Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-06
ABOUT THE SHIPS BELL.
Various Uses to Which It is Put
How It Tells the Time Of Day.

Various Uses to Which It is Put
How It Tells the Time Of Day.
From the New York Tribune.
Eight bells does not mean that ship
has that number of bells, but 1t is nauti-
cal term for the hour. The nautical day
begins and ends at noon, when "eight BELLS
is struck, as it is also at O'Clock, O'Clock
and at midnight. The bell is struck half
hourly, one stroke being added for each
half hour, again. And If one is asked the
time on board a navy ship the response
would be so many bells, not the hour. The
bell is of ordinary size only, but 1t has a
sharp tone, and is hung just forward or
abaft the foremost. The captains orderly
usually watches the clock and reports to
the officer Of the deck what hour it is in
number of bells. who then orders the bell
struck. But at O'Clock in the morning
this rule is varied, the orderly reporting to
the officer of the deck: Eight bells, SIR
when the officer replies: Report to the
captain eight bells and chronometers
wound" The captain then responds: VERY
well; make 1t So, when the orderly reports
to the officer of the deck, who commands
the messenger boy of the watch: Strike
eight bells" But if the captain should
chance to remain mum and not say make
it So" no would hear the bell strike
eight, and the nautical day would be thrown
out Of Joint.
At noon the "eight bels' is not struck
until the navigator has corrected the clock,
either by his MONDAY sight for position of
the ship when at sea or from his chronom-
eter If with fleet or at naval station,
the bell must not be struck until that of the
senior officer sounds, and the messenger
stands by the bell with clapper in hand,
and as soon as the flag officers bell begins
to strike the bells on the other vessels are
struck. When there is a large fleet lying
close together the effect is interesting and
agreeable and one might imagine that
chimes were being rung.
Every navy in the world except England
follows the same custom, and England only
varies at the dog watch" from to s
o clock in the evening. In these hours the
bell strikes every half hour till 6 o'clock,
and then at $50 one bell is struck, and so
on to three bells at 1880 o'clock; but eight
bells are sounded ats o'clock. Tradition
gives this reason for this custom: Before
the British naval mutinies of 1897 the bells
of the ships were struck as in other navies,
but In one of these mutfnies the signal
agreed upon by the mutineers was the
stroke of five bells (6:30 p.m.), and at that
hour the mutineers arose to slay their Off
GERS. Then when order was restored though
out the navy the dog watch system of bells
was adopted to allay superstition.
But the ships bell has other duties than
that of keeping the time. 1t tolls on Sum
day mornings for the services of the chap
lain or his substitute; also to call ..All
hands to bury the dead" and it Is fire
signal when it is rung vigorously, and then
the ships crew take the positions to which
they have been assigned on the first day
each has been detailed to the ship. The
bell is not used as fire signal in engage
ment, however, for the reason that the
crew might become panic stricken and dis
tracted from the fight; in such cases the
fire Is reported to the captain. and he dis
patches an officer with men to extinguish
It, The bel is also used in a fog. and
when the ship Is at anchor It is struck In
threes with short interval between each
set of strokes. In the use of the bell for
these several purposes no confusion Is
caused. The half-hour signals are struck