We begin with a few
extracts from the Diary of William Calk, from 1775.
Daniel Boone had recently
blazed a route dubbed The Wilderness Road from the settlements in the East, through
forests, mountains and numerous rivers into what was then called Kentucke. [In
his fascinating diary Calk refers to the Promised Land as “Caintuck.”]
The hazards were many—both
natural and indigenous attack. Calk’s journal tells of many who turned back.
I offer a few of the
copious selections regarding rivers, as fording and ferrying were hazards that
no one looked forward to.
The dangers of drowning,
loss of property were always on the table and, as any good skirmisher knows, catching
an enemy at the river is a prime time for attack.
Good rivermen were a much-valued
frontier resource, whether it be men good in canoes, pirogues, flatboat,
keelboat, ferry, or those who were River Pilots [spelled “pilate” by Calk.]
River Pilots could
read “lines” that is where to ford, where not to ford, where to float, where not
to, where to walk, where to “set-to” and numerous valuable riverine frontier
skills.
On to a few extracts.
April
Saturday 1st-- This morning there is ice at our camp half inch thick
we start early and travel this Day along a verey Bad hilley way across one creek
whear the horses almost got mired some filled in and all with their loads we
cross Clinch River and travell till late the Night and camp on Cove Creek
having two men with us that weair pilates
[BTW-I have canoed,
kayaked and swam many stretches of the Clinch myself. I can vouch for the
terrain I have tasted.]
mond 3rd--We
start early travel Down the valey cross powels river go some through the woods
without aney track cross some Bad hills git into hendersons Road camp on a creek
in powels valey.
[Likewise, I have
canoed, kayaked and backcountry camped on the Powell River and in Powell’s
Valley. Gorgeous bald-eagle rife country. My feat was pleasure, doing so with
my entire household on pack mules, or in wagons, with the constant threat of attack…a
whole new world.]
sunday 16th--cloudy
and warm we start early and go on about 2 miles down the river and then turn up
a reek that we crost about 50 times some very bad foards with a great Deal of
very good land on it in the Eavening we git over to the waters of Caintuck and
go a little down the creek and there we camp keep sentel the fore part of the Night
it rains very har all night.
That last passage
refers to 50 crossings in a single day. The entire journey refers to over 350 fordings.
These river crossings
in my own experience of the terrain can be anything from a mere six-foot span
upwards of a ¼ mile of water to traverse.
This is all moving water.
Moving
water is a serious matter.
The power of a river
lies in a simple but terrifying relationship. As the speed of the water
doubles, the size of the particles it
can carry goes up by a factor of 64.
I repeat, a factor of 64.
To bring that to the fore of your mind—6 inches of water moving at
speed can sweep a car away.
Water depth is usually the only factor considered by river rookies—or by
those in urban flood conditions.
River Pilots were factoring depth, speed, footing, entry points, exit
points, scouting down river for exit points for when the inevitable mishap occurred
and a myriad other concern.
Since a river moves faster as you move away from its banks towards the
center, a single step from a manageable shallow edge can take a person into
water that is only fractionally deeper and faster, but more than powerful
enough to steal them away and drown them, long before they have had the time to
appreciate the ruthless physics.
River Pilots knew never
to judge a river by what a test at the banks “felt like.”
River physics dictate
that the shallowing at banks will result in friction—that friction translates to
a slowing of the water.
The slowing leads to underestimating
the rise in speed and force as one moves from bank to river center.
Another factor
contributing to assuming “This is a good place to cross” is that banks can
give the illusion of being faster and in more turmoil than what you find in
river center.
The shallowed friction
banks sometimes allows water to effervesce, that is give some “white water” appearance
which gives an assumption of speed.
If the test-wade in
this area leads one to believe you can stand freely against this force, there
is an assumption that river center with no perceived effervescence will be
easier.
Often the effervescence
at the bank is the result of the water contacting obstructions [rocks, logs,
etc.] that permits the water to become infused with oxygen and thus effervesce.
As we move from the
shallowed bank, the obstructions no longer rise to surface—the effervesce at banks
has already revealed this is a river at speed, there is no chance in hell that
the river will slow as we move from the friction point.
What is fast bankside
will be faster as we lose footing.
River Pilots never advised
such a fording point.
This is but one of the
hundreds of tips, tactics, and rivercraft known by these early rough and ready
frontiersmen.
Every body of water
from shallow creek to wide river was seen as a book to be read. A book whose
story could tell the difference between life and death to those who were literate
enough to read this wondrous water bible.
[For hundreds of
scoutcraft, rivercraft, woodcraft tips and tactics see our upcoming book Rough
‘n’ Ready: Old School Ways for New School Adventurers.]
For all things pragmatically Rough ‘n’ Tumble see here and to truly live
this Old School Warrior Life as accurately, honestly and humbly as we can, see
here for further resources.
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