The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1895-07-06
ANXIETIES OF A SEA CAPTAIN

''Do you see that young fellow coming
ashore from that tramp said habitue of
the docks and an old sea dog to the ancient
mariner.
well, he is one of the many young Off
GERS who have left the employ of the great
liners of the Western ocean to become an
officer on the tramp
Why any man should abandon the pres
pect of eventually commanding one of the
magnificent passenger ships which ply be-
tween New York and England and the con
tinent of Europe, to bring himself in an I'M
known branch, was trile too much for
the ancient mariner. 1t is not human ma
ture to give up the good things of life vol
UNFAIRLY, and the command of big ocean
liner is reckoned, at least by the fellows
ashore, among the good things"
AT sea the master of fine ship is not
unlike little king. He is monarch of all
he surveys. Into his hands are given the
keeping of the destines of the whole ships
company, which often amounts to more
than a thousand souls The captain or
''old 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 evidence OF luxurious comfort. But
is he a happy man? The old sea dog who
was talking to the ancient mariner was in
clined to the impression that while the
8 ZIP captain may lie king he is not un-
like the fellow who slept uneasy because he
wore a crown. He proceeded:
"Iou see, it is this way. There is a
fierce rivalry between the differnt lines for
passenger business. Every boat in the
fleet possesses its own peculiar reputation,
and it is the Irregular boat" which does the
business. Now let us see what regularity
means. A steamer leaves Queentown, let
us 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 90, AMI they expect the
engineer to get every inch of speed out o.
her that she is capable Of If the seas are
high she is driven through them. If the
winds are fair so much the better. Off 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 officers 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 a
thing is to be seen save the world of fog
1t is a case of dead reckoning or stop. But
there is not a ship captain in an Atlantic
line who would dare stop his ship. | will
20 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 a vessel looms
up ahead like dark shadow against the
background 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 fro
tunate neigLbor. 1t would be worse than
useless to try to stop. Such a vessel with
such Roadway, could never be stopped in
time. These accidents are not frequent.
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 constant anxiety
that is what kills. The passenger PAGES
the promenade deck and marvels at these
Iathiinders of the sea. But they do not
know, they can never realize, the terrible
tension on the nerves of the officers dnring
such hours. 1t is not an unusal thing for
a captain to remain on the bridge for days
at time. He dare not leave his post.
So he stays there and hopes for the best.
But it is such trials which make young
men old, and for my part | think that
young fellow was wise to seek in the
easy going tramp immunity from the
trials of an officer of a passenger ship He
misses the plaudits of the public and the
passengers, but he at least knows it is to
have peace at sea, unvexed by the greatest
anxiety a man could know"
In the meantime the young officer had
passed out of sight, walking with the air
of one who knew no regrets in the absence
of the gold lace and fine ship he had left
to go into miserable little "tramp."