Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-18
ABoqf 4E- SHIPS BELL.
Various Uses to Which It is Put-How
It Uells the Time of Day..

From the New York 9rib;tne
Eight bets" dees not mean that ship
mas that mum ber.qof bells, but it is a nauti-
cal term for the ahour. The nautical day
peglns and ends al noon, when eight bells
Is struck, as1it is,also- at 4 o clock, o clock
ana at midnight.t The bell is struck half
houriy, one strabe being added for each
ha1-hour, again.e And if one is asked the
tune on board navy ship the response
would De sot many bells, not the hour. me
peii Is OF ordinary size only, but it has a
sharp tene,c andois hung just forward or
apart the foremast. The captains orderly
usually watches the clock and reports to
the olncer OF the deck what hour II IS IN
number OF bells, who then orders the Dell
struck. But at o'clock in the morning
this rule is varied. the orderly reporting to
the officer of the deck. Eight bells, sir!
Wnen the ofhcer replies: Report to the cap.
tam eight BELLS and thermometers wound
me captain then responds: Very well;
make 1t So" which the orderly reports to
the omcer of the deck, who comma nds the
messenger boy of the watch: strike eight
pefis But II the captain should chance TO
remain mum and not say make 1t so, no
one would hear the bell strike eight. and
joint.
At noon the "eight bells is not struck
until the navigator has corrected the clock
either by his MONDAY sight for position OF
the snip 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
ana as soon as the flag officers bell peslns
10 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
NO. LNt,rr lD ny1l Z
varies at the dog watch from to 8
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 at o'clock. Tradition
gives this reason for this custom: Before
the British naval mutinies of 1871 the bells
or the ships We're struck as in other naV1eS.
agreed upon by the mutineers was the
stroke of five bells 6:3O p.m) and at that
hour the mutineers rose to Stay their Off
GERS. Then, when order was restored
throughout the navy, the 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 Sun
day mornings for the services of the chap
lain or his substitute; also to call All
hands to bury the dead" and it is a fire
signal, when it is rung vigorously, and then
the ships crew take the positions to which.
they nave been assigned on the first day
each mas been detailed to the snip. Inc
bell is not used as a fire signal in an en-
gagement. however. for the reason that the
crew might become panic-strfcken 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 bell is also used in a fog and when the
ship Is at anchor 1t is struck in threes, with
a short interval between each set of strokes.
In the use of the bell for these several pur-
poses no confusion is caused. The half-hour
signals are struck in pairs with a couple
number is to be sounded t. single stroke
comes last. The tolling for church is by
slow process, while those for a fog in
sets of three and for a fire they follow
each other with great rapidity.