The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-09-26
A TRIBUTE TO PILOTS
ONE WHO KNOWS THEM TELLS
OF THEIR TASKS.
How Work is Done-Need Clear
Head, Iron Nerves and Strong
Physique-Some Stories
of Skill.

of Skill.
White and black. brown and yellow. they
crowd the canvas Of the seaman's memory
From Christiania to the Horn. from Cape
Cod to Yokohama, in every cline and on every
shore. we have recognized the familiar face
be the te bp torp Of
the Persian Gulf in the terrible dangers of
the Hoogl in the coral reefs of the Pacific
Channel that strong. silent figure is a recog-
nized feature of the mariners existence.
of pilotage. but there is only one concerning
pilots Perhaps Of all the delightful books
more we to tbs mark Is
In the early days of the steam vessel tho
great beam-engined paddlers raced madly on
the turbid waters of the Mississippi
With niger squat the safety valve
And the furnace crammed resin and pine
The reckless daredevils who piloted them
were ever intent on winning the race or cut
accidents seem to have been not infrequent,
and they appear to have been stinguished by
Il truly American thoroughness in the mae
ter of grounding. fire, or collision. But what
ever the catastrophe. passengers apd crew
might make quite certain that the pilot would
stock to his post till the last.
Through the hot. black breath Of the burning
Jim Bludsoe's voice heard
And they all had trust in his cussedness
And knew that he'd keep his word.
And you live, they all got off
Afore the smokestacks fell,
And Bludsoe's ghost went up alone
In the smoke Of the Prairie Belle.
Well perhaps these men were reckless fools.
still it stirs the blood somewhat to read of
their exploits and the accompanying hero1sm
with which they went to their deaths II ocea-
sion arose. But these men were the knights
Grant of the pilot world, and much as we may
admire their feats. the ocean would be de-
cidedly uncomfortable place If their example
was followed by their successors of today.
A hard life and anxious one is that OF
the pilot, for he Is the one man in the world
who must never make a mistake. When this
comes to be considered attentiveiy. think what
1t means! All of us in our various walks Of
life are frequently laundering; We blunder,
ing what mischief has been caused by our
stupidity. and in the end we set things
days and nights on the bridge must find his
brain as clear, his vigilance as unsleeping as
eyer-the strain is constant An absolutely
clear head, iron nerves, and frame which
can support heat. cold hunger thirst and
want of sleep; these are the first absolutely
essential qualifications of the pilot instant
decision unerring promptitude, must also be
his disaster swift and imminent will be
under her keel at this mouent or maybe my
stomach would be getting a squeeze" re-
marked a Thames pilot to the captain OF big
liner that he taking down the river. And
this figure of speech, 1t meant
simply that from tho under part OF the great
water interviewed.
AS the huge battleshps and cruisers of to-
day thread their way through the tortuous
channels of the Hamoaze at Plymouth or the
prcciate the skill of the controlling agent.
Those who have passed the Pillars Of Her
cules on their way up the straits may
also have witnessed of the marvels Of
the polits art. Hail. old friend and past
the Indian troopship remember? I trow that
he has not forgotten! She was coming along
-t1n tIp 1Tta md hn Oh ms
around the end necessitated a high rate of
speed stop the engines; full speed astern.
known to hundreds and thousands Of captains
in the Royal Navy and the mercantile marine.
The engines refused to STOP tno ,d dct go a the
as The starboard anchor hung. Let go
the port anchor" The port ancn2r hung
Good Lord. Mr.. s., what's going TO happen
roared the captain. We shall be into the end
OF the mole in something under half min
he spoke the engines went full speed astern
and both anchor sdropped-but you could have
cracked hazelnut between her stem and Ire
granite wall when she stopped. The dainty
graceful steam yacht, with her hne run and
beautiful entry. is treated by the pilot rs
spokes of the wheel to port or starhoard, and
a gentle manipulation of the engines. and
loi she is in he, her b berth hoo, so,oro.storro,
wall-sided 4 O0O-ton tramp. who is as vicious
as she is ugly, his methods are indeed dit
ferent. Here is a common, under-hrod brut"
that intends to do nothing that the pilot re-
qures This is a matter OF whip and spur.
The engine room tclegraphs slam furiously
astern" the great coarse pitched propeller
revolves madly;, churnn 1i up the foam Gaming
from heard way to hard the other. She
Usage and sidles and hangs on her helm her
every vicious trick of her nasty nature. But
she is no match for the brain and Will power
opposed to her. Whether she goes ahead,
astern sideways appears to matter moth
ing to her master on the bridge; she has to
move in certain direction, ana sto%iy oua
her clear of all obstacles. and hands her over
TO pursue her laundering eight-knot way in the
charge of her own captain.
There is a great canal which Joins two seas,
and through this passes much o. the oommerce
OF the world and here you will find tile pilot
in his hundreds Now. most OF these pilots
belong 10 "A certain great republic, nut there Is
sprinkling Of English and other hation nan
fish man-of-war was coming through this
canal, and the captain asked the English pilot
public. His reply fun of point, but too
Rabclaisian for reproduction. Having eX-
pressed his opinions with great hcartnoss,
he turned to the captain and said: Nov. III
tell you what l saw upon one OF their troop
ships The captain Of her mad an 2ci arSum .nd
ended up by hitting him on the nose, 10
wnch the pilot responded . by knocking him
pcneI them" "Oh. half an hour afterwarI
saw them, drinking absnthe together and
As rule in the royal navy pilots not
much employed. pilotage duties being under
taken by the navigating officer Of the ship
are Indispensable. such was the case on an
occasion in the Persian Gulf, when sunboa'
trrs A ccratin turbulent rebel had to be
pursued. and he had fed into the unknown
The problem which confronted the unfortunate
go he would probably be censurcd for want Of
zeal and enterprise in carrying ont his du-
ties II he did go and ran his ship ashore
he would he tried by courtmartial for strand
Ing and hazarding'' his vessel; He chose
"a he have such a time he related afterward
You see he said, 7 was Of Sn the f chart al
together and my ship was being plotted "
sheiSh and a huge niger. They stood at