The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-07-10
THE OCEAN VOYAGE.

THE OCEAN VOYAGE.
! The trip across the ocean was pleas
urable to all. The ocean lived up to its
name, mill pond" weather having held
sway during the entire trip. OF course
the boys got seasick; that is, most of
them, but the cases were very light,
and by Saturday all were over them
and enjoying the ocean trip. AT this
writing not man is on the sick list.
While aboard ship the discipline has
not been relaxed, and the work of
making soldiers out of the boys has
gone steadily onward. Each morning
at o'clock and each afternoon at 4
o'clock drills were held on the deck
of the Colon, where one of the guns
is mounted. AS there is much work
connected with the ship, discipline has
been of the severest order, the punish
ment for each offender being to do some
of the necessary work.
The officers were kept busy perfect
ing the organization of the battalion
and selecting permanent details. The
signal corps was the most important
detail chosen. 1t consists of six of the
brightest men in the ranks, and they
spend all their spare time studying the
code and preparing for active service.
They are already proficient enough to
read the messages sent from other
ships.
Another thriving organization is a
Mutual improvement society, started
by the boys from Bountiful. 1t con-
sists of all the religiously inclined on
the boat, and is making a speciality of
studying the Bible.
The crew of the Colon is truly a
jolly good crew. and they interest large
audiences each night in telling stories
of sea life and shipwrecks. Many of
the stories concern the ship herself.
The gun mounted on deck has only
been fired once, and that was on the
morning of June %, when several
shrapnels were fired out into the sea,
where they exploded.
ROBBED BY THE COOK.
The food during the first few days
consisted of bareback and corn beef,
and loud and long We're the complaints
made The cooks came into the scene
with bread at 80 cents a loaf, prunes,
20 cents quart, and other edibles in
proportion. But these were nothing
compared with what the boys offered.
One hungry fellow offered the cook 81
for bowl of soup and so cents for a
biscuit.
However, the food soon improved,
and commissary was opened where
the boys can buy everything needed at
away with the cooks side trade, and
also with the complaining.
The ships are expected to sail again
tomorrow, and as ten knots an hour
is the fastest they can go, it will take
probably 20 days to land them in Ma
Mia.
The battery has just returned from
moonlight dip in the bay of Honolulu.
They didn't go in swimming with the
consent OF their officers, but climbed
out of their port holes, protected by
life DreserverS against danger from
sinking. They swan out across the
narrow channel to where the Hawaiian
warShiD Ohican lies anchored. Several
climbed aboard and fell to chatting
with the crew. They learned that the
old boat has been prepared for action
for some time, and her crew has been
sleeping at the guns for weeks. Six
days ago reports c|r1e that two Span
ish gunboats were sig ted off the heads,
and she immediatei steamed out of the
harbor. where the men STAYED at the
guns for three days without getting
any sleep.
On the starboard side of the Ohican
lies the Monterey, which arrived this
afternoon.
CELEBRATED ANNEXATION.
Today is the busiest the men have
spent since enlisting. Honolulu was in
good spirits for quite another reason. |
The town believed that she was an
nexed. and declared a holiday in honor |
Of the occasion. Whether or not the |
rumor is true. no one here is able to |