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Show 1G8 5 dition on the Green or Colorado Rivers in those sections with which I am familiar where in operating boats of the character that I have operated and seen operated on those rivers a man familiar with the river and keeping a reasonable lookout rested under any necessity of encountering ( obstruc- obstruc ) ; tions or delays . ( R . 5246 , Vol . 30 . ) / William , Cooley testified : I am 72 years old and worked for Mr . Branson when he ( was ivas ) cutting timber on Castle Creek and Fisher Point . On Castle Creek he cut timber between September , 1897 , and May , 1898 . ( I 1 ) worked for him at Fisher Point in the fall of 1902 for two or three months and , in the fall of 1903 and spring of 1904 , when I quit his employment . During that period lumber was hauled by wagons ( to'a toa ) point about two miles above the mouth of Castle Creek on the Colorado River and rafted thence to Moab . I accompanied two rafts down the river in 1897 , one raft in 1898 , one in 1902 and one in 1903 . ( I 1 ) was a sawyer , and I know that during that period other lumber besides that in the rafts I accompanied was hauled to the , river from the saw mill on Castle Creek and later from the saw mill on Fisher Point . Teams would leave with loads of * lumber for the river about every other day . ( R . 5249-53 , Vol . 30 . ) After I quit Mr . ( Branson's Bransons ) employ I lived up near Cisco for about four years , and during that period had ( occa occa- occa ) sion to drive down to Moab once or twice each year . The road follows the river , and on these trips I passed within 300 feet of the ( landing lancling ) where the rafts started down the river . Mr . Branson had a house and corral there and I was very friendly with him and his family and saw them almost every time I passed . In driving down to Moab and ( return return- return ) ¬ ing I would almost always see lumber there at the landing ; sometimes there would be twenty or ( twenty-five twentyfive ) thousand feet piled upon the bank there and in varying amounts at other times . On these trips to Moab I stayed overnight at ( Branson's Bransons ) place at times and saw wagon loads of lumber come down and unload there . ( R . 5254-6 , Vol . 30 . ) We encountered no difficulty on any raft trips that I took down the river . ( When Wlien ) the water was at low stage they would take from ten to fourteen thousand feet on a . raft ; at a higher stage they ( would Nvould ) take ( twenty -twenty twenty ) or ( twenty-five twentyfive ) ( thous- thous ) j and feet down . These rafts were always in three sections , the aggregate length of which would be from 48 to 54 feet , ! the length , however , depending on the length of the lumber i |