Becoming a “River Pilate” 101 by Mark Hatmaker

 

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 1^st-- 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 3^rd--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 16^th--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.

The Black Box Combat & Conditioning Training Warehouse

The Rough ‘n’ Tumble Raconteur Podcast