St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1895-09-13

high, as protection. The masts on
these boats are OF steel, hollow, and
in the case of the New York, access
to these fighting tops is by an iron
ladder inside the hollow masts. In
this way the men who fight in them
can go up and down in them with
out being exposed to the enemy.
The men whose life is spent on
board such ships as these live more
comfortably than one would think,
and the place really becomes a home
to them. | was on board the New
York early one evening, after the boat
had been fairly cleared from theenor
nous rush of the day. Everybody
wore an expression Of relief, JUST the
same as people on shore do after they
"have had company and got it over
with" Even the ships cat, big
comfortable looking Tommy, came
eisurely out and stretched himself on
the deck to enjoy the air.
happened to be on board that
night in season to watch the gym
nastic drill of the sailors. Once
every day, for so long a time, they
are put through course OF varied
exercises, ending with brisk run, in
single file about the deck, for ten
minutes. This drill keeps their arms
and legs from getting stiffened by
their confinement.
The cabins on board are beautifully
finished and furnished. Carpets,
pictures, books, etc., make them as
handsomely appointed as any home.
The officers rooms, though small,
are comfortably furnished. The din
ing room is large enough, and the
table furnishings sufficiently elabo"
rate for them to be able to entertain in
good shape. One of the pleasantest
features of the week was the presen-
tation to the cruiser Minneapolis of
an elegant solid silver dinner service
and a piano by the city for which
the boat was named. The Mayor Of
Minneapolis came on for the occa-
sion, accompanied by committee to
represent the city. A great number
OF Minnesota people had remained in
the city for the affair, and special
drill corps in novel white flannel uni
form, had been organized for the
three K. T. Communicates who were
here, to escort the party. The pre-
sentation exercises were held on deck,
where the very beautiful silver SER
vice glistened in the sun. thought
one sentence of Capt. Wadleigh's re-
marks in accepting the gifts very
neat. He said: UNLESS you deepen
the Mississippi river the ship can
never 60 to the city, but assure you
that there will always be warm
welcome for any of the residents of
the CITY that come to the Ship"
When one considers the compare
lively small size of the war ships,
and the amount of space taken up
by the guns and ammunition, it is
remarkable how many people live on
them. l do not happen to remem-
Der how many men are on the two
larger boats, but OIL the Raleigh,
which is very much smaller, there
are 2S3. OF course it would be i'm
possible for all these to have state
rooms to sleep in, as the officers do,
and so consequently the men sleep in
hammocks. These hammocks are
all brought on deck every morning,
neatly rolled up, and slowed away
in a netting on purpose. Each mans
hammock is numbered, and this
number is called his billet. Down
below, on the first deck. which on
this account is called the berth
deck" there are quantities of hooks,
numbered to correspond with the
hammocks. At a certain time each
evening, varied according to the dis
erection OF the officer OF the deck, the
order is given to unpack and sling
the hammocks, and later to turn in
During the warm weather some OF
men are allowed to sleep on the up
per deck, protected by canvas avn
ings.
MAX BENNETT THRAsHER.
Rev. Maskazoo Tai, who is now il
New York, is one of the most eminent