The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1903-01-01
I'm ry>zHE TRACK or THE TOW,
BY Albert w. ToInnan.

-t,lGilS the !ltiSlut'SI ilDuiS ol lilA
- liTr are those | pass alone in my
Hi,lr ruWloAt on Lon" l;lnuI Sound.
\ul hing gives me greater delight th;ln
To nAGdlc out Il mile or 50 from
Shore and there lie ON my oars dream
inG. NAii;iE% tie play of sun and wind
on Tie water. and watching the vessels
and steamers glide by.
III July ami August. l%nS. | passed
a few weeks in II Connecticut shore
town nOt many miles east OF New
Haven. TO this city my Skiif had been
sem down by steamer from Now York,
and had rowrd her from New Haven
harhor to the moorin@ in Il cove near
my boarding: place. The JOY Of that
afternoon in the free air and sunlight
can be appreciated only by Il man who.
like myself, had been porting over
ledger columns in Il back office for
eight hours 4 day for irn months. \
crescent of big blis!crS adorned each
Of NY palms nj the end OF the trip,
IN, my nerves were tranquil and ]
>l"r like Il log thai night
Th" nest day the thermometer regis
tered between ninety and 100 degrees,
and UP to | o'clock in the afternoon II
WAS too warm to do anything but
browse in Il hammock under the apple
trees behind the house. got an early
supper. and Just before sunset pulled
Nut int" the sound. Soon wnS beyond
III" ;r"r-'ol,S set M 10 m'r!i the boUn-
hAri''S oi the oyster beds.
Fhr water WAS unrNilICd. East and
west down either shore to the horizon
moved Il long. broken procession Of
in"S ant steamers. $lHiuinw the cloud
less SKY with their hlncl; Hmukr The
i"W sailing crait ia sigh, were motion
l">::. lhrir sails han"in, idly in The
ssh a;~.
Farther and farther ou, pndd!"d,
III" Snii din of he oars $uUu,iiny pleas
ani!% in my ears. n" sun dropped
b'!"W ihr horizon: the red OF The west
tII "':!"h AnH disappeared. ami ii WAS
~ !. with myriiiS OF stars reflected
'lIr glossy hln"ilnn;>: "r The sound.
: ans began to spark" along the
oH". while masthead lanterns and
I, and green running lights told the
.,o>i;!nn of moving steamers whose
hull> had become invisible in the
Ginun'.
i stopped rowing ami established
myself comfortably on my back in the
bottom Of the heat. pilowing my head
"n III" bow. The cool darkness, the
salty fragrance OF the ocean air, the
gentle motion of my skin. and the dis
l"li sound of bells and whistles from
nA>Sin@ steamers AMI the land all in,
uur"n peaceful hrowSinrSS. which
soon lapSrd gradually and impcrcrpti~
hly into Il drramlrSS Sleep
| must have been unconscious for
TWO or three hours when the rocking
Of the boat nwolic me- Crampcd and
stiff from my slumbrr in the night
air on the uncuShionrd boards start
rd up to find myself rnvclopcd by Il
thick mist. which covered the sound
lik" 4 blanket. 1t was not very deep
for the stars shonc family through it.
hul all other objects were cut off from
my view. There was no wind. but an
ocean swell, rolling in from the east
was stirring up quite sea-
Although without Il watch, knew
That Ii must be well on toward mid
night. 1T dawned on me that I had
h''h ana still was in Il vcry danger
Gus position, not because I expected
amy trouble in finding the land but
because l was in the track of tugs and
steamers. shiv" "l at thc thomcht ~
the ucril to w hno hoon or',nod 81. "l
Whll" aSlcet III that shroud OF
hsSl my SKIN visible to q look
Ou,. ana mig e been crushed
like IN cee shc Soma stoon,n,.1
prov. wi,hout , son, ~, ho,,., hn,,,s
ihc wiser for it.
Shimnino nv. mar. ,i.,o,,a - ,,>
whistles snn,,,inm 20 nr, onn,,,a,
through thc foo rho morrr,l co,,rsn y,
all ,hn vo..o,,. ,,.,,. , ~.
withou, cndonmnri,m mvsnlr no,,,,
anproocb y ,ow or h,rmn. nn,r ornrm1
TO SEQ which way ,h,,. ,,nr, no,I;n.,
crulL tbrn 1ntr,,nino tno nr,,,,r
OF tho coun,ss. f,,. r. ,ho ho,t. ,,.o,.
loaded I know th,t thnv ,vn,,d !,
go;u~ cos,. IT. ,iwht ,hn, ,.nI., -,
their way bock a. Trw Vnr,.
Oo.oo.oob. Oo.oo.ooh, rna ;,,o,o,s