The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1875-05-26


house is steady all the time, but it
does not reach high and satisfactory
condition until some time after the
young pilot has been standing his
own watch" alone and under the
staggering weight.of all the RESPONSE
bllities connected with the position.
When an apprentice has become pref
ty thoroughly acquainted with the
river he goes Gathering along so fear
lessly with his steamboat, night or
day, that he presently begins to mag
Inc that 1t is HIS courage that AMI
mates him; but the first time the pilot
steps out, and leaves him to his de-
vices, he finds that it was the other
mans. He discovers that the article
together. The whole river is brist-
ling. with exigencies in moment.
He is not prepared Tor them; he does
knowledge forsakes him, and within
sheet and scared almost to death.
Therefore pilots wisely train these
cubs by various strategic tricks to
calmly. A favorite way of theirs Is
candidate. ssls
Mr.. B. served me in this fashion
once, and for years afterward | used
to blush in my sleep as l thought of
it. I had become a good steersman-
so good, indeed, that / had all the
work to do on our watch, night and
day. Mr.. B. seldom made a sugges-
ton to me; all he ever did was to take
the wheel on particularly bad nights
or in particularly bad crossings, land
the boat when she needed to be land
ed, play gentleman of leisure nine
tenths of the watch. and collect the
wages. The lower river was about
bankfull, and if anybody had ques-
toned my ability to run any crossing
between Cairo and New Orleans with
out help or instruction should have
felt irreparably hurt The idea of
being afraid of any crossing in the lot,
in the DAYTIME, was thing too pre-
posterous for contemplation. Well,
one matchless summers day I was
bowling down the bend above Island
66, brim full of self conceit and carry
rying my nose as high as giraffe s,
when Mr.. B. said:
81 am going below awhile I sup
pose you know the next crossing? p
This was almost an affront. 1t was
about the plaipest and simplest cross
ing in the whole river. One couldn
come to any harm, whether he ran
right in or not; and as for depth, there
never had been any bottom there. l
knew all this perfectly we'll.
Know how to RUN it? Why, [
can run it with my eyes shut
How much water is there in it %
We'll. that is an odd question. |
couldn't get bottom there with a
church steeple. y
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. l began to
imagine all SORTS of things Mr.. B.,
unknown to me of course, sent some
body down to the forecastle with some
mysterious instructions to the leads
men, another messenger was sent to
whisper among the officers, and then
Mr.. B. went into hiding behind
smoke stack where he could observe
results. Presently the captain stepped
out on the hurricane deck, next the
chief mate appeared, then a clerk.
Every moment or two straggler was
added to my audience, and before /
got to the head of the island 1 had
fifteen or twenty people assembled
down there under my nose [ began
to wonder what the trouble was AS
| started across, the captain glanced
aloft at me and said, with sham I'M
easiness in his voice:
where is Mr. B. ?''
"Gone below, sir
But that did the business for me.
My imagination began to construct
dangers out of nothing, and they null
tiplied faster than [ could keep the
run of them. All at oncef imagined
l saw shoal water ahead The wave
of coward agony that surged through
me then came near dislocating every
joint in me. All my confidence in
that crossing vanished [ seized the
bell-rope; dropped it, ashamed seized
it again; dropped it once more;
clutched it tremblingly once again,
and pulled it so feebly that I could
hardly hear the stroke myself Cap
tain and mate sang out instantly, and
both together:
''Starboard lead there and quick
about i'll"
This was another shock. I began
to climb the wheel like sqirrel; but
[ would hardly get the boat started
to port before l would see new dan.
gers on that side, and away [ would
spin to the other, only to lind perils
accommodating to starboard, and be
crazy to get to port again. Then
came the landsman's sepulchral cry:
'D-e-e-p four p
Deep four in bottomless crossing
The terror of it took my breath away
Mark three! Mark three
Quarter less three Half twain!
This was frightful! l seized the
bell ropes and stopped the engines.
Quarter twain! Quarter twain
MARK twain =
l was helpless. I did not know
what in the world to do. l was
quaking from head to foot, and l
could have hung my hat on my eyes,
they stuck out SO far.
Quarter less twain! Nine and
HALF p
We we're DRAWING nine My
hands we're In nerveless futter. l
could not ring bell intelligently with
them. few to the speaking tube
and shouted to the engineer
"Oh, Ben, you love Inc, BACK her
Quick, Ben! Oh, back the immortal
SOUL out of herr
| heard the door close gently. I
looked around, and there stood Mr..
b smiling a bland, sweet smile
Then the audience on the hurricane
deck sent up q shout of humiliating
laughter. l saw it all now, and l felt
meaner than the meanest man in hui
man history. / then laid in the lead,
set the boat in her marks, came ahead
on the engines, and said:
.. I'll was fine trick to MAY ON an