Hospital last Wed. with a pleurisy condition.
James Jr., 5, was bruised and suffered lacerations of the scalp.
Cindy, 4, has been released and
Sherry, 3, was admitted for observation and released. Also in the vehicle was Mrs. James Tronetti.
Okorn is charged with reckless driving. Damage to his auto, a 1966 station wagon, was estimated to be about $300. Damage to the Tronetti vehicle was also $300. Coudersport-based State Police investigated the accident and the case has been filed with a justice of the peace..

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United States
Pennsylvania
Coudersport
The Potter Enterprise
1966
Sep
14
Page 9
Laroy Lyman Diary and Lumber

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