Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/532

 516 PILLORY PILOT FISH PILLORY, an instrument of punishment, con- sisting of a wooden frame erected on posts, having holes in it through which the head and arms of the culprit were thrust, in which posi- tion he remained for a certain time prescribed by his sentence exposed to the view of the public. It existed in France, where it was anciently called pillorie, and in more modern times carcan, from the iron collar used to fas- ten the neck of a criminal to a post ; in Ger- many, where it was called Pranger ; and in England even before the Norman conquest, where it was called healfange, or more cor- rectly halsfang (catch-neck). By the " statutes of the pillory " passed in the reign of Henry III., the punishment was employed for such crimes as forestalling, using deceitful weights, perjury, and forgery. According to the form of the judgment, the criminal was to be set in or upon the pillory. Being pilloried was a real punishment or not, according to the num- ber of the criminal's per- sonal friends or enemies. The former sometimes rallied in force, fed him, sheltered him from the weather, and turned the affair into a triumph; the latter often pelted him with rotten eggs and stones, and sometimes he lost his life. The use of the pillory was abolished in England in all cases except perjury in 1816, and altogether in 1837. In like manner, when the penal code of France was revised in 1832, the car- can was abolished. The punishment of the pillo- ry was provided for some offences against the Uni- ted States by early statutes, but was abolished in 1839. PILLOW, Gideon Johnson, an American soldier, born in Williamson co., Tenn., June 8, 1806. He graduated at Nashville university in 1827, studied law, and commenced practice at Co- lumbia,Tenn. In 1844 he was a delegate to the democratic national convention at Baltimore, where he aided largely in gaining the presiden- tial nomination for Mr. Polk. When the war with Mexico broke out in 1846, he was made a brigadier general of volunteers, and after serving under Gen. Taylor was ordered to join Scott at Vera Cruz, and took part in the siege of that city. At the battle of Cerro Gordo, April 18, 1847, he commanded the right wing, was wounded, and was soon after made major general. In June, at the head of a considera- ble force, he moved inland, joined Gen. Scott, and took part in the battles of Ohurubusco, Chapultepec, and Molino del Rey. After the close of the war he was arrested upon charges of insubordination preferred by Gen. Scott, Pillory, from an old Engraving. was tried by court martial, and acquitted. He then resumed the practice of his profession. At the opening of the civil war he entered the confederate service, commanded at the battle of Behnont, Mo., Nov. 7, 1861, and was second in command under Gen. Floyd at Fort Donel- son in February, 1862. Floyd, refusing to perform the act of surrender, handed over the command to Pillow, who made it over to Buck- ner, who surrendered the fort, Floyd and Pil- low escaping with a portion of their men. He was relieved from command, but subsequently served under Beauregard in the southwest. PILNITZ. See PILLNITZ. PILOT. In some maritime countries of Eu- rope this word was formerly, and is to some extent even now, used to designate an officer of a vessel having the charge of the ship'* course. By general usage the term is now applied to a person not belonging to a ship, who conducts it into or out of a harbor, or over shoals, or wherever the navigation re- quires superior local knowledge. The office is regulated by law in most civilized countries. The English statutory provisions on this sub- ject are to be found in the merchants' shipping act, 1854, 17 and 18 Victoria, c. 104, 330- 388. In the United States an act of congress authorizes the several states to make their own pilotage laws ; and such laws have been accord- ingly enacted by all the seaboard states. These laws generally provide for the appointment of commissioners who are invested with pow- er to make all needful rules and regulations on the subject. While a pilot is on board a ves- sel within the pilot grounds, he has the con- trol of it, and is answerable for any injury which may happen to it through his fault; and this liability was carried to such an extent by the early maritime law of some European countries, that the pilot, if unable to render full satisfaction, atoned for his negligence with his life. While the pilot is on board the pow- er of the master of the vessel is not wholly superseded. It is his duty, in case of obvious- and certain disability, or dangerous ignorance or mistake on the part of the pilot, to dispos- sess him of his authority. So it is the duty of the master to see that a lookout is kept ; and generally, while the orders of the pilot are imperative as to the course the vessel is to pur- sue, the management of it is still under the control of the master. The pilot is the servant of the owner of the vessel, and the latter is generally liable to third persons for any dam- age resulting from his negligence or fault. But if, as when a vessel is entering a port, the mas- ter is obliged to take the first pilot that offers, or pay a certain amount, it would seem that such taking is by compulsion, and that the owner should not be liable for his acts. This is the settled law in England, but it is perhaps still an open question in the United States. PILOT FISH, a scomberoid fish of the genus. naucrates (Raf.). It is characterized by a fu- siform body, small uniform scales, a keel OD