The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-09-11
Captain
Joe Sturgis
A Man Who Could Pilot
a Boat In a Fog
By F. A. mitchell

land college | used to spend my vaca-
tons on the seacoast. l was fond of
water sports-boating fishing, bathing
and in the autumn shooting, though
since the season for the latter came
when l was engaged at my studies
could only enjoy 1t for a day or two
at a time.
Ny favorite place for enjoying an
outing was a village on the coast of
Maine. There is no coast in America
so sought during the hot months. for
there is none so beautiful. There are
islands and estuaries without number
while the air is pure and bracing. The
only drawback is the fogs. which will
occasionally sweep suddenly in from
the ocean and at times last several
days.
The village Of B., which came to be
the usual scene Of my summer outings,
looked out upon bay beyond which
was the boundless ocean. Sometimes
1 lay in hammock hung between
trees, watching ships pass far out on
the horizon, dreaming Of the people
walking about on them, shifting their
sails, at meals, or idling as l was. l
had but to turn my eyes nearer, to an
island beautiful as a fairyland rising
out Of a fairy sea, or, still nearer, to
a strip Of ground in its native state,
brown, yellow and green patches lead
ing up to a snow white cottage, be-
hind which was a thicket of cedars.
Captain Joe Sturgis, a man who had
acquired his title as master of a fish
ing smack, was my principal compan-
ion. He fished for a living, but in July
and August, the fishing being poor, he
rested, for he had made enough money
at his vocation to build himself snug
home and have more invested at in
terest.
Sturgis was a plain, quiet, thought
full, uneducated man, but l always
felt that if he and l were obliged to
float for our lives and there was but
one plank between us he would leave
me the plank. He used single mast
ed boat about twenty feet long for
fishing purposes, and during my vaca-
tions that boat was my second home.
The captain and l made cruises in her
among the islands of the coast. There
were four hunks in her, a small cook
stove and mess kit. At night we
would anchor in some inlet or little
bay and after supper be lulled to sleep
by the sound Of wavelets beating
against the side Of the boat That
was years agone, but to this day can
hear the soothing splash. In the morn
ing we would be up with the sun, and
l would take a cold water plunge
while the captain was frying the fish
and making the coffee for breakfast.
Then up would come the anchor and
we would be off, we cared not where,
since the whole Of these beautiful wa
ters with their green promOntOries and
islands were ours. During these
cruises / was as near heaven as 1t Is
possible for one on earth to be.
Storms we had, of course, but we
were either scudding before the wind
racing with the white caps, or beating
up against them, now and again get
ting a ducking, buckets of spray dash
ing over us. But what did we care,
protected as we were by our oilskinsf
The fogs, l admit, / never liked. The
coast in that region IS full Of reefs
and if our boat should strike a sunken
point Of rock it would go down. leav
ing us to struggle with the waves and
likely to find a sepulcher in the belly
Of some fish. The coast within &
dozen or twenty miles of B. Sturgis
knew so well that he could navigate
his boat even in a fog. / once asked
him how he did it, and he replied in
the same way he walked in his own
house at night. A current here, the
sound Of water beating against rocks
there and other indications were val
liable assistants in keeping the course
and avoiding the rocks.
Sturgis seemed to be a part Of the
region he inhabited and felt that after
death he would still be a part of it.
He would say TO me:
"I've often thought how I'd like to
be free from my body and go where
1 like, to hover above the lodges over
which the waves dash In a storm that
we dare not 90 near In a boat and on
which there is no footing. It would
be fine to skim with the crest of a
wave till 1t begins to curl on a beach,
watch it break and scatter in foam on
the sand"
'In a fraction Of a second" l sug-
gested, 'you might be a thousand
miles away"
81 wouldn't care for that. I'm
home body and never want to go away
from home"
"You mean not more than fifty miles
from home"
"This is all home to me. l sleep just
as well in the boat O. nights as in my
cottage on the shore. The cottage is
well anchored for a storm, but some
how / feel safer on the water, espe-
ciallY ON q lee shore Ynn see Ihere,s