The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-12-29
LIFE AT SEA.
The Days Work Of the Sailor Not
Attractive.
Washing the Deck and Using the "Holy
stone"-Painstaking Weevils Riot.
Ing In the Sea Biscuit-Ihe
"Dog Watch" Etc.

"Dog Watch" Etc.
The days work may be said to begin
at half past five in the morning with the
operation of washing the decks. When
the clock underneath the break of the
poop indicates that time the ships bell
is struck thrice; it is 'three BELLS" AS
the sound dies away the boatswain ut
ters stentorian Turn to-" and the
hardy sailors prepare for toll. They
first put down their pipes; for they have
been enjoying delightful smoke after
the cup of dubious coffee served out to
them in their panikins at five o'clock.
Then, if they are IN warm latitudes,
they d'vest themselves of their shoes
and stockings, turn up their neither gar
ments, and display to the eye of the OBJ
server a lud crous variety of manly
calves and bare feet. Two men, per-
haps, proceed to the pump and begin to
fill the wash-deck tub; three or four
others arm themselves with brooms,
and there remain one or two sailors to
pass along buckets of water for the
boatswain to dash about. There is q
pecul' ar art, only to be acqu red by
considerable practice. in throwing a
bucketful of water on to the deck so
that it may spread about properly.
Cast from the professional arms of the
boatswain, the water falls with a
familiar ''smack" just behind the bare
footed mariners with their brooms. It
sweeps playfully over their feet, and
Immediately they begin to scratch away
as if they were determined to de-
stroy the deck. So bucket after bucket
is dipped into the wash-deck tub and
passed on to the boatswain. In some
ships he uses no e, and then more men
are able to apply themselves to the
brooms and scrubbers. If ship is
nearing port and the captain wishes the
decks to appear particularly white, GER
tain articles very familiar to seafarers
are employed in the operation of clean
ing. These are denominated, by some
nautical freak of diction, "holy stones. -
From the mere name we might imagine
them to be the treasured fragments of
some classical shrine, but in reality,
they are most humble pieces of sand
stone, about the size of half a brick.
Poetry abandons the nautical mind
when the seaman u es the holy stone.
Picture to yourself half dozen bronzed
and bare-footed mariners, on their
hands and knees, lugubriously scrub
bing the decks with these stones, SO that
people ashore may exclaim: '.How
beautiful ship looks.'
The men wash and scrub away until
about 7:20. AT this time tinge of hope
and pleasure asserts itself in their minds;
the happy morning sleep of the watch
below-their comrades off duty-is
about to be destroyed. Somebody goes
to the ships bell and strikes it seven
times; it is '.seven BELLS Immedl-
ately one of the scrubbing sailors runs
with bare feet to the forecaste as if he
had just heard some beautiful
melody and was determined to follow it
to its source. But what does he do?
He does this: Directly he enters the
fcrecastle he breaks into the most
abominable bathos. His sleeping COM
rades lie peacefully in their hunks
around that unambrosial place. They
slumber, they dream; they are enjoying
the end of their four hours respite from
Their tolls, yet this man enters Ike a
vocal fiend of most violent discord to
disturb them. He looks at them and he
yells: Hi, you sleepers-seven bells,'
here-show leg, comet" He continues
in this STRAIN II he has uttered enough
noise to awaken a dormouse in the
depth of winter. Then the watch below
wake up, as is only natural; they str in
their hunks, relinqu sh their black
blankets, and crawl on to their sea
chests, thence to the deck. They do not
trouble themselves with any trivialties
of the toilet. Life is snort, fresh water
is precious, and personal appearance is
a frivolity at sea. One of their number
proceeds to the galley-the nautical
kitchen-and receives from the cook a
can of so-called coffee; this, together
w tn sea biscuits, forms the sailor
breakfast. The coffee is black
mystery stewed to distraction; the bis
cult resembles an edible stone, tolerable
as curiosity, but monotonous as an
article of daily d ct. Yet weevils are q
panstaking race of infinitesimal crea-
lures; they love to live and die
in the sea biscuit. AS hard.
hearted comestible it has no rival. A
So lor takes one of the things from the
''bread barge" and smites it aga INST his
knee; he repeats the process, but the
biscuit is imperturbable; the man be-
comes interested and crashes it against
the corner of his sea chest; at last the
''pantile" breaks, and the mariner is
able to breakfast. True, some of the
biscuits are soft, but the weevils gener
ally find out this before the man. The
nautical breakfast differs in various
ships; in some the seamen are allowed 6
sort of porridge called 'burgoo. NJ
else species of hash known as sob
scouse.h These are doubtless excelien
in themselves; but the careless manner
in which they are cooked detracts from
their good qualities, Happily, tb'