, 1875-03-27
LEARNING TO BE 4 RIVER PILOT.

Ir,GyING TO BE A RIVER PILOT.
v.rr TVUy gives, in the 1t!a'tt!c
-, f,r March, the following anus
,.rrou7t of aportion of his expert
...o. gnrn trying to omaster the intricate
..r-- of river pilot on the Mississippi
,r9. end Of what seemed tedious
.rr. had managed to pack my head
r.r.fl.rsnIs. towns, bars, points" and
.'rI.. and curiously inanImate mass
.r--,nb.- IL wls, too. However mas
.......I could shut my eyes and reel
'.rg .,,I long string of these names
--r,r, leaving out more than ten miles
..r r4.rr in every fifty, | began to feel
rr,rrl take a boat down 10 New
u.r.,rs If could make her skip these
.r,r. .-lps. But Of course my cOmpla-
..o.g could hardly get start enough to
Pr, ma. nose a ,rilc into the air before
NJ r. would think of something to
f..-r :. down again One day he turned
r., m. suddenly with this settler:
"Whgt +, the shape Of Walnut BcndE'
n. .mrrht rs we'll have asked me my
--rImrrhrrs opinion Of proloplasm. |
-.r..rI respectfully, and then said |
r,1r know It had any particular shape.
Ms rlnnawlcry chief went off with a
N.a- sf course. and then went on load
.rr .-G firing until ne was out OF adjec-
,sgs.
bal learned long ago that he only
carried lust qu many rounds of ammuni-
r.r ami was sure to suhSidc into very
r....4lIr and even TcmOrsclcsS old
,uai,h bore as sosn rs they were all
gone That word old is merely alicc-
,.rsrr. be- Was not more than thirty
nar Iwaitci. By and by he said:
Ny h1v you've got to know the shape
.ltHn river perfectly. Its all there is
r1rn .,rrrby on very dark night.
E.y,hlng else is hlottcd out and gone.
but. mind you, il hasn't the same shape
.n the might that 1t has in the day time
How on earth am | ever going to
.rru II, them
"Uuv a1 YOU follow q hall at home in
lriarh. Because you know the shape
u. i-.vuu can't see it.
d. rou mean to say that I've got tC
,urN aU the million triding variations o.
#4r. In the banks of this intcrmlnablt
river aS well AS know the shape Of thr
trent hal. 1t homes
"Da INV honor, you've got to know
Them better than any man ever did kn"y
'an ,htu,s 10 the halls N his oW
house"
Il wish was dead"
Now don't want to discourage yol
but"
Well pile il on me; might aS We
have II now as another time"
You see, tins has got Ia be Learned
there isn't any getting around 1t
clear, starlight night throws such heaT
shadows that if you didn't know II
shape of Il shore perfectly you Won
take the black shadow of 1t for sol
cape. and Won sec YOU would be gctlIl
scared To death every fifteen minutes
the watch YOu would he fifty var,
from -nurc rll the time when you oug
% De within twenty tcCtof IT, You can
see a SnIg in one Of these shadows, bJ
You know exactly where it is, and III
shape of the river tells you when you al
coming TO IT, Then there's your pitcI
dark night; the river is very ditierer
shape on a pitCh-daTk night from what
is on a starlight night. All shores SceI
to bc straight lines then. and mighty dir
ones too; and you'd run them for straigh
lines only YOU know better. You bolil
drive your boat right into what seems t
ne solid, straight wall you know yer
w.. that IN reality there Is curv
,hc-cI and that wall falls back ant
makes way for you. Then there's you
--av INST. You take night whcl
there's one Of these grizzly, drizzly, gra
sISrs and then there isn't any particula
shape ,p shore \ gray mist wOult
,Al-le the head Of the Oldest man tha
oNC lived. Wen, then different kinds o
moonlight change the shape Of the rive
IN a.,icrcut ways. You see"
oh, don't say anymore, please. Hav
] 90, TO learn the shape of the river &C
grii1C TO these 1000 different WAYS
III tried TO carry all that cargo in m
head II would make me stoop-shoul
a.red."
No, You only learn the shape Of tn
.Fer, and You learn ii with such abso
.-,. certainty that you can always stee
y .he shape that's in your head, an
never mind the one that's before You
eyes"
Very Well, I'll try it; but after
nave learned it can ! depend on it
WI. ], Keep the same form and not 9
10 Ing rouud:"
Before Mr. B could answer, NJ
" came in To take the watch, an
he said.
b. you'll have to look out fC
RESIDENTS Island and all that Countr
,.aT away up above the Old Hen an
,-.sAgnS. The banks are caving in an
me- M. Shores changing like everythin!
y, ny, You wouldn't know the point aboy
''',y. You can 90 up inside the Ol
.e'm'rc SnaE now" inside means bt
.NeIn The quay and the shOre.)
- thar question was answered. Hel
TT,r.c leagues of shore changing shap
"! spirits were down in the mud agai
Two lnln-S seemed pretty apparent
-s. unc waS, that in order to be pill
man had got TO learn more than ar
.-g man ought to be allowed to know
an am" Ihe other was, that he must learn
.. over again IN a different way ever
'"rliylour hours.
mat night We had the watch unt
we've Now II was an ancient riyu
.-''om ~ for the two pilots 10 chat a b
,"-.1 the watch changed. While the 7
.s'l-g pilot put on his gloves and lit b
'.-' lis partner, the retiring pilot, Won
Say something Ike this:
Judge the upper bar is makil
-'"a little at Hale's Point; had qua