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Show CAPTAIN CHARLES P. SMITH. The thrilling story of the heroic captain of the Seawanhaka, who stood bravely at the wheel, wrapped in flames, until his work was done, has been read in every household in the land, and has taken its place in the chronicles as among the greatest deeds of daring done by men. Few, even of the most courageous, would have face a fate so terrible as that of being roasted alive. And yet with the almost certainly of such a death before him, he never flinched, but remained in his burning cage until the fire had scorched his face and blistered his arms and shoulders. When at last his boat was safely beached he sprang, all ablaze, into the water below, and at the same instant the wheel-house crumbled and fell in ruins behind him. He was barely able to drag his exhausted body through the mud to the shore, and when found there he was utterly exhausted and quite unconscious.<br><br> To those who knew him well as a boatman, the gallant conduct of Captain Smith was not a surprise. An intimate associate and friend of thirty years - Captain Post, of Glen Cove - gave an interesting account of his career to a reporter of the New York Sun, "Charley," said he, "has been used to the water since he was big enough to dig clams and catch horse-feet. He knows the East River, top and bottom of it, and has piloted all manner of craft through it. He has run sail-boats, sloops, schooners, and ferry-boats, and all kinds of boats, big and little. His father was a boatman on the south side of the island, and went to Roslyn about the time Charley was born - say fifty years ago - to sail a sloop for William Hicks. Charley was brought up on the water. When he was only eighteen years old he piloted the sloop Martha Ann. Next he had charge of the sloop Mary Kirby, when he was about twenty years old. Then his father built another sloop, called the Ruth T. Hicks, and Charley piloted her. He has been familiar with the Sound and the East River from boyhood. That's how he knew just where to beach the Seawanhaka. He could not have picked out a better spot. Then Charley thought he would like to be a pilot on a ferry-boat, and Mr. Havemeyer gave him a position on the Grand Street ferry to Williamsburg. Next through my influence and that of others, he got appointed pilot on the Fulton Ferry. But he joined the famous strike of the Fulton Ferry pilots about twenty years ago, and lost his place. He has two brothers who are now [line missing/unreadable] it a family of pilots. His next place was as pilot of the tug-boat J. S. Underhill. When Mr. Somerindyke ran the steamboat Long Island, Charley Smith was pilot. In 1857 the boat ran on Execution Rock, or Success Rock, at Sands Point, but all of the 400 passengers got off safely, as it was broad daylight, and the pilot was not blamed. The boat sustained little damage, and Mr. Somerindyke kept him on. In 1861 or 1863, when I had charge of the big steamboat Arrowsmith, which was chartered to carry troops. I took Charley with me as pilot. I always had confidence [in] him as a man who would do the right thing in an emergency. He had a cool head and a steady hand. He was a man who could take a long watch when wanted.<br><br> "When the Long Island North Shore Freight and Transportation Company was formed, and the Jesse Hoyt was put on the Glen Cove line, Charley Smith was given the place of pilot. I thought he was the best man we could get. He knew his business, was a sober, steady man, and a reliable man when there was trouble. I have never known him to take a glass of liquor. When the company built the Seawanhaka, in 1866, Captain Smith was put in charge of her as pilot, and he has been there ever since. He was promoted to be captain about four years ago, when I left her. I have seen him many times in dangerous places with boats, and no matter how heavy the storm or how dense the fog, he could manage a boat well.<br><br> "He is married, and has three children, and lives very comfortably in Brooklyn. One of his brothers was lost in a schooner that went to Georgia for a load of lumber, and was never heard of afterward."<br><br> A purse of money is being raised in this city to be distributed among the officers and crew of the Seawanhaka, including the captain, in grateful recognition of their valuable services. The sum already amounts to $3,500, and will doubtless be largely increased. Harper's Weekly. |