Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-05-19
A PILOTS LIFE
Dangers of the Man who
Guides Ships to Harbor.
Qualified Seamen who are Invested with
Great Responsibility.

Qualified seamen who are Invested with
Great Responsibility.
Whether there be dangers in the sea,
sky or air, the perious nature of pilots
duties makes it imperative that he meet
it with cheerful alacrity, for the esprit
du corps existing in the guild is isimperious
in its influence. Cast among the broth
erhood the pilot must not lose, or else he
is indeed ruined man. Except in the
matter of discipline, full command of the
vessel is vested in the pilot. His rcspon-
sibiity is great; the general rule being
that no owner or master of ship is an
swerable to and other person for any
loss or damage occasoncd by the fault or
incompetcncy of a qualified pilot acting
in charge of the ship when she is within
the district of the pilot and when his
employment is compulsory; though the
presence of pilot does not absolvc
master from the consequences of any in
jury that may be caused by his own care
lessness or ignorance. He must be ready
at call, and under all circumstances, to
face alike the winters cold, binding
slcct and the summers heat, the storm
and the sunshine; and blow high or low,
in fair weather or in foul, the pilot must
be at his station to guide safely all in
coming vessels.
And in Boston Bay this is particularly
true. Said man who has lived all his
life on Cape Cod to writer in the Bos-
ton Record: "Wc have had piled up on
the shore during the past 100 days many
vessels which arc a total loss. The men
who navigatcd them were saved, thanks
to the gallantry of tho life saving force,
but thousands of dollars worth of prop
crty are buried in the sand What the
further losses will be no man can tell, but
we do know that unskilful scamanship
and an imperfect knowledge of the coast
is responsible for much Of the loss. But
while it is true that there has been this
large loss hundreds Of vessels have sailed
safely by and have been brought to an
chor in secure harbor. | have not
heard of vessels going ashore that had
pilot on board, and do not think
there has been onc.'
1t is perhaps needless to soy that the
pilot is a qualified seaman, thorough in all
nautical accomplishments; for h. can
"hand, reef and steer" navigate by
sun, moon or STAR and with the "marks
and decps' of the lead line, familiar to
him as his own handwriting, he knows
the intricacies and varying depths of the
many channels. A technical knowledge
of all rigs, too, is his, besides a sign
manual by which he can make himself
understood by sailors of all nations.
How relieved in mind must be the mas
ter of great ocean steamer, with its
hundreds of passengers and its precious
freight, after battling with the stormy
Atlantic for days, with scarcely single
peep at the sun, and in doubt about his
reckoning and position, to see, away of
shore, ono Of these little pilots vessels
making her way towards him. Calamity
she holds her course, hceling and right.
ing, pitching and ascending, and as she
moves up under the snug canvas, looking
like boxer stripped for the fight, there
is seemingly a scnticnt power in her every
motion. 1t is the skill and training OF
years that puts the little craft so easily
within two cables length under the lee
of the steamer. Now comes the crucial
test, for the pilot must board the waiting
craft. The agile crew must grasp the
little boat from the deck, and posing il
on the rail, in the very nick of time,
launch it over into the seething foam
alongside. In jumps the pilot and his
two oarsmcn and soon the tiny canoe can
be scen-now poised in midair on an an.
cry wave crest and anon deep in the
dangerous hollow, coming straight for
the ship. One misstroke, the slightest
weakening of a nerve, and the hardy fell
lows would be cngulfed in the watcry
chasm with no stone to mark their graves.
1t is with delicate care and skill that the
frail craft is ranged alongside when rope
is thrown, by which, grasping with mus
cles of steel, up the side the pilot springs,
hand over hand, until he alights on the
deck