The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-17
The Sailors Come Back to Tell
of Their Exploits on
the Sea.
WITH A ROLL AND A HITCH.
How to See the Ships Writer-Rus-
set Shoes Not Uniforn1-Ship
Jokes.

A"DV SfOiiIuS llOu SANTA milking u
wide sweep as she circled gracefully around
the bay to her anchorage off Green-street
wharf. When she turned her beam toward
the setting sun she showed up under the
level rays like ivory, making the most
| striking and the prettiest picture imagin-
able.
! The Harbor Commission tug Governor
Markham, with Chief Wharfnger Boobar
and Superintendent Haste on board, went
out to the ship and brought off the Naval
Reserve which has been cruising in the
Santa Cruz waters. The young sailors,
after their few days on board had the reg
ulation roll and hitch-up in their gait that
mark the cid salt, and swore by the sheet
anchor that they could never feel safe and
| at home on shore again.
I'VE turned out at two BELLS" said
seaman-gunner IN embryo, land after
| coffee scrubbed down decks with sand and
| canvas and holystones. OF course you
don't know what a hoIystone is, and we
sailors cant stop to explain now. Then
we squilgeed down and swabbed up and
went at the brightwork. You take a
greasy rag and go for gun-carriage or a
! brass rail and make it fairly flame with the
SHINE you put on it. Then we piped to
| breakfast and tackled the scouse and slum-
gullon-only sailors know what that is
Then we had muster for inspection.
ana, Great Neptune, you ought to see how
particular those naval officers are about
| uniform. One Of our fellows wore his rus
set shoes, and lieutenant of the ship told
MIN II he ever came aboard the Olympia
again out of uniform he would be given
three weeks in solitary confinement on
| bread and water and with full ration every
seventh day. Then we drilled till eight
bells and went to dinner. We had chicken
and plum duff. How'S that? Chicken out
OF bully can and made out of
| beef that was butchered in 1912. asked
where the plums were and Bos'u s-mate
O'Connor said the chickens ate them
The Olympia's fellows played all the
Ola navy Jokes on us, such as going to the
bos,un for spunyarn and hunting for the
burial place of the sergeant of marines.
They told us we should go aft and ask to
get on the pinnacle list-that all recruits
always, went on the pinnacle list. We
learned that that was the sick list, and it
was harder to get on it than to get an in
vitation to dine with the captain. If you
want to speak with the ships writer in the
navy you must go to the mast, see the
officer of the deck, and ask to see the first
| huff, then tell him you want to see the old
man (the captain), then tell that officer
you want to see the admiral. If you get
IN the presence of that mighty parsonage
you may then ask for the ships writer
II tell you everything is balled up with
redtape on man-o'-war. About the first
duty some OF us reserves did aboard the
Olympia was marching around the deck
with spit-swabs. You see warship's
| deck is clean enough to eat hotcakes on,
and when fellow splits on it-nobody but
recruie would do that-he must mop it
up with big swab, and then carry the
| sWab around till he catches somebody
| else. Then he is relieved from that Job.
1.-The officers and men of the cruiser
treated US finely and gave us every oppor-
tunlty to pick up navy knowledge. Sturdy
is brick, so is Tommy Phelps Sturdy is
| lieutenant-commander first Iuff, executive
| officer, and wears the only pair of whiskers
| in the ship-wish l had brought ashore his
| photograph. Only the first huff on man.
of-war rates whiskers, the sailors said
Funny rule, isn't it? But he is bully
fellow. Lieutenant Phelps is the navi-
gator, ordnance officer, signal officer and a
| lot OF other things. The sailors like
Tommy, as they call him, and say he is
square,
81 didn't have the pleasure of meeting
Captain Reed, except at distance-about
1900, 900 miles away. Odd how far off
socially an officer, especially the skipper
gets from man in a war vessel. How
ever, met most all the others-in the line
OF duty. You hear more about duty
there than anything else. It's sort of
watchWord. They read it to you in the
articles of war, the ships cook serving out
'tay-wather' mouths it, and.even the ship
cat meows it. But it's no idle word there.
Duty first, last and all the time. It's
ground into the cadet and into the recruit
It's what makes the service. The rule is:
Do your duty if you die; then go to the
mast and make your complaint afterward
Say, what time is it? Two bells? Must
pipe down and keep quiet. SIong."
To-day and tomorrow the reserves will
go aboard the ship for drills, Captain Reed
cordially putting the ship at their dis
posal. The whole battalion express them
selves as having had most enjoyable time
aboard the big white cruiser.
A young Kearny -street clerk belonging
to Company D. the dude company" as
they are dubbed, went ashore at Santa
Cruz on liberty, and overstayed his leave
till he saw the Olympia getting up anchor
for San Francisco. Then he presented
himself on board considering it a fine
joke to 'break liberty in man-of-war
But he found Uncle Sam poor Joker. and
Lieutenant Rose, the deck officer, very
properly thought little navy discipline
would do the reserve man good, and SO
ordered him into the ''brig" with a sentry
standing guard over him. The prisoner
was released upon the arrival of the ship
and he went ashore with considerable more
respect Tor the regular naval service.