The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-03
SAILORS WHO RE-ENLIsT.
odd Ideas of the Jackfes About Time
and Life on Ship.
From the Washington Star.

and Life on Ship.
From the Washington Star.
On the day after his enlistment for a
period of three years the American man
o'war's man begins TO figure on the
amount of time that is to intervene be-
fore his discharge. He has two years and
a butt" to do, the "butt' being the re-
naming eleven moths and twenty-nine
days of the first year. On the day follow
Ing his completion of the first year of his
enlistment he has only a year and butt
to get through. No matter if the butt is
only single day under year in length,
the bluejacket contemplates the term with
the blandest complaisance; it is not. at
any rate, whole year, even though it be
364 days, and this fashion of trottling
each year of his service makes him happy;
it seems to bring his discharge and the
more or less tempestdous joys he carefully
maps out long before his discharge, with
in closer range. When he has put in eigh-
teen months Of an enlistment, he breaks
out the homeward bound pennant; he Is
going dawn the hill, and when he has
finally achieved two years and has only
the butt to accomplish joy fills his cup
"Once a sailor, always a sailor" is not
strictly true Of memo wars men of the
American navy. Only about one-half Of
the men who complete one enlistment ship
for another three years cruise. But about
nlne-tenths of the men who put In two
cruises settle down to life long contlau-
ance in the service. Six years of navy life
seem to thoroughly inoculate them with
what the Germans call wanderlust. When
a bluejaoket pa sses a few of his summers
in the latitude of the North Cape and a
couple of his winters down among the
IQar7 daa or In nba co 11fN SrfYth
ciic, he is likely to acquire a dislike for
the climate of the United States and this
dislike has more weight than anything
else in forming his decision to remain in
the navy. Moreover. after a few years in
the navy the bluejacket seems to become
possessed of the odd idea that he is really
doing nothing aboard ship 10 earn his pay,
that the perpetual scurry in which he is
kept from all hands in the morning until
pipe down a night is really not work, and
with this quaint notion he also acquires
an exceedingly exaggerated idea of the
terrific amount of grinding labor a man
has to perform In order to gain liveli-
hood ashore. Put to a bluejacket who has
put in a couple of naval cruises the direct
question, Are you going to ship over
when your time is out?' and in nine cases
out of ten he will look you in the eye with
an expression of stupefaction and in
quire:
work."
Overtime men being shipped back to this
country on a man-of-war are not COM
PEELED to do any OF the ships work; they
simply stand the military calls, eat their
meals and smoke their pipes, watching the
while with lazy happiness the daily round
Of labor of the less fortunate 5luejackets
attached as members of the crew of the
ship on which they themselves are praetl-
cally passengers. The overtime men occa-
sionally emit arrogantly humorous dlrec-
tons to these temporary shipmates the
ships company of the boat that is haul
ing them home. "G'wan, now. an shine
up that bright work We long time swa5r'
they will shout to a deck hand when the
officer of the deck is aft and out of hear
ing. and Cit down to your bunker, We
grimy hatfoot, and rake out your coalv'
is the kind of thing the man of the black
gang below hears from the passengers"
whenever he tries to smoke a peaceful pipe
on the to'galant focstle.
One Of the immemorial customs of the
navy jack is to secrete in the ditty bag