The Mississippi Pilot
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:;-"!!•-, • ";-'?' •": i^HlglS I ^'. "'W^::''%'^: •iiiBiiiliiii Z:S-' i>. "-i •AA kV\ ^H LONDON! WARD. LOCK. AND CO. Sold LjrallC]iemi7ts|ious" p^ifylng properties of pure Vegetable Charcoal upon the Human System have only recently been recog nised. It ab sorbs all acidity and impure gases in the Stomach and Bowels, and thus gives a healthy tone to the digestive organs. WHELPTON'S VEGETABLE PURIFYING PILLS . — • During a period of more than FORTY-SIX YEARS they have I TRADE wflRKUEcisTEREDjj been us'^d Hiost cxtcnsively as a FAMILY MEDICINE, thou sands having found them a simple and safe remedy, and one needful to be kept always at hand. These Pills are purely Vegetable, being entirely free from Mercury or any other Mineral, and those who may not hitherto have proved their efficacy, will do well to give them a trial. Recommended for Di.<;orders of the HEAD, CHEST, BOWELS, LIVER, and KIDNEYS ; also in RHEUMATISM, ULCERS, SORES, and all SKIN DISEASES—these Pills being a direct Purifier of the Blood. In Boxes, price ^\d., IS. iK> and 2s. gd., by Or. "WHELPTOK" & SOZST. 3, Crane Court, Fleet Street, London, and sent free to any part of the United Kingdom on receipt of 8, 14, or 33 Stamps. Sold by all Chemists^ at Home ajid A broad, ROWLANDS' ODONTO Is the purest and most fragrant Dentifrice ever made ; it whitens the Teeth, prevents decay, and gives a pleasing fragrance to the Breath ; and the fact of its containing no acid or mineral ingredients specially adapts it for the Teeth of Children. All Dentists will allow that neither washes nor pastes can possibly be as efficacious for polishing the Teeth and keeping them sound and white as a pure and non-gritty Tooth Powder ; such ROWLANDS' ODONTO has always proved itself to be. ROWLANDS' MACASSAR OIL Has been known for the last 80 years as the best and safest preserver and beautifier of the Hair; it contains no lead or mineral ingredients, and is especially adapted for the Hair of Children ; sold in usual Four Sizes. Ask any Chemist, Perfumer, or Hairdresser for Ts.ow'LK'fiD'i' Articles, of 20, For Beautiful Flowers and Fruits USE CHUBB, ROUND, & Co's PATENT RnnnA-MiiT FIRRF REFUSI ROCESS, principal Nurseriet aging, Forcing, Ferneri ROBERT W WOODRUFF ilugs and insects. Sac 1). Van-load at Works, 4 to about 300 bushels wh LIBRARY :r. To obtain the f^enu. & Co., uall, London, i awder- ^EARTH )ILET. lexion from cold Sliemists, 6d. & is. > St., London. PURE, ;r^joA SOLUBLE. The reason why so many are unable to take Cocoa is, that the varieties commor sold are mixed with Starch, under the plea of rendering them soluble : while rea. making them ikick^ heavy.^ and indigestible. This may be easily detected, ^r Cocoa thickens hi the cnp it proves the addition of Starch. CADBUEY'S COC Essence is genuine; it is therefore three times the strength or these Cocoas, and refreshing beverage like Tea or Coffee. Paris Depot—90, FAUBOURG ST HONORE. CEMENT FOR BROKEN ARTICLES, ETC. F0ULKES'CEMENT ;| AS USED IN ALLTHE GOVERNMENT MUSEUMS. May be used to almost any Substance, from Glass and China to Leather, Wood, or Iron, and the articles joined bear washing in boiling water. The large range to which this is applicable, its strength, transparency, facility and neatness in use, and the readiness with which it adheres, render it, without doubt, THE MOST USEFUL EVER INVENTED. It is equally suited to articles of the coarsest or of the most delicate construction, and will retain its virtues in any climate. Professor ARCHER, Edinburgh :—" I have invariably found yours superior to all others, and have extensively recommended its use to all my friends." Sold by all Chemists, in Bottles, at 6d. and is. (equal to three small) post free 14 stamps. W. J. FOULKES, Operative Chemist, Birkenhead. Remoue the cause and the effects will cease. KABERRY'S LUMBAGO AND LIVER PILLS. The Best Pills in the World for Lumbago. The Best Pills in the World for Rheumatism and Gout. The Best Pills in the World for the Liver and Kidneys. The Best Pills in the World for Ladies' Use. HESE PILLS are Invaluable. They are the Best Medicine ever oflered to the T public as a certain and effectual cure for the Lumbago and Liver, and for all Uisorders of the Kidneys they are unequalled. One box will almost invariably cure the most severe attack of Lumbago ; some may require two, but most cases are cured with even half a box. Ihese Pills, although so efficacious, are in their operation very mild, ana do not in the least disorder the Stomach or Bowels, nor unfit any one for exercise or trave ling. One is. i\d. box as a trial will be quite sufficient to convince the most incredulous that every word said about them is true. Sold in Hnv,, at \s. ijd., 2i. gd., +r. 6d., and iij. each, by all Chemists and Patent Medicine VenHnrr- or sent to any address for 15, 36, or 60 stamps, by the Proprietors, GOOT» 4 T T ' BACKHOUSE & CO.. Leeds, who have purchased the Recipe and S^r^^J to their manufacture from the widow of the late WILLIAM KABERRV U,..I ., f'.Snt Pateley Bridge. London .4^/'K/S;—BARCLAY & SONS, W. EDWARDS & SONS, SAN. and W. SuTTOM & Co. NGHR & SONS, THE MISSISSIPPI PILOT. GOOD THINGS. GOODALL'8 YORKSHIRE RELISH. The Most Delicious Sauce in the World. Bottles, 6d., IS., and 2s. each, GOODALL'8 BAKING POWDER. The Best in the World, id. Packets ; 6d., is., 2s., and y. Tins. GOODALL'8 QUININE WINE. The Best, Cheapest, and most Agreeable Tonic yet introduced. Bottles, I.J. i.r. ijrf., 2s., and 2s. ^d. each. GOODALL'8 CUSTARD POWDER. Makes delicious Custards without eggs, and at Half the Price. In Boxes, 6d. and is. each. GOODALL'8 BRUNSWICK BLACK. For Painting StoVes, Grates, Iron, Tin, &c. 6d. and is. Bottles. GOODALL'8 BLANC-MANGE POWDER Makes rich and delicious Blanc-mange in a few minutes. In Boxes, 6d. and i.f. each. GOODALL'8 MUSHROOM KETCHUP. Great Strength ! Perfect Purity ! ! and Unsurpassed Flavour. 6d., IS., and 2s. Bottles. GOODALL'8 GINGER BEER POWDER. Makes Three Gallons of the best Ginger Beer in the World for 3d. In Packets, 30'. and 6d. each. GOODALL'8 EGG POWDER. One F^enny Packet will go as far as Four Eggs, and One Six penny Tiu as far as Twenty-eight. In id. Packets ; 6d. and is. Tins. Shippers and the Trade Supplied by the Sole Proprietors, GOOD ALL, BACKHOUSE d CO., White Horse Street, Leeds. THE MISSISSIPPI PILOT. BY MARK TWAIN, AUTHOR QF "THE INhXDCENTS ABROAD," "NEW PILGRIMS* PROGRESS," "JUMPING FROG," ETC. LONDON: WARD, LOCK, & Co., WARWICK HOUSE, SALISBURY SQUARE, E.G. PREFACE. THE following pages contain a very humorous account of tlie life of a Mississippi Pilot. Amid bis varied experiences, MR. CLEMENS, the writer of this book, appears to have studied piloting; and if our information be correct, he assumed his nam de plume, MARK TWAIN, from the sounding line in use on the river, the cry "mark twain" being the depth indicated, as mentioned at pige 31. But the pilot's life, as described by Mark Twain, is not merely a record of adventure. It is full of information; and, under the thick veil of quaintuess and American drollery, there lies much practical knowledge and information. The difficulties of the Mississippi Pilot are no fiction, and while Mark Twain carries us along with him in easy flowing nariative, we are con stantly reminded of the danger of the channel and the skill of the pilot himself And although " MARK TWAIN " does not shrink from some forcible word- painting in his book, there is nothing to ofiiend even the fastidious reader in the pages now offered for his perusal. CONTENTS. FAGS I.—How I BECAME A PILOT ., ,. •• •• 1 11.—A "CUB" PILOT'S EXPERIENCE; OR, LEARNING THE RIVER.. .. ,, ,, ,, ,, 14 III.—THE CONTINUED PERPLEXITIES OP " CUB " PILOTING .. 35 IV.—THE "CUB" PILOT'S EDUCATION NEARLY COM PLETED ,. ,, .. ,, ,, .• 55 v.—"SOUNDING." FACULTIES PECULIARLY NECESSARY TO A PILOT .. .. .. .. .. 74 VI.—OPPICIAL RANK AND DIGNITY OP A PILOT. THE EisB AND DECADENCE OP THE PILOTS' ASSO CIATION .. .. .. .. .1 .. 96 VII,—LEAVING PORT : RACING : SHORTENING OP THE KrvER BY CUT-OFFS : A STEAMBOAT'S GHOST : "STEPHEN'S" PLAN OF "RESUMPTION" .. 123 fh%!:^. •\_fti THE MISSISSIPPI PILOT. T. WHEN I was a boy, there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades iu our vi'lage on the west bank of the Mississippi River. That was, to be a steamboatman. We had transient ambitions of other sorts, but they were only transient. When a circus came and went, it lefc us all barui.Tg to become clowns; the first negio minstrel sho.v that came to our section left us all suffering to try tiiat kind of life; now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would p'rmit us to be piratis. These ambitions faded out, each iu its turn; but the ambition to be a steamboatman always remained. Once a day a cheap, gaudy packet arrived up ward from St. Louis, and another downward from Keokuk. Before these events had transpired, the day was glorious with expectancy ; after they had a The Mississippi Pilot. transpired, the day was a dead and empty thing. Not only the boys, but the whole village, felt this. After all these years I can picture that old time to myself now, just as it was then: the white town drowsing in the sunshine of a summer's morning; the streets empty, or pretty nearly so; one or two clerks sitting in front of the Water Street stores, with their splint-bottomed chairs tilted back against the wall, chins on breasts, hats slouched over their faces, asleep—with shingle-shavings enough around to show what broke them down ; a sow and a litter of pigs loafing along the sidewalk, doing a good business in water-melon rinds and seeds; two or three lonely little freight piles scattered about the " levee ;" a pile of " skids " on the slope of the stone- paved wharf, and the fragrant town drunkard asleep in the shadow of them; two or three wood flats at the head of the wharf, but nobody to listen to the peaceful lapping of the wavelets against them; the great Mississippi, the majestic, the magnificent Mis sissippi, rolling its mile-wide tide along, shining in the sun; the dense forest away on the other side; the " point" above the town, and the " point " below, bounding the river-glimpse and turning it into a sort of sea, and withal a very still and brilliant and lonely one.