, 1884-10-26
~PILOT-BOAT LIFE.
The Hardships Of the Service and tina
Fees Which the Law Allows.
Cruising la she Track OF ~In-coming
steamers-A PfIot's Annual In-
eome-charxes According -
90 Drhu.
TO DRAFT.


@In this harbor there are thirty-six pilots"
said the captain to a reporter OF board a
pilot-boat at the home station They are
directly responsible TO the pilot commission
ers two men who every three years are rec
commended TO the government by the Marine
society and then appointed with the consent
OF the council This commission regulates
all pilotage Affairs, and at their ofiice all
complaints are made against us, and there
we lay what grievances we have. They grant
US our commissions after the approval Of
the Marine society, and in case OF ill-behav-
Tor or neglect Of duty thsy can suspend u.s.
Unless with Il . approval OF the governor,
however, thsy cannot sus md US TO- more
than SIX y days. Every three mtnshs we
have o mAle a detailed report OF our re-
&C. p - to the commission. and for their ex-
zen es we have 70 n them 4 per c,nS OF
the amount received. In case Of tr, uble
nmfns ourselves we choose three master
piIots as eroitrators, and ass the ca q to
them.
@There are pilots at Newburyport, Marble
head, Rockport. Gloucester, Manchester,
Taunton river, Provincetown, and every port
and harbor. All are appointed by the gov
ernor and are under the same laws as Boston
pilots. | do not know how many boats there
are outside of this hRrbor. but here eight
boats and thirty-six men are in the service.
These boats will average in cost about
$4,000, and It costs abou $3.50 per month to
run them. This includes the wages OF the
| crew, food, water, wood and all sundries.
The boats are on duty all the time, one week
on the outer station Off Cape Cod, and the
next at the home station at Boston light"
D your boats ever get left at sea with
no pilots aboardgn
aOh. frequently, but the vessel is loft in
charge of a competentman. Our usual num-
Der OF men is -four or five pilots, the senior of
whom takes command, a cook, boat-keeper
and three men. When all the pilots have
gone to the city we wait till they can join u
by train at the Cape Cod station, or II we are
at Boston light we take them off outgoing
vessels. We know when they are aboard,
for they hoist their jack in the rigging and
we send a boat for them
The schooner Is eldom owned by one
pilot. Often there are Eve or six Interested
parties. and from the gross receipts a sixth is
taken for the vessels shnrS. The expenses
are deducted and the remainder divided ac-
cording u law.
ut Is a hard business. A man has to be
made OF steel to stand being in Boston bay in
the winter time. The receipts are increasing
and so does the number of men. We aver.
age an income OF about 81 500 annually, aud
1 have earned 81, 800 one year. The foes for
pilots amount to more every year, in the
aggregate l mean They have increased 500
per cent. since 1895. That year they were
s2l, 900; this last twelve months over Sl13,
OO0. Our fees vary with the sizS of the yes
sci. For ocean steamers we charge about
500. according to draft. All our prices are re
gulated by statnte at so much a foot Of draft.
Ordinary vessels, say over ten feet draft,
pay about 50 per foot, and IL the pilot orders
steam Is per cent. is taken off the bill. A
man who has served an apprenticeship Of ten
years seldom needs such assistance to get q
vessel out or in the harbor, though this port,
especially In the winter, Is a most dangerous
one, and is avoided by many mariners on
account q its difficult navigation.
"The steamers are the prizes Of the service.
We provision for a cruize, leave the harbor,
and sail for our grounds, where we range to
and fro, cove ing "a efo md OF about thFsy
miles. Sometimes when an ocean stsamer is
expected WI run out TO sea $50 or 200 miles,
but usually We are only sixty miles of
soc 4 man is on the lookout from the
masthead cay and night As soon as he
sights "a vessel h shouts u the pilots on deck,
VII, take the bea / 90 10y compass. start the
sheets, and sand for tn, steamers course.
As she nears US We SIT Ut large flag. which
Is about 28xl6 {, e half b ne and | alt white,
on "a large poe above tn masthead. Now, II
she steers fer us, AL ri hit; if rot, we havs t
change our cNris Till the captain OF the
tsamsr sees us. When we ars about a nj e
away W. Ivy to ami TAU .ch our eoy, and the
EN- o. Slows down. iva ne ge- into q :
dory VITA tie pilot All ay in h. path. A
long line Is thr ,Wn TITUS dori fr m IN
steamers bow, and it * drawn aIon Sc.
where a rope I'D l,r 5 oSered and We hLv W
to jump for IT. Sometin ei we miss ouI
hold and get "a ducking, but a line is around
us, ard we don't g rownei. Once aboard,
We tai command and are iesponsibie foI
The ship