Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1888-12-29
JACK TAR'S CHRISTMAS.

. he came down nrom the fore6opa1
yard, where he had been lending hand
to furl the remnant Of . topsaQ, blown
almost to ribbons BY the fierce winters
gale that was howkng one Christmas
morning. and began blowing on his frost
bitten fingers and rubbing them IN the
enDw which covered the vessels deck, =
. very good expostion Of the practical
side Of our universal Christian holiday.
q frequently seen BY the hardy toilers
Of the sea. Stern. necessity somettmes
dsrnsnds that the work muse b
doSs dor .s and =: sor. 'AiP P.ok MAJ: e, :sls c.s
think Of bean soap or Christmas pud- |
ding and other 6xings, and not tnfre-
quently. - the sea remembers nothing |
and pays no homage to customs, no mat |
ter how ancient. imagination Of grand |
banquet can alone be relied upon to ap- |
pease the appetite; - .'hot water and
spoons" are very apt to be about Ill that
can be obtained in the way Of square
meal, and even the luxury Of the hot
water 10 often omitted. - the tossing.
restless ship. lurching about from side to
aide, makes It impossible to keep any
thing on top Of tho galley stove, II. In
deed, it be practicable thing to keep up
the fires at all. In such case the cud
Of discomfort. 20 to speak. must be rep
resented, a. the song gives It, BY the
Christmas away from home d, how
ever, always kept in some way or
another, even under such adverse cir
cumstances - those mentioned; - .
little something to warm him up u
quietly given to the half frozen man BY
some kindhearted officer - he comes
down from aloft, and before drinking he
manages, a. q rule, to pull of his cap
and to say "Merry Christmas," which q
about all the circumstances OF the case
will admit of. Wind and weather per-
mitting, however, only the absolutely
necessary things are done, and the
Christmas dinner Ia made as GumptuOus
- the paymaster's stores will permit, or
ing in something extra before the snip
left port has provided. The ration gives
more or less variety OF things that put
up to keep during the cruise, but Jack
prefers the things that are not made
to keep, and, being proverbially improve
dent, the day generally finds him
depending ON plum duff ~ the grand
piece de resistance, and no matter how
much of the resistance there may be
about the compound the relish with
which it disappears is proof sufficient Of
it's ability to take the place Of other pos
sibly more digestible articles. The bags
containing the sailors personal effects
are piped up and the men given an op-
portunity to overhaul their clothing,
write letters or do whatever the limit OF
mitted outside the daily regulation hours,
and everything isdone to make the men
as comfortable and the day as much of a
holiday as posi- lA having, of course,
Z due regard for th6heRdling Of the vessel.
When, however, the ships are in port,
and it happens to be one where there is q
good market, all thae it affords is brought
of to grace the board, and the scene pre-.
sented on the berth deck Of one Of oul
men-Of-war on such occasions is lively
and picturesque in the extreme. The
mess tables are screened of with canvas
and bunting, and very often evergreeni
are used to complete the ornamentation
each mess vying with the others to se<
which can make the prettiest show. Ar
extra dollar or two apiece Is usually
aggregate sum making great possibilities
in the way Of procuring the goot
things which are not found In the daily
ration. The tin pot, pan and spoon which
form Jacks cover are made to shine ikt
polished silver, the mess cooks taking
pride in getting the brightest Of polishe
1or the occasion. Some more stylish
though perhaps less thrifty, messes, &c
crockery from shore, which sets of tn
table very prettily, and possibly to SOM
: Of them seems more homelike and give
an air Of paying little more attention
to the observances Of the day; one Nigh
say, suppose. q little better relish, pei
haps, to the feast. But whoever knew
Of q sailors not being ready for q goo
square meal at any hour Of the day7
hatchway when the order 'pipe to dir
ner" Ia given, is quite apt to 6e convince
that Jacks Stomach Is a. sharp ~
sharks" and that he "never was in fine
condition for feeding" at any one tim
more than at any other. When ever
preparation has been made for Dime
and the viands set forth, the officers ar,
as q general rule, invited to inspect, an
very often TO sample, the good things; th
captain of the vessel generally grants th
request for bottle OF beer or light win
apiece, and in fact most any reasonab
departure from the ordinary daily Gu
toms is allowed. In the afternoon,
the request Is made, . large ibert
party goes ashore. and Is permitte
to remain away from the vesse! until Il
xOL1OWluk uOIlu1lk. AO0s S0SaAA4 - AA'
quently the amusement, especially
there are foreign vessels in the same por
and great Is the excitement In the tnte
national contests. Prizes are offere.
and as many boats are entered as can
spared from the different ships. Wat
tournaments, catamaran races and v
Yious other aquatic sports are indulge
in, as Christmas II not always In the Wi
ter season, much Of vessels cruisir
being done in the southern hemispher
and the 26th Of December often finds Il
thermometer 70 high that plunge IN Il
briny is an immense relief.
The great evening amusement is mi
strel or variety show, which brings o.
an amusing display Of talent that OF
would hardly believe possible until
had witnessed some Of the charact
pieces or listen to the fine singing Oft
heard in a ships company. The origin
jokes, which very often spare nobod
from the cabin windows to tho haw
poles, are always amusing, al
serve for many q day after
hurl at the head Of the poor u
fortunate whose peculiarities ha
been sufficiently pronounced TO catt
the ever ready eye or ear OF the hume
ist, who has them carefully slowed avn
until some such occasion a. this Civ
him . chance to numerically bring the
forth. When "pipe down" comes, t
verdict is that, although away fro
home, relatives and the conventionaliti
Of the holiday season that ones earl
years have been accustomed to, the d
has heen what the morning greeting