The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1914-07-31

llAS Gil
ing man carrying a travelling
bag joins the stream OF passen-
gers going up the gangplank. There
Is nothing to distinguish hin from the
hundreds Of other male travellers, n
you suspect he is an American bust
ness man going abroad for recreation
And yet for the space of two hours
sometimes 2O) this individual guides
the destiny Of the ship and it's human
cargo through the t%ortuous waters OF
the bay until it reaches the open sea.
He is a pilot for the port of New York
n there are 119 Of him in active
service at the present time, writes
Thornton Fisher in the New York
Tribune.
was privileged recently to spend
a work day with the pilots. It began
at pier 62, North river, where the
steamship New York was waiting for
the signal thai sends her on the voy-
age across the sea. The final blare of
the bugle warning visitors ashore was
sounded promptly at the hour OF 10
and gangplanks were released and,
with an almost imperceptible move
ment, accompanied by a prolonged
blast of the siren, the big liner left the
dock and pointed her prov to the east
ward.
All Very Simple.
On the bridge before the wheelhoase
stoop Captain Roberts, a navigator,
- H. ~ ~ 1-J -
been one of the throng of passengers
a few brief moments before. One OF
The delusions of humankind is the men
tai association of authority at sea
with glitteringly uniformed men who
with ceaseless vigil pace the ships
deck. However. this ~keen-eyed, ruddy-
~complexioned man standing at the
captains side, attired in civilian ap-
parel, does not bear a visible mark in
dicative of his calling, unless 1t be
the alert amer with which he scans
the water or searches intently for land.
marks on the shore.
Out past Governors island, the
statue Of Liberty, slowly by Staten
island and you are in the open. On
one side of the Jersey Highlands lofty
shores rise, only to recede and disap
pear from view. In the distance Long
Island is lost where the ocean meets
the sky. The ship plows cautiously
through the waters, obeying the slight
est command of the pilot on the bridge
since it would be a comparatively easy
pooffar n, rI,p har ncco into tho mud
The navigator, however, knows his
course as an officer knows his beat.
1t may be explained that the pilot
does not operate the steering appa'
ratus Of the vessel under his charge
He communicates by a word or ges.
helm all directions for the course,
which are repeated by the helmsman
in acknowledgment of the order
STEADY. Steady" says the pilot.
STEADY, sir" responds the man at the
wheel. Port directs the pilot, and
again the echo, Port"
In the meantime, while the navigator
is engaged on the bridge, the passen.
gers are busy writing farewell letters
OF kilograms to be dispatched with
the pilot. Sandy Hook has now been
left behind and the open sea is ahead.
The pilots work is finished, at least
temporarily, and the captain grips
him by the hand, wishes him good
luck and orders the speed of the ship
reduced as the navigator prepares to
depart.
A yawl manned by two sturdy lads
draws alongside the huge vessel. Can
you SWIM inquiries the kindly pilot
Being assured by me in the aflrma.
tive, he swings over the side and
descends Jacobs ladder as the rope
ladder has come to be known among
the Gamer
Fact and Imagination.
The uninitiated instinctively shud.
der Is they gaze down the perpendtcu.
lar depth at the tiny yawl bobbing up
and down with every wave that strikes
the ship. From the lower deck to the
waterline is perhaps twenty-five fedt
varying with the proportions of The
vessel, but i venture tie assertion
from personal experience that the dis,
lance negotiated between the deck
and the yawl was no less than twenty
ave hundred feet.
The crew. having lowered the pilots
travelling bag and mail sack. gently