Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-10-26

...ofs aRell Down Iadder.R
 oso regulation against fighting is per
 Fbe acadest of all naval fesula-
 'r .@s It is impossible of enforcement
 \ were enforced to the letter, pretty
 ..z1v all hands among the men for
 .s5 wenld be in the .hrig'' from onu
 ,r,o end to the ether. Fighting is
 .stieaIlv q necessary evil among men
 'ho wear their country's uniform for
 livelihood. Officers of experience
 aaF at it. They know the bad, con-
 ninating results of bitterness between
 mir of blueiaokets under the 4erecas.
 They have learned that it is better
 atbing should be fought out and done
 s3s fban that dozens of men should be
 .ssvn into 6 quarrel that testers and
 ,rws unless the head of it is broken
 ,ga decisive battle between the two men
 aho have been snarling at each other
 Ssaple who have made ocean voyages
 fFea dwell upon the Weariness which
 as overcome them at the sight of theiR
 allow voyagers' ooJtntenanees toward
 Ind and of Q passage. This Is feeling zbich is aggravated thousandfold mid the uncomfortable surroundings of
 var vessels forecastle, the hundreds
 oeenpants of which are obliged to be anstansly together for from one to bree years Each man becomes thor uehlv aware of all his mates little bsraeteristies and after awhile. wheth- these characteristics are good or bad, boy jar upon him. if only on account f their monotony. Thus friction is gen. 6ea, aud it is for this reason that the rev of man-of-war just returned to ho United States after a three years ruise in foreign waters Is generally suoh sour looking lot, even as concerns he officers aft, who become quite as Eek of each other as do the men for. yard
 Hardly day passes that there is not st least enc seFap on board most men. |ss.5...f, tfssss ,.se promise of q heavier sattle to follow \ bluejacket seats simseif on another's ditty box, and, OH hing roughly ordered by the box .gner to yaeate, he refuses and con. ligns the owner to q much less moist lace than Davy Jones locker. The hen come together, two or three blows Ire exchanged and then. is by common eonsent, each man draws away, both sealing that the jimmy legs' (i C., l 5kz1aster at arIns) is not far distant a6d neither caring for | trick ill the 8brig Having thus become involved n the minor hstic argument oF the Heck. the two bluejackets are looked to B tue entire ships company to bring 'Aeir affair to q satisfactory conclusion. she mere exchange Of gfowls between =8e t8o men doesn't 20. Pipe down heFe ye melI-of-yFar chaws, and settle Do thing right. is the general remark sarled It them by all hands when they aeet in mere contests of euss words md the sailor who is considered 10 be he aggrieyed man is watched carefully b see if lie makes any preliminary n0yes toward arranging aregular fight He almost always does
 Nearly all the regular fights between tluejackets aboard ship are pulled of down below in ono of the frerooms or in an empty bunker. The empty bunker is preferred on account of it's greater ssftion. When q fight is to come ors tetween two bluejaekets below, all Aands know all about it, often inolud- Ing the master at arms himself, EUs Yery few of the men, unless they ars of tue combatants, expect ip- Fitations to the fray. There isnot rot1n in bunker for more than half do&tn aiends Of each man, aud even with this lumber the space is rather contracted
 With a second each and a referee greed upon by both. the men, stripped naked to the waist, 70 at it. The fights Sre not of the rough and tumble order. Ihe men fight according to regular Frize ring rules, and their shipmates lfe present to see that the rules are implied with. As many IS 90 rounds re sometimes fought Ordinarily one tue men goes under by the time the anth round is called If the men are neQually matched and one Of them is citing palpably the worst of if, all ands in the bunker agree that the fing should stop, and it does stop If 10 contestants are about of U sort, the ght is carried on to the end, until a hoekout blow is planted by one of lem or both arc too weak to go on. t the conclusion of the fight the on- okers quietly depart from the bunker ld ascend to the deck by different en. nc room ladders, SD as not to attracS e attention of the officer of the deck Both men generally get pretty thor lghly mauled and bruised up ill these lnker fights, and when the battle is 'er they jump into their uniforms and pair to the sick bay to get themselves l aate4Ae6 1p with arGica, court plaster, 1
 The surgeon knows at q glance l aat aila them, but for the sake of l m he asks them what the trouble is aAy have both fallen down 0 ladder 1
 ct the same time? No. sir; they 1
 1own different ladders That's cu. ]
 mUnmurs tho surgeon, with q and faraway look in his eyes X bling an account of their injuries