MUSKINGUM RIVER
PILOTS.
THEIR DUTIES AND
REQUIREMENTS.
BY IRVEN TRAVIS.
The first pilots to navigate the
Muskingum river were men
who handled floating crafts. This was
before the advent of
steamboats, and also before the
improvement of the river by a
series of locks and dams such as we now
have kept up by the
federal government.
In the handling of such crafts, the
pilot was guided very
much by the draft of water, by which at
such places as island
chutes and other ripples the "best
water," as they termed it, was
plainly indicated to an experienced eye.
Especially at the head
of a chute is this true. The glassy
appearance of the surface
of the water and the funnel shape of the
current when entering
at the head of an island, made the pilot
quite confident; but at
the foot of the chute this was not
equally certain, as in the choppy
water this natural chart was lost.
Reference is made to down stream trips,
and with the best
management boats often were aground. And
it is worthy of
mention that the crew of such boats were
not helpless by any
means, and when aground one of the first
things to be done was
to lay a line ashore in the proper
direction and rig a Spanish
windlass, which was quite powerful as
well as dangerous. All
that is necessary for the machine is two
handspikes and the line
-and to know how to use them.
The steering apparatus was an oar placed
on the bow of
the boat and another of similar pattern
on the stern, the latter
called a gouger. To get a boat in
position to enter an island
chute it often happened that the entire
crew would operate the
two oars. Much care must be taken in
operating the gouger, for
if the blade should be dipped in the
water too deep it would
catch on the bottom and you would soon
be minus an oar, and
(477)
478 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
probably some of the crew in the river.
The late Capt. I. N.
Hook was seriously injured in an
accident of this kind.
PILOT'S AND CAPTAIN'S AUTHORITY.
The first pilots of steamboats were
those the captain or
owner would trust, as no license was
required until by an act
of Congress, June 7th, 1838, both pilots
and engineers were re-
quired to have licenses. The fee was
$10.00 for each issue, license
having to be renewed each year. Still it
was not difficult to ob-
tain a license, for if you could have
three men of experience,
such as captains or pilots, vouch for
you, the license would be
issued. Now that the pilot carried a
license issued by proper
authority, his importance was greatly
increased, he having made
affidavit he would manage any craft on
which he might be em-
ployed, according to his own best skill
and judgment. This di-
vision of authority between captain and
pilot was somewhat com-
plicated. For instance, if it seemed
dangerous to take the boat
out on account of storm, high water, fog
or ice, etc., the pilot
could hold the boat and refuse to take
her out. On the other
hand, if the captain thought it
dangerous to leave port for any
reason, the pilot could not take her
out. So to leave port both
must agree. But when the lines were
taken in and the pilot in
the pilot house, he at once became the
Major Domo and had
full control. If during a storm the
captain ordered the boat
ashore and the pilot thought it safer to
stand out and ride the
storm, which was often the case, he
would refuse to obey; and
if the pilot wished to land, the captain
could not prevent it. So
it was the pilot who tied up in such
cases. However, there is
another authority that must not be
questioned-that of the
engineer, and when he notified the pilot
to go ashore, his order
was obeyed at once.
This mention of mixed authority between
captains and pilots
might lead one to believe that much
friction would ensue, but
this was not the case. There was quite a
complete system of
"Preparedness" and
"safety first" even in those days. When
near time to leave the port, the captain
would ring the boat's
bell; this would be about ten minutes
before the time of leaving.
The engineer would now notify the stoker
to close the furnace
Muskingum River Pilots. 479
doors. This was done by the ringing of a
bell which was located
near the furnace. At this time it was
the business of the pilot
to examine the steering apparatus and to
see that no freight came
in contact with tiller or tiller rope or
rudder. A few minutes
later the captain rings the bell again,
this time three taps. This
is called the ready bell. The pilot now
goes to the wheel, and
the engineer rings his gong indicating
that he is ready. The
captain now rings one tap of the bell,
when the lines are taken
in and the command given. "All
gone, sir." From this time
until the boat was again tied up, the
pilot was in full control.
SOME EXPERT HANDLERS.
After the improvement of the Muskingum
the dams seemed
to have made navigation much more
dangerous, and it was a
man's job at times to get into the locks
when on the down stream
trip, especially at such places as
Taylorsville, Eagleport, Stock-
port-Windsor then, Luke Chute, Beverly
and Devol's Dam,
as at these points the lock was built at
the end of the dam, so
if you missed the lock there was no
place to maneuver and this
made it necessary to get in even in a
rough manner at times.
It was this practice where the boat must
be handled quickly that
gave Muskingum river pilots a reputation
as expert handlers,
as good management was termed, and many
of the early pilots
from this river became distinguished New
Orleans pilots. One
of these was Tice Ridenour; another John
Weed. This was so
early that I knew nothing of them except
their reputation.
During the civil war steamboats from all
rivers were likely
to be pressed into government service.
In such cases a boat
would be hailed in if passing a
government station. This was
done by firing a shot across her bow. If
this was not heeded
another would be fired, this time at the
pilot house. This usually
brought them in. Parkersburg, W. Va.,
was one of the ports
where boats were collected in this
manner for government ser-
vice, and I remember a case when the
second shot struck the
Texas just under the pilot house. In
such cases the boats were
promptly unloaded, the freight being
dumped in any old place
convenient, and the boat loaded with
troops or government sup-
plies, and started down river, the crew as
well as the boat pressed
480 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
into service. In time of peace no one
would expect the pilot
to take his boat to strange waters, but
in time of war, it being
known that he could handle the boat,
they trusted to luck so far
as his knowledge of strange rivers was
concerned.
It was at this time that many Muskingum
boatmen were
forced into such service and taken with
their boats to the Ten-
nessee and Cumberland rivers. Among them
three brothers who
were Muskingum river pilots became
celebrated, for the time
at least. These men, Aaron, Milt and Jim
McLaughlin, were
raised in McConnelsville. The latter,
however, was an enlisted
man in regular service. It was he who
ran the blockade at
Vicksburg with a gunboat, having offered
his services when
volunters were called for the job, the
details of which I am unable
to give. The other two, Aaron and Milt,
were pilots of the
steamer Jonas Powell, running between
Zanesville and Parkers-
burg, and were taken with the boat to
the southern waters, and
at Nashville, Tenn., Aaron gained a
reputation for daring that
made all other pilots envious.
A large fleet of government transports
made up of steam-
boats of all classes and from many
rivers, were lying above the
bridge in readiness for a down stream
trip. The river being
unusually high made the passage through
the draw of the bridge
quite difficult and dangerous on account
of the strong current
which did not run parallel with the
piers, and one might say
that a boat would not go where she
looked, but would travel or
flank, sidewise and collide with the
pier. This had happened with
the first and second boat, and the
officers had decided to wait
for more favorable conditions. When
Capt. Jim Darlington, of
the steamer Jonas Powell, said to the
officer in command: "I
have pilots that can take your boats
through the draw safely,"
referring to Aaron and Milt McLaughlin,
it was decided that
they undertake it. The boats that had
started and met with
disaster had been dropped down slowly
and carefully, too much
so, in the estimation of Aaron, so he
took the first boat up river
about a half mile, rounded to and came
down under full steam,
knowing that the higher the speed the
quicker the boat would
answer to her rudders, and consequently
better control would
be had. Aaron took the first boat
through safely, and landed
Muskingum River Pilots. 481
below the bridge, was sent back and
brought another, till six
boats had been safely landed below the
bridge, Milt McLaughlin
having taken two of them. These
Muskingum river pilots were
now the heroes of the day, and Milt was
stationed there as post
pilot, whose duty it was to take boats
through the bridge only.
It is not strange that Muskingum pilots
were more proficient in
handling boats, for at that time the
Muskingum was the prin-
cipal river to be improved by locks and
dams, which gave op-
portunity for handling boats quickly in
space much more limited
than on rivers where there were no locks
and dams.
A THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
Good judgment and quick decision are
very important fac-
tors in the handling of a steamboat, and
many an accident has
been averted when a few seconds'
hesitation would have been
disastrous. To illustrate, will relate
an instance when the steamer
Carrie Brooks was on a down trip,
running in ice. The engineer,
Cliff Crane, was on watch. When passing
Douda bar he had
gone out on the fantail to oil. The
spray from the wheel had
frozen till a solid coat of ice covered
the fantail, and Crane
slipped and fell overboard. This was a
trying situation, since
the boat did not stop. He knew that he
had not been missed.
The boat was thus left steaming down the
river without
an engineer. His cries for assistance
were heard by Mr. James
Loughridge, who found him clinging to
the willows in an ex-
hausted condition, having swum probably
two-thirds the width
of the river in the running ice. The
safety of the boat was
apparently the only thought of Crane. He
was detained at the
Loughridge home long enough to change
his clothes, and in the
meantime members of the Loughridge
family were hitching up
a team, of which they kept the very
best, and soon the race
began, the engineer thinking of nothing
but disaster which cer-
tainly would come at the first attempt
the pilot might make to
land. The boat had gone as far as
Hooksburg (about four
miles) before having occasion to land.
The pilot now rang the
alarm bell which is to give notice to
the engineer that a landing
is to be made. This is done in order
that the engineer can ar-
range to control the steam by opening
the furnace doors or the
Vol. XXVI -31.
482 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
bleeder as a waste pipe is called. The
pilot had now headed in
and rang a slow bell. This not being answered promptly
the stopping bell was rung, and when
this was not answered
not a second could be lost, as the boat
was heading for shore.
Quickly the pilot jumped on the wheel,
climbing it similar to
a squirrel in a cage. The boat began to
answer and it was soon
apparent that her head would come out
and miss the shore, but
what about her stern swinging in and
raking the shore? But
the engines were still driving her, and
by good fortune her
stern missed the rock by a hair's
breadth, and she was soon out
in the open. By this time one of the
deck hands, Calico Wil-
liams, throttled the engine, which was a
mistake, as the steam
now ran up on the gauge, causing another
danger. By this time
the engineer off watch had been called
up and took charge. It
was now positively known that Crane had
gone overboard, so
the boat rounded to and came up within a
mile of where the
accident happened, but could find no
trace of the lost engineer,
so turned and went on her way. All this
time the Loughridges
were so much employed caring for the
unfortunate engineer that
they had not heard or noticed the boat,
although she came in
sight of their home. It was the trip
back that enabled them
to get started in time to overtake the
boat when leaving Wind-
sor lock, and a joyful reunion took
place when the boat came
back into the lock and Crane was on
board. The captain in
charge of this boat was Harvey
Darlington.
MUST NOT BE COLOR BLIND.
It is now 76 years since the improvement
of our river was
completed, and so far as I am able to
learn, about one pilot for
each year of that time would be the
number of licensed pilots,
some few of whom were licensed for any
and all rivers, as I
have known the license to read:
"Mississippi river and tribu-
taries." This wholesale business
was in the beginning, but soon
positive proof of your acquaintance and
knowledge of the river
was demanded, and examination of
applicants was more rigid,
and in 1876 or 1877 a new regulation
required an applicant for
a pilot's license to pass an examination
for color blindness, which
at first was not a difficult matter, as
you could usually get this
Muskingum River Pilots. 483
certificate from your family doctor who
was not prepared, as
a rule, to give a proper test, as my own
experience will show.
I presented myself to the doctor for
examination for color blind-
ness, when he asked, "How can I
tell whether or not you are
color blind?"
I said, "I don't know. That is your
business. All I want
is a certificate."
I then suggested that he have me name
the colors of the
wallpaper in the room. This plan was
adopted. The doctor with
a pointer and I at the head and foot of
the class, the recitation
commenced. The doctor pointed to a
certain flower or figure,
saying, "What color is that?"
"Purple," I replied.
"No, that isn't purple," said
he.
I said, "Yes."
He said, "No."
I then said, "Doctor, you are color
blind and you had better
give me a certificate before it is
generally known."
And the certificate was issued. One
examination only was
necessary, and when a new license was
issued this certificate was
stamped on the back.
FEES, AND OFFICERS' LICENSES.
The money received for pilots', master
engineers' and mates'
licenses accumulated to the amount of
$600,000, after paying
the expenses of the department, and as
no provision had been
made for its transfer to any other fund
a marine journal pub-
lished at this time, to gain popularity
with the craft which
were its principal subscribers,
advocated the refunding of this
fee except an amount sufficient to
defray expenses of the de-
partment. This was closely watched by
the readers, and I
counted on about $120, but have not yet received it. However,
some good was accomplished as the fee
was reduced to 50 cents,
and later abolished entirely, and the
license issued for a term
of five years instead of one.
The first issue of officers' license was
a very lengthy docu-
ment and written entire, as no printed
form was then used. Had
I undertaken this writing, prior to our
flood of 1913, I could
484 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
have produced one of this kind, but
unfortunately it was lost
in the flood as were many other papers
of equal value to me.
The first license must be kept by the
officer and produced if
his authority was questioned, but later
when the form was
changed and a smaller form used, it was
framed and hung in
the cabin of the steamer, for the
inspection of passengers.
MUST STAY OUT OF PILOT HOUSE.
From the beginning all passengers were
allowed perfect
freedom on board, and could spend the
time in the pilot house
or engine room, at the option of the
officers however. But later,
probably in 1880, a serious disaster
took place at Mingo, a few
miles below Steubenville, O., when the
steamers John Lomas
and Scioto collided. The latter,
carrying a great number of
excursionists, sank immediately, and 65
lives were lost. It was
reported that quite a number of people
were in the pilot house
of the Scioto, and a woman was permitted
by the pilot to make
the signal for passing. It was said her
foot slipped off the lever
which operates the steam whistle, and
she repeated the signal,
thus making two blasts of the whistle
instead of one as intended,
and the collision ensued. The pilot,
Keller by name, who was
proved to be accountable for this great
loss of life, was sentenced
to ten years in the penitentiary, served
his term, probably not
the entire sentence, and was again
licensed and employed as
Ohio River pilot on the Steamer Lorena.
Immediately legisla-
tion took place which excluded
passengers from the pilot house
when the steamer was under way. This was
a severe blow to
the pilot whose principal business
seemed to have been to enter-
tain the passengers, and they must now
close the door to their
most intimate friends, who, in some
cases, ceased to be their
friends. Thus what had seemed one
continual round of pleas-
ure suddenly changed, and some of the
most lonesome days of
my life were spent in the pilot house.
WHAT A PILOT SHOULD KNOW.
As the caption of this paper indicates,
I am to report what
a pilot should know. This is an easy
matter, as I must say he
should know everything pertaining to
river boats and navigation,
Muskingum
River Pilots. 485
and the nearer
he accomplishes this difficult task the better his
rank as a
pilot. But it is quite difficult to explain how such
knowledge is
acquired. However, in an effort to do this, I
must say in the
beginning a cub pilot is the most insignificant
being on earth
in the estimation of the old pilot who has under-
taken to
"learn" (teach is not right) him the river, so the cub
did not have
much to say when in the presence of this dignitary
of apparent
royal blood. But the cub had his inning when off
watch, as he
could look wise and ignore the flunkeys and would
even answer
questions for passengers when the old pilot was not
present. The
flunkeys seemed to have formed a dislike for the
cub pilot, as
he was now to be known, which increased in inten-
sity each day
as the cub could swing the attention of the girls
from the
flunkeye any and all times. But this is not learning
the river.
The cub now
takes the wheel with fear and trembling, the
old pilot
standing by, full of revenge, probably having in mind
the days when
he made his first attempt at steering. "Get on
the other side
of your wheel. You must learn to stand on the
bend
side." The cub moves at once. In a short time the boat
has reached the
point and the bend changes, but the cub
has not
discovered it. "Get
on the other side of your
wheel as I told
you." The cub
moves without hesitation
or apology. The
next interference is likely to be: "Hold
her steady. You wiggle around here like a blind
horse
plowing corn. Look at the track you are making. Now
watch the
nighthawk and when it begins to move, ease up."
It is probable
that the cub never heard of such terms, and by
this time he
has begun to think his chances to learn the river
are remote. But
if he can stand the kind of treatment he is
subjected to
for a short time, he will have learned to steer when
out in the open
daylight, and the old pilot will allow him to
do all the work
possible, while he rests.
The cub has now
been shown marks in profusion in order
that he may
begin to steer at night. For instance, he has been
told to hold on
a certain gap in the hill with stern jackstaff
on some other
hill top or prominent tree. "Hold her there un-
til a notch in
the hill opens up on your left," and he will have
486 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
practiced this in daylight until he
could run this place to the
satisfaction of the old pilot. But the
first time he undertakes
it at night it is positively certain
that he will not run it right,
for it takes more nerve than he has yet
acquired to pitch down
into a deep bend when it seems like you
are surely going into
the woods. But with constant practice in
time this fear leaves
him, and he becomes a pilot, but still
has much to learn that he
is not then fully aware of.
The wind and current must be considered
and never cease
to be a study. For instance, the current
below some of the
locks and dams is quite different at the
same stage of water,
depending on whether the river is rising
or falling. In run-
ning a bridge on entering a lock, if the
wind is blowing one
must calculate the effect and brace up
to the wind in such a
manner as sometimes causes anxiety to
passengers. In fog I
must say that there is much guess work;
but very few pilots
try to run in fog in the night time, but
after daylight few boats
tie up on the Muskingum. But on the Ohio
it is different, as
the width of the river is such that you
can easily get lost or
turn round.
Where a boat carried a double crew each
is on watch usually
six hours, one crew being on the forward
watch, the other on
the aft watch. In a regular trade like
Zanesville and Parkers-
burg the watch changes every Sunday.
This change is more
necessary for pilots than for others,
for if this change was not
made there would be certain parts of the
river that each pilot
would not see in months. To engineers
this would make no
difference. There is another method
called a dog watch, making
three parts of the night. This changes
the day watch every day.
Changes and improvements in the
apparatus have made
steamboating much more safe, pleasant
and easy than in the
days of which I am writing. The swinging
stage, improved
rudders and the electric search light
are some of such improve-
ments, the latter the most notable, as
you can now light up the
whole valley, when in early times an old
torch was used. This
was an iron torch basket in which pine
knots were burned, and
later, when this supply was exhausted,
saw dust and rosin was
used, and sometimes with oil and saw
dust. No unnecesary lights
Muskingum River Pilots
487
were allowed on board, and blinds were
provided for the sky
lights forward of the pilot house, and
on unusually black nights
all lights in the cabin would be
extinguished. On such nights
when the watch would change, the pilot
coming on watch would
not step in and take the wheel suddenly,
but would look on a few
minutes in order to be sure of his
bearing. In the meantime
something like the following
conversation might be heard:
"How's the water?"
"Five feet 7, falling. How about
the packets?"
"Met the Hibernia at the head of
Repert and the Andes
at the foot, and just saw a green signal
through the timbers. I
think that the Chesapeake rounding the
point."
It was the business of the pilot to see
that the signals were
kept burning, which at times required
considerable attention,
especially in extreme cold weather, when
it was difficult to keep
them burning. This was a matter of much
concern to the pilot,
who could not see the signals, as they
were hung on the for-
ward side of the chimneys, but the
watchman would be called
often to report their condition.
Electric current now furnishes
light in signals, which is more certain.
A great help to pilots was the establishing
of beacon lights
in about 1876. Before this, any light
from factory or plant or
from a dwelling house, if it happened to
be at or near a point
such as an island chute or bar, would
soon be noticed and used
in running this particular place. But such
lights could not be
depended upon, and when the government
lights were established
and were kept burning at all times
between sunset and sunrise,
all pilots seemed to fully appreciate
this government aid. If
any change in the river took place that
would necessitate the
changing of location of any such lights,
it would be done
promptly by the light tender, a
government steamer which passed
up and down inspecting such lights and
furnishing oil and sup-
plies for their maintenance.
There is much that could be said, but as
the days of steam-
boating seem to have passed, all things
pertaining thereto must
pass also and cease to be of interest,
therefore, we will await
further remarks until a revival of
steamboating.
488 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. EXPERIENCE WITH A GHOST. Captain Travis related his experience one night with a "ghost," as follows: "On the after watch at about 3 o'clock in the morning, the monotonous rhythm of the engine was the only thing to break the stillness, and all was well when the clerk called "Freight for Gaysport!" The "aye, aye, sir" from the man at the wheel awoke the mate snoozing on the bench in the pilot house, who went below to rout the rousters. Presently the pilot house door opened and I thought it the mate returning and paid no atten- tion to his entrance. In a moment I glanced over my left shoul- der at a white object which proved to be a sure ghost. I tried to fly, but having no lesson in that art I failed to rise, and the ghost got me. I did know enough to ring the stopping bell, but the ghost now had its arms locked about my neck and distribut- ing emotional affection wastefully, as it was so sudden it could not be appreciated. Its long hair hung to the waist, and its clothes were not intended for day time. With the pilot dying in its arms with fright, the mate returned and made the rescue, taking the ghost below. When I became sure I was all there I found the boat almost ashore in the willows. After backing her out and the rhythm of the engine had started, all was soon back to normal, but I have never since passed Blue Rock point without looking for "it." The ghost was a woman by the name of Massey, who had lost her mind and escaping from her stateroom had slipped unnoticed into the pilot house. She later in her life commit- ted suicide. |
|
MUSKINGUM RIVER
PILOTS.
THEIR DUTIES AND
REQUIREMENTS.
BY IRVEN TRAVIS.
The first pilots to navigate the
Muskingum river were men
who handled floating crafts. This was
before the advent of
steamboats, and also before the
improvement of the river by a
series of locks and dams such as we now
have kept up by the
federal government.
In the handling of such crafts, the
pilot was guided very
much by the draft of water, by which at
such places as island
chutes and other ripples the "best
water," as they termed it, was
plainly indicated to an experienced eye.
Especially at the head
of a chute is this true. The glassy
appearance of the surface
of the water and the funnel shape of the
current when entering
at the head of an island, made the pilot
quite confident; but at
the foot of the chute this was not
equally certain, as in the choppy
water this natural chart was lost.
Reference is made to down stream trips,
and with the best
management boats often were aground. And
it is worthy of
mention that the crew of such boats were
not helpless by any
means, and when aground one of the first
things to be done was
to lay a line ashore in the proper
direction and rig a Spanish
windlass, which was quite powerful as
well as dangerous. All
that is necessary for the machine is two
handspikes and the line
-and to know how to use them.
The steering apparatus was an oar placed
on the bow of
the boat and another of similar pattern
on the stern, the latter
called a gouger. To get a boat in
position to enter an island
chute it often happened that the entire
crew would operate the
two oars. Much care must be taken in
operating the gouger, for
if the blade should be dipped in the
water too deep it would
catch on the bottom and you would soon
be minus an oar, and
(477)