The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-07-01
SlGSBY'S SHIPS NEWSPAPER

SlGSBY'S SHIPS NEWSPAPER
Desire for news was so strong among
the crew of Captain S%igsbee's United
States unprotected scout ship the St.
Paul, that several members Of the crew
got an idea of issuing the st. Paul War
Budget every week.
from the stewards hand press last
Thursday afternoon as the ship was
nearing Sandy Hook. The paper con-
tains four pages, 6x8 inches. It's ed
itors are James White and Thomas F.
Richardson. Fred c.. linn is the printer.
"At Sea, Thursday, June 2, 1885," is
the way the date line reads. AS there
are 524 members of the crew of the st.
Paul its circulation is somewhat linn
tied, but there is no limit to the fun
which the sailors extract from it's col
umns. The pages are devoted to de-
scriptions of the trip of the scout ship
from the time she left Hampton Roads
until after she parted with Admiral
SIMPSONS fleet off Havana.
To the editors all the news was nee
essarily local. because from the IA
ture of the st. Paurs mission she was
cut off nearly all the time from tele-
graphic Communication But although
the news was intensely local, the local.
ity was constantly changing and hat
made the paper interesting reading.
One article, entitled "Great Chase by
the United States Steamship St. Paul"
describes how, on May "a, while the
st. Paul was quietly cruising off the
entrance of Santiago, she sighted a
sail. After a hard chase she caught
up with the object of the pursuit,
which proved to be an Italian bark,
scrub and wash clothes six days from
misery, with ballast Of stone, bound
for Pensacola, Fla. "We allowed her
to depart" the description continues,
land with much sadness of heart re-
turned to our old cruising ground" But
later in the day, after having steamed
many miles i4 a circuitous course,
much to the disgust of the st. Paul's
crew, they had a second chase, which
ended as before, by their running
down the same old Italian bark.
Among the notes by the editor is
the following: "Our sympathy is with
the wash woman at Hampton Raods,
Va, who tried to catch the St. Paul.
Useless waste of energy, my DEAR"
which suggests a story.
Here are some of the items Of inter-
est:
w enjoyed that impromptu concert
on the promenade deck the other night
very much. We respectfully request
that the officer who plays the guitar
~ oVSSSAJ - NoS la
on his face so that we will have the
pleasure of knowing who he is here
after"
Divine services will be held in the
main saloon every Sunday at 10 a. m.
A short bible reading will be given at
the same place at four bells in the
afternoon. All are cordially invited.
Boys, you would do we'll t. observe
the above note; the best of us are none
too good"
I'VE are keeping up to regulation,
anyhow. Duff and general quarters
Thursday, salt pork and beans, together
with fire drill, Fridays. and so on
Potatoes have gone up lately. I
notice that the c. P. o. mess have put
extra bolts On their pub lockers"
"'Who stole the molasses? 2 is a for
hidden topic while any of the P. o.
mess are within hearing distance
THE cox of the gig is waxing fat and
sassy lately. He eats sardines and
soft tack, much to the envy of his
messmates.
Under the caption, Dreams of the
Midwatch,' appear the following:
If our mascot, Yankee and his
different roosting place other than the
muzzle of the forward fve-inch rifle,
that time-worn expression, It's rain
ing cats and dogs will become a lit
eral fact one Of these days"
Say, did you eve hear some of the
recruits talking about their servant
girls at home? Just notice these blow
ers and you will find that they are the
ones who wear the dirtiest clothes at
muster"
IT don like the idea Of calling down
berth deck cooks, but we have some
handles aboard here. One of them
a few days ago started to make a
cake, and after mixing up a mess of
stuff, and when about to put it in the
oven, he found out that he had forgot-
ten the -four"
Some Of the boys are wondering
how the N. Y. B. B. c.. stands for
the pennant. If you would take my
advice. boys, you would get out your
own bats; you may have a chance to
get some practice knocking Spanish
balls off the ships side soon; then Won
might get a job with the club you 80
highly admire"
II have 1t from good authority that
each man in the navy will receive dur
ing the continuance Of the war 20 per
cent Increase on his salary. This will
be good news to the majority Of us, I
am sure. This is not a dream"
Coal Is an item which must be con-
stdered in q warship. We must insist
on the firemen and coal passers leaving
the coal down in the fire room and not
: bringing it up on deck with their feet"