Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-01-17
Jim-tell him. "

boats and ships; "Jim'' was the othe
pilot. Within two minutes both o.
these were flying up the pilot house
stairway, three steps at jump
jim was in his shirt sleeves, witt
his coat and vest on his arm. Ii,
said:
81 was just turning in. Where,
the glass?"
He took it and looked at it.
"Don't appear to be any night
hawk on the jack staff-it's til,
Amaranth, dead sureI"
The Captain took long look, and
only cursed.
George Davis, the pilot on watch
shouted to the night-watohman OF
deck:
"How's she loaded?"
"Two inches by the head. sir.'
"Tain't enoughr'
The Captain shouted now:
"Call the mate. Tell him to cal
all hands and get lot of that SUI
gar forward-put her ten inches by
the head. Lively, now!"
Aye, aye, sir!''
a Ai1ot of shouting and trampling
fioated up from below presently
and the uneasy stearing of the boat
soon showed that she was getting
"down by the head" w
The three men in the pilot house
began to talk in short sharp senten-
ces, low and earnestly. AS then
excitement rose, their voices went
down. AS fast as one of them put
down the spy-glass another took it
up; but always with a studied all
of calmness. Each time the verdic;
was:
"She's a gaining!"
The Captain spoke through the
tube:
"What steam are you carrying?"
ga hundred and forty two, sir!
But she's getting hotter and hotter
all the time"
The boat was straining and groan-
ing, and quivering like a monster
in pain. Both pilots were at work
now, one on each side of the wheel,
with their coats and vests off, their
bosoms and collars wide open, and
the Precipitation flowing down their
faces. They were holding the boat
so close to the shore that the willows
swept the guards almost from stem
to stern.
"Stand by!" whispered George.
"All ready!" said Jim under his
breath.
"Let her come?'
The boat sprang away from the
bank like deer, and darted in a
long diagonal towards the other
shore. She closed in again and
thrashed her fierce way along the
willows as before. Tie Captain put
down the glass:
"Curse it, how she walks up on US!
l do hate to be beat!"
"Jim," said George, looking
straight ahead, watching the slight
est yawing of the boat and promt-
Iy meeting it with the wheel,
"how'H it do to try the Murderer's
Chute?
"Well, it's-it's taking chances.
How was the cottonwood stump on
the false point below Boardsman's
Island in the morning?"
"Water just touching the roots. "
"Well, its pretty close work.
That gives six feet scant in the
head of Murderer's Chute. We can
just hardly rub through if we hit it
exactly right. But its worth trying.
She don't dare tackle it''-meaning
the Amaranth.
In another instant the Boreas
plunged into what seemed crooked
creek, and the Amaranth's approach
ing lights were shut out in a moment.
Not whisper was uttered now, but
the three men stared ahead into the
shadows and two of them spun the
wheel back and forth with an anx-
ious watchfulness, while the steamer
tore along. The Chute seemed to
come to an end every fifty yards, but
always opened out in time. Now
the head of it was at hand. George
tapped the big bell three times, two
leadsmen sprang to their posts and
in moment the weird cries rang
on the night air, and. were caught
up and repeated by two men on the
upper decks
"No-o-bottomr'
"De-e-p four!'
"Half three!"
FtMark under water three!"
"Quarter twain!-"
Davis pulled couple of ropes
there was a jingling of small bells
far below, the boats speed slacken-
ed, and the bent steam began to
whistle and the guage cocks scream:
"By the mark twain!"
"Quar-ter-her-er-less twainp'
"Eight and a half!''
eight feet!''
"SeVen-and-a-halfA"
Another jingling of little bells
and the wheels ceased turning all to-
gether. The whistling of the steam
was something frightful now-it al
most drowned all other noises.
''Stand by to meet her!'
George had the wheel hard down
and wasSstanding on the spoke.
"All ready"
The boat hesitated, seemed to
hold her breath, as did the Captain
and pilots,-and then she began to
fall away to starboard and every eye
lighted.
"Noac, then!-meet her! meet her!
Snatch her!"
The wheel fell to port so fast that
the spokes blended into spider web
the swing of the boat subsidized
she steadied herself
"Sev.-six and a hag!"
"SiD feet! six f-'
Bang! She hit the bottom! George
shouted through the tube:
'Spread her wide open! Whale
it at bert"
Pow-wow-chow! The escape
pipes belched snowy pillars of steam