Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-17

wi ~ ed to pursue his
~ - boulder-streWn path
unnoticed and unsung.
To use the words Of an oId-tirner in the
navy raw landsman, SO far as his i'm
portance aboard ship is concerned, is
eighteen pounds lighter than strand of
caulking oakum." He is Infinitely smaller
in degree than an apprentice boy of the
third class. for the latter is i'll the direct
line of promotion. with good conduct and
a fair modicum of brains, to the rank of
warrant officer-boatswain, gunner car
penter or sailmaker. The apprentices ca
reer rests In his own hands, and the gilt
tering prospect always before the boy of
becoming at some future time a gentleman
of the quarter deck and member Of the
steerage mess aft is a perpetual incentive
to his ambition.
No such roseate path can the lanusman
block out for himself. Nominally, the lands
man is also in line of promotion TO the rank
OF warrant officer, but the frequency with
which men who have not served as APP
prentices in the navy gain these prizes is
about in the ratio of angels mundane
visits. Apprentices are invariably given
the preference in the distribution OF such
commissions, and there are not a fiftieth
enough of these positions for the appren-
tees who aspire to apply for them.
The highest rate to which the landsman
may upift his humble gaze is that of
chief petty officer. and even this is dizzy
pinnacle which few succeed in scaling. 1t
has happened that young men who have
entered the navy as landsmen have even
tually succeeded in capturing the prize of a
pay clerks berth, but such cases are eX-
ceedingly rare.
en- Receiving Slip.
The man who, too old to so in as an ap-
prentice, wishes to enter the navy as a
landsman presents himself for enlistment,
under ordinary circumstances, on a re-
cciving ship. These receiving ships (oT
"guardos," as they are known among men
of-warsmen forward) are stationed at the
navy yards in Brooklyn, Boston. League
San Francisco, CAL; In special cases.
when the crew Of d war vessel some
considerable distance removed from a
receiving ship has been largely de-
plet.d by reason of transfers and dis
charges permission is granted the COM
lnanding officer to ship men in whatever
port the vessel may happen to be, whether
at home or abroad.
This practice accounts in large measure
for the great number of foreigners in the
United States naval service. The babel of
tongues which may be heard under the
togailant foc'sle of an American man-of-
war is curiously bcwildering-the China
man. the italian, the. Greek, the West In
dian negro, the 'greaser' beach-comber of
Mexico, the phlegmatic German. the vo-
ciferous ''lime-juicer' Briton. the mercurial
F'renchman, ard outnumbering all the
other nationalities except the Americans
occasionally, indeed, closely crowding the
native-born men, the blonde, hardy, sailor
like Scandinavian. Men of all these natlVi-
ties are clustered together among them
selves in various corners of the fo'c'sle,
speaking the language OF their various re-
spective countries and exhibiting clam
nishness singular enough to see with the
hof flkG in
floating at the ships stern or miZZen.
The young man who goes aboard a
receiving ship to enlist as lands
man is required to pass a medical ex-
animation of the most severe character.
The rigid physical examination to which
candidates for enlistment In the United
States navy are subjected is not nearly so
exacting as the examination through which
would-be naval recruits are put. The slight
est indication of a lack of hardness, or the
| smallest symptom which may be quite I'M
known to the candidate himself, of an all
ment which is likely to disqEalify him for
all kinds of service in the future, Is suffi-
Client cause for his instant rejection by the
examining surgeon. Twenty-Five men out
of thirty-five who present themselves for
enlistment rejected on account OF ply
steal imperfections.
| Having withstood this test, and exhibited
| moderate degree of intelligence In an
swering off-hand questions put to him, the
lanGsman is enlisted by the executive off,
ASN -
three years service, "landsman" being his
| official title the recruit to be known by
| such title until he is promoted. His uni
form and all the appurtenances and rum
ming gear Of the naval tar are dished out
to him by the paymaster's clerk or yeoman.
| assisted by the 'Jack-o' -the-dust," the pay
| masters striker" or dog robber." the
cost of which, usually amounting to be-
| tween $50 and $40, is charged to the pay &C
count of the recruits whose pay is yet to be
earned.
Some Early Experiences.
The new man must pay for his kit of
clothing and other gear out of his SIG per
| month, and he is not allowed to go ashore
until he has paid for it. unless he deposits
| with the paymaster an amount sufficient to
cover the cost of the outfit. Paymasters,
however, are not over-burdened in receiv-
| ing and noting such deposits. for in an ag-
| gregation of 100 newly enlisted landsmen
| one would ordinarily have considerable
| difficulty in collecting 80 cents.
Enlisted and in blue jacket uniform, the
suardo. He fee1s stra 1ss in pDn s ne ns
| garb, and fancies that all hands, fore and
aft. en- the receiving ship are carefully
! watching his hands and feet. He dares not
| look the old-timers In, the face for fear of
detecting lurking grin. H~A everely feels
the contrast between his "deep-water" ex-
terror and his profourd lack Of all nauti-
a fat-bottomed skiff 81 the yellow waters
| of quiet inlets.
| In truth. he is sufficiently unhappy for a
! time; but his unhappiness soon begins to
| be tempered by the joy of the three whole
| some and substantial meals to which he
may sit down at the piping of mess gear. u
/ The United States being a country where
the military spirit does not flame with very
| great brilliancy during times of peace II
may reasonably be taken for granted that
| the man who enlists IN the army or navy
! is not particularly wel-fed when he takes
| the STEP And so the1andsman enjoys his
j receiving ship meals; and well he may, fol
his appetite is not likely to be pleasured by
| ship. $3.50, II
A landsman is not kept upon receiving
ship for any great length of tinle-scarccly
| ever longer than a month-but while he is
! there he earns his 80 cents per diem.
| Every day he is likely to be assigned as a
member of a working party which per-
forms SUCH light little chores as cleaning
; navy yard sewers and shoveling a few
| tons of COAL under the direction Of a
! "grardo" bo's'uns mate CHAT FOOT is the
| technical name forward for the Shell
| back" species) whose twenty or thirty
years OF service on the ."wind-jammers'' of
| the old navy have not improved the ~Inelh-
| f1ucus tone of his voice nor the quality of
| his temper.
| Life on a Scn-G0ing Vessel.
But the full joyousness of the career
opening before the landsman is not made