The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-04-04
ON A MAN-O'-WAR.
Daily Routine of Duty for the Ameri-
can BlueiaCket

learns is to jump to the scream of the
bo'sun's mates pipe and the bray of
the marine 'windjammers bugle
The bugler gets in his work first. Ask
any old heavy-weather, deep-water
bluejacket of the United States navy
what sound of all earthly sounds he
hates worst, and he will begin to say
things about the marine bugler-for
this musician trumpets all hands for
ward awake at five o'clock in the
morning. A hammock is a comforta-
BILE, cosey affair to sleep in when you
comfortable at five o'clock on a bleak,
chill morning. But when the wind
jammer's'' notes die away, and the al
ready up and spry bo'suns mate let's
out couple of shrill blasts on his pipe,
followed by the roar "All hands on
deck' hammock is no place for a
bluejacket who does not pine for the
trouble of facing the skipper at the
mast few hours later. From the time
'all hands, is sounded the men are al
lowed six minutes to scramble out OF
their hammocks dress themselves and
lash their hammocks and stow them
away in the hammock MEETINGS. The
man who lags and is ten seconds be-
hind schedule time for this perfor-
nance is spotted by the chief MASTER
at-arrns-and he does not go ashore on
liberty with his shipmates for while.
The hammocks slowed the officer of
the deck Gin his bare feet, generally,
like the men forward, and therefore
not quite so gallant and dignified-look-
ing as he appears when you go aboard
on your visit) makes his nod to the
watchful bo'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--more than enough water to
float her. The scrubbing, mauling Of
gear, rubbing Of anything and every
thing rubable, are prodigious. Every
man has cleaning station, whether he
belongs to the deck force or the ''black
gang" of the engineers department be-
low, and it 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 1t clean
he goes to the mast when his SLOUGH
mess is discovered by the inspecting Of
f1cer. Every corner and Granny of a
man-o' war Is numbered for cleaning
purposes, from the to'gallant fo'c'sle
to the after engine-room, and every
nan-o wars man has number to
correspond to his cleaning station.
They don't holystone man-o-war
decks any more. They use sand in
stead. While the men on deck are
whitening the decks and securing the
guns and unraveling and restowing
loose gear, the black gang down be-
low are polishing up their intricate ma
chinery stations Rcleaning fire and
boiler rooms, washing out bilges and
generally laying UP peace for them
selves against the after breakfast in
spection Of the lynx-eyed chief engi-
neer. G
This early morning washing down
and polishing seance lasts for two
hours-for 1t is to be understood that
among the inconvenience the mano'-
wars man must perforce get used to
Is that Of working like a mule on an
empty stomach. At seven o'clock the
| bo'sun's mate gets another nod from
the officer Of the deck; then he gives
| his pipe bit Of a wind and growls
| KNOCK off" The men quit work
where they stand and wash themselves
| for breakfast. Mess gear" which
means the whistled summons to the
| r1an-o'war's meal, goes for breakfast
| at 1880 o'clock The galley cooks get
| the breakfast ready while the rest OF
| the crew forward are cleaning stations
| When "mess-gear Is shrilled the mess
cooks strikers generally apprentice
| boys) pull down the swinging tables
and the pannikin-s meals are or
| the tables in a jiffy. The bluejackets
are hungry, Of course-and the break
| fasts are Of a good sort. The foot is
substantial, nourishing, even palata-
ble-but the recruit has to become ac-
| customed to the way it is served. The
chief petty officers mess must be ex-
cepted from this generalization. for the
chief petty officers mess on an Ameri-
| can man-o'- war is always a daintily
served affair, minus the swinging ta-
bles The petty officers who wear the
| brass buttons eat at stationary tables
usually on the berth deck.
The average man-o'-war's man re-
| CARDS his breakfast as only founda-
ton for a smoke-the best smoke of the
| day. On American men-o'-war there
| is an open lantern, called the "smok-
ing lamp" hanging, as rule, at the
break of the fo'c'sle. The corporal OF
| the marine guard lights and extin.
| guishes this lamp, in accordance will
| directions from the officer of the deck
| When the smoking lamp is aglow the
man-o'-war's man may smoke himself
black in the face-only on the mair
deck, however, and never, at his peril
| between decks, when the smoking lamI
| is not alight the man-o'-war's mar
who is caught smoking by the master
! alarms explains why he did then ant
there smoke later on to the command
| ing officer. But the man-o'-war's mar
| bolts his breakfast for the sake of his
first morning smoke-for he has t.
crowd his breakfast, the smoke and hi:
somewhat elaborate policing" of him
self and dressing up for quarters with
in the space of an hour. Quarters
| which is the first roll-call of the day or
a war vessel, is sounded in the United
States navy at $3.50 o'clock occasional
ly at nine o'clock) in the morning
The men forward, bluejackets and ma
| rines don't nut on their best uniforms