The crew was made up of 4 or 5 people. The Captain occupied a raised platform at the rear of the barge, which allowed him to see over the cargo and control things more easily. There were two oarsmen at the bows, one man was in charge of bailing out, and the fifth, armed with a long pole had the job of fending off the boat as well as disengaging it from the rocks.

No sooner had they left Spontour, than the crew had to face evocatively named rapids (which they called Malpas - bad steps) “Devil’s leap”, “Despoiler”, “Wolves hole” ... They had to avoid rocks, gravel-banks, and weirs. Hardly surprising that they had no hesitation in asking for God’s help in overcoming such obstacles.

This river based activity drove the entire economy of the area. Barge construction needed many tradesmen (eg lumberjacks, sawyers and carpenters...), while the rest of the population (farmers, fishermen and miners etc.) worked to provide local produce.
As soon as the shipment was delivered, the barges were broken up and the wood sold at a quarter or less of its worth as firewood. Only then could the lightermen make their way on foot back upstream.
The arrival of the railways and the creation of roads in the early 20th century marked the end of river based trade.