Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-06-11
FUN ON THE OREGON.
How old Neptune Was Received Whom
y4t,..hi,, ucrossed tho Line.

How Old Neptune Was Received '" NC"
tho BattIeship "crossed tho Line.
Cadet CYRUS II. Miller of the battle
shin Oregon writes letter from Cailao
in which he tells how, when the snip
crossed the equator, the old ceremony
of the boarding of the ship by Neptune
was observed. Incidentally he mentions
tho effect of the equatorial sun, which
made the deck i'll his room so hot nc
could not stand on it in bare feet, send
ing the mercury up TO 100 degrees, drlV-
ing everybody up under the a' olngs on
+he uppcr deck, while the flr~men III
the hold sweltered under l60 degrees OF
heat. The ice machine however, ftlr-
nished cooling drinks of which one can
drink copiously i'll such temperature
without injury. Of the ceremony he
says:
"On March 81 wo crossed the line
(eouator). and us we then entered the
domains of Neptune he came on board
to welcome us especially those who had
never crossed before One of the OLD
Tackles made an imposing king, with
his crown and trident, aud his wife.
Amphitrite, cut Il stunning figure with
long blond hair made out OF manila
rome. The imperial pair were followed
by the court, composed of judge and
secretary Tin rather battered dress SUITS
and humorous policemen, who We're dis
tinguished by their immense size ana
hugo stuffed clubs.
THE costumes We're ridiculous III the
extreme. but l could never begin to dc.
scribe them. All hands were called aft
on the quarterback TO muster. Neptune
was received by the captain, who turned
the ship over TO him. The god Of the
sea then surveyed the horizon carefully
through the binoculars "a couple OF beer
bottles dashed together) and then made
very pretty speech in which bulltrogs,
mcrmaids and tadpoles were prominent.
He promised immunity from sharks,
seagulls. water snakes and NAL de lner,
10 say nothing of thousand terrors Of
the sea that | have forgotten. We then
adjourned to the upper structure, where
court opened. Neptune took his place on
the bridge and every officer on the ship
was summoned 70 appear and prove, II
he could. that he had crossed the line
before. If he could not bring two wit
nesses TO support his word, the Judge
was under the painful necessity OF or
dering him TO pay the customary trlo-
ute. The tribute was y number OF bot
ties Of beer, so that You can see how
painful twas for the poor judge when
he stood in the heat and conjured mp
visions of ice cold bottles. The Officers.
having been disposed of, the crew was
then taken up. Proceedings We're chang
cd a little, for the first man that failed
to toe the mark as to proofs was seated
on stool and two new personages now
came into view. One had the lather and
the other q razor. The victim being
ready although it was much better TO
catch him nnpreparcd), the shaving
brush Ga good sized paint brush) was
plunged into & terrible mixture of eggs,
flour. molasses and vinegar and d heavy
coating of the lather applied all over
the victim. The neck hair, back and
every other exposed place was remem-
bered, sometimes in a way far from del
icate, for the slap of the brush could be
heard all over the deck. The man with
the long wooden razor next got III his
work and shaved the poor unfortunate
i'll a way chat caused him to swallow a
number of teaspoonfuls of the lather.
When the torment was carried far
enough in that line, the stool was given
quick jerk and the victim shot the
shoots from the bridge to the deck be-
low, where a canvas tank with four feet
Of salt water was rugged.
Here he was waited for by the bears,
who ducked him numerically, beat him
with their clubs, and so abused him
that when he finally emerged from the
place of torture he really did not know
where he was at. So on with about 400
men. Occasionally the man in the chair
would smile while the lather was being
applied This the barber promptly stop
ped by plunging the brush into the mis-
crcant S mouth. milwaukee, Sentinel.