Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-03-19

( ~ WmI\p cheSted bawi ISSUED
in the gray of I h e
morning for I h e
ears of all hands Clear ship for visitors"
That is a very different word from Clear
ship for action''-which means set blue
jacket countenances and strained blue
jacket muscles in any service and in all
climes-but it is just as productive of re-
suits "a bosuE's mate gets action for
every howl he emits) You, the man-o'-
war visitor, perceive the results-the
CLASSY, chalky decks the glittering bright
work, the polished gun gear, the fantasia
caiiy arranged running gear, the general
look OF almost impossible cleanliness that
causes you te farcy that here at any rate.
art has been regarded as a living dan
gerous enemy, and, as enemy, throttled
and cast over the side. You observe the
DlueJackets sitting around decks, pic
turesque in their best mastering clothes.
me 1ne spick-and-span marines playing at
Ch1nese checkers on mystifying checker
boards of oil cloth, the officers aft, posing
on the poop, perhaps. in their full dress
uniforms. or hocking in and out of the
conclude that, after all. the stage man
o war is not SO totally wrong and that
on the whole, naval life on the ocean
wave wave can't be quite such a bad job as 1t
mas been pictured.
Well, you are likely to reflect. s.here,s
the SNIP, clearer than a Dutch kitchen
resting on an even keel guns all mounted
sna ready for business, everything all
properly slowed away, and nothing for
the crew to DO tomorrow. How will the
crew contrive to put in tomorrow without
being bored? How'll they find enough to
40 10 earn their pay, row that the vessel
70 70 ae cle..h as wax, and plenty evil looking
ior any sort of work?'
The Days Routine.
The crew will be busy enough tomorrow
and the dav bo
YOU nave been over her as she is dressed
up In her best. urimpeachable as a ROYAL
marine. There is always work. sIatbars
OF 1t FOR all hands fore and aft on a man.
o war from the day she shoots I'm her
starry JACK ana gees into commission until
mat other inevitable day when an outof
oa.e ana out worn hulk, she is towed into
d naval boneyard to rot. Except for the
program OF drills, or for such occasional
and always dreaded incidents as coaling
snip. every day on a man-o'-war at anchor
IS the same. At sea, the incidents are as
various as skies, seas, and log-books This
Is story of routine day on an Ameri-
can-o-wa as she swings to her mud-hook
IN port-whether the port be New York,
vlilefranche or Vladivostock, makes no
difference ' nv
The first thing man-o'-war recruit learns
IL to jump to the scream of the to'sun's
mates pipe and the bray of the marine
wind-jammars" bugle The bugIer gets in
his work first. Ask any old heayy-weathar
deep water bluejacket Of the United States
navy what sound of all earthly sounds he
mates mates. worst, and he will begin to say
things about the marine buglsr-for this
musician trumpets all hands forward awake
at O'Clock in the morning. A hammock
Is comfortable, cozy affair to sleep in
Wneh you get used to it-especially coy
and comfortable at 5 o'clock on a black.
chill morning. But when the wind-iam,
mers notes dies away, and the already I'm
ana sory bo'sun's mate lets out couple
hTIH ncfc l,sr
roar. "All hands on deck" hammocL -
no place for bluejacket who does not rine
for the trouble of facing the skipper at IN >
mas few hours later. From the time ..all
nahds Is sounded, the men are allowed six
minutes to scramble out of their ham
mocks, dress themselves, and lash their
oammocks and stow them away in the
hammock MEETINGS. The man who lags and
Is ten seconds behind schedule time for this
performance is spotted by the chief MASTER
at-arms-and he does not go ashore on lib
erty with his shipmates for while.
"Wnsh Down.
The hammocks slowed, the officer of the
deck Gin his bare feet, generally, like the
men forward, and therefore not quite so
gallant and iignifed-looking as he appears
when you go aboard on your visit makes
his Eod to the watchfuI bc'sun's mate and
the word Wash down. is passed Then
the pumps below begin to thump and for a
solid hour green seas pour over the
decks-inore than enough water to float
her. The scrubbIng, mauling of gear, rub
6ing of anything and everything rubable,
are prodigious. Every man has a cleaning
station, whether he belongs to the deck
force or the BLACK gang Of the engineers
department below, and 1t is his business to
get that station as clean as washed wool
before three-fourths of the, civilian world
has awakened. If he does not get it clean.
he goes to the mast" when his slouchiness
Is discovered by the inspecting otf1cer
every corner and Granny of man-o'-war
Is numbered for cleaning purposes, from
the to gallant fo'c'sle to the after engine
room, and every man-o'-wars man has a
number to correspond to his cleaning sta
decks any more. They use sand instead
While the men on deck are whitening the
decks and securing the guns and unrayel-
ing and restowing loose gear, the black
gang down below are polishing up their in
tricate machinery stations, cleaning fire
and boiler rooms. washing out bi!ges and
generally laying up peace for themselves
against the aftsr-breakfast inspection of
the lynx-eyed chief engineer.
The Welcome "Mess-Gear,,
This early morning washing down and
polishing seance lasts for two hours-for it
is to be understood that among the incon-
veniences the, nan-of-war's man must per-
force get used to is that of working like a
mule on an empty stomach. At z O'Clock
the bo suns mate gets another nod from
the offlcer OF the deck; then he gives his
pipe bit of a. wind and growFs knock
on" The men quit work where they stand
and wash themselves up for breakfast.
'.Mess-gear," which means the whistlcd
summons to a man-o'-wars meal, goes for
breakfast at T:20 o'clock. The galley cooks
get the breakfast ready while the rest of
the crew forward are cleaning stations.
When mess-gear h shrilled the mess cooks
strikers generally apprentices boyN pull
down the swinging tables, and the pannf-
kin served meals are on the tables in a
jiffy. The binejacaxets are hungry. Of course
land the breakfasts are Of sort. The
food Is substantial nourishing, even paIa-
tabie-but the recruit has to become ac-
custonned to the way 1t is served. The
chief petty officers mess must be excepted
from this generalization. for the chief petty
officers mess on an American man-o'-war
Is always q daintily-seryed affair. minus
the swinging tables The petty officers
who wear the bress buttons eat 1T sta
tionary. tables. usually on the berth deck
Tobacco's Fragrant CHARMS.
The average man-o' wars man regards
his breakfast as oEiy foundation for
smoke-the best smoke Of the day. On
American men-o'-war there II en- open
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