The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-20

quor, The eoeoanuts filed with rum is
an old story, so is the canvas bag polSed
down the scupper--where the waste Ii
quor from the grog-tub Is poured away
and afterwards hauled up by bit of
string previously attached to it. ON
one occasion q midshipman received
orders on a Saturday night to take the
| launch ashore for load of fresh water
| on Monday. The boat was cleared out
and well scrubbed. On landing, they
| had to take canvas hose with large
mouth to it from the launch to spring
which trickled from some rocks well
above the boat The mouth was triced
up-the water finding it's way through
the hose into the boat in bulk. There
were only three men-the cockswain,
one man to keep dead leaves, etc, from
falling into the hose on shore and one
man to hold the hose in the boat. Yet
one of the two men who never left the
boat was unmistakably the worse for
liquor when the launch was towed
alongside the ship The midshipman
was duly questioned and his leave was
duly stopped. Never could he find out
how that man got drunk until he was
told long after.
Knowing on Saturday that they were
going watering the following Monday,
one blue Jacket went ashore and
bought some liquor tied up in pigs in
testines, and hid it near the spring.
The man who was told off to look after
the hose ashore, being duly informed,
signalled to his topmate in the boat,
and then popped one Of the long intes-
tines into the mouth of the hose. The
rush of water carried the liquor safely
through the hose, and the sailor in the
boat grasped it as 1T emerged, and
slowed tit inside his serge jumper, of
course having an occasional pull at it
when the MILDLY was not looking. The
spirits, after having been struggled
through the fresh water, were drunk
neat. / remember the case of a ships
corporal Chat is one Of the ships po
lice), who had a brother, barber in
London, who paid him a visit, The
barber was so fascinated with life
afloat that he sold off his business,
passed the necessary examination, and
became a ships corporal himself.
During the fitting out of a ship there
was a good deal Of drunkenness, and it
was difficult to find out how spirits
We're struggled on board. But the
newly made corporal noticed that there
was an unusual consumption OF butter
in the ship. The bum-boat woman sold
more butter than anything else. More
over all the butter was prettily made
up in pyramidal shape Of a pattern not
generally seen. Ills suspicious being
aroused, one fine day the corporal
jumped into the bum-boat, poked his
pencil into one of the butter shapes,
and then, pressing his hands on either
side, up sprang an artesian well of gin
from the butter.
This desire to obtain spirits natural
ly resulted in the old days in good
deal of fogging, and sometimes ended
In tragedy. I remember Christmas
at Bermuda, when the ship was lying
in the basin, We missed one of our
weak characters for two days, and it
was suggested to me that as he had
last been seen with others buying spir-
it's, which he said he meant to get on
board by hook or by crook, he might
have come to harm. Supposing that
he meant to try and swim off from the
shore and make for either the cable, so
as to come up it, or the paddle wheel, 7
sent for the diver and pointing to a
particular spot, made him go down.
In few minutes he was UP again, and
after we had taken off his diving he'll
met he said. "He is there. sir where
you pointed, lying on his back" We
soon got his body up, and then found
that he had thrust couple Of bottles
in the waistband of his trousers. one on
each side. In attempting to swim off
to the ship he had overestimated his
powers and sunk just alongside. If he
called out, no one heard him, as his
shipmates were keeping Christmas on
the lower deck, and so young life was
lost through this curse.-Navy and
Army illustrated.