The Raftsmen · stop 3 of 9
The pilot goes first
A vignette from a map of the Wilia (Neris) river, 1857, shows raftsmen by a boat and logs floating downstream. Ahead of the rafts, in a small canoe, went the rotman, or retman: the man who knew the river best. With shouts, and signals made with an oar or his cap, he showed the way through the current and warned of shallows. The rafts were steered with oars, which in Ulanów were called drygawki.
Narration text
There were no signs or lights on the river. The rotman, the river pilot, knew the way. He went ahead of the rafts in a canoe and called out where the good water was. Klonowic wrote that the raftsmen followed him as they would follow a commander.
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Next on this route
And 5 more: The raftsmen's camp, The novice near Gniew, Gdańsk, journey's end, The Crane on the Motława, Walking home
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