Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-11-18
Lights Of NewXork
by l.. L. STEVENSON

lnOSe l1Ctle tugs tnaC pun mere ana
there about the harbor and up and
down the Hudson and the East riv-
ers, as well as the nurky Harlem,
fascinate me. They go about their
business with an Importance not at
all in keeping with their size. They
are important. Without tugs, dis
tribution of food and other commod-
tiles in New York would get all
snarled up. That is beside the point,
however. A tug crossing the harbor
at such speed that white water curls
up along the bow may be only on
it's way to pick up a barge loaded
with sand, but seemingly it is on
voyage of great consequences
courier with a message of moment.
And when a small tug gets between
two big barges loaded with railroad
cars and goes along lodging other
traffic expertly, though only the top
of the smokestack is visible, I'm all
admiration for the man in the
wheelhouse.
Many and varied are the tasks
performed by tugs in New York's
great harbor. They move anything
that can be moved on water. There
are barges which are really float
ing stock pens. One tug gets be-
tween two and, accompanied by the
bawling of calves and the lowing OF
cows, takes them from one point to
another. Down the Hudson comes a
long string of canal boats with a
tug pulling and usually another, sta
toned about the middle of the tow,
acting as shepherd. Floating ele-
vators are moved by tugs. So are
dredges and other clumsy craft
without power of their own. And
when passengers miss liner, tug
takes up the pursuit and delivers
them.
It is when the great liners enter
or leave port that tugs come into
their own The liners may battle
the storms of the Atlantic and may
travel at high speed, but when it
comes to getting into or out of their
berths, they are helpless without
tugs. The little fellows always seem
to me like gnats. But pulling and
pushing, they put the liner where it
belongs. The most thrilling moment
of a sailing is when the tugs let go
their holds. The big ship hesitates,
as if catching it's breath, then starts
it's dash across the sea.
Tugs talk to one another when
working. They do it with their
whistles. Each blast has it's sig
nifcance. When we lived over on
the Drive we could hear them all
through the night. Now living on
Central Park West, we hear them
only when the wind is right. WAX
ing up in the small hours of the
morning and listening to tugs con-
versing with whistles, my magma
ton causes me to see men work.
ing with ships all through the night.
And the bed seems a lot more COM
Portable.
Many men OF the tugDOatS SpenQ
their entire lives on salt water with
out ever going to sea. The lower
bay is the limit Of their travels.
Some men of the tugs do get out to
sea. They are members of the
crews of the larger crafts, high
powered and equipped with wireless
the ones that make the dash out
side when there is call for help.
They are the ones that tow the big
barges up and down the coast-line
Some even go down to South Amer
lea. ga. as
r. 1t has just occurred to me that
in calling them tugs, I have been
using the wrong term. Here they
are known as towboats. That doesn't
strike me as exactly right either
since they do as much pushing as
towing. AS matter of fact, the
bows of the harbor tugs are protect
ed with rope tenders so that they
won't bruise their noses against
steel plates. But be all that as it
may, if it weren't for towboats /
might get more work done. Minutes
slip by readily when I watch them,
g Bell Syndicate.-WNU Service.