Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-05-18

| weeks before. Our quarantine was
for three months, and it wasn't half
run out on this Christmas day. Dewey
stood at the break of the poop, with
his hands on his hips, watching the
| liberty party lineup. Us fellows that
| couldn't go We're standing around the
gangway, smoking our pipes, and look
ing pretty down i'm the mouth. I guess.
The big liberty party-there were a
couple of hundred men in the batch
| finally got away, and the ship was
practically deserted, except for us
quarantined fellows. Dewey watched
us for a while out of the tail of his eve.
We were leaning over the side, watch
ing the receding running boats with
the big liberty party. Dewey went az
on the poop and walked up and down.
chewing his mustache, and every once
in While shooting look at us men
up forward. Finally he walked down
the poop ladder and straight forward
to where we We're grouped.
You boys hop into your mastering
clothes and go on off to the beach. Til
let you have a couple of the running
boats when they return. Come back
with the other men when you get ready
Don't raise any more trouble ashore
than You can help
There wasn't a man in the gang Of
us that didn't want to hug little Dewey
for that. and You can gamble that We
gave him a cheer ship that rang
around the harbor of Genoa. We all
got marked in the log as clean and
sober too. when We got back to the
ship, for we weren't going to do any
cutting up on Dewey after the way he'd
treated us
Flying Squadron Schley has always
been popular officer among the men
forward on ships under his command
one OF the eX-blue- jackets now in
Washington tells a story of Schley that
shows him to be netting of humor-
list. 4 number of years ago Schley
was in command of one of the old navy
ships that was fitting out at the
Brooklyn navy yard for a foreign
cruise. Now, naval officers of the
Wardroom carry a lot of good beer
along with them when they start out
on cruise. They are not heavy drink
ers of beer but they use it at mess with
their meals. The beer is taken aboard
in bottles packed in straw in immense
hogsheads, A few days before Schey's
ship was to sail for a foreign station a
big party of Brooklyn Sunday school
teachers visited the ship in a body. The
party was composed equally OF men
and women. The crew were engaged
in slowing and breaking out stores. On
the main deck stood one OF the big
hCgsheads packed full of beer bottles
that had been emptied. The hogshead
filled with empty bottles was about to
be hoiSted. AS the bottles stuck out of
The packing straw there was no way of
telling whether they We're filled or emp
ty. The Sunday school teachers figured
it that the bottles were loaded and they
looked upon the hogshead with eyes of
disapproVal. They held a conference
among themselves over that hated
hogshead and they determined to send
an emissary to the skipper, who was
Schley, about it. Schley received the
emissary in his cabin.
Sit" said the messenger, lit is re-
erettablc to observe the huge quantity
of liquid intoxicants your vessel is re-
ceiving."
Schley is a quick minded man and he
knew that the hogshead was what
allied the emissary. But he didn't let
On.
"How's that" he inquired.
The emssary told about the enOr-
nous hogshead filed with beer bottles.
1t is simply shocking" he said
shocking, Well I should say SOL
exclaimed schlcy. Ill attend to the
matter at once
Schey rushed out of his cabin, fol-
lowed by the emissary.
"Bcsuns mate" called out Schley as
soon as he reached the main deck.
send me few hands at once"
The hands We're aft Instantly.
Rig a tackle and dump that hogs
head over the side" ordered Schley.
The sailors. who know the bottles
were empty grnned. but in a iiffy they
had the hogshead over the side and at
the bottom. The Sunday school teach
ers locked approvingly and when the
nogshead had disappeared they tiocked
around Schley and told him what a
fine, noble example he was setting.
Schley took it all with becoming mod
esty. For the fun he had out of it he
paid couple of dollars into the ward
room mess for the loss of the empty
bottles. which should have been re-
turned to the bother.
Major-Gen Shafter. second in com
mand of the troops assembled in Flori
da, was, until about a year ago, colonel
of the First Infantry. stationed at
Angel island, in the harbor of San
Francisco. He was, as a regimental
commander a somewhat stern soldier,
and the enlisted men took pains not TO
cross him. Shafter can't weigh much
less than 800 pounds One afternoon
couple of years ago the soldiers of one
of the First's companies were playing
football on the parade ground. They
were playing the old-faShiOned kick
ing game. One of the men got the ball
squarely on the toe Of his government
straight shoe and hoisted it about half
block through a window of Col. Shat
| ter's parlor. which fronted upon the
parade ground. The players We're
| knocked endwise by this accident.
| They stood mute with their hands
| down. for a minute.
It's all uD with the mob of us, all
| right" they said Summary court.
month in the clink and a blind for