Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1895-08-02
THE SEA CAPTAIN.
Anxieties of the Responsible Man
on Trans- Atlantic Liner.
ebservstions rnspirsd by the sight OF n
Young Man who HAD Left an APP
parentIy Bright Prospects for
" Life Upon "rramp."

do you see that young fello,
coming ashore from that tramp
said a habitue Of the docks and an oil
ex-sea dog to the ancient mariner.
.-..Weii, he is one Of the many younJ
officers who have left the employ o
the great liners OF the western oceal
to become an officer on the tramp,
Why any man should abandon til,
prospect of eventually commanding
one of the magnificent passengel
ships which ply with almost the reg
ularity OF a ferryboat between New
York and England and the continent
of Europe, to bring himself in AT
unknown branch, says the Galveston
News, was a trife too much for the
ancient mariner. 1t is not human
nature to give up the good things Of
life voluntarily, and the command Of
a big ocean liner is reckoned, al
least by the fellows ashore, among
the good things"
AT sea the1master of a fine ship is
not unlike little king. He is mon
arch of all he surveys. Into his
hands is given the keeping Of the
destinies Of the whole ships COM
pany, which often amounts to more
,han a thousand souls. The captain
or sold man" is looked up to and
respected more than any petty prince
in the land while at sea. Ashore he
appears snug in his cabin, and his
apartments abound with every evil
dence of luxurious comfort. But Is
he happy man2 The old sea dog
who was talking to the ancient mar
iner was inclined TO the impression
that while the ship captain may be a
king he is not unlike the fellow who
slept uneasily because he wore
crown. He proceeded:
"You see, it is this way: There is
a fierce rivalry between the different
lines for passenger business. Every
boat in the feet possesses its own
peculiar reputation, and it is the
regular boat which does the bust
ness. Now let US see what regular
lily means. A steamer leaves Queens
town, let as say. She pounds across
the ocean at breakneck speed. Just
as fast as she can go she is driven.
The owners know just how fast she
can 60, and they expect the en-.
gineers to get every inch of speed
out of her that she is capable of. II
the seas are high she is driven
through them. If the winds are fair
SO much the better. Of the banks
Of Newfoundland we always look out
for fogs. At certain seasons of the
year icebergs are also expected. At
all seasons many sailing vessels and
fishing boats are to be looked for.
Well, about this time the ships Off
GERS get an observation, The officer
on the bridge and the lookout peer
with all their might into the mist,
which on every hand surrounds
them. Not thing is to be seen
save the world of fog. 1t is case
of dead reckoning or stop. But
there is not ship captain in an At
iantic line who would dare stop his
ship. I will go further, and say that
there is not one who would even
slow her down without being called
upon the instant he made port for
the reason Of his being late. And
the owners of these ships are not in
the habit of accepting days of fog as
an excuse, The officers keep the
bridge with their hearts in their
mouths. If vessel looms up ahead
like dark shadow against the back
ground of gray fog it takes only an
instant to tell the tale.
"The big ship may be sheered off,
or she may pillow through her smaller
and less fortunate neighbor. 1t
would be worse than useless to try
to stop. Such vessel, with such a
Roadway, could never be stopped in
time. These accidents are not FREE
quent. Be it said to the credit of
those men who sail the Atlantic
liners, they are splendid seamen.
They navigate their vessels through
the fog on dead reckoning, and they
seldom are at fault. Their skill in
this is the high art Of navigation.
But the strain upon them, the con-
slant anxiety-that is what kills.
The passenger PAGES the promenade
deck and marvels at these pathfind-
ers of the sea- But they do not
know, they can never realize, the
terrible tension on the nerves Of the
officers during such hours It Is not
an unusual thing for a captain to
remain on the bridge for days at a
time. He dare not leave his post.
So he stays there and hopes for the