The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-03-20

aDle 10 raise tDe uehuJ hhu tneh WIN
have to pilot steamboat In order to make |
a living. I want a slush.bucket and
brush; I'm only fit for roustabout. l |
haven't got brains enough to be pilot; and |
If had wouldn't have strength enough to |
carry them around, unless went on crutch-
es."
CHOW drop that When say I'll learn a
man the river, / mean Ii. And you can
depend on it I'll learn him or kill him."
There was no use in arguing with per
son like this. promptly put such strain
on my memory that by and by even the
shoal water and the countless crossing
marks began to stay with me. But the
result was just the same. / never could
more than get one knotty thing learned
before another presented itself. Now l
bad seen pilots gazing at the water and
pretending to read 1t as If 1t were book,
but 1t was book that told me nothing. A
time came at last, however, when M. b
seemed to think me far enough advanced
to bear lesson on water-reading. So he
began -
"Do you see that long, slanting line on
the face of the water? Now that's reef.
Moreover, it's bluff reef. There is a
solid sand-bar under it that is nearly as
straight up and down as the side of house.
There is plenty of water close up to it, but
mighty little on Top of 1t. If you were to
hit 1t you would knock the boats brains
out. Do you see where the line fringes
out at the upper end and begins to face
awayP"
ayes, SIR"
"Well, that is low place; that is the
head of q reef. You can climb over there,
and not hurt anything Cross over now,
and follow along close under the reef easy
water there--not much current
l followed the reef along till approach
ed the fringed end. Then Mr.. B
said +
"Now get ready. Wait till give the
word. She won't want to mount the reef;
boat hates shoal water. Stand by-wait
-wait-keep her we'll in hand. Now
cramp her down! Snatch her Snatch
her!'
He seized the other side Of the wheel and
helped to spin it around until it was hard
down, and then VIC held it so. The boat
resisted and refused to answer for while,
and next she came surging to starboard,
and mounted the reef and sent long,
angry ridge of water foaming away from
the bows.
Now watch her; watch her like cat,
or she'll get away from you. When she
fights strong and the tiller slips a little, in
a ierky, greasy sort of way, let up on her
a trifle; it is the way she tells you at night
that the water is too shoal but keep edg-
ing her up, little by little, toward the point.
You are well up on the bar, now there is
bar under every point, because the water
that comes down aud around it forms an
eddy and allows the sediment to sink. Do
you see those fine lines on the face of the
water that branch out like the ribs of
fan? Well, those are little reefs you want
to just miss the ends of them, but run
them pretty close. Now lookout-lookout |!
Don't you crowd that slick, greasy Hooking
place; there amt nine feet there she won't
stand it. She begins to smell it; look
sharp, tell you Oh blazes, there you go
Stop the starboard wheel Quick Ship up
to back Set her back!'
answered promptly, shooting white columns
of steam far aloft out of the scape pipes,
but it was too late. The boat had "smelt''
the bar in earnest; the foamy ridges that
radiated from her bows suddenly disap-
peared, great dead swell come rolling
| forward and swept ahead of her, she car
eened far ever to larboard, and went tear
| ing away toward the other shore as if she
were about scared to death. We were a
good mile from where we ought to have
been, when we finally got the upper hand
of her again.
| During the afternoon watch the next day.
Mr.. B---asked me if knew how to run
the next few miles. said
go inside the first snag above the point,
outside the next one, start out from the low
er end of Higgins woodward, make square
crossing, and
THAT'S all right. I'll be back before you
close up on the next point"
But he wasn't. lie was still below when
1 rounded it and entered upon piece OF
river which had some misgivings about.
l did not know that he was hiding behind a
chimney to see how would perform. !
went gayly along, getting prouder and
prouder, for he had never left the boat in
my sole charge such length of time be.
forr. l even got to 'setting" her and let.
tin G the wheel go, enthely, while l vain
gloriously turned my back and inspected
the stern marks and hummed tune, a sort
of easy Indifference which had prodigious-
" admired in B. and other great
pilots, Once inspected rather long, and
when / faced to the front again my heart
few into my mouth so suddenly that if
hadn't clapped my teeth together l would
have lost it. One of those frightful bluff
reefs was stretching its deadly length across
our bows! My head was gone in a moment
l did not know which end stood on;
gasped and could not get my breath spun
the wheel down with such rapidly that il
wove itself together like spiders web; the
boat ans weredand turned square away from
the reef but the reef followed her I fed
and still it followed-still it kept right
across my bows! never looked to see
where was going, only fed. The awful
crash was imminent-why didn't that vii
liam come! If committed the crime Of
ringing a bell, might get thrown over.
board. But better teat than kill the boat
So in blind desperation started such rat.
thing "shivaree" down below as never hat
astounded an engineer in this world before
l fancy. Amidst the frenzy of the bells the
engines began to back and fill in q furiou,
way, and my reason forsook its throne-ws
were about to crash into the woods on thu
other side of the river. Just then Mr..
B stepped calmly into view on the
hurricane deck. My soul went out to hin
in gratitude. My distress vanished;
would have felt safe on the brink of Mag
ara, with Mr.. B en- the hurricane
deck. He blandly and sweetly took hi
tooth-pick out of his mouth between his fng
ers, as if 1t were a cigar-we were just il
the act of climbing an overhanging big tree
and the passengers were scuding astern Xix,
rats-and lifted up these commands TO m,
ever so gently
"Stop the starboard stop the larboard
Set her back on both.
The boath hesitated, halted, pressed he
nose amang the bOughs a critical instant
then reluctantly began to back away.
Stop the starboard. Come ahead on it
Stop the starboar. Come ahead on it
Point her for the bar
sailed away as serenely as summer
morning. Mr.. B came in and said
with mock simplicity
"When you have hail, my boy, 20,
ought to tap the big bell three times befor
you land, so that the engineers can ge
ready"
blushed under the sarcasm, and said
hadn't had any hail