Log Rafting on the Upper Mississippi

This is a sketch from a old photo (c. 1918) showing the rafter Ottumwa Belle pushing a 'raft' of logs down the Mississippi River, through a railroad swing bridge. Note the small guide boat at the front of the raft that helps around turns in the river.

This perspective is taken from a point near modern-day Hudson, Wisconsin, and looking east-southeast toward Eau Claire, Wisc., just over the horizon. Very difficult to draw in pen and ink to convey so many forms of texture and colors.