The evening times., 1896-01-12
Responsible Calling Which Re.
quires laborious Preparation.
PILOTS OF THE POTOMAC
New York Harbor Is the Great FIT.
ting school of All Who c uide Great
ships Up and Down Our Devious
hannels-Governmen Pilots Have
Most Skiliful Schooling

| Ills sDOuiQeFS.
III he has not the lives of several hun.
. | ured passengers in his keeping as in the
case OF the pilot, who conducts the great
Atlantic liners down New York Harbor. he
very Hkeiy has millions of dollars worth
Oh property in his care, which he must see
saieiy guided through the devious cham
neis which lie between the statue Of
Liberty and Sandy Hook
And then, too, New York Harbor ia pot
the only Place in this country where ski
lui Pilots are required, and where the
weight OF responsibility resting on these
skiiful old salts is very heavy.
a river or harbor pilots training must
De OF the most severe kind. His term of
apprenticeship cannot possibly be sbirkett.
a man may become doctor in these days
by attending for few terms a medical
INSTITUTION or doubtful merit, or another
man may become a minister without
knowing the canons OF his creed.
RIGID EXAMINATIONS.
But the men who are chosen to take great
ships up the harbor and down the harbor
or 10 guide steamboats, up the treacherous
channels or the Mississippi or the Hudson.
receive their appointments only after an
examination, the rlgidness OF which scares
candidates into the most laborious prepara-
| uon for their work.
It Is noticeable that after pilot has once
l IL.
| Is testimony to the thorou ghness of his
| preparation Many OF the most skiIlful
| pilots are gray haired old men, who have
| Deen IN the service for many years. and
| who are finally retired by the pilot COM
mlssioners, not because OF any real impair
| uiehe OF theif powers, but because theoreti-
| cdiyr an aged man Is not a proper person
TO De lntrusted with the temporary keen
| ing OF valuable lives and property
| An example OF this kind of dismissal from
| the service is the case of John Taylor
| one OF the oldest and best-known harbor
| pilots or New York. He was eighty-one
years old, but in spite of his advanced
| age, he was beyond question one of the
most skiilful pilots in the service His
| term OF service had covered a period of
| half a century.
it is noticeable, too, that sons of nj.
| lots are likely to follow the calling of their
iathers, and there are many cases in the
service today of young men who are lust
emerging from their apprenticeships whose
fathers are becoming superannuated in the
service. There have been, sometimes ac.
cordiDg to the record of the pilot commits
sloners, cases OF three generations of the
same family serving in various ratings and
pilots at the same time. But these CASE
have been rare.
PILOTS OF THE POTOMAC.
The pilots Of our own Potomac river are
men OF no mean skill. 1t is well known
that the cha nnel of the river is very
treacherous and shifting. The hundreds
Of thousands of dollars which have been
spent IN dredging the devious stream have
10 large extent been simply so many
dollars sunk in the sand Of the river he'd
Even the most skillful pilots in Uncle
sam service are sometimes puzzled and
grlevously perplexed by the ever-chang-
ing conditions OF the Potomac river bed.
Most OF the pilots who guide various
craft up the Potomac are those enIployed
by the government. A pilot in the service
or the government may be relied on as
being skillful member OF his class.
only pilots of the most tried skin and
experience are allowed to stand at the
wheels of Uncle sam's water craft, and
one VINO secures place under the govern
hient IS sure of good place and good nav.
But lie will have opportunity in abundance
TO tax his arts and exhibit his skill
But the best OF them err The record
or great disasters from the mistakes of
pilots is remarkably small, but the times
where the shoals of treacheTous and wind
ing river channels have been encountered
with slight damage have been quite numer-
Gus in the experiences of most river pilots.
said one of the most experienced of them
the other day:
1T is simply impossible for pilot to
Keep the run of these channels II one
comes up the river often be has the advan-
tage OF taking frequent notes on the chan.
ne., so to speak, but if he only comes into
the Potomac once or twice year, as is
the case with me, it is very hard.
SPECIALLY EMPLOYED.
Fortunately, however, it is not often
tiiat am asked to do it, As a rule speciaI
pilots are Kept for these waters and | take
rest and watch the other fellow while
we re coming gfrointhe ba yup TO Washin gton
Even one of these fellows who is right
III practice makes q little slip and brushes
the sand with the boats keel. inst enough
TO make him keep his eyes open and watch
out sharper, You know
When the torpedo boat Cushing came up
the river short time ago, TO go into winter
quarters. one or two of the group of men
on the dock at the Navy Yard who were
watching her approach, saw her strike a
bahk OF sand on the north side of the cham
mel, about quarter of a mile below the
dock The Cushing is a stiff little boat. as
all torpedo boats are, and it was but the
work OF moment TO get her free from the
sand 1t was mere brush, but it was an
of the fact that even the most
skillful pilots of the Potoma C hav har arti work
to trace the winding channel successfully
But this incident happened at a point where
the channel is generally clear of sand.
MANY DANGEROUS POINTS.
the Potomac are scattered all along the
length OF the river, and only very small
portion OF the stream is free from shifting
sand.
The great railyinS point for pilots of all
degrees OF SKILL OF course, is New York.
There probably four-fifths OF all the pilots
N this country serve their apprenticeship
and secure the nautical education which
gives them license to literally go down to
the sea in ships.
The apprenticeship generally covers sew
'ral years, though after a year or two OF
service young man may be given i license
,f a low rating.
A pilots salary depends altogether upon
lis rating, as shown by his license. The
'ating of his license is dependent solely on
lis experience and the quality OF his exam
nation before the commissioners.
The ordinary young man who is a candi-
late for a pilots position generally gets
place on one OF the pilot boats which GO
lp and down New York harbor. doing mis-
elianeous plotting for all sorts of craft.
oming from all qua rters of the globe.
HIS FIRST RATING.
After serving under an old pilot on one
>f these boats for a suitable length OF time
e Is eligible to be examined by the pilot
These officials are men
those list OF things not known about the
equiremeDts of plotting is not worth the
moving. They PROFOUND series of print
d questions to the applicant which for
of the whole subject re-
% ift,S ft-