Long afterwards, he confessed that had he really known
what he was about to require of his faculties, he would never have had
the courage to begin.
His comic sketches, published in the 'Hannibal Weekly Courier' in his
brother's absence, furnish the first link, his apprenticeship to Bixby
the second link in the chain of circumstance. For two years and a half
he sailed the river as a master pilot; his trustworthiness secured for
him the command of some of the best boats on the river, and he was so
skilful that he never met disaster on any of his trips. He narrowly
escaped it in 1861, for when Louisiana seceded, his boat was drafted
into the Confederate service. As he reached St. Louis, having taken
passage for home, a shell came whizzing by and carried off part of the
pilot-house. It was the end of an era: the Civil War had begun. The
occupation of the pilot was gone; but the river had given up to him all
of its secrets. He was to show them to a world, in 'Life on the
Mississippi' and 'Huckleberry Finn'.
Pages:
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47