The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1875-04-29
Courage in River Plotting.

The growth of courage In the pilot
house is steady all the time, but it does
not reach high and satisfactory condi-
ton until some time after the young pilot
has been " standing his own watch" alone
and under the staggering weight of all the
responsibilities connected with the posi-
tion. When an apprentice has become
pretty thoroughly acquainted with the
river he goes gathering along so fearlessly
with his steamboat, night or day,
that he presently begins n imagine that
II Is hes courage that animafes him; but
the first time the pilot steps out and leaves
him 10 his own devices he finds out il was
the other mans. He discovers that the
erticle has been left ont of his own cargo
altogether. The whole river is bristling
with exigencies in moment; he is not
/ prepared for them he does not know how
/ to meet them all his knowledge forsakes
/ him; and within fifteen minutes he is as
white as a sheet and scared almost to
death. Therefore pilots wisely train these
cubs by various strategic tricks to look
j danger in the face a little more calmly.
4 favorite way of theirs is to play friend
I ~ swindle upon the candidate.
! Mr.. B served me in this fashion
I once, and for years afterward | used to
I blush even in my sleep when thought of
4 1t. l had become good steersman; 50
Z good, indeed, that | had all the work to
{ do on our watch, night and day; Mr..
b seldom made suggestion TO me;
I all he ever did was TO take the wheel on
I particularly bad nights or in particularly
I bad crossings, land the boat when she
needed TO be landed, play gentleman of
I leisure nine tenths of the watch, and col
/ lect the wages The lower river was
about bank-full, and if anybody had ques-
/ toned my ability to run any crossing be-
/ tween Cairo and New Orleans without
/ help or instruction ] should have felt IT.
reparably hurt The idea of being afraid
/ Of any crossing in the lot, in the daytiBse,
was thing too preposterous for contem-
/ piation. Well, one matches summers
day was bowling down the bend above
/ Island &c, brim full of self-conceit and
/ carrying my nose as high as a giraffe's,
when Mr.. B said
am going below a while. ! suppose
4 you know the next crossingsn
1 This was almost an affront 1t was
about the plainest and simplest crossing
7 in the whole river. One couldn't come to
any harm, whether he ran it right or not
and as for depth, there never had been any
bottom there. | knew all this perfectly
well
Know how to run it? Why, can run
il with my eyes shut"
/ How much water is there in it,"
Well, that is an odd question. l
couldn't get bottom there with church
steeple."
/ 4" You think SO, do you?''
/ The very tone of the question shook my
confidence. That was what Mr.. B.
was expecting He left without saying
/ anything more. | began TO imagine all
sorts Of things. Mr.. B, unknown to
me, of course, sent somebody down to the
! fOrecastle with some mysterious instruc-
/ tons 10 the leadsmen, another messenger
/ was sent To whisper among the officers,
and then Mr.. B went into hiding be-
/ hind smoke-stack where he could OBJ
serve results. Presently the Captain
/ stepped out on the hurricane deck; next
the chief mate appeared; then clerk.
Every moment or two a straggler was
added TO my audience; and before | got
to the head of the island ! had fifteen or
twenty people assembled down there I'M
der my nose. | began to wonder what the
trouble was. As | started across the Cap
tain glanced aloft at me, and said, with q
sham uneasiness in his voice:
Where is Mr. By"
Gone below, sir"
But that did the business for me. Nv
imagination began to construct dangers
out OF nothing, and they multiplied faster
than | could keep the run of them. All
at once imagined | saw shoal water
aheadl The wave of coward agony that
surged through me then came near dis.
locating every joint in me All nv con.
n that in,
the bell-rope; dropped it ashamed
seized it again; dropped it once more
clutched il tremblingly once again, and
pulled it so feebly that | could hardly
hear the stroke myself. Captain and
mate sang out instantly, and both to-
4 gethcr-
" Starboard lead there! and quick about
This was another shock. | began to
climb the wheel like a squirrel; but |
would hardly get the boat started to port
before | would see new dangers on
that side, and away l would spin TO the
other; only to find perils accommodating to
starboard, and be crazy to get to port
again. Then came the leadsman's sepul-
chral cry:
" Deep four!'
Deep four in bottomless crossing!
The terror of it took my breath away.
" Mark three, Mark three, Quar-
ter loss three! Half twainr'
This was frightul! | seized the bell
ropes and stopped the engines.
Quarter twain! Quarter twain! Marx
twain"
/ was helpless | did not know what
IN the world to do. | was quaking from
head To foot, and / could have hung my
m
/ Quarter tess twain, Nine and a kalfI''
We were dra'ciHg nine! My hands were
in nerveless fiutter. | could not ring a
bell intelligibly with them | flew to the
speaking-tube and shouted to the engi.
necr:
T" Oh, Ben, if you love me, back her!
Quick, Ben! Oh, back the immortal soul
out of herr
heard the door close gently / looked
around and there stood Mr.. B., smil-
ing bland, sweet smile. Then the audi.
ence of the hurricane deck sent up shout
OF humiliating laughter | saw it all now
and | felt meaner than the meanest man
in human history. | laid in the lead, set
the boat in her marks, came ahead on the
engines and said:
" 1t was fine trick to play on an or.
phan, tcaSRt it? | suppose I'll never
hear the last of how | was ass enough to
heave the lead at the head of Co.
Well, no, you won't, maybe In fact
hope you won't; for | want you to learn
something by that experience. Didn't
you k30tc there was no bottom in that
croSsingT'
Yes, sir, l did"
Very well, then, You shouldn't have
allowed me or anybody else to shake your
in hot
: remember that. And another thing: when
you get into dangerous place, don't turn
coward That is not going to help mat
tiers any"
1t was goOd-enough lesson, but pretty
hardly learned. Yet about the hardest
part of it was that for months | so often
had to hear phrase which | had con
eeived particular distaste for. 1t was:
oh, Ben, if you love me, back herb
Nark Tram, IN Atiaatie Monthly.