New-York tribune., 1908-02-16

o-e ---r- last summer when a transatlantic
U-s- vas steaminE at fun speed IN mid-Atlantic.
Ja-k ~ eizht-year-old boy. who was travelling to
Southampton with his parents. woke up suddenly
f-07 s=e~ and looked out OF his stateroom window
a bright fuI moon was shining There was not
: cloud in Tie SKY. About three miles away 10
the southeast he saw a steamer with several rows
Of -li--e-ine pcrJholes. lie watched i inrently
uncl 1t disappeared II the direction opposite TO the
ere his steamer was taking Suddenly he became
conscious II a slight vibration. such as he felt
vher the steamer was under way in the daytime,
gnd then II dawred On him that the ship he had
seen II lhe distance and the he was were
bo1h moving along al lively rate
This was The i-st knowledge ne had that steam
.-s did not stop their engines Al night For a
vhlA he lay awake pondering over what he
thought was & dangerous custom, the running Of q
steamer al full speed in the dark
The rsxt morning Jack met the captain a. break
Jas ard asked why the ship did not stop when IT
grew dark. The captain smiled. and. paIting him
gently the head. said: Ny il IS easy
CT through the dark air Il Is through the light
Tou know the ocean IS a big place. and We can see
ths IE--s Of 2 steamer or q sailing vessel almost
e VEL Al. night as IN the daytime. We have 10
slov down often enough in heavy weather and fog.
without stopping our engines ~ night. simply be
cause Z IS dark II We did stop would have
no place 70 alchor-the ocean is too deep for that
and ze would drift out oe our course"
Afre- this Jack and the captain became great
friends and every morning they talked Of the sea
and the running OF ships. and by the time they
reached Southampton Jack mad learned many IN
tsrestilC things.
One morning. when they were walking up and
down the sun deck which is the highest deck of a
stegrle-. Jack said Il know trains al night
But you see they -1n on tracks. They can't go
wrong. unless they bump into another train or
JUMP the track
Wei. ny boy" replied the captain, ships run
II tracks. tco. Only q ship has no rails and her
roa6bed is wide enough for 4 hundred ships TO
stes-u along abreast The course OF the trans
atlantic steamer has no way stations with lights
aad seEaphores 70 let the captain know the way is
cea- O. there is wreck ahead. There no
sE-s % tell him he's IN the transatlantic track
ID -er--5z that out by the science Of navigation,
sr5 afsz@z Knows MS position relative tn =o1a
Po.rr oa the coast just as the engineer OF a loco
motive knows how Tar he is from a station. There
v-a- we cal the eastbound track and the west
hog.f track These tracks or lanes are about a
hundred miles apart. and by this arrangement
there little or no chance Of a head-on collision
be-Vee1 al eastboUnd and z westboUnd steamer
-re 'carrain also SAID that he frequently knew
Eherz steamers were, although ne could see
irs-7- Jack thought this impossible until the cap
tan reminded him that steamers could conmuni-
cate with ore another by wireless telegraph when
over TWO hundred miles apart. He said that wire
les CC--llJl1ication was great a4d to navigation
and told MIN how the White Star liner Majestic
rroe warned many steamers OF dangerous dere-
T. --at foated n the eastbound transatlantic
1FacE
Ja-k delighted when the captain picked up
{ pad cf pape- and made a sketch Of the two
ir'sE-rary tracks OF lanes making dots TO repre-
fs7- ten twelve east and west bound steamers.
Here was the Majestic her way 10 South
enaron" said the captain about nine hundred
rl-es out OF New York. She ran pretty close TO a
partly submerged tramp steamer that had been
soand91ed by her crew, and on q foggy day this