Omaha daily bee., 1882-11-17
sNUGART IMPLEMENT CO., GENERAL AGENTS. C0UNoIL BLUFFS. MWl

the things possible. There
ives certainly enough to eat-ot
the kind. / venture to say that one
half of our sieersgtrs were ne or on
shore fed with so much regularity, or
even variety. The beef tasted as
though the life had been taken out Of
it by some process. 1t was cut up be.
fore being brought to the table. 1t
was brought In a huge tin can. The
can was taken to the table by n of
the assistant stewards, and out of 1t
he deposited the prices on our plates
with a long fork, The potatoes came
next In another huge pan. Another
steward laid the requisite number by
our plates. Our soup plates were
filled In q similar fashion. The table
service, as may be imagined, was
entirely practical in its nature. There
was no formality.
The meal finished, each guest was
required to wash his or her own
tableware. For this purposet the cook,
after each meal placed a large vessel
Of hot water near the galley, on deck.
To this the passenger repaired with his
own soap and towel, plunged therein
his tin plate, cup, knife, fork, and
and spoon, washed, wiped and retired.
There was no change of hot water for
the company. Of course, at the latter
end of this lavatory process it became
moro and more greasy, and as 1t
cooled this grease took on a more
and more solid consistency, The
guest is required to clean also that
part of the table allotted to him, to
gather up all the scraps, especially
the potato Feelings. These were gem
orally fred into the Schultz" from
whence the cinders and coal ashes
were emptied into the sea. When this
chute was OH the leeward side of the
vessel all went well, and the debris
slid readily into the ocean. When
the chute was to windward things did
not go overheard so readily. Then a
larger amount of the smaller scrap.
page found it's way to the general
wash-pan. The trip from the steer
age table with this table furniture was
on an even keel a matter of one
hundred and odd feet, involving also
the climbing of the steerage stairs to
the main deck. By the main deck,
I would inform the ultra lands-
man, is not meant the upper
deck, which commands the view of
the sea It is the enclosed deck on
which are located all the offices of the
little floating world, such as the engine
room, cook room, stewards room,
butcher shop, pastry cook, etc. Ours
was on deck below this. Having had
some sea training, all this dish wash
ing and other discipline was for me
no great hardship. 1 had done it all
before in the forecastle. But some of
the poor fellows went erratically fol-
many days in this unaccustomed SER
vice. There was often a clangor OF
pots and plates and precipitations OF
human forms in all shapes on deck,
and q spilling of slops in all directions
during heavy weather.
The principal abuse Of the modern
steerage lies in the contracted space
occupied by the berths. There is no
necessity for 30 crowding twelve peo-
pie in o space not large enough for
four. The steamers take, as a rule,
full cargoes from America, but they
are not 30 loaded coming back. Nor
is there any real necessity that the
steerage passenger be obliged to fur
nish his table.service. Cleanliness
would be far better regulated were
the tables set with the ships plates,
knives, forks, and cups, and
these removed, washed, and
stored by the ships attendants.
AS it is, four-ffths of the
people are entirely inadequate to the
proper cleansing of their own table
ware, even in fair weather, and the
result is the storage in their hunks of
greasy plates, which are continually
getting loose and Gathering about
under foot in rough weather. AS for
the fare, l would in the mines Of
California have been very glad to live
as well as / did in the steerage. ]
have seen worse fare on some vessels
when a sailor, and ven worse in some
cheap boarding houses on shore. We
had a very calm passage until within
four days of New York. The steamer
was light, and such rolling for three
days 1 never deemed anything al Dat
capable of. The oscillations were as
regular and almost as rapid as those
of a common pendulum. 1t was one
steady see saw night and day-the
deck for ever 30 few seconds like a
Mansard roof up, and without the
pause of q second it was the Mansard
roof down again. rolled like a log
to aud fro in my bunk, and no
amount OF self. checking would &C.
cure me. AT last ! hit upon a fash
ion of screwing my head into one
corner of the berth, and somehow
don't know howl could make that
end of my body stay there, but all
below the waist, especially the legs,
thraahed about like a pair of whip
lasles. / becaGB 30 tired Of this ia
voluntary exercise that my whole
body ached.