The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-04-28
" We'll inst leave this rum hare until

where's back lnldnu. Being as Uney re
going TO the same place as we are we've
got to be decent. If we drink rum we
can't be decent. Therefore, there's not
a-goin' to be a drop O. rum drunk on
this trip. Anyhow, we're on duty; we're
escort for this party O. young women.
There won't be no drunk business on
duty while Pm along. He all want to
understand that. Now, git aboard your
horses and into them land packets, and
remember the first blasted jack o we
that makes break gets his head broke
80 the start was made. At the head
of the line was the coach of the young
women from Detroit, surrounded by
the bluejacket horsemen, the master at
arms in the lead, and the line of stages
containing the remainder of the party
of men-o'-war's men trailing after. The
school-teachers enjoyed the situation
hugely, from what | heard afteTward.
They made some efforts to engage the
master at arms in conversation, but he
didn't place much reliance on his con-
versational powers and didn't have
much to say. Anybody who has ever
made that trip from Hilo to the burning
lake of Kilauea knows how superb the
ride is on the winding road, first
through beautiful green sugar planta-
tons, then through the coffee lands,
and, before the Halfway house is
reached, through thick tropical jungle.
When the Halfway house was reached,
all hands dismounted and debarked for
luncheon. The young women were es.
corted into a private dining-room, and
the sailors, who were expected, ate in
the main dining-room. They We're Is
happy, good-natured lot, whereas, IL
they had brought their drink, aboat 81
quarter of them would already have had
broken heads.
well, they made Peter Lees Volcano
house, at the burning lake, in the even
ing, and when the school-teachers had
gone to their quarters the master at
arms drew up the men and again adj
dressed them
THAT bar in there's wide open, you
see,' said he, and all any man O. yes
got to do to get rum is to walk in there
But the man that does it'll walk out
again with his nose on the other side of
his mug
"'Belay there, mate, we're not ha nker-
in for rum said the men, cheerfully,
and they put in the evening like de-
cent citizens, for the visit to the burn
ing lake was not to take place until the
next day. All hands went the next day.
the girls from Detroit still enjoying ire
mendously their escort of mounted
bluejackets. The descent was made in
just as good order as the ascent had
been, the expedition arriving back in
Hilo OIL the evening of the second day
The leader of the young women from
Detroit made pretty little speech to
the bluejackcts.
"I'm sure she said, that none of
you shall ever regret having treated us
with so much kindness-knightlinc
| might almost say-for, you see, when
we get back to the United States we
shall all do all in our power to alter the
general opinion held of sailors when
they arc on land. That opinion is, you
know, that sailors of the navy, or any
sailors. in fact, when they get ashore,
drink and carry on
THE bluejackets all grinned in q
body.
"'But we shall certainly tell them diff.
fercntly,' and so on. The young won.
an did her part neatly, babe the men
good-by in the name of all her COM
panions and then the dozen school
teachers from Detroit embarked on the
steamer that was to take them back to
Honolulu
"Well, those girls had TO sooner got
out of sight than the devil broke loose
among that pack of bluejaclkets. They
split up into gangs, and within an hour
all hands were up to their neclls in it.
Practically they tore the town of Hilo
to the ground and fired volley over it.
There was no stopping them. They
couldn't be stopped. They invaded the
town, invested it, sacked it. There's a
man named Lycurgus in Hilo, Greek,
who owns several rows of little one
roomed houses. The bluejackets rented
these shacks for the occasion. pair of
them in each shack, and in these rows
of houses they made their headquarters.
Thence they would roll forth in parties
in search of rum and other joys, such
as few dozen Kanakas to kill, especial
ly Kanaka policemen, and in general
they had a highly enjoyable time.
When their three days liberty expired
about ten men came back to the ship
more or less the worse for wear. The
other 140 stayed ashore enjoying them
selves. Patrol guards of the port watch
were sent ashore to haul their was
sailing shipmates back to the ship.
They were glad to get back themselves.
| The town marshal of Hilo swore in 80
special policemen, all Kanakas. They
| all took to the mountains an hour after
they were sworn in. That starboard
watch of ours just simply owned the
place. The finish came when they ar
rived at the inevitable stage when they
began fighting among themselves. They
disabled each other so that it was pos
sible for parties Of the port watch to
go ashore and bring the physically
wrecked men off to the ship one by one
In this way they were all gradually got
over the gangway or over the side in
bo's'n's chairs. 1t isn't strictly correct
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