Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-11-11
A WARSHIP MUSTER.
AN IMPORTANT CEREMONY ON BOARD
or A BIG MAN-oF-wAR.

General muster u a ceremony OF great
Importance on man-of-war. Unlikt
other musters and routine drills which
take place day after day with the utmost
regularity, this grand function takes place
not oftcner than once "A month. On mosl
warships the first Sunday Of each month Is
reserved for this purpose. but it Otter
happens that two or three months elapss
between general musters
AT three BELLS (9:30 A. NJ. the call fof
quarters is sounded by the buglers and
the men take their places In the different
divisions. The sailors or deck hands who
compose the guns crews are stationed on
the starboard side Of the deck and arr
usually divided into four classes known
/ respectively rs the first. second. third and
fourth divisions. In charge Of each il a
deck officer. usually a lieutenant. and an
ensign Is assigned rs junior officer.
+ On the port side Of the deck are mus
+ tered the nayigators division, the forward
/ powder division. the after powder division.
the engineers division, the marine guard.
/ and, IL ON "a flagship, the band.
The navigator's division is composed
/ mostly of petty officers, such as ships
/ writers, quartermasters, carpenters, dy
/ namo machinists, the ships cook, signal
/ boys, etc. When the ship goes into action
+ their duty Is to take charge of the naviga
/ ton OF the ship. thus relieving the sailors
/ who belong to guns crews. Their station
at quarters is forward on the spar deck.
ALL NATIoNALITtEs REPRESENTED.
Next come the two parts Of the powder
/ division, composed OF petty officers, cooks
and servants The officer Of the division
needs to be linguist. for usually all M
/ tionalities are observation-disclosures, Chi
/ nese, Africans, Germans, Swedes Russians,
/ Greeks, Italians and occasionally an Amer
I lean. This is usually counted the scrub
/ division Of "A ship, and the officers have II
+ hard time making the men keep in present
/ able appearance. At target practice and
other drills it is supposed to make the poor
/ est record.
! The engineers division Is composed Of
/ machinists, boiler makers, oilers, iiremen
and coal beavers, and is in charge of the
chief engineer, with the junior officers OF
his corps as assistants. On the quarter
deck the marine guard, "the bulwark he
tween the wardroom and the forecastle, y
falls into line and the brilliant colors Of
their uniforms present a most CANDY up
pearance. II IA flagship. the admiral's band.
in uniform resplendent with red trim
mings, falls in farther aft under the break
of the poop,
Alt OFFICERS IN FuLL DRESS.
At general muster all officers are in full
dress, with cooked hats aud epaulcts aud
gold lace on coat and trousers The men
must all he in their best and clean. with
shoes polished and clothes well brushed
The uniforms worn must be strictly rcgua
tiOn. This is one Of the hardest triaS, OF a
man-of-war' s-man now-to wear reguia
ton fiat cap. The new uniform adopted j.
said by them to be ridiculous, and no good
sailor will wear one OF these hats ashore
After the divisions have been mustered
they are marched aft and formed into IA
hollow square upon the quarter deck, and
the chaplain reads the prayers, while the
men stand with uncovered heads in re
spectful attitude. The divisions are then
marched back to their stations and dis
missed
Hardly have the men broken ranks when
the boatswain's mates whistles are heard
followed by the gruff voices Of the old sen
men rs they repeat the order IAN hand
to MUSTER The men then throng bach
and form just forward OF the quarter deck
The petty officers form By themselves just
forward OF the mainmast The ships Of
iicers, according TO rank. form on the star
board side of the deck. The executive of.
ficer, that person of great authority, steps
forward and reads the Articles for the
Government of the Navy"
This Is a long and tedious document set
ting forth the punishmeuts to be given
both officers and enlisted seamen for yari
Gus oifenses, ranging from wrccking wal
vessel down To coming aboard intoxicated
The punishments are necessarily severe
Then follows the reading of the proceed
ings OF all general courts martial held In
the navy during the preceding month
Sometimes there are twenty or more OF
these. and the officer shows signs Of fatigue
before the task IL completed.
MUSTER IN THIS sTARBoARD GANGwAY.
+ The reading Of these rules and regula
tions Is at last concluded and the executive
Officer. grown hoarse by reason Of so mucb
reading heslyes a sigh Of relief
The order Is then given and repeated b,
the boatswain's mates for all petty ofiieers
to muster in the starboard gangway
Here, in two long ranks, are the men who
F have charge of much Of the work done on
board ship At the end nearest the quar-
f ter deck stands the master-at-arms, and
then come yeomen. writers, machinists.
the apothecary, printer. painter. electrician
mates qnartermasters oilers, water tend
ers and ships corporals. These men an
often Americans, and many Of them are ex
apprentices. Their duties arr important,
and they are trusted more than the other
members Of the crew.
The paymaster or pay clerk starts t.
muster the crew, calling out each mans
full name, and the latter answers with his
rating. When the petty officers are MI
mustered, they are allowed To leave and 70
forward. always being cautioned to keep
quiet
Then follows scene which reminds one
OF the old days of the nAyy-a custom hun
dreis Of years old, borrowed originally
from the English, like many OF the modern
innovations. snch as the design of uni
FORM II il called going around the
mast"
When each mans name is called he an
swers with his rating, as Ordinary sea
man, sir" removes his cap and walks
around the mast 20 the starboard side and
goes forward. This Is kept up until all
seameu, ordinary seamen, landsmen. coal
beavers, firemen and bandsmen--haYe
passed under the inspection OF the captain
who stands near the mainmast intentl,
watching and forming an opinion OF eaci
man rs he passes before him. When ali
have gone forward the order is given b.
the executive officer 10 pipe down" tn
shrill whistles sound and general mnste,
Is over. New York Recorder.
Desecbo, an island adjoining Porto
Rico. Is infested with rats. There are