Swift Rivers is a children's historical novel by Cornelia Meigs. Set initially in 1835 in Minnesota, it is a story of the early days of the logging industry, when logs were floated down the Mississippi to St. Louis. The novel, illustrated by Forrest W. Orr, was first published in 1931 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1933.
It was harder to transport logs over land in the 1800s.
They would have transported over land if it was easier but since they used the river it is obvious that it was easier. It was probably difficult for the system because they had no way to know the information.