204 HANDEL
Tarnow, Jaroslaw, Lubartow, Uscilug - where warehouses and boatyards were
sited. The farthest reaches in the Beskidy, in the Carpathians, or in Volhynia
were over 600 miles from the sea. In the eighteenth century, the Vistula system
was linked to the Warta-Brda by the Bydgoszcz Canal (1771), to the Pripet-
Dnieper by the Krolewski (Royal) Canal (1775-84), and to the Szczara-Niemen
by the Oginski Canal (1765-84).
Riverboats of the period came in six or seven varieties. They were bought, or
hired with their crew in the upstream ports, and disposed of in Danzig at the end
of the voyage. In 1796, Beneventus von Lessenau, Kreisingenieur of Zamosc,
made a thoroughgoing survey from which costs and prices have been calculated
in detail:
A B C D E F G
SZKUTA Marktschiff (Raft) 20 1,140 2,500 8
DUBAS Boot (Barge) 14 800 1,500 8
BYK plattesschiff (Flatboat) 12 600 500 8
LYZWA — (Pontoon) 10 600 1,250 8
KOZA kleines Marktschiff (Raft) 10 500 750 8
GALAR Galera (Lighter) 8 400 180 8
BERLINKA Oder Kahn (Skiff) 6 300 1,250 8
A, Polish name; B, German name as given by von Lessenau; C, English equivalent;
D, Number of Crew; E, Maximum Grain Cargo, in korcy (Polish bushels); F, Purchase
Price, in Rhenish guilders; G, Average freight cost, in zl. per last.^6
Of these vessels, the szkuta was by far the most important for the Grain Trade.
The massive, shallow raft, consisting of a floating platform of whole timbers,
surmounted by a square silo-container for the grain and a lean-to shelter for the
crew, was largely dependent on the current for propulsion, but could be assisted
by sailors punting from the sides or sometimes by a huge square sail. It was
guided from the stern by a long steering oar, and was frequently linked in chains
to form a convoy. On arrival in Danzig, it was broken up, and sold for timber.
The magnates could organize transport themselves. Teams of serfs working
as labourers, harvesters, wagoners, boat-builders and rafters, saw the grain all
the way from the fields to the sea.
The public at large had to rely on the professional organizations. The Danzig
firms worked closely with specialist shippers who supervised collection, storage,
loading, excise and custom payments, and delivery. As distinct from the mer-
chants themselves, the shipper (szypr) was usually a Pole. He divided his time
between granary management at places like Kazimierz Dolny or Wloclawek,
and administration of the ship during the river voyage. He would be assisted by
a secretary (pisarz) and a quartermaster (szafarz). The actual sailing of the ship
was handled by a guild of boatmen whose members were available for hire at all
the river ports. The rotman or 'master-boatman' who controlled the crew, and
the sternik or 'steersman' were skilled craftsmen, who learned their trade after
a long period as a 'frycz' or apprentice. Wages depended on the length of the