The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1890-07-05
A SAILORS WORK.
The Daily Routine During a
Merchantman's Voyage.
Jack Tar Must Be Up Early and
Ready for Anything.

chairman thus desert bed the life Of an
able-bodied seaman on long voyage:
A sailor may be said to begin his days
work with the ''morning watch" at 4
o'clock, when he must turn out of his
narrow bunk in the $50 castle and
tumble up ON deck prepared to scrub
and wash down decks, which are al
ways more or less badly stained with
salt water and iron rust. Plenty OF
water for cleaning purposes Is always
near at hand, and with the aid of buck
cts and ordinary brooms, brushes, or
"queg ces" Jack usually succeeds in
making things tolerably clean.
But if the ship is coming into port
and this Captain wishes the decks to
look particularly white, Jack must so
down on his hands and knees and scour
the decks with all the vigor of char
woman with certain articles called
'holy stones." Now, holystones are
not treasured fragments of some CLASH
cal shrine, but common looking pieces
of sandstone about the size of brick,
and it is not too much to say that poe
try abandons the nautical mind when
the holystoning process becomes neces-
sary. The operation is always long and
laborious, and the only respite Jack has
from this odious task is in polishing
furnished brass work or being ordered
aloft TO attend to some troubles ONO sail
or bit Of running gear. Consequently,
by 8 o'clock, when he is relieved by
the 'foeenoon watch" he has had suffi-
Gent exercise to get up an appetite for
breakfast such as is rarely equalled or
surpassed by anything human.
This meal, year in and out, consists
of liberal supply of hot black
beverage called coffee, which is stewed
to distraction, and sweetened, if at all,
Win mOldoSeS. Ahcu hiciO - ohip
bread, porridge. or "burgoo," and a
species of hash called '.lobscouse,"
which nobody but hungry sailor was
ever known to successfully digest.
Jack then fills his pipe, spins yarns, or
returns to his unambrosial bunk for a
nap. while his shipmates, the Store
noon WATCH" are busy making things
snug on deck and aloft. Indeed, it
would be difficult to say what the
forenoon watch will not find to do,
for much depends upon the state of the
weather.
But yards must be constantly
trimmed, according to the direction Of
the wind, sails furled, and running
gear looked after, and in addition to q
seaman's regular duties of setting and
shortening sail, there is always plenty
of sail-mending. ropc-splicing, spar
scraping. oillng, vanishing and paint
ing to do, to say nothing of the dirty
work of tarring the standing riggin g
and ropes occasionally. Then every
man must take his turn or 'trick" al
the wheel. which is always a mono
tonous and extremely dangerous duty
in bad weather.
At II. 80 the men who composed the
'mornIns watch are called to a dinner
of hot pea soup, boiled PORK and 6
baneful piece of meat that no argumc n,
will ever convince Jack is anything but
army mule or horse which has died ,
natural death. ''Salt horse" is there
fore, the name bestowed by him on this
tough picked substance, AMI he thin k.
himself lucky when it is folio we'd by
plumduff or ''stickjaw pudding" Thi.
sumptuous repast is then washed do WIN
with copious draughts of coffee, and
after filling and smoking the inevitable
pipe once more Jack feels invigorateC
and happy, and goes on deck as one o
the afternoon watch" which relieve
the forenoon watch" at II O clock.
The afternoon watch" we will sup
pose, for brevity's sake, is employed OF
deck with duties of the same nature a
engaged in the forenoon watch" ant
at 4 o'clock this watch is acai
changed. So you see that, general
speak ing, the men have four hours o
duty and four hours off. But if thl