Though the present generation thinks that forestry business is all about logging, in old times it involved much more- timber rafting and recovery of resin and turpentine. The availability of a great bulk of timber in this territory enabled the development of smithery craft and, strange as it may seem, breweries started springing up next to these businesses and later ousted them completely.

 

There were two timber rafting routes from Aukštaitija to the central part of Lithuania- Vilnius and Kaunas. One of those routes started in Utena and the other one on Lake Dringis. Timber was continuously brought to the lakes during the whole winter season and was placed into piles. Only certain spots on the lake were suitable for joining logs together. A certain part on a sandy bottom of the lake was fenced in and logs were rolled into it and sorted in the water according to their length, width and quality. Logs were rafted together into sections, so called “beds” which were put side by side up to 10 sections on a raft. The first “bed” on a raft was called “gaktas” and the last one “zadas” The shore on which logs were joined together was called a “rafting place”. After being sorted, the logs were assembled into rafts and towed down the river into such places.

 

The second rafting route started on Dringis and was by far shorter than the first one. Logs were joined together on the shore of Lake Dringis. From there they were rafted down the river Dumblis to Dringykštis, then from this lake to the river Meira up to Asalnai lake and further on to Lūšiai, Šakarva, Žeimenys, Žeimena, Neris.

 

In this part of the country timber rafting differed greatly from typical timber rafting down the river in other parts of the country. Logs were carried down the river by the stream, while on the lakes wind both helped and hindered the process. A. Pupienis, describing the business of timber rafting in great detail tells us that the most favorable wind was northern wind while wind blowing from the south just pushed the logs backwards and westerly or easterly winds drove them sideways. Lack of wind did not improve the situation at all. In that case rafters used a wire up to half a kilometre long. They tied one end of it to a log while the other end was reeled onto a shaft, attached to a boat. The boat also had to be tied to a tree on the shore or to a hook which was stuck into the bottom of the lake. Two people were involved in this reeling at both ends and in this way the wire pulled a log across the water.

 

Part of the way along which a raft could drift freely unencumbered was called “zabegas” by rafters. Some of the rivers connecting lakes were sluggish, full of weeds and muddy. In that case rafters would push rafts with the help of sticks with metal tips. During droughts, when rivers became shallow, poles were hammered into the river bed and doors borrowed from the nearest barn or other buildings were propped up against them, damming up the river in such a way. On the Buka river permanent dams, the so called “spuskai”, were made. Upon approaching such a dam the wooden barrage (“zostauka”) blocking the flow of water was lifted.

 

Farmers received a certain payment for the changing of the water level, as that did harm to the harvest. It was both complicated and dangerous to sail under bridges. If the raft was wider than the area under the bridge, it had to be dismantled and after getting through the logs had to be fastened together again. If the raft happened to hit the poles of the bridge, it would fall apart and there was great danger of  the bridge itself collapsing.

 

The joining together of rafts usually started with ice still on the river and ended with frost covering the trees. Usually only one rafter possessed long rubber water- proof boots. Rafters‘ legs usually got numb in the cold. Jewish tradesmen living in Vaišnoriškės and on the shores of lake Baltelė profited from the work done by rafters. Tiber rafting continued into 1950s.