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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 1907)
If - rr .a.V , A :,; aL:JMMfc. ? i . . .. i' - . . i ' . . - -a 1 111 - 5f5r - "7. ',. '111 l fiVKilAW f -r : --.111 r , J . W y.ff . -i " -:n ;J:"v-:r- V ; 1 Wi V' m F th vt crowds wh will at tend the Jamestown exposition ,.thl year there will be thou sands who will go" to Cape Henry and stand upon the lofty sand .dune. and rase seaward, watching- the shipping come and jo. On clear summer days, when the sVy Is bright axure, the sun a ball of goldcM flre and the Illimitable sea reflects In Its limpid depths the beauties of the heav ens, with here and there ji glistening white cap on Its surface, there will be seen In the offlng two little steamers 'swimming Idly to and fro and rising and Tailing In the gentle cadence In the . waters. Day arter day the watchers irom me hilltop will dlatfern these craft and nat urally some one will ask the question. "What are those boats T" and ever and anon tney will see wnisns or smoice and gleams of canvas rise- out of the liorlson. develop Into steamers and sail ing vessels that come grandly and ma jestically up to the cape and one of the . two little steamers awaken into life and vessel. A small boat Is lowered, three men . Jump Into It and away It goes, . pitching and tossing, across the bills , of water up to the new arrival.. As the little boat-foer aTongiiltfs-OTis rr nw mm i nob to jump ana, line m fly, crawl quickly up -the towering, side, while the little boat backs off and re turns. t Even before It Is again to Its davits .the- larger vessels has gotten under way and In a short while she has faded Into the Chesapeake bay, going toward ,ths marts. ' But while ships coma and go In an enaiesa procession, ids iwq uiue steam ers remain, drifting hither and thither, i Apparently aimlessly and without rea son, and again ..the question,- "What boats are they?" .ITo those who, by their very question, do not know the answer " Pilots! What a world of romance that word conjure to the imaginative mind. Who has not i read James Fen I more Cooper's famous sea yarn, "The Pilot," and felt their blood tingle as they rea'd the story of bow was accomplished the seemingly impossible? . And yet the men who todsy sre the ' pilots of our coast are Just such sturdy, stalwart men, but were ens to say ro tnsncs to them they would laugh, even as It Is tha custom of the seafaring mad to forget the dangers and toll of bis profession the moment the harbor, is reached and the mudbook finds tha bot tom of the bay. - - To meet the pilots as man to man Is a pleasure. Their trade la a calling that few pursue, not because of its hard ship, but because of circumstances of which I will tell later, and they are, In 'every sense of tha word, a chosen its who exist that the commerce of our great country might be all the more aided s v ' " " I AS la most lines of business, that of piloting bas undergone a change during the past half century, and now it has tieen placed dn a plana where It Is a business proposition, but at the same time It represents - tremendous ad-.! , Vance In the communion of interests. eel as a means of transportation there Iibvii hMM otlritaT Tbua fheli rnTTTnrtM an old and honorable one. The monarchs of the Mediterranean heaoed hlsh tion- -ore upon the pilot. Ha wore the rich est emblems of office and in his partic ular sphere he wss the monarch of all lie surveyed. And well he might be, for, even in those days, there was fever present the dominating thought of what use is a vessel , if there be no one to direct her in and out of the tortuous channels, keep her from the threatening shoals and rocks and bring ber safely home laden with rreclous merchandise. Jt was the. Instinct of commercialism developed almormally evsn for those times, and was tt not fitting "that the guiding' spirit of the great fleets be signally honored? As the first Pilots were Roman, the, word la naturally derived from . that source, and, of course. Its meaning la obvious, but as shipping dsveloped and tvwns and cities sprang op on the livers and bays cnnlguous to the ocean, there came a clnss of pilots who acted la that capacity only In their local waters and gradually this system expanded until today there is sorcely a port of sny consequent- on the face of the globe where, upon the dlxplay of the signal, a . 1 1 ( tr,ay not be found. 1 The irly sdventurers along our claat i,d no i have ti i sdvastnge of locsl I I lots, and they carefully felt their way along the shore find Into the various rr-eut bays.. Fome of the- vessels left their twines tin' ihs rocks, and these iii.ln hnrn marked the path for those V. !, f nllOWed. l:i the early days of American history I :ut crs scarce, and many a vessel THE L. - was compelled to lay for days outside the bar awaiting the coming of the pilot boat, and the pilot .was,. Indeed, a wel come guest, for ha not only assured tit skipper of a speedy termination of his voysge, but be brought the current news of the day. v , ' . - This' Is even mora true today than It was then, for the pilot of those days could; only tell of the happenings on his own shore as, perhaps, the vessel Itself was the bearer of the latest tid ings from the other side of the Atlantic. Today, with the cables singing their song and shouting to tha newspapers the events of the world, the, skipper, be AaacltiiO.il t the wireless tslegeaphyr-s frequently astounded to learn that history-making events have occurred since he last left port and the few newspa pers brought by the pilot are. Indeed, welcomed. . . , , ; When the shipping interests of the country were small there was much difficulty In securing pilots, but as tha number of ships increased many young men. entered the business not only be cause of a love for it, but because it wss profitable. Tha seaboard states soon enacted laws whereby any - one who could pass the examination could become a pilot, and It was not long be fore there were a number.' , Being a pilot was one thing an hav ing a vessel In which they could re-malat:-sea: in weather of all kinds was another, and the men banded for mutual protection and benefit. ' A half dosen or more would build a fleet little schooner and sail about off tha harbor awaiting incoming vessels. It wss not long before anothsr set of pilots would show up with their schooner, and thus began tha days of competitive piloting which will always be remembered and of which so much haa been written. As tha number of boats on any one station Increased the little vessels would be - sent seaward Lin. their quest, and It was not uncom mon for a pilot boat to cruise off shore for days and ' even weeks, without sighting a sail, and put back into port with water and provisions exhausted. Whlls each boat was cruising Inde pendently it sometimes oceurred that the lookouts on two or more would sight a sail or smudge of smoke at tha same time, and then would ensue a race such as would bo deemed Incredl .bis at the present time. - - ' , - It mattered not to tha men on tha opposing boats whether ths wind was blowing half a gala or seas running mountain high, the first man-to reach the deck of ths coming vessel would get the pilotage, and that was the all important thought to them. Watching each other like hawks, the boats would had for, their quarry, and every bit of canvas that could be carried was set and away they went, . each boat staggering through the heaping seas. burying her rails beneath solid green water and taking the crests of the waves In cVtaracts across her decks. In such races It was not uncommon to blow away sails, lose masts and even members of the crew, and yet It was these races that led to the develop ment of fast boats' and ths pilot schoon ers . held the reputation of being , tha swmesc craii 01 meir aina snost- It Is stated on good authority that thepilot bontHenry Clay, owned by the Maryland pilots, was used as a model for the lines of the famous schooner yacht America,' that won the Queen's cup. In calm weather, when the fleet of pilots boats could not be sailed toward the incoming vessel,, the adventurous men Jumped into their skiffs and rowed sometimes 14 miles, racing and con testing every Inch, and -not until the fortunate pilot was climbing up the sides of his prise did tha others with draw. - , i At night snd in thick weather the pilots played all sorts of tricks on csch other. As each schooner wss sup posed to carry a whits light at her mastbesd and set off a flsrs evrwy few minutes, It became the custom to carry the white light In a barrel, and thus, without any lights, ths vesels would cruise on their station. v Now and then a pilot boat would put off from the capes, her crew msrry and her pennant flying proudly In ths lyreeie. - (the would be seen off 'the sta tion during the early part of tie even ing, but there would bo no' sign of her the following morning. The days and weeks would go by and there would be no tidings, sad finally she would be added to the list of missing ships and the long line of mysteries with which the old ocesn abounds. On of tha most remarkable wrecks of a pilot schooner wss tha loss of the Anteloune, with alt - but one of her crew.- The schooner wai cruising It Caps Henry . snd waa caught . In 4 northeast hurricane. One by one she lost her end -soon drifted far to ths south that she coulA not make . OREGON DAILY ""JOURNAL, PORTLAND. . SATUlfAY I v lilt . . . k f . . '. - . . i . V' V X. r I r f . ' H 1 "I"-' . t i. v v. ' v . v t 4- ..."? ' ' -i ' " -? y . r . ,-'i l.t: .... .-. !vv , V, : .:-v ff 'ii.- 5rtS-i:T. ' V x-.'T ,- '...- iS. ' "- ' i' t' '.- 1 - : i' . ' " ':. 'i".v-, ' . " '' ' ' ' ' : her way Into the Chesapeake bay for shelter She- was put binder short sail; but the - mountainous seas swept her decks, and man after man of her crew was swept overboard and drowned, un til but one was left, and the vessel, helpless, waa driven toward tha beach. ' A moment before tha hapless boat struck tha breakers the lona pilot aought refuge below, closing the hatch after him, and In ths darkness waited his fata, - Thrown by the terrific force of tha .waves, the schooner hit tha outer bar. Her' masts broke -off Ilk pipe stems, and the bull rolled over and over as it hurtled toward the beach. Who can Imagine ths feelings of the prisoner, or what he suffered- mentally or physically, tossed about as a pea In a bottle and convinced that every moment would ba his last Impelled by tha strength of each suc cessive surge, the little schooner was finally cast, bottom up, to the water's edge, where she lay, stilled forever.' The man within, as he felt the last lunge of his prison, took renewed hope, and. al though exhausted and bruised and bleed ing, set about the task of freeing him self. ' With an ax procured from tha gal ley he shopped his way through the side of the hull, but ha found that tha sand had plied against the vessel to such a height that ha was compelled to tunnel more than fO feet, but h finally escaped to tell bis marvelous story. ' ' Under these circumstances the people on shore began to look upon the calling as a darsdevil trade, and yet there were always plenty of young men willing to loin the ranks of ths men who were not afraid. - - - '. .'. Now and then a schooner would run up the coast a bit and wait for a steam er that waa shortly expected.- Another boat would come up during the night, sea her rival, douse ber lights and Qui etly sneak by In the darkness and pick up the steamer, possibly several hun dred miles farther up the coast. . So keen was the competition-thst Al lots often waived a portion of their fee for the privilege of boarding the vessel far from land, and . wlicn the -atoarasr would draw up to the other pilot-boat and notify her that she already had a pilot there would ba a bit of swearing. and then that boat would go Just a little farther out. , When the civil war broke out the pilots of Virginia and the south offered their services to the confederacy: for, as shipping was paralysed, there was but little use in their remaining off the coasts. The confederate government was only , too glad to avail Itself of such men. and William Parrtsh. William Clark. George Wright and Hoseklao Wil liams were the master handsthat guid ed the famous Ironclad Merrlmac, known to confederates as tha Virginia, during ber engagement with the Monitor. Other pilots engaged In blockade-run-i nlng, and Charles Kelson gained fame and money In the exciting and perilous occupation of steering the It Her' Rip and Iet Her Be when barrels of pork and rosin were fed to the furnaces, and It was a case of escape the enemy or burst the boilers. ' Not onlv did the rllote loin the ranks of the confederacy, .hut even their ves sels, snd two of their fleet, the Plume end Hope, were sunk at Mill creek, sbout a mile above Drurya bluff, on the James river, and formed ths -foundation : for a brldga that was thrown across at that place. ' At the closs of the war and the rees tabllsnment of uninterrupted trade, to gether with the establishing of a better steamship service, there came a change In the pilot business. The. masters of liners no longer cared to pick up pilots at- sa when they only .wished - thos useful gentltmen at tha sntranc to ths mm i ii i, lim, mwm.m.fm ' l''.)UytT"nU.. 1 'HI ''"' F t ; - ri :vt4 . , -. t : 5 ' -.ii . v .t' t"iv,.i" - . ; aii.: ports. The pilots, too,- began to sea things In a' different tight to realise that in constant rivalry there was a loss of money and energy, and they began to gather themselves Into associations. . , The Virginians organised In 188. and they were followed by others, until to day there sre regularly organised ssso clattons that guard the Interests of the porta of Boston, . New York, Philadel phia, . Baltimore, Norfolk. Charleston, New Orleans and Galveston.. ... In tha Virginian association there ar It men: In the ' New York and New Jersey, ISO; In ths Boston, about 14; in the Maryland, (4; in tha Philadelphia, about A 6, and about 60 In the other two, thus maklngaJa.taLpf . XSjjietLltLltlia Six" associations. Together they handle millions of dollars of shipping Interests annually, and yet It Is exceedingly rare that a pilot loses ' a ' vessel, although, with narrow, crooked channels, rocks and sand bnrs here and there, and navi gating in all kinds of weather, there la plenty of opportunity. V- -i -,: r A few years sco the pilots of the ports of Baltimore, Norfolk,-, New York and Philadelphia found that It was neces sary to have something better than schooners In Which to ply their vocation, and tha Maryland pilots experimented by having a steam pilot-boat built The vessel wss specially designed. " Speed wss not - a factor, but seaworthiness was, and she was designed so that she would rid comparatively easy In rmigh water. ' " .-... -, " f - . The success of the Pilot, as she wis named, caused the Virginians to follow suit, and they built th Relief, and thus today on may sea th two little ves sels lying on their station Just off Cape Henry awaiting the aomlng of th ships. The two boats sre alike In many rt pct. - They sr. equipped with every modern convenience, electrlo masthead lights, searchlights, etc.. and each rep resents a cost of about 140,000, while the annual cost of maintaining th serv ice ccsts the association between 140, 000 and 150,000 a year each, and. under these! circumstances, It takes a- good many ships to com through th Capes to pay th hills. With the steaia.pllo4-boat at the Vir ginia capes the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia pilots got ' Into line, each-wit h etnttlnr craft-and, wltH" the exception of a few schooners whlijh art EVENING, JANUARY 12; A 1 used as tenders, with their rigs cut down, th familiar sight of the mainsail, with Its great number, Is rapidly . passing away. ..-', ' ....v i . - By th adoption of steamers the' work of th pilots has been materially ' re duced, but tha danger la as great as sver, as the men yet have only their small rowboais in which they are trans ported across the water from their steamer to the vessel they ar to pilot, and when, th sea runs high and the Jacob's ladder Is swaying wildly from tha vessel's aid It becomes a veritable leap for 1Kb. for to miss that dangling bit of rope , and wood would be well nigh fatal. Two 'men have been so badly tlashed against-ships sides that, when they reached th decks,' theydled from exhnastlon. . ' ! : . ' " f -la winter, when the mouths of ths bays are filled with floating Ice, menac ing the frail skiffs, th pilots run addi tional danger, and yet they never falter, and should on be lost there Is another ready to take his place and thus carry on their work uninterruptedly. '." Th steamers carry ; from six Jo a dor.en men, all awaiting their turns, and as on leaves another takes his place. Th-lr life afloat la varied by the hot sultry weather and terrific summer thunder squalls, which darken th sky and lash th water into foam; tha occa sional big sea turtle; the vlllevoos, or ftBTce northerly winds of winter, whjch wllh' awe-lnsptrlng roar, '"pop on bstti end foremost" -from intense darkness and whlstl madly through the rigging, snd the boarding of ships under all conditions ef weather day and night. J Whan the weather la , dirty and the steamer la wrapped in a mantel of fog there Is a strained and nerve-racking vigil t-k be maintained, for, lying In th path of commerce, there la always the danger of being - cut down ' by some rapidly approaching steamer, and In th dead of night there Is often sent to the engine-room a . rapid series of Jingle bells; followed by a mad race of th en gine to fors ahead or. astern. . In th meantime th other lookout had rushed to th after companion-way snd shouted at the top of his lungs. "All hands on deck!" "Instantly the sleeping men below are awuk. Vpon their wakened senses there falls the violent throbbing- of, ths engine, which, with throttle wide open, la bora under evary .1007. y i 0K X 4 pound of steam; the dull, rapid churn ing of the propeller and the stentorian tones of the chief engineer -yelling to his assistant, "Give her h . Bill!' . "Like automatons, the men crowd up the narrow-step to th deck Just In tiro to see rushing by at an Oars length a towering black hull. An ex change of compliments follows; a sign of relief is given; some one ejaculates, "P close call, that." and, 10 minuts Ister, a dosen hardy tollers of the sea. Inured to such experiences, ars again below and lost In slumber. . Nor do the pilots healtat to go to the aid of vessels In distress. They drag sailing vessels --and- . steamers rron, shoals,, and" scarcely a month passes but -what one of th boats renders aid and thus saves millions to owners and ma rine Insurance eompanle. A notrrbl and heroic rescue was that of th entire crew of the sugar-laden ship Bangalore, which was pounding to pieces on Smith's Island Shoals, below Cap Henry, In a northeast gale. In this rescue the Virginia pilots Jcopar- -v USE YOUR WINGS By John Anderson Jayne. ...'' H; AVE - you ever watched an old eagle teaoh Its young to fly? l'rom her nest away : up In . th topmost branches of a tall tree, the old -bird will cast herself, and then, spreading powerful wings, float . In the air, all the while calling to the little eagle up In the neat Then the little one will crawl to th aid of the nest, and, peering over, look for mother,- finally obeying ber call and tumbts down through th air, and ul timately land on th outstretched pin Ions of the -big bird that has given. It life. Again and again th act is re peated until the little wings of th eaglet - begin to gather - strength and follow the-dlreotlon-of -4ta-brain, , and presently It Is abls to poise Itself on th edge of th nest and launch Itself out Into space moving - hither and thither aa It may lect . What la the secret - of ths eagle'a growing and continuing power? . . .This:- It launches Itself out on its own wings, takes and makes tta own Initiative, and thus become, th mon arch of th air, largest and best among all th birds. But suppose that eaglet did not work out the initiative of Its own. Always a weakling, always a dependent, alwaya of no valu. . You have seen men like that They were very atrong, had resident within them latent.' powers. They fall Be cause , they ' lack the Initiative! They were - alavea to preoedont custom and ceremonial!' They were always fearful of their own powers, afraid that "peo- pl would talk. -They dared not be or iginal! They dared not think of them selves! They may have been good workmen In tholr choson lines, but they never,- got any farther than a position of mediocrity because they dared not use their wings! ' r V Sometimes you hear men complaining because they have no chance. Because they am not given, he helping hand. They ssv: All the opportunities ar gone? ' The good places have - been anappad up!" " - But the good' place are not all gone, and opportunity Is continually knocking at. the door of a man's life. -; Opportu-' nlty .knocks more than once, twice aye, many limes. ' ' 1 Yon stand by the side of th cradle, watching a sleeping child. You" oalinot dlsed both their Uvea and vessel, for thoy had to go Into shallow waten with heavy, breaking seas filled with debris. A few. years ago a Main fishing. smack was discovered at night during a gal In foundering condition, and her -crew of 10 were taken off Juat aa th . vessel was settling. Reward? you ask. No. Nothing but th gratitude of th .;, resoued and th consciousness of having performed an actr of humanity,- r In cases where steamers sr hauled Off the beach there Is generally a olalm for salvage; but the sum lit .usually so small that It only buys a new hawser- superannuated fund, for the pilots car for those of their association who from age or disablement are unable to cop-, tlnue In activ .service. , How one may become a pilot la fre quently asked. Vis th .associations' ars ; really stock companies, each man hold- ' lug a "percentage of th '-value of tha ' equipment, vacancies come only by death or retirement- Then a young man between 1 and 18 la given an oppor tunity. He la usually a son or relative of one of the pilots, and h is first plaocd upon one of the tenders, or train- ' Ing ships, aa th sailing craft ar called. .. There, Just as though he had snipped to sea, he begins Ms apprenticeship. H Is taught all the rudiments of handling a, sail vessel under all weather conditions, and he makes the acquaintance of th leadline and eOmpaas. ; - Tha former la used dally, and by th time he haa served four years there Is , not a square foot rf ths bottom oa his station that ba does not know bow much rater la over it During hla apprentice thlp h receive hla board and a dollar -r so a .week. Just enough to keep Mm 'n tobacco and carfar on his shore day,, nce a month. . . ' -.Having mastered his courses and th schooner, bo la given a berth on th steamer, where he Is taught th secrets ' and mysteries of the pilothouse, and then, if he has passed the ordeal, he Is given a half-branch, and after, a few trip with some of the older men h . may take to port anything drawing less than II feet-.' ' - '-.;. Of course; ths brightest men ar pro moted first, and aa soon as he gets hla 4 'half h begin to draw his salary, and this. If ho Is ambitious, he salts down and watches, ' works snd waits until- there Is presented to him his certificate as a full-fledged pilot. V j - '- Then be-ha or raises the money to -buy an Interest in the association: . This Interest always haa a cash value, and many a pilot withdrawing has sold but hla share and realised a tidy aura with ' which to begin lifo anew In some other field. '..;. ' The pilots hv ever been noted for their sobriety. Their responsibilities are heavy, and fliey tnust be constantly cool p and c-lear-headWI, and. as a rule, they . are the beat element of their commun ity, beloved and respected by alt 7, Besldea tnklng vessela In and out Of port, the pilots cooperate with national and stats quarantine officers, signal sta tions for the completion or news ror maritime exchange and with thhydro graph I o offlres.'clvlng general Informs'""-1 tfon of derelicts, etc' They are. In fact." a cog In th wheels of commerce which - Insures smooth running to maritime machinery and Its various Intereata. As to their Incomes.' thst depends upon tha number of ' shlpa that Paa their wmv All money goes Into a eon mon fund, the current - expenses are taken out snd-- th remainder divided. evenly, so timt their Indlvldusl revenue varies from month t month; but thsy make a fair living, and, considering that thev-bav devoted th best years of their Ufa to a calling replete -with hard-." ship and danger, they well earn it but. admire Its. soft neck, cheek.; tta ohubby little handa. Its- pearl-IIke ear. Wrapped up in that child ar posslbtli- ties so great so manifold that no on can tell th Bum total of them. That ' chld growa. ' It begin feeling th bud of possibilities , rising . within it It; throws Itself eagelrly . Into Ufa. , Day by day it learna from experience, and day by day launches Into new Initia tives. Presently the ! world neara of an intrepid discoverer who has brought a new continent to view, haa aanlhllat- f ad space, lengthened Ufa, given to th ( ambition of men greater scope I - Then ths world worships at the ahln of th man who haa written his name in big -letters. on th posters of llfa. Tss your winger Don't grovel soar! Be a slave to no man's code of thought! Think for yourself! Determine thatr you are mad of - th great tilings prophesied by your anatomy, your gray matter and your heart thoughtl What if people do talk? Talk balks in th presence of success! - Get a grip on your staying powers. - Plan four ' work. Thsn work your plans. Get success. . credit fame by deserv rng them I Don't be an Imitator. Strike ' out for tha atrong-llmbed, clear-eyed, -humanity-loving heart of the Initiator. Don't Imltatel Initiate! Uss your wings! v ' Skinning Rone. ' General-Sherman one possessed an Irlah servant whoso forte was asking questions and trying to find out the why and wherefore of everything h was told to do. During a battle an orderlr on day approached th general and told him that hla favortt horse, Ross, had been atrock by a cannon ball and killed. f v Calling hla Irish servanth general' said, "Go skin Ross."- --, , " "Why, air, U Rosa dead?" began tha J man. - , '.-,,. -- . General Sherman - ms up in hi wrath, saying: "Never mind wither h Is dead or not I told you to so Out : and akin him." . . " : Th man returned about three hour later and Sherman hailed him with th worda- "Where hav you been? Doe It tk you three hnura to skin a horse?" "No,"- answered-Mtke, w- ii-tnni' m about two hours to catch him." I
