Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-10
NEBRASKA BOY AT PAGo PAeo
One of the Naval Apprentices Writes
His Friends of His E1-
periences.

Last spring a number Of Nebraska boys
enlisted for service in the navy. Platts-
mouth has one representative, who passed
the necessary examination, King Wise.
The boys we're sent to pass six months
on the training ship Pensacola, stationed
at Mare Island, and were then transferred
to Mohican for a cruise, the itinerary en-
bracing Honolulu, Christmas Island, Page
Page, Guam, BONN and Yokohama, at
which place they will arrive about May is,
King Wise writes to his friends at Platts-
mouth from Page Page, our new Samoan
naval station. He says:
1--WE have been about a week here, en-
joying the change; everything 10 so new
and strange. The native women are, as a
rule, good looking and the men strappins
big fellows, and they are all clad, with
but few exceptions, after the manner or
Adam and Eve. They are a happy and
cheerful lot. singing from morning until
night. When the men reach the age Of
23 or "a they are required TO have their
legs tattooed from their thighs dow to
their ankles. The operation is exceed
lngly painful. Four OF five men hold the
victim down and another takes an instru-
ment with a number of needle points and
a mallet and goes at It. You ought to hear
them screech. You'd think you were at
tending a Chinese funeral.
The last time l had shore leave three
OF us went away back In the hills and
came across a good-siZed hut matched
over with cocoanut fibre and leaves, We
went in and went through the usual cere,
mony, touching our foreheads, bowling. and
then sitting down cross-legged on mats
placed for us. l told the big native he
was my friend; he told he / was his
friend, all the time touching our fore
heads and bowling. ! presented him with a
small piece of tobacco, and he was won
forever. He gave an order to one Of his
wives. She disappeared and brought back
the queerest meal you ever saw. There
was baked bananas, baked fish, wrapped
in leaves. som queer things tasting some
thing like potatoes. and then came kava,
a native drink that affects not your head,
but makes your knees mighty weak; then
fresh fruit and cocoanut milk. Then they
gave each OF us q mat and a bark blanket.
We find all this very delightful after being
cramped on board ship so long.
"Mohican's full complement is supposed
to be 1856 men and twenty-one officers, but
there are between 800 and 400 boys, besides
the officers. Navy diet is supposed to be
healthy and muscle building. but It does
not appeal to stomachs that long for the
flesh pots OF home, as exemplihed by the
pumpkin pies and ~crullers that v1NtheT
made. So the fresh fruits and the good
living we find at Page Page will make us
loath to start cruising again. We have
great fun when we are granted shore
leave. The very first thing I did was q
climb a cocoanut tree, which until after
several trials seems an impossible feat
but after once getting there, a good bis
drink Of milk amply repays one for the
trouble. We have more or less %'cuttinS
up on board. but hardly any bullying
Most Of the boys are Well-read and we'll
bred, healthy II not wealthy. and feel
ing, now they have their sea legs on, quite
wise. We are all embryo sehleys anC
Deweys and long for promotion"