This is an account of Barrowsgate’s own experiences as a dredgerman on the Sacramento River in 1911. He found work on a steam dredger in the Lisbon Reclamation District. The dredger was a large vessel used to deepen the navigation channel and raise the riverbank to prevent flooding. Barrowsgate describes the challenging and sometimes monotonous work, which involved operating a large bucket to scoop mud from the riverbed. Despite the routine, there were moments of excitement, such as finding cases of beer, schooner anchors, and even a dead body. The narrative highlights the dangers and unexpected events that added interest to the otherwise repetitive job of dredging.
As with several other apparently unpublished typescripts, it bears Barrowsgate’s Burnfield address, so was probably written around 1950.