THERE
was
no
use
in
arguing
with
a
person
like
this
I
promptly
put
such
a
strain
on
my
memory
that
by
and
by
even
the
shoal
water
and
the
countless
crossingmarks
began
to
stay
with
me
But
the
result
was
just
the
same
I
never
could
more
than
get
one
knotty
thing
learned
before
another
presented
itself
Now
I
had
often
seen
pilots
gazing
at
the
water
and
pretending
to
read
it
as
if
it
were
a
book
but
it
was
a
book
that
told
me
nothing
A
time
came
at
last
however
when
Mr
Bixby
seemed
to
think
me
far
enough
advanced
to
bear
a
lesson
on
waterreading
So
he
began
Do
you
see
that
long
slanting
line
on
the
face
of
the
water
Now
thats
a
reef
Moreover
its
a
bluff
reef
There
is
a
solid
sandbar
under
it
that
is
nearly
as
straight
up
and
down
as
the
side
of
a
house
There
is
plenty
of
water
close
up
to
it
but
mighty
little
on
top
of
it
If
you
were
to
hit
it
you
would
knock
the
boats
brains
out
Do
you
see
where
the
line
fringes
out
at
the
upper
end
and
begins
to
fade
away
Yes
sir
Well
that
is
a
low
place
that
is
the
head
of
the
reef
You
can
climb
over
there
and
not
hurt
anything
Cross
over
now
and
follow
along
close
under
the
reef
easy
water
there
not
much
current
I
followed
the
reef
along
till
I
approached
the
fringed
end
Then
Mr
Bixby
said
Now
get
ready
Wait
till
I
give
the
word
She
wo
not
want
to
mount
the
reef
a
boat
hates
shoal
water
Stand
by
wait
WAIT
keep
her
well
in
hand
NOW
cramp
her
down
Snatch
her
snatch
her
He
seized
the
other
side
of
the
wheel
and
helped
to
spin
it
around
until
it
was
hard
down
and
then
we
held
it
so
The
boat
resisted
and
refused
to
answer
for
a
while
and
next
she
came
surging
to
starboard
mounted
the
reef
and
sent
a
long
angry
ridge
of
water
foaming
away
from
her
bows
Now
watch
her
watch
her
like
a
cat
or
shell
get
away
from
you
When
she
fights
strong
and
the
tiller
slips
a
little
in
a
jerky
greasy
sort
of
way
let
up
on
her
a
trifle
it
is
the
way
she
tells
you
at
night
that
the
water
is
too
shoal
but
keep
edging
her
up
little
by
little
toward
the
point
You
are
well
up
on
the
bar
now
there
is
a
bar
under
every
point
because
the
water
that
comes
down
around
it
forms
an
eddy
and
allows
the
sediment
to
sink
Do
you
see
those
fine
lines
on
the
face
of
the
water
that
branch
out
like
the
ribs
of
a
fan
Well
those
are
little
reefs
you
want
to
just
miss
the
ends
of
them
but
run
them
pretty
close
Now
look
out
look
out
Do
not
you
crowd
that
slick
greasylooking
place
there
ai
not
nine
feet
there
she
wo
not
stand
it
She
begins
to
smell
it
look
sharp
I
tell
you
Oh
blazes
there
you
go
Stop
the
starboard
wheel
Quick
Ship
up
to
back
Set
her
back
The
engine
bells
jingled
and
the
engines
answered
promptly
shooting
white
columns
of
steam
far
aloft
out
of
the
scape
pipes
but
it
was
too
late
The
boat
had
smelt
the
bar
in
good
earnest
the
foamy
ridges
that
radiated
from
her
bows
suddenly
disappeared
a
great
dead
swell
came
rolling
forward
and
swept
ahead
of
her
she
careened
far
over
to
larboard
and
went
tearing
away
toward
the
other
shore
as
if
she
were
about
scared
to
death
We
were
a
good
mile
from
where
we
ought
to
have
been
when
we
finally
got
the
upper
hand
of
her
again
During
the
afternoon
watch
the
next
day
Mr
Bixby
asked
me
if
I
knew
how
to
run
the
next
few
miles
I
said
Go
inside
the
first
snag
above
the
point
outside
the
next
one
start
out
from
the
lower
end
of
Higginss
woodyard
make
a
square
crossing
and
Thats
all
right
Ill
be
back
before
you
close
up
on
the
next
point
But
he
was
not
He
was
still
below
when
I
rounded
it
and
entered
upon
a
piece
of
river
which
I
had
some
misgivings
about
I
did
not
know
that
he
was
hiding
behind
a
chimney
to
see
how
I
would
perform
I
went
gaily
along
getting
prouder
and
prouder
for
he
had
never
left
the
boat
in
my
sole
charge
such
a
length
of
time
before
I
even
got
to
setting
her
and
letting
the
wheel
go
entirely
while
I
vaingloriously
turned
my
back
and
inspected
the
stem
marks
and
hummed
a
tune
a
sort
of
easy
indifference
which
I
had
prodigiously
admired
in
Bixby
and
other
great
pilots
Once
I
inspected
rather
long
and
when
I
faced
to
the
front
again
my
heart
flew
into
my
mouth
so
suddenly
that
if
I
had
not
clapped
my
teeth
together
I
should
have
lost
it
One
of
those
frightful
bluff
reefs
was
stretching
its
deadly
length
right
across
our
bows
My
head
was
gone
in
a
moment
I
did
not
know
which
end
I
stood
on
I
gasped
and
could
not
get
my
breath
I
spun
the
wheel
down
with
such
rapidity
that
it
wove
itself
together
like
a
spiders
web
the
boat
answered
and
turned
square
away
from
the
reef
but
the
reef
followed
her
I
fled
and
still
it
followed
still
it
kept
right
across
my
bows
I
never
looked
to
see
where
I
was
going
I
only
fled
The
awful
crash
was
imminent
why
did
not
that
villain
come
If
I
committed
the
crime
of
ringing
a
bell
I
might
get
thrown
overboard
But
better
that
than
kill
the
boat
So
in
blind
desperation
I
started
such
a
rattling
shivaree
down
below
as
never
had
astounded
an
engineer
in
this
world
before
I
fancy
Amidst
the
frenzy
of
the
bells
the
engines
began
to
back
and
fill
in
a
furious
way
and
my
reason
forsook
its
throne
we
were
about
to
crash
into
the
woods
on
the
other
side
of
the
river
Just
then
Mr
Bixby
stepped
calmly
into
view
on
the
hurricane
deck
My
soul
went
out
to
him
in
gratitude
My
distress
vanished
I
would
have
felt
safe
on
the
brink
of
Niagara
with
Mr
Bixby
on
the
hurricane
deck
He
blandly
and
sweetly
took
his
toothpick
out
of
his
mouth
between
his
fingers
as
if
it
were
a
cigar
we
were
just
in
the
act
of
climbing
an
overhanging
big
tree
and
the
passengers
were
scudding
astern
like
rats
and
lifted
up
these
commands
to
me
ever
so
gently
Stop
the
starboard
Stop
the
larboard
Set
her
back
on
both
The
boat
hesitated
halted
pressed
her
nose
among
the
boughs
a
critical
instant
then
reluctantly
began
to
back
away
Stop
the
larboard
Come
ahead
on
it
Stop
the
starboard
Come
ahead
on
it
Point
her
for
the
bar
I
sailed
away
as
serenely
as
a
summers
morning
Mr
Bixby
came
in
and
said
with
mock
simplicity
When
you
have
a
hail
my
boy
you
ought
to
tap
the
big
bell
three
times
before
you
land
so
that
the
engineers
can
get
ready
I
blushed
under
the
sarcasm
and
said
I
had
not
had
any
hail
Ah
Then
it
was
for
wood
I
suppose
The
officer
of
the
watch
will
tell
you
when
he
wants
to
wood
up
I
went
on
consuming
and
said
I
was
not
after
wood
Indeed
Why
what
could
you
want
over
here
in
the
bend
then
Did
you
ever
know
of
a
boat
following
a
bend
upstream
at
this
stage
of
the
river
No
sir
and
I
was
not
trying
to
follow
it
I
was
getting
away
from
a
bluff
reef
No
it
was
not
a
bluff
reef
there
is
not
one
within
three
miles
of
where
you
were
But
I
saw
it
It
was
as
bluff
as
that
one
yonder
Just
about
Run
over
it
Do
you
give
it
as
an
order
Yes
Run
over
it
If
I
do
not
I
wish
I
may
die
All
right
I
am
taking
the
responsibility
I
was
just
as
anxious
to
kill
the
boat
now
as
I
had
been
to
save
her
before
I
impressed
my
orders
upon
my
memory
to
be
used
at
the
inquest
and
made
a
straight
break
for
the
reef
As
it
disappeared
under
our
bows
I
held
my
breath
but
we
slid
over
it
like
oil
Now
do
not
you
see
the
difference
It
was
not
anything
but
a
WIND
reef
The
wind
does
that
So
I
see
But
it
is
exactly
like
a
bluff
reef
How
am
I
ever
going
to
tell
them
apart
I
ca
not
tell
you
It
is
an
instinct
By
and
by
you
will
just
naturally
KNOW
one
from
the
other
but
you
never
will
be
able
to
explain
why
or
how
you
know
them
apart
It
turned
out
to
be
true
The
face
of
the
water
in
time
became
a
wonderful
book
a
book
that
was
a
dead
language
to
the
uneducated
passenger
but
which
told
its
mind
to
me
without
reserve
delivering
its
most
cherished
secrets
as
clearly
as
if
it
uttered
them
with
a
voice
And
it
was
not
a
book
to
be
read
once
and
thrown
aside
for
it
had
a
new
story
to
tell
every
day
Throughout
the
long
twelve
hundred
miles
there
was
never
a
page
that
was
void
of
interest
never
one
that
you
could
leave
unread
without
loss
never
one
that
you
would
want
to
skip
thinking
you
could
find
higher
enjoyment
in
some
other
thing
There
never
was
so
wonderful
a
book
written
by
man
never
one
whose
interest
was
so
absorbing
so
unflagging
so
sparkingly
renewed
with
every
reperusal
The
passenger
who
could
not
read
it
was
charmed
with
a
peculiar
sort
of
faint
dimple
on
its
surface
on
the
rare
occasions
when
he
did
not
overlook
it
altogether)
but
to
the
pilot
that
was
an
ITALICIZED
passage
indeed
it
was
more
than
that
it
was
a
legend
of
the
largest
capitals
with
a
string
of
shouting
exclamation
points
at
the
end
of
it
for
it
meant
that
a
wreck
or
a
rock
was
buried
there
that
could
tear
the
life
out
of
the
strongest
vessel
that
ever
floated
It
is
the
faintest
and
simplest
expression
the
water
ever
makes
and
the
most
hideous
to
a
pilots
eye
In
truth
the
passenger
who
could
not
read
this
book
saw
nothing
but
all
manner
of
pretty
pictures
in
it
painted
by
the
sun
and
shaded
by
the
clouds
whereas
to
the
trained
eye
these
were
not
pictures
at
all
but
the
grimmest
and
most
deadearnest
of
readingmatter
Now
when
I
had
mastered
the
language
of
this
water
and
had
come
to
know
every
trifling
feature
that
bordered
the
great
river
as
familiarly
as
I
knew
the
letters
of
the
alphabet
I
had
made
a
valuable
acquisition
But
I
had
lost
something
too
I
had
lost
something
which
could
never
be
restored
to
me
while
I
lived
All
the
grace
the
beauty
the
poetry
had
gone
out
of
the
majestic
river
I
still
keep
in
mind
a
certain
wonderful
sunset
which
I
witnessed
when
steamboating
was
new
to
me
A
broad
expanse
of
the
river
was
turned
to
blood
in
the
middle
distance
the
red
hue
brightened
into
gold
through
which
a
solitary
log
came
floating
black
and
conspicuous
in
one
place
a
long
slanting
mark
lay
sparkling
upon
the
water
in
another
the
surface
was
broken
by
boiling
tumbling
rings
that
were
as
manytinted
as
an
opal
where
the
ruddy
flush
was
faintest
was
a
smooth
spot
that
was
covered
with
graceful
circles
and
radiating
lines
ever
so
delicately
traced
the
shore
on
our
left
was
densely
wooded
and
the
somber
shadow
that
fell
from
this
forest
was
broken
in
one
place
by
a
long
ruffled
trail
that
shone
like
silver
and
high
above
the
forest
wall
a
cleanstemmed
dead
tree
waved
a
single
leafy
bough
that
glowed
like
a
flame
in
the
unobstructed
splendor
that
was
flowing
from
the
sun
There
were
graceful
curves
reflected
images
woody
heights
soft
distances
and
over
the
whole
scene
far
and
near
the
dissolving
lights
drifted
steadily
enriching
it
every
passing
moment
with
new
marvels
of
coloring
I
stood
like
one
bewitched
I
drank
it
in
in
a
speechless
rapture
The
world
was
new
to
me
and
I
had
never
seen
anything
like
this
at
home
But
as
I
have
said
a
day
came
when
I
began
to
cease
from
noting
the
glories
and
the
charms
which
the
moon
and
the
sun
and
the
twilight
wrought
upon
the
rivers
face
another
day
came
when
I
ceased
altogether
to
note
them
Then
if
that
sunset
scene
had
been
repeated
I
should
have
looked
upon
it
without
rapture
and
should
have
commented
upon
it
inwardly
after
this
fashion:
This
sun
means
that
we
are
going
to
have
wind
tomorrow
that
floating
log
means
that
the
river
is
rising
small
thanks
to
it
that
slanting
mark
on
the
water
refers
to
a
bluff
reef
which
is
going
to
kill
somebodys
steamboat
one
of
these
nights
if
it
keeps
on
stretching
out
like
that
those
tumbling
boils
show
a
dissolving
bar
and
a
changing
channel
there
the
lines
and
circles
in
the
slick
water
over
yonder
are
a
warning
that
that
troublesome
place
is
shoaling
up
dangerously
that
silver
streak
in
the
shadow
of
the
forest
is
the
break
from
a
new
snag
and
he
has
located
himself
in
the
very
best
place
he
could
have
found
to
fish
for
steamboats
that
tall
dead
tree
with
a
single
living
branch
is
not
going
to
last
long
and
then
how
is
a
body
ever
going
to
get
through
this
blind
place
at
night
without
the
friendly
old
landmark
No
the
romance
and
the
beauty
were
all
gone
from
the
river
All
the
value
any
feature
of
it
had
for
me
now
was
the
amount
of
usefulness
it
could
furnish
toward
compassing
the
safe
piloting
of
a
steamboat
Since
those
days
I
have
pitied
doctors
from
my
heart
What
does
the
lovely
flush
in
a
beautys
cheek
mean
to
a
doctor
but
a
break
that
ripples
above
some
deadly
disease
Are
not
all
her
visible
charms
sown
thick
with
what
are
to
him
the
signs
and
symbols
of
hidden
decay
Does
he
ever
see
her
beauty
at
all
or
does
not
he
simply
view
her
professionally
and
comment
upon
her
unwholesome
condition
all
to
himself
And
does
not
he
sometimes
wonder
whether
he
has
gained
most
or
lost
most
by
learning
his
trade
WHOSOEVER
has
done
me
the
courtesy
to
read
my
chapters
which
have
preceded
this
may
possibly
wonder
that
I
deal
so
minutely
with
piloting
as
a
science
It
was
the
prime
purpose
of
those
chapters
and
I
am
not
quite
done
yet
I
wish
to
show
in
the
most
patient
and
painstaking
way
what
a
wonderful
science
it
is
Ship
channels
are
buoyed
and
lighted
and
therefore
it
is
a
comparatively
easy
undertaking
to
learn
to
run
them
clearwater
rivers
with
gravel
bottoms
change
their
channels
very
gradually
and
therefore
one
needs
to
learn
them
but
once
but
piloting
becomes
another
matter
when
you
apply
it
to
vast
streams
like
the
Mississippi
and
the
Missouri
whose
alluvial
banks
cave
and
change
constantly
whose
snags
are
always
hunting
up
new
quarters
whose
sandbars
are
never
at
rest
whose
channels
are
for
ever
dodging
and
shirking
and
whose
obstructions
must
be
confronted
in
all
nights
and
all
weathers
without
the
aid
of
a
single
lighthouse
or
a
single
buoy
for
there
is
neither
light
nor
buoy
to
be
found
anywhere
in
all
this
three
or
four
thousand
miles
of
villainous
river6
I
feel
justified
in
enlarging
upon
this
great
science
for
the
reason
that
I
feel
sure
no
one
has
ever
yet
written
a
paragraph
about
it
who
had
piloted
a
steamboat
himself
and
so
had
a
practical
knowledge
of
the
subject
If
the
theme
were
hackneyed
I
should
be
obliged
to
deal
gently
with
the
reader
but
since
it
is
wholly
new
I
have
felt
at
liberty
to
take
up
a
considerable
degree
of
room
with
it
When
I
had
learned
the
name
and
position
of
every
visible
feature
of
the
river
when
I
had
so
mastered
its
shape
that
I
could
shut
my
eyes
and
trace
it
from
St
Louis
to
New
Orleans
when
I
had
learned
to
read
the
face
of
the
water
as
one
would
cull
the
news
from
the
morning
paper
and
finally
when
I
had
trained
my
dull
memory
to
treasure
up
an
endless
array
of
soundings
and
crossingmarks
and
keep
fast
hold
of
them
I
judged
that
my
education
was
complete:
so
I
got
to
tilting
my
cap
to
the
side
of
my
head
and
wearing
a
toothpick
in
my
mouth
at
the
wheel
Mr
Bixby
had
his
eye
on
these
airs
One
day
he
said
What
is
the
height
of
that
bank
yonder
at
Burgesss
How
can
I
tell
sir
It
is
threequarters
of
a
mile
away
Very
poor
eye
very
poor
Take
the
glass
I
took
the
glass
and
presently
said
I
ca
not
tell
I
suppose
that
that
bank
is
about
a
foot
and
a
half
high
Foot
and
a
half
Thats
a
sixfoot
bank
How
high
was
the
bank
along
here
last
trip
I
do
not
know
I
never
noticed
You
did
not
Well
you
must
always
do
it
hereafter
Why
Because
youll
have
to
know
a
good
many
things
that
it
tells
you
For
one
thing
it
tells
you
the
stage
of
the
river
tells
you
whether
there
is
more
water
or
less
in
the
river
along
here
than
there
was
last
trip
The
leads
tell
me
that
I
rather
thought
I
had
the
advantage
of
him
there
Yes
but
suppose
the
leads
lie
The
bank
would
tell
you
so
and
then
youd
stir
those
leadsmen
up
a
bit
There
was
a
tenfoot
bank
here
last
trip
and
there
is
only
a
sixfoot
bank
now
What
does
that
signify
That
the
river
is
four
feet
higher
than
it
was
last
trip
Very
good
Is
the
river
rising
or
falling
Rising
No
it
ai
not
I
guess
I
am
right
sir
Yonder
is
some
driftwood
floating
down
the
stream
A
rise
starts
the
driftwood
but
then
it
keeps
on
floating
a
while
after
the
river
is
done
rising
Now
the
bank
will
tell
you
about
this
Wait
till
you
come
to
a
place
where
it
shelves
a
little
Now
here
do
you
see
this
narrow
belt
of
fine
sediment
That
was
deposited
while
the
water
was
higher
You
see
the
driftwood
begins
to
strand
too
The
bank
helps
in
other
ways
Do
you
see
that
stump
on
the
false
point
Ay
ay
sir
Well
the
water
is
just
up
to
the
roots
of
it
You
must
make
a
note
of
that
Why
Because
that
means
that
there
is
seven
feet
in
the
chute
of
103
But
103
is
a
long
way
up
the
river
yet
Thats
where
the
benefit
of
the
bank
comes
in
There
is
water
enough
in
103
NOW
yet
there
may
not
be
by
the
time
we
get
there
but
the
bank
will
keep
us
posted
all
along
You
do
not
run
close
chutes
on
a
falling
river
upstream
and
there
are
precious
few
of
them
that
you
are
allowed
to
run
at
all
downstream
Theres
a
law
of
the
United
States
against
it
The
river
may
be
rising
by
the
time
we
get
to
103
and
in
that
case
we
will
run
it
We
are
drawing
how
much
Six
feet
aft
six
and
a
half
forward
Well
you
do
seem
to
know
something
But
what
I
particularly
want
to
know
is
if
I
have
got
to
keep
up
an
everlasting
measuring
of
the
banks
of
this
river
twelve
hundred
miles
month
in
and
month
out
Of
course
My
emotions
were
too
deep
for
words
for
a
while
Presently
I
said
And
how
about
these
chutes
Are
there
many
of
them
I
should
say
so
I
fancy
we
sha
not
run
any
of
the
river
this
trip
as
you
have
ever
seen
it
run
before
so
to
speak
If
the
river
begins
to
rise
again
we
will
go
up
behind
bars
that
you
have
always
seen
standing
out
of
the
river
high
and
dry
like
the
roof
of
a
house
we
will
cut
across
low
places
that
you
have
never
noticed
at
all
right
through
the
middle
of
bars
that
cover
three
hundred
acres
of
river
we
will
creep
through
cracks
where
you
have
always
thought
was
solid
land
we
will
dart
through
the
woods
and
leave
twentyfive
miles
of
river
off
to
one
side
we
will
see
the
hindside
of
every
island
between
New
Orleans
and
Cairo
Then
Ive
got
to
go
to
work
and
learn
just
as
much
more
river
as
I
already
know
Just
about
twice
as
much
more
as
near
as
you
can
come
at
it
Well
one
lives
to
find
out
I
think
I
was
a
fool
when
I
went
into
this
business
Yes
that
is
true
And
you
are
yet
But
youll
not
be
when
you
have
learned
it
Ah
I
never
can
learn
it
I
will
see
that
you
DO
By
and
by
I
ventured
again
Have
I
got
to
learn
all
this
thing
just
as
I
know
the
rest
of
the
river
shapes
and
all
and
so
I
can
run
it
at
night
Yes
And
you
have
got
to
have
good
fair
marks
from
one
end
of
the
river
to
the
other
that
will
help
the
bank
tell
you
when
there
is
water
enough
in
each
of
these
countless
places
like
that
stump
you
know
When
the
river
first
begins
to
rise
you
can
run
half
a
dozen
of
the
deepest
of
them
when
it
rises
a
foot
more
you
can
run
another
dozen
the
next
foot
will
add
a
couple
of
dozen
and
so
on:
so
you
see
you
have
to
know
your
banks
and
marks
to
a
dead
moral
certainty
and
never
get
them
mixed
for
when
you
start
through
one
of
those
cracks
there
is
no
backing
out
again
as
there
is
in
the
big
river
you
have
got
to
go
through
or
stay
there
six
months
if
you
get
caught
on
a
falling
river
There
are
about
fifty
of
these
cracks
which
you
ca
not
run
at
all
except
when
the
river
is
brim
full
and
over
the
banks
This
new
lesson
is
a
cheerful
prospect
Cheerful
enough
And
mind
what
Ive
just
told
you
when
you
start
into
one
of
those
places
you
have
got
to
go
through
They
are
too
narrow
to
turn
around
in
too
crooked
to
back
out
of
and
the
shoal
water
is
always
up
at
the
head
never
elsewhere
And
the
head
of
them
is
always
likely
to
be
filling
up
little
by
little
so
that
the
marks
you
reckon
their
depth
by
this
season
may
not
answer
for
next
Learn
a
new
set
then
every
year
Exactly
Cramp
her
up
to
the
bar
What
are
you
standing
up
through
the
middle
of
the
river
for
The
next
few
months
showed
me
strange
things
On
the
same
day
that
we
held
the
conversation
above
narrated
we
met
a
great
rise
coming
down
the
river
The
whole
vast
face
of
the
stream
was
black
with
drifting
dead
logs
broken
boughs
and
great
trees
that
had
caved
in
and
been
washed
away
It
required
the
nicest
steering
to
pick
ones
way
through
this
rushing
raft
even
in
the
daytime
when
crossing
from
point
to
point
and
at
night
the
difficulty
was
mightily
increased
every
now
and
then
a
huge
log
lying
deep
in
the
water
would
suddenly
appear
right
under
our
bows
coming
headon
no
use
to
try
to
avoid
it
then
we
could
only
stop
the
engines
and
one
wheel
would
walk
over
that
log
from
one
end
to
the
other
keeping
up
a
thundering
racket
and
careening
the
boat
in
a
way
that
was
very
uncomfortable
to
passengers
Now
and
then
we
would
hit
one
of
these
sunken
logs
a
rattling
bang
dead
in
the
center
with
a
full
head
of
steam
and
it
would
stun
the
boat
as
if
she
had
hit
a
continent
Sometimes
this
log
would
lodge
and
stay
right
across
our
nose
and
back
the
Mississippi
up
before
it
we
would
have
to
do
a
little
crawfishing
then
to
get
away
from
the
obstruction
We
often
hit
WHITE
logs
in
the
dark
for
we
could
not
see
them
till
we
were
right
on
them
but
a
black
log
is
a
pretty
distinct
object
at
night
A
white
snag
is
an
ugly
customer
when
the
daylight
is
gone
Of
course
on
the
great
rise
down
came
a
swarm
of
prodigious
timberrafts
from
the
head
waters
of
the
Mississippi
coal
barges
from
Pittsburgh
little
trading
scows
from
everywhere
and
broadhorns
from
Posey
County
Indiana
freighted
with
fruit
and
furniture
the
usual
term
for
describing
it
though
in
plain
English
the
freight
thus
aggrandized
was
hooppoles
and
pumpkins
Pilots
bore
a
mortal
hatred
to
these
craft
and
it
was
returned
with
usury
The
law
required
all
such
helpless
traders
to
keep
a
light
burning
but
it
was
a
law
that
was
often
broken
All
of
a
sudden
on
a
murky
night
a
light
would
hop
up
right
under
our
bows
almost
and
an
agonized
voice
with
the
backwoods
whang
to
it
would
wail
out
Wharn
the
you
goin
to
Cai
not
you
see
nothin
you
dashdashed
aigsuckin
sheepstealin
oneeyed
son
of
a
stuffed
monkey
Then
for
an
instant
as
we
whistled
by
the
red
glare
from
our
furnaces
would
reveal
the
scow
and
the
form
of
the
gesticulating
orator
as
if
under
a
lightningflash
and
in
that
instant
our
firemen
and
deckhands
would
send
and
receive
a
tempest
of
missiles
and
profanity
one
of
our
wheels
would
walk
off
with
the
crashing
fragments
of
a
steeringoar
and
down
the
dead
blackness
would
shut
again
And
that
flatboatman
would
be
sure
to
go
into
New
Orleans
and
sue
our
boat
swearing
stoutly
that
he
had
a
light
burning
all
the
time
when
in
truth
his
gang
had
the
lantern
down
below
to
sing
and
lie
and
drink
and
gamble
by
and
no
watch
on
deck
Once
at
night
in
one
of
those
forestbordered
crevices
behind
an
island)
which
steamboatmen
intensely
describe
with
the
phrase
as
dark
as
the
inside
of
a
cow
we
should
have
eaten
up
a
Posey
County
family
fruit
furniture
and
all
but
that
they
happened
to
be
fiddling
down
below
and
we
just
caught
the
sound
of
the
music
in
time
to
sheer
off
doing
no
serious
damage
unfortunately
but
coming
so
near
it
that
we
had
good
hopes
for
a
moment
These
people
brought
up
their
lantern
then
of
course
and
as
we
backed
and
filled
to
get
away
the
precious
family
stood
in
the
light
of
it
both
sexes
and
various
ages
and
cursed
us
till
everything
turned
blue
Once
a
coalboatman
sent
a
bullet
through
our
pilothouse
when
we
borrowed
a
steering
oar
of
him
in
a
very
narrow
place
DURING
this
big
rise
these
smallfry
craft
were
an
intolerable
nuisance
We
were
running
chute
after
chute
a
new
world
to
me
and
if
there
was
a
particularly
cramped
place
in
a
chute
we
would
be
pretty
sure
to
meet
a
broadhorn
there
and
if
he
failed
to
be
there
we
would
find
him
in
a
still
worse
locality
namely
the
head
of
the
chute
on
the
shoal
water
And
then
there
would
be
no
end
of
profane
cordialities
exchanged
Sometimes
in
the
big
river
when
we
would
be
feeling
our
way
cautiously
along
through
a
fog
the
deep
hush
would
suddenly
be
broken
by
yells
and
a
clamor
of
tin
pans
and
all
in
instant
a
log
raft
would
appear
vaguely
through
the
webby
veil
close
upon
us
and
then
we
did
not
wait
to
swap
knives
but
snatched
our
engine
bells
out
by
the
roots
and
piled
on
all
the
steam
we
had
to
scramble
out
of
the
way
One
does
not
hit
a
rock
or
a
solid
log
craft
with
a
steamboat
when
he
can
get
excused
You
will
hardly
believe
it
but
many
steamboat
clerks
always
carried
a
large
assortment
of
religious
tracts
with
them
in
those
old
departed
steamboating
days
Indeed
they
did
Twenty
times
a
day
we
would
be
cramping
up
around
a
bar
while
a
string
of
these
smallfry
rascals
were
drifting
down
into
the
head
of
the
bend
away
above
and
beyond
us
a
couple
of
miles
Now
a
skiff
would
dart
away
from
one
of
them
and
come
fighting
its
laborious
way
across
the
desert
of
water
It
would
ease
all
in
the
shadow
of
our
forecastle
and
the
panting
oarsmen
would
shout
Gimme
a
paaper
as
the
skiff
drifted
swiftly
astern
The
clerk
would
throw
over
a
file
of
New
Orleans
journals
If
these
were
picked
up
without
comment
you
might
notice
that
now
a
dozen
other
skiffs
had
been
drifting
down
upon
us
without
saying
anything
You
understand
they
had
been
waiting
to
see
how
No
1
was
going
to
fare
No
1
making
no
comment
all
the
rest
would
bend
to
their
oars
and
come
on
now
and
as
fast
as
they
came
the
clerk
would
heave
over
neat
bundles
of
religious
tracts
tied
to
shingles
The
amount
of
hard
swearing
which
twelve
packages
of
religious
literature
will
command
when
impartially
divided
up
among
twelve
raftsmens
crews
who
have
pulled
a
heavy
skiff
two
miles
on
a
hot
day
to
get
them
is
simply
incredible
As
I
have
said
the
big
rise
brought
a
new
world
under
my
vision
By
the
time
the
river
was
over
its
banks
we
had
forsaken
our
old
paths
and
were
hourly
climbing
over
bars
that
had
stood
ten
feet
out
of
water
before
we
were
shaving
stumpy
shores
like
that
at
the
foot
of
Madrid
Bend
which
I
had
always
seen
avoided
before
we
were
clattering
through
chutes
like
that
of
82
where
the
opening
at
the
foot
was
an
unbroken
wall
of
timber
till
our
nose
was
almost
at
the
very
spot
Some
of
these
chutes
were
utter
solitudes
The
dense
untouched
forest
overhung
both
banks
of
the
crooked
little
crack
and
one
could
believe
that
human
creatures
had
never
intruded
there
before
The
swinging
grapevines
the
grassy
nooks
and
vistas
glimpsed
as
we
swept
by
the
flowering
creepers
waving
their
red
blossoms
from
the
tops
of
dead
trunks
and
all
the
spendthrift
richness
of
the
forest
foliage
were
wasted
and
thrown
away
there
The
chutes
were
lovely
places
to
steer
in
they
were
deep
except
at
the
head
the
current
was
gentle
under
the
points
the
water
was
absolutely
dead
and
the
invisible
banks
so
bluff
that
where
the
tender
willow
thickets
projected
you
could
bury
your
boats
broadside
in
them
as
you
tore
along
and
then
you
seemed
fairly
to
fly
Behind
other
islands
we
found
wretched
little
farms
and
wretcheder
little
logcabins
there
were
crazy
rail
fences
sticking
a
foot
or
two
above
the
water
with
one
or
two
jeansclad
chillsracked
yellowfaced
male
miserables
roosting
on
the
toprail
elbows
on
knees
jaws
in
hands
grinding
tobacco
and
discharging
the
result
at
floating
chips
through
crevices
left
by
lost
teeth
while
the
rest
of
the
family
and
the
few
farmanimals
were
huddled
together
in
an
empty
woodflat
riding
at
her
moorings
close
at
hand
In
this
flatboat
the
family
would
have
to
cook
and
eat
and
sleep
for
a
lesser
or
greater
number
of
days
or
possibly
weeks)
until
the
river
should
fall
two
or
three
feet
and
let
them
get
back
to
their
logcabin
and
their
chills
again
chills
being
a
merciful
provision
of
an
allwise
Providence
to
enable
them
to
take
exercise
without
exertion
And
this
sort
of
watery
camping
out
was
a
thing
which
these
people
were
rather
liable
to
be
treated
to
a
couple
of
times
a
year:
by
the
December
rise
out
of
the
Ohio
and
the
June
rise
out
of
the
Mississippi
And
yet
these
were
kindly
dispensations
for
they
at
least
enabled
the
poor
things
to
rise
from
the
dead
now
and
then
and
look
upon
life
when
a
steamboat
went
by
They
appreciated
the
blessing
too
for
they
spread
their
mouths
and
eyes
wide
open
and
made
the
most
of
these
occasions
Now
what
could
these
banished
creatures
find
to
do
to
keep
from
dying
of
the
blues
during
the
lowwater
season
Once
in
one
of
these
lovely
island
chutes
we
found
our
course
completely
bridged
by
a
great
fallen
tree
This
will
serve
to
show
how
narrow
some
of
the
chutes
were
The
passengers
had
an
hours
recreation
in
a
virgin
wilderness
while
the
boathands
chopped
the
bridge
away
for
there
was
no
such
thing
as
turning
back
you
comprehend
From
Cairo
to
Baton
Rouge
when
the
river
is
over
its
banks
you
have
no
particular
trouble
in
the
night
for
the
thousandmile
wall
of
dense
forest
that
guards
the
two
banks
all
the
way
is
only
gapped
with
a
farm
or
woodyard
opening
at
intervals
and
so
you
ca
not
get
out
of
the
river
much
easier
than
you
could
get
out
of
a
fenced
lane
but
from
Baton
Rouge
to
New
Orleans
it
is
a
different
matter
The
river
is
more
than
a
mile
wide
and
very
deep
as
much
as
two
hundred
feet
in
places
Both
banks
for
a
good
deal
over
a
hundred
miles
are
shorn
of
their
timber
and
bordered
by
continuous
sugar
plantations
with
only
here
and
there
a
scattering
sapling
or
row
of
ornamental
Chinatrees
The
timber
is
shorn
off
clear
to
the
rear
of
the
plantations
from
two
to
four
miles
When
the
first
frost
threatens
to
come
the
planters
snatch
off
their
crops
in
a
hurry
When
they
have
finished
grinding
the
cane
they
form
the
refuse
of
the
stalks
which
they
call
BAGASSE)
into
great
piles
and
set
fire
to
them
though
in
other
sugar
countries
the
bagasse
is
used
for
fuel
in
the
furnaces
of
the
sugar
mills
Now
the
piles
of
damp
bagasse
burn
slowly
and
smoke
like
Satans
own
kitchen
An
embankment
ten
or
fifteen
feet
high
guards
both
banks
of
the
Mississippi
all
the
way
down
that
lower
end
of
the
river
and
this
embankment
is
set
back
from
the
edge
of
the
shore
from
ten
to
perhaps
a
hundred
feet
according
to
circumstances
say
thirty
or
forty
feet
as
a
general
thing
Fill
that
whole
region
with
an
impenetrable
gloom
of
smoke
from
a
hundred
miles
of
burning
bagasse
piles
when
the
river
is
over
the
banks
and
turn
a
steamboat
loose
along
there
at
midnight
and
see
how
she
will
feel
And
see
how
you
will
feel
too
You
find
yourself
away
out
in
the
midst
of
a
vague
dim
sea
that
is
shoreless
that
fades
out
and
loses
itself
in
the
murky
distances
for
you
cannot
discern
the
thin
rib
of
embankment
and
you
are
always
imagining
you
see
a
straggling
tree
when
you
do
not
The
plantations
themselves
are
transformed
by
the
smoke
and
look
like
a
part
of
the
sea
All
through
your
watch
you
are
tortured
with
the
exquisite
misery
of
uncertainty
You
hope
you
are
keeping
in
the
river
but
you
do
not
know
All
that
you
are
sure
about
is
that
you
are
likely
to
be
within
six
feet
of
the
bank
and
destruction
when
you
think
you
are
a
good
halfmile
from
shore
And
you
are
sure
also
that
if
you
chance
suddenly
to
fetch
up
against
the
embankment
and
topple
your
chimneys
overboard
you
will
have
the
small
comfort
of
knowing
that
it
is
about
what
you
were
expecting
to
do
One
of
the
great
Vicksburg
packets
darted
out
into
a
sugar
plantation
one
night
at
such
a
time
and
had
to
stay
there
a
week
But
there
was
no
novelty
about
it
it
had
often
been
done
before
I
thought
I
had
finished
this
chapter
but
I
wish
to
add
a
curious
thing
while
it
is
in
my
mind
It
is
only
relevant
in
that
it
is
connected
with
piloting
There
used
to
be
an
excellent
pilot
on
the
river
a
Mr
who
was
a
somnambulist
It
was
said
that
if
his
mind
was
troubled
about
a
bad
piece
of
river
he
was
pretty
sure
to
get
up
and
walk
in
his
sleep
and
do
strange
things
He
was
once
fellowpilot
for
a
trip
or
two
with
George
Ealer
on
a
great
New
Orleans
passenger
packet
During
a
considerable
part
of
the
first
trip
George
was
uneasy
but
got
over
it
by
and
by
as
seemed
content
to
stay
in
his
bed
when
asleep
Late
one
night
the
boat
was
approaching
Helena
Arkansas
the
water
was
low
and
the
crossing
above
the
town
in
a
very
blind
and
tangled
condition
had
seen
the
crossing
since
Ealer
had
and
as
the
night
was
particularly
drizzly
sullen
and
dark
Ealer
was
considering
whether
he
had
not
better
have
called
to
assist
in
running
the
place
when
the
door
opened
and
walked
in
Now
on
very
dark
nights
light
is
a
deadly
enemy
to
piloting
you
are
aware
that
if
you
stand
in
a
lighted
room
on
such
a
night
you
cannot
see
things
in
the
street
to
any
purpose
but
if
you
put
out
the
lights
and
stand
in
the
gloom
you
can
make
out
objects
in
the
street
pretty
well
So
on
very
dark
nights
pilots
do
not
smoke
they
allow
no
fire
in
the
pilothouse
stove
if
there
is
a
crack
which
can
allow
the
least
ray
to
escape
they
order
the
furnaces
to
be
curtained
with
huge
tarpaulins
and
the
skylights
to
be
closely
blinded
Then
no
light
whatever
issues
from
the
boat
The
undefinable
shape
that
now
entered
the
pilothouse
had
Mr
s
voice
This
said
Let
me
take
her
George
Ive
seen
this
place
since
you
have
and
it
is
so
crooked
that
I
reckon
I
can
run
it
myself
easier
than
I
could
tell
you
how
to
do
it
It
is
kind
of
you
and
I
swear
I
am
willing
I
have
not
got
another
drop
of
perspiration
left
in
me
I
have
been
spinning
around
and
around
the
wheel
like
a
squirrel
It
is
so
dark
I
ca
not
tell
which
way
she
is
swinging
till
she
is
coming
around
like
a
whirligig
So
Ealer
took
a
seat
on
the
bench
panting
and
breathless
The
black
phantom
assumed
the
wheel
without
saying
anything
steadied
the
waltzing
steamer
with
a
turn
or
two
and
then
stood
at
ease
coaxing
her
a
little
to
this
side
and
then
to
that
as
gently
and
as
sweetly
as
if
the
time
had
been
noonday
When
Ealer
observed
this
marvel
of
steering
he
wished
he
had
not
confessed
He
stared
and
wondered
and
finally
said
Well
I
thought
I
knew
how
to
steer
a
steamboat
but
that
was
another
mistake
of
mine
said
nothing
but
went
serenely
on
with
his
work
He
rang
for
the
leads
he
rang
to
slow
down
the
steam
he
worked
the
boat
carefully
and
neatly
into
invisible
marks
then
stood
at
the
center
of
the
wheel
and
peered
blandly
out
into
the
blackness
fore
and
aft
to
verify
his
position
as
the
leads
shoaled
more
and
more
he
stopped
the
engines
entirely
and
the
dead
silence
and
suspense
of
drifting
followed
when
the
shoalest
water
was
struck
he
cracked
on
the
steam
carried
her
handsomely
over
and
then
began
to
work
her
warily
into
the
next
system
of
shoal
marks
the
same
patient
heedful
use
of
leads
and
engines
followed
the
boat
slipped
through
without
touching
bottom
and
entered
upon
the
third
and
last
intricacy
of
the
crossing
imperceptibly
she
moved
through
the
gloom
crept
by
inches
into
her
marks
drifted
tediously
till
the
shoalest
water
was
cried
and
then
under
a
tremendous
head
of
steam
went
swinging
over
the
reef
and
away
into
deep
water
and
safety
Ealer
let
his
longpent
breath
pour
out
in
a
great
relieving
sigh
and
said
Thats
the
sweetest
piece
of
piloting
that
was
ever
done
on
the
Mississippi
River
I
would
not
believed
it
could
be
done
if
I
had
not
seen
it
There
was
no
reply
and
he
added
Just
hold
her
five
minutes
longer
partner
and
let
me
run
down
and
get
a
cup
of
coffee
A
minute
later
Ealer
was
biting
into
a
pie
down
in
the
texas
and
comforting
himself
with
coffee
Just
then
the
night
watchman
happened
in
and
was
about
to
happen
out
again
when
he
noticed
Ealer
and
exclaimed
Who
is
at
the
wheel
sir
Dart
for
the
pilothouse
quicker
than
lightning
The
next
moment
both
men
were
flying
up
the
pilothouse
companion
way
three
steps
at
a
jump
Nobody
there
The
great
steamer
was
whistling
down
the
middle
of
the
river
at
her
own
sweet
will
The
watchman
shot
out
of
the
place
again
Ealer
seized
the
wheel
set
an
engine
back
with
power
and
held
his
breath
while
the
boat
reluctantly
swung
away
from
a
towhead
which
she
was
about
to
knock
into
the
middle
of
the
Gulf
of
Mexico
By
and
by
the
watchman
came
back
and
said
Did
not
that
lunatic
tell
you
he
was
asleep
when
he
first
came
up
here
NO
Well
he
was
I
found
him
walking
along
on
top
of
the
railings
just
as
unconcerned
as
another
man
would
walk
a
pavement
and
I
put
him
to
bed
now
just
this
minute
there
he
was
again
away
astern
going
through
that
sort
of
tightrope
deviltry
the
same
as
before
Well
I
think
Ill
stay
by
next
time
he
has
one
of
those
fits
But
I
hope
hell
have
them
often
You
just
ought
to
have
seen
him
take
this
boat
through
Helena
crossing
I
never
saw
anything
so
gaudy
before
And
if
he
can
do
such
goldleaf
kidglove
diamondbreastpin
piloting
when
he
is
sound
asleep
what
COULDNT
he
do
if
he
was
dead