The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-16
By ALBERT SONNICHSEN,
Able Seaman, Author Of Deep Sea Vagabonds"
Copyright, 1903 by Albert sonnichsen.

Seamen have keen appreciation of
a Joke, whether it be practical or an
ecdotal. The former they play on
greenhorns and the latter they tell
one another in the forecastle.
Sea life develops a sense of humor,
and Jack sees the funny side of every
thing even when he has to create it.
Any incident that occurs aboard ship
with a side capable of humorous de-
velopment is instantly seized and
launched out upon sea of forecastle
gossip until it has circled the globe
more times than Jack himself and has
been translated into as many tongues
as there are maritime nations.
AS an instance, a dialogue like this
is common in a ships forecastle:
Say, that reminds me, did you ever
hear the story of Baltimore Pete and
the French lieutenant in Madras?"
mo, what was it?"
why, 1 thought everybody'd heard
that Pete went ashore and got
drunk etc., and so the story develops.
Some of these yarns die with those
become forecastle classics. Many are of
the Boccaccio order. But others are as
chaste as the quips that make they
way into the best funny papers.
1t is in the second dog watch that
jokes are born and told. The second
dog watch is from to o'clock in the
evening, when the days work is done
and all hands are at leisure. Then,
after the evening meal, while content
edly pulling at their pipes, the fore
castle hands arouse one another's
mirth. Long practice has made them
experts.
A Typical story of HumOr.
On one of these occasions heard
several yarns that can bear repetition.
The conversation had drifted to long
voyages and to Jacks inevitable de-
sertion at the first port. Said one old
eX-man-o o. wars-man:
But we can't do it in the navy
mo" replied a young merchantmen,
hang the navy! 1 wouldn't ship in the
navy for shippers pay. 1t amt fit for
a white man-sellin' yerself for four
years"
sit amt so bad as We think it is.
There's ways O gettin' out of the
navy, too, an what's more, with your
pay"
''How?" inquired several
when 1 was on the old Alabama
ten years ago. continued the blue
jacket, there was a young fellow
aboard Just shipped. He'd been bred
to the sea in Cape Cod fishin' smacks,
so navy discipline didn't agree with
him. We could all see as how it was
maxim him pretty sick, but to- cheer
him up we laughed and joked and jol-
lied him along thinkin' he'd soon get
used to it.
1,a
gettin' bluer, and pretty soon he got
to actin queer. Whenever he was off
duty he'd sit danglin' his feet over
the rail, fishin', no bait on his hooks
and the ship goin' ten knots. After
that we begun to get uneasy.
lone day the officer of the watch
came along and seem the lad f1shin,
he SEE, SEE he:
Well, Jack, what We dom? 2
'Fishin.' SEE Jack.
What for? SEE the lieutenant.
Dunno SEE Jack, very short.
well, the officer got suspicious after
he saw this few times and he report
ed to the captain. Then the captain
came along and he seq:
What We dom, Jack?'
'Fishin'.'
What for?'
Dunno
"An' that was all we could ever get
out of him-he didn't know what I'll
he was fishin' for.
We'll, one day we fetched up in
Frisco and Jack was reported unfit
for duty. Application was put in for
his discharge, SOS they could send
him home where he could be well took
care of. One day Jack was called art,
and there, sure enough. was his disa-
bility discharge and check in full fur
his pay.
When he came on deck again Jack
was a civilian. We was all gatherin'
round him to tell him goodbye when
suddenly he busts out laughin' fit to
split himself. We all thought as how
some new kind of fit took him, but the
executive officer SEE:
What's up, jack?
Why shouts Jack, between
laughs. just found out what 1 was
fishin for. 1t was this
And he holds up his discharge and
pay check"
Joke on MiIitiaman.
The Spanish American War brought
out another story that has also circled
the globe. The incident took place
outside New York harbor. hut | first
heard of it from Greek sailor on the
yeranda of a Japanese tea house In
Nagasaki
When war was declared the crews
OF the American warships of the At
lantic squadron were at once Swelled
by the addition of numerous naval
militiamen-amateur sailors whose
sea-going experiences have been con-
ined to anchored training ships and
SAIL boats. Jack has an unspeakable
contempt for these fresh water sailors,
and this makes itself obvious in the
stories of the lnilitiaman's clumsiness
aboard ship.
Vne small gunboat had seventeen of
mem assigned to it, much to the dis
gust of tile regular crew. One night
ms boat, having been out cruising.
ran into fleet of torpedo boats. One
oI the militiamen was on lookout, and
SS ne various lights appeared he re-
4ofted them.
Light on the port bow. sir" he
'aWled first.
AN right" answered the executive
'"ter from the bridge.
Another light appeared.
some more lights on the port bow,
lru the greenhorn, becoming some
'a9t newildered ana uneasy.
Al right" came the officers cool
ne lookout stamped nervously up
down until suddenly he caught