Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-10
OUR TARS As FIST FIGHTERS
They Are Terriers to the WOlld-B ssrappsrs
Of Other NavisL
STORIES OF FAMOUS FRtE-FOR-AlL ROWS
Hot TussIe with British THrs In
HswniI, Another with Germans I'm
Japan-victOriOus Against
Odds Of Two TO One.

the Americans came out first best, recalls
two famous rows Of like character and
similar results, the details OF which are
supplied by the New York Sun.
About twelve years ago a big liberty
party, comprising the whole starboard
watch Of about 100 men, went ashore at
Hilo. Hawaii, from an American gunboat
that was returning to the Mare Island navy
yard from a three-year cruise on the
Asiatic station. One OF the Members Of
this liberty party was the crews mascot, a
Jap dog, that had been picked up. starving.
in the streets Of Nagasaki by one Of the
men. who brought the animal aboard the
ship, fed him up and taught him many
divertlng tricks, such as Waiting on his
front feet, pretending to die OF grief when
an onerous drill was announced. threaten
Ing and bulldozing the amused skipper on
all possible occasions, and so on. The dog
developed into an amiable and sagacious
animal, and the blue Jackets, sailor-like,
became nightly attached to the brute,
particularly because the dog utterly de-
clined to have any truck or doings what
ever with the officers OF the ship, which
trait struck the enlisted men AS being
powerfully discerning on the dogs part.
1t happened that a big British cruiser
from Vancouver dropped its anchor along
side the American gunboat In Hllo harbor
on the day the American liberty party
went on the beach, and the British skipper
gave one of his ships watches liberty. The
watch comprised about 260 men.
The American and English liberty parties
didn't fraternize In Hilo. At that time
there was a bit OF ~ugliness on between
Canada and England on the one side and
the United States on the other, owing to
the Alaska seal fisheries matter, and when
one OF these growls is in progress between
two countries the sailors Of the respective
countries, by mutual and tacit consent,
refrain from cutting each others trail to
save argument and worse trouble.
The American shore party rented from
a Greek named Lycurgus, one of the lead
ing citizens of Hilo, a row OF twelve one
story shacks, partly furnished, for their
headquarters during their three-day liberty.
They distributed themselves in these com
Portable shacks, laid in their stocks OF
drinkables, and settled down to the enjoy
ment of a quiet little jamboree, playing
cards, strumming banjos and guitars, and
that sort OF thing.
Looking for Trouble.
The men-o'-war's men from the British
ship had no sooner hit the beach than they
made for the water front groggeries and
inside Of a few hours they were so sur
charged with rum and saki that they didn't
know their mess numbers. Thus condi-
toned, they could thirk Of but one scheme
that PROMISED a sufhciency of action-a
movement on the American works-that is,
the Lycurgus row of shacks wherein the
United States bluejackets were enjoying
themselves and minding their own business.
The American tars didn't know anything
about what was in progress until they
heard a series of a~gonized dog yelps pro-
ceeding from the lane in front of the Ly-
curgus row. All of them recognized the
yelps at once as issuing from their Jap
mascot dog. They'd turned the dog loose
to give him a chance to nose around the
soil and get his land legs. The Americans
all scrambled to the shack doors to see
what allied the dog and in the gathering
darkness they saw a big British leading
stoker" holding the animal up by the hind
legs and punching him in the stomach,
and all the rest of the lime-juice liberty
party massed together and egging their
drunken shipmate on.
That was enough. Oddly enough, the
|, first American man-o'-war's man to jump
for and punch the abuser OF the Jap dog
was himself a cockney who had done his
twelve years in the British navy. But his
American shipmates were right behind him.
Taking into consideration all Of the revolu-
, tions and er-revolutions that ever
, occurred in the Hawaiian islands, there
never were such doings as then and there
4 ensued in Lycurgus lane, Hilo. At first 1t
was all fist work, but when the ime-j%uicers,
! borne back in spite of their overwhelming
D numbers, began to hurl rocks the Ameri-
r cans took to that game, too, and they went
the Britishers one better by tearing the
weather boards off Lycurgus' shacks for
; use as weapons.
The uproar in the swift-fallen darkness
was SO terrific that 1t was plainly heard by
the watches remaining on the American and
the British war ships, which were anchored
not far from the shore. The half of the
3 ships company remaining on board the
c United States gunboat knew what was in
progress from the noise, but they had no
apprehension of the outcome until some
: thing happened. The something that hap
pened was the Jap dog. The dog had es-
capped from the melee and. taking a chance
on the sharks with which the harbor is in
Tested, had leaped into the water and sWum
. out to the ship, around which he circled
like a pilot FISH, barking furiously.
ssThere's Something Doing"
n There's something doing-our bunch are
in a tight place and the dogs come after
u.s. said the men OF the port watch to
; each other, and down the after anchor
: chains they went like rats and swum fol-
!; the beach. 1t was a plain case Of jumping
/ ship" and severely punishable as such, but
: the officers couldn't stop them, and if the
honest truth we're known, 1t is to b'
? doubted whether the officers wanted to stoT
them. Inside OF FIVE minutes after the jar
: dog had first swum out TO the ship and sci
4 up his barking there weren't enough mel
left on the gunboat to spread mess gear
Z The dog swum to the beach with the las
man that splashed into the water from thu
! anchor chains.
y The dog, however. had only imagined tina
k the Americans on the beach were gettinl
the worst of the mlx-up. They were easily
holding their own, and better. against NOR
than double their number. and when tn
port watch from the United States shil
broke upon the scene OF conflict Their
: wasn't really much for them to do. excep
to form a sort OF reserve party behin'
their mates.
Now, the remaining watch, 26O men, o
the British ship had seen the American
watch sliding down the after anchor chains
and they weren't to be outdone. The!
didn't reflect that there were still NOR
British tars or the beach than American