The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1889-02-16


hilarity with these serene, old-time
oceanic pictures; but when Jack steps
out of his armor, carries his hair to
the spinyarn-winch and works pig
tail of it, slaves his casks of canary,
and breaches his puncheons of rum,
then the ''shindy" begins. AS good
an account as any of the modern
ceremonies practiced in crossing
the equator is given by Marryat.
Indeed, the Jacks of his days
were so obstinate in the observation
of this practice that if the ships course
did not carry her across the line the
crew performed the ceremony in the
tropics. So says Marryat in Frank
Midway" and he shows us the picture
by introducing Neptune riding on a car
made of gun-carriage, drawn by six
semi-nude seamen painted black and
spotted with yellow paint. Neptune
has long beard and ringlets OF oakum.
On his head is an iron crown and in his
hand trident with small dolphin be-
tween its prongs. His attendants are
a secretary, armed with bundle of
sea-fowl quilts. a surgeon with lancet.
pill-box, and so forth, and barber
with large wooden razor, the blade of
which is formed of an iron hoop. This
barber has mate who makes his APP
pearance with small tub for shaving
box. With Neptune comes Amphitrite,
habited in wOman's night-cap with
sea-weed for ribbons. She carries a
boy on her lap as baby, whose teeth
she helps to cut with marlin spike,
Three rough sailors dressed as nymphs
form her retinue. These ladies are
furnished with combs, mirrors and pots
of red paint. Here we have the prin-
cipal actors of the play. The people
who have not crossed the equator pro-
vide the fun.
A sheep-pen is made water-tight and
filed. The victim is blindfolded and
seated upon a platform placed upon the
tank. He is then shaved. He is wise
If he does not demonstrate. for a man
stands by with tar brush which he
will pop into his mouth if he parts his
lips. Half the skin of the face having
been removed amidst roars of laughter
from the assembled salts the sufferer
is plunged backward into the water.
Hone, in his Table Book" describes
the ceremony as performed on board
whaling vessels early in the present
century, either on the first day of May
or on crossing the arctic circle. The
fellows who were to be dealt with were
kept below. A BARRIERS shop was fitted
up with sign: "Neptune's Easy Shaw
ing Shop. kept by John johnson" Ten
fiddlers dressed in mats and rags
formed procession. They were fol-
lowed by Neptune riding on gum
carriage. They made straight course
for the quarterback, where Neptune
questioned the captain as to the ship,
her destination. himself and the like.
Then three quarts of rum were pro-
duced and the shavers drank the cap
tain's health, These ceremonies over,
the novices were brought up. and the
skylarking began. Wearisome as
the descriptions of this kind of
joke grew, one understands neverthe-
less, that the romancist should find
much to fascinate him in it as an inspi-
ration for picture easy to paint and
rich when done. On board man-of-
war-some frigate. say, with decks as
white as peeled almonds-the spectacle
for the moment, that is to say until the
Jacks grew frolicsome, must have been
wonderfully fine and quaint. The salt
and fanciful costumes of the masquer-
aders-Neptune with his oakum beard,
attire of seaweed, and iron crown, the
raddled faces of his companions
| would blend strangely well, one would
think, with the flowing Jack Tar raj
ment of the onlookers, the rows of
black cannon, the sparkle of brass and
glass, the soaring of the star-like can
vas, the delicate shadows of the rig
ging softly swaying with the movement
of the ship upon the milk-white planks.
No effort of imagination could recon-
cile custom of this kind with the
steamship. Imagine Neptune crawling
over the up-anddown stem of 5000
ton mail boat sweeping through the
water as fast as hurricane could have
blown an old frigate along! The decay
of this ceremony exhibits in Jack a
nice sense of the laws'of keeping. He
is obviously keen in his recognition of
the absurdity of perpetuating such
a practice as this in century of
smoke-stacks. 1t was but coarse bit
of foolery. and it is happily ended.
The early inspiring sentiment of it had
ages ago died out, and nothing survived
but the nnnOrfllnitv for the foreca sfle