The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-03-02
( CANTON BOYS
IN U. s. NAVY.
Who Are Being Prepared For
Uncle Sans Battleships.
LETTER FROM WILLIAM STOvER
In which Tie Relates His Experiences On
board a Training Ship--Other In
teresting Facts oncerning His
First Cruise.


sented by Canton men, who prefer to
cast their lot in that branch of the SER
vice rather than in the army, ana the
citizens of this city may well feel proud
of the record made by some of the gal
liant lads who have sacrificed their
homes and friends and who are willing
to give their life's blood in defense OF
their country and the old flag they love
so well. Among those who have left
Canton to enter the service are Charles
M .Merriman. William Slower and
Basil Hurford
Stover, who Is a son of Flavlus V.
Slower, left Canton September 18th, for
the recruiting station in Boston, where
he arrived the following day and en-
listed. after which he was examined
and stood the physical examination, his
percentage being very high. He was
then sent to the training school at
Newport r. l., and was placed in the
class aboard the old battleship Con
stellation," which is used for the pur-
pose of teaching the young cadets.
They are then taught everything that
pertains to naval affairs. They are fur
nished an outfit by the government
costing about $45 to start with, there
after they furnish their own clothes
and other articles of wearing apparel
out of their own funds.
They are prohibited the use of to-
bacco in any form while at school, but
this restriction is waived when they are
4. s,NIs lNn row
ernment is very strict with its appren-
tices. and the boys are obliged to toe
the line at all times. He remained at
school until January 9Th and was very
successful in passing all the examina-
tions, which by the way are very rigid.
The boys were then ordered to make
ready for a cruise to the West Indies.
Upon this trip they touched at Barba-
does, Martinique and st. Thomas, and
expect to arrive at Hampton Roads,
Virginia, March 18th, when they will
return to the training school, where
they will continue their studies until
May 1st, at which time they will be
permitted to return to their homes for
a ten days leave of absence. The MO
ships which are out on the cruise now
the former carries 250 and the latter
145 apprentices. A cruise of this kind
lis considered the hardest portion of the
life of an apprentice. All mail for the
boys while on their cruise should be
addressed to the boys in care of the
postmaster at New York ,ity, and must
have affixed thereto a five cent postage
stamp. 1t is then sent by the post
master to their ship wherever it may
be- Young Slower is a bright boy II
years of age and stands over 6 feet in
height. He is very large and we'll de-
veloped, and seems contented with the
life and occupation of marine. The
following correspondence has been re-
Gently received from him:
Barbados. West Indies,
January 31st. 1900
Dear Father: We arrived here on the
26th. Your letter of the 18th was here
awaiting me. We left Newport on the
3rd and never saw land for 23 days.
We would not ordinarily have arrived
for several days yet, but one of our
trip, and it was thought that he would
die--the surgeon said the officer must
undergo an operation-but as the ship
was rolling so mue'>, 1t was impossible
to treat him at sea So an extra head
of steam was turned on in order to
hurry the vessel'to port. A great many
of the boys became deathly sick from
the continual rolling of the boat and the
rough sea, and many of them "fed the
fishes" but neither "Chuck" Basil or
myself felt the effects particle. 1 tell
you it was a rough trip, we had three
blows, the last two were not as severe
as the first, when our spanker gaff was
carried away and our maSn mast work
ed loose; and although we were handled
very roughly, we are all right now.
The food at sea was not good. II
consisted of salt-horse and hard tack
Sundays only we were furnished bread
The coffee, too, was very weak. But as
soon as we arrived here things were
very different and the boys have ceased
their kicking for we have everything
the market affords-lots or oranges, ba-
nanas and other tropical fruits. There
is an English fleet anchored all around
us. They are all third class cruisers
but one and that is second class. They
are a tough looking lot of vessels
There is a training ship here also which
is similar to the "Monongahela," but
the English sailors wear straw hats
The whole fleet will leave Tomorrow
The next port we make will be st
Thomas and we leave here the 9th and
arrive there about the 23rd and remair
there until the 5th of March, so If yor
write as soon as you get this, will re-
ceive the letter when we reach port
am well and hope you are the same
While you are nearly freezing to deatf
IN, Canton am nearly diving with m,