LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI, Part 2.
BY MARK TWAIN
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER VI. CHAPTER VII. CHAPTER VIII. CHAPTER IX. CHAPTER X. |
Chapter 6
A Cub-pilot's Experience
WHAT with lying on the rocks four days at Louisville, and someother delays, the poor old 'Paul Jones' fooled away about twoweeks in making the voyage from Cincinnati to New Orleans. Thisgave me a chance to get acquainted with one of the pilots, and hetaught me how to steer the boat, and thus made the fascination ofriver life more potent than ever for me.
It also gave me a chance to get acquainted with a youth whohad taken deck passage—more's the pity; for he easily borrowedsix dollars of me on a promise to return to the boat and pay itback to me the day after we should arrive. But he probably diedor forgot, for he never came. It was doubtless the former, sincehe had said his parents were wealthy, and he only traveled deckpassage because it was cooler.{footnote [1. 'Deck' Passage, i.e.steerage passage.]}
I soon discovered two things. One was that a vessel would notbe likely to sail for the mouth of the Amazon under ten or twelveyears; and the other was that the nine or ten dollars still leftin my pocket would not suffice for so imposing an exploration asI had planned, even if I could afford to wait for a ship.Therefore it followed that I must contrive a new career. The'Paul Jones' was now