The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-02-14
ABOARD A MAN-OF- WAR.

ABOARD A MAN-OF- WAR.
Modes of Life on Shipboard,-Th Pleas
ures and Hardships That Fall to the Lot
of a saiIor.-Jackey at Sea.
U. S. s., JUNIATA, AT SEA.
The jllity of a sea-faIiug life is pro-
verbal. There is not e boy in all the
world, within the reach of books, who
has not pondered over the stories of the
j1lly, rOllicking, careless and easy-going
rover of the sea. How his interest has
been aroused by the tales of adventurous
sea dogs How he hi even stolen the
hours from the night, not to mention
those moments surreptitiousy taken
from his studies of which only boy can
give an account, to gorge his fancy with
the recitals of heroic sailor lads, who in
the truest sense have shaken the dust
from their feet. who sleep in hammocks
rocked by storm and wave, who have
been eye witnesses of munstrous sea ser.
pents, who have boarded treasure ships,
and who have done greater impossiblli-
ties and seen stranger things than were
ever dreamed of in philosophy or ap-
proved by common sense
With all its glamour, amid the fascin-
alton of its surroundings-fo the ocean
has an irresistible charm for old and
young alike-the life of sea-fareT is
not quite all that fancy paints, 1t is
sometimes burdensome, often dull and
always exposed to peril. The close quar-
iers, even in the most commodious
steamers, which become ones home for
months and years, are the most irksome
restraints. The strict discipline, so es-
sential among men of all classes and dis
positions, and the exacling forms in
which his duties are cast, tend to red ice
the faNciful sailor life to the hardpan of
human experience. The recurring
watches, the messes, and the demands
upon him at all hours and in all kinds of
weather, bind him more closely than the
arms of an octopus ever embraced a de-
lirious story teller,
To begin with, sailor must be a
healthy and robust man. His duties are
multitudinous. and require great apti-
tude. A good deal of hard and rough
work falls to his lot. There is no place
on man .ofwar for any but the strong
est, most enduring and hardest of men
The law of the survival of the tittest is
pretty sure to assert itself on shipboard,
and il generally favors those who can
stand the most knocks, and are built
after the model of the deacon's one horse
shay.
Inasmuch as the ships crew is divid-
ed into watches Of four hours each, for
Jackey to sleep longer than four hours
at time is out of the question, and as
he is required to be at his post of duty
three times during the twenty four
hours. his dreams under the most favor
able circumstances, that ever exist on a
war vessel, are quite apt to be interrupt
ed. He is likely to be called upon at any
inc, from doing stoker work below to
hauling at ropes above deck, and isn't
sure OF ordinary sleep, not to think of
unhroken dreams, until after he has
slept his full allowance.
Everyone on board a ship of war is
necessarily assigned to particular mess.
for besides sleeping and working at stat
ID hours Jack must needs eat at regular
intervals. The provisions for the ship
haye already been provided, consisting
of those staple articles that may be pre-
pared and served At SEA. An abundance
If wholesome and well cooked food is
served to the men three times day,
nut without the luxuries and the refine
menls Of table 1t quelte that are to be
found in-wel, say Fifth avenue HO,el.
The crew is divided into messes OF
Abaut sixteen men each, with one of
their number as cook to prepare the
food, wash the dishes and perform the
various culinary duties Tor the mess.
To be sure, the dishes of sailor are not
numerous, his regulation kit consisting
- in N and a
pleasant weather they spread their mess
cloths on the spar deck, and squattlng
about them in groups or sitting upon
boxes eat their ship fare, but at other
times the berth cabin, which is devoted
exclusively to the use OF the crew, is
made to resound with the clatter of the
dishes and the hurry and hustle of a
ships mess,
A typical sailor does not spend much
time at his meals. He swallows his
food as quickly as possible, and then
lights his pipe for few moments OF real
enjoyment, demonstrating the fact that
he is an American in the highest sense,
capable of eating his dinner in as many
minutes as he has fingers on his hand,
leaving the matter of digestion to the
laws of chance. The less time he takes
for his meals, the longer he may devote
himself to the sOlace of his pipe.
With his cup, pan and spoon, made OF
tin and sometimes the worse for usage,
with a hammock ard blanket for bed
with bag in which to keep his clothes
and with small box for his needles and
thread, a sailors outfit is complete. He
is allowed to have nothing else. He
mends his clothes, does his own sewing
and becomes about as independent Il
man, in the minor affairs of life, as one
is ever Likely to meet.
The provisions which were put on
board at the Navy Yard, in cans and
boxes and packages of every description
and in quantities to last three months,
are prepared in the galley by the ships
cook, a most important parsonage. Not
only is this functionary responsible for
the condition of the food, which is served
by the mess cook to their mates, but he
is regarded as the origin. by some occult
gift, of all the yarns and Tumors on ship
board. 1t is supposed that galley yarn
can emanate from no source but the
ship's cook. Whether or not this facul-
ty bears any relation to the cooking OF
the food is not known, but one thing is
notorious-the storage capacity of a
sailor passes all comprehension.
His appetite is phenomenal. He can
eat more in less time than any other
man in existence. 1t is no exaggeration
to say that he eats as much as three or
four ordinary land men, without any iu-
cony yenisnce, and all that within ten
hours, fasting the remaining fourteen
hours. The ships cook starts the galley
fires at three o'clock in the morning and
puts them out at seven in the evening,
during which he meets the wants OF
about thre" hundred sailors with the
equivalent of not less than nine hundred
well-developed and vigorous appstites.
In the supplies of man of-wsr, next
in importance to the guns for show of
defense, tobacco is considered The most
essential. To meet these demands, large
quantities of the weed in its most exquis-
lie form, sweet and luscious plugs, are
put on board before sailing, and served
to the men according 10 established
rules.
A true sailor is fond of his pipe, which
is always in his mouth during smoking
hours, comforter in his trials and a
soIace at all times. On the war ships
the privilege of smoking is limited tC
certain hours of the day, which do moi
need gong or even time piece to an.