The Portland daily press., 1900-09-07
Ire Kept Busy at Drill and In
StructiOn.
No Answer to Sick Call
Yet.
How Men are Taught to Handle
the Guns.


ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.l
arsenport. Long Island. Sept. g.
rAa Prairie has now been to sea four days
and the Portland Naval Reserves have
s,tled down to their places on shipboard
and are becoming accustomed to their |
drills On the Prairie no opportunity is |
GIVEN for homesickness among the naval |
militia and in the case Of the Portland |
man the time is more taken up than is
usual because they are so few in number. |
From sunrise to sunset not a moment of
time is lost for instruction. The regular
Ulcers and the instructing petty officers
spplv themselves to their task in IA man.
nsr which arouses enthusiasm and ac-
ompllshes a great deal IN a short time.
with such attention as these men from
Portland have receivedIt There viii be little
excuse for a lack OF at least some know
hiee Of a man o. war. her discipline,
nutlne and armament. The Portland d.
Vision boarded the Prairie early Monday
morning with forty-two men, three offic-
rs and one mess attendant. 1t was
snail crew for so large a ship and small
presentation for a State which has fur
nished SO many good sailors for U ncle
SANS navy in times of peace and war.
But what the Portland division lacked
In numbers it made up in It's earnestness
q purpose, in its intelligence and its
equipment. The division boarded the
ship on the steamer Alice Howard and
something rather unusual for ma.
val militia organizations, reported
promptly at the appointed hour and with
every thing prepared for the work ahead.
With provisions. ice, bags and hammocks
the division slid down the gang plank
Of the Alice Howard to the berth deck
Of the Prairie and by nine O'Clock found
time to look about q little and locat
themselves. They found the Prairie to b.
Arye. roomy and convenient. The Nava
Reserves were given the exclusive use o.
tie berth deck where they slept an6
stored thsir belongings where they had
nom to spare. The mess chests wer'
placed on the gundeck where the Port
and sailors have been getting away wit
three square meals a day ever since the
came aboard.
The first thing accomplished was th
gganlzation OF the division for drill an
duty. Two watches and divisions wer
organized with Lieutenant Stevens
charge Of the starboard watch and frs
division, and Ensign ScUlly in charge c
the other watch and second division
-Four men from the division were detaile
to serve as. mess cooks. Other Naval Re
serve organizations have boarded tn
Prairie with mess attendants temporary
enlisted for the cruise but the command
ing officer of the Maine men believed il
would be best to give his men as much c
the real thing as possible and with tina
object in view did not enlist mess cook
for this service alone. The division
we're divided into messes OF two to eacl
watch with a petty officer in charge oil
each. The master-at-arms, John Allen
proved himself to be perfectly familiar
with his duties from the very beginning
and soon got things about the galley run
ming smoothly Even the first meal Oh
board ship. usually one of which littl
Is to be expected, was we'll cooked
promptly served and disposed of as onl
hungry men can set outside of we
cooked food.
The Portland men were further divide
into two six-inch and two six-pounde
gun crews. The four quartermastsrs nc
only take their trick at the wheel but a.
50 get this sort of instru ction at idle mC
ments forming six-pounder crew {
their own while the mess cooks are ais
drilled at the guns when they have moth
ing else to do.
After being organized the Portlan
men were assigned their stations aboar
ship and the Prairie then got under wa
and steamed out to sea. 1t was slightl
osgy outside but this soon cleared ava
and little disagreeable weather has sine
been encountered. at sea the Prairie b.
ing heavy ship and broad of beam di
little tossing about in the sea then ru1
ming SO that those of the Portland me
who feared seasickness, soon forgot a
about it.
The first afternoon was spent in IL
sructing the men as to their position
and duties At i've O'Clock quarters IL
men We're exercised in the navy settiI
up drill, the finest physical drill in use c
any service Following the setting l
urill came the signal for the running O.
srclse and to the notes Of several bugI
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