River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-08-23
MARK rwAIN's NEW BOOK.
Life on the Mississippi-A Thrilling
Night Scene.

Life on the .Mississippi-A Thrilling
Night Scene.
In his boyhood Mr.. Clemens was
trained to be pilot on the Mississip-
pi, and it is his own youthful personal
experience in this period of tutelage
that he first describes. The serious
manner of Mr.. Clemens is shown in his
narrative of Mr.. Bixby's exploit in
passing Hat island at night:
Coming upstream, pilots did not mind
low water or any kind of darkness;
nothing stopped them but fog. But
downstream work was different: a
boat was TOO nearly helpless; with a
sti8 current pushing behind her; SO 1t
was not customary to run downstream
at night in low water.
There seemed to be one small hope,
however; if we. could get through the
intricate and dangerous Hat island
crossing before night, we could VEN
ture the, rest, for we could have plain
er sailing and better water. But it
would be insanity to attempt Hat island
at night. So there was deal of looking
at watches all the rest Of the day, and a
constant q ciphering upon the
speed we were making; Hat
Island was the eternal subject; some
/ times hope was high and sometimes we
| we're delayed by bad crossing, and
down it went again. For hours all hands
| lay under the burden of this suppressed
excitement; it was even communicated
to me, and [ got to feeling so solicitous
| abottt Hat Island, and under such an
awful pressure OF responsibility, that |
wished that J. might have five minutes
4 on shore to draw a good, full relieving
/ breath, and start over again. We were
\ standing no regular watches. Each of
our pilots ran such portions of the river
as he had run when coming upstream,
| because of his greater familiarity with 1t;
but both remained in the pilot house
constantly.
An hour before sunset, Mr.. Bixby
took the wheel and Mr.W- stepped
aside. For the next thirty minutes
every man held his watch i'll his hand
and was restless, silent and uneasy,
At last somebody said, with a doomtul
sigh gl,So,, r,,ao.,. III. fslana-.pd y.
| can't make it."
All the watches closed with snap
| everybody sighed and muttered. some
| thing about its being 'too bad, too bad
| ha, if we could only have got here hall
] an hour soonerw and the place WAS thick
with the atmosphere of disappointment.
Some started to go out, hut loitered
| hearing mo bell-tap to land. The sur
| dipped behind the horizon, the boat
went on. Inquiring looks passed from
one guest to another; and one who had
his hand on the door-knob and had
turned it, waited, then presently took
away his hand and let the knob turr
| back again. We bore steadily down the
| bend. More looks were exchanged, and
| mods of surprised admlraton-but nc
words. Insensibly the men drew
together behind Mr.. Bixby, as the sky
| darkened and one or two dim stars came
out. The dead silence and sense o
| waiting became oppressive. Mr.. Bixby
| pulled the cord, and two deep, mellow
| notes from the hi bell floated off on the
| night. Then pause, and one more
note was struck. The watchman's voice
| followed, from The hurricane deck:
''tabboard lead, therei StabbOarC
leadP'
The cries Of the leadsmen began tc
rise oft of the distance, and were grutfiy
| repeated by the word-passers on the
hurricane deck.
MARK three! Mark three
Quarter-less-three! . Halftwain
| g.. Quarter twain! Mark twain
Quarter-less"-
Mr.. Bixby pulled two bell-ropes, anC
was answered by faint junglings far be,
| low in the engine-rCom, and our speed
sackened. The steam began to whistle
| through the guage-coCks. The cries o.
leadsmen went on-and it Is weird
sound, always in the night. Every pilo
| in the lot was watching now with fixed
ota rod hrAot IN
| No body was calm and easy but Mr.. Blk
by He would put his wheel down ant
stand on spoke, and as the steamer
swung into herUo me) utterly invisible
marks-for we seemed to be in the mids
| of a wide and gloomy sea-he would
| meet and fasten her there. Out of thu
murmur of half audible talk, one caugh
q cohere mt sentence now and then
| such as:
"There; she's over the first reef al
rightw
After a pause another subdued
| voice.
"Her stern's coming down just exact
iy right, by Georgep
"Now she's in the marks; over che
| goesl"
Somebody else muttered:-
''Oh, it was done beautifll-beauti-
full"
Now the engines were stopped alto
gether and we drlfted with the current
| Not that could see the boat drift, for |
could not, the stars being all gone by
| this time This drifting was the dis.
| mallest work; it held ones heart still.
| Presently discovered a blacker gloom
| than that which surrounded us. 1t was
| the head of the island. We were closing
| right down upon it. We entered It's
| deeper shadow, and so imminent seem
| ed the peril that / was likely to sufiocate
and had the strongest impulse to do
something, anything, to save the vessel
But still Mr.. Bixby stood by his wheel.
| silent, intent as cat, and all the pilets
stood shoulder to shoulder at his back
''She'll not make it, somebody wills
pered.
The water grew shoaler an shoaler,
| by the leadsman's cries, till it was down
| to
"Eight-and-a half Eight
| feet!. . Seven-and"-
Mr.. Bixby said warningly through his
speaking tube to the engineer
''Stand by, now!"
| "Aye-ave, sirp'
''Seven-and-a-half Seven feet! Six
and"-
We touched the bottom! Instantly
Mr.. Bixby set lot of bells ringing,
shouted through the tube, ''now let her
have it-eyery ounce you've gotp the
to his partner. Put her hard down!
snatch herl snatch herw The boat
| rasped and ground her way through the
sand, hung upon the apex of disaster
single tremendous instant, and then
| over she went! And then such shout
as went up at Mr.. Bixby's back never
loosened the roof of pilot-house be-
fore!
Mr.. Bixby was hero that night: and it
was some little time, too, before his ex-
plot ceased to be talked about by river
men.