Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1903-11-19
LIFE IN The NAVY
Informa ton Regarding the Every
Day Life of Sailors in the
United States Navy
An Interesting Letter to His Par
ents and Friends in
Pierre

Pierre
II. ID. Jennings is IN receipt OF let
ter from his son who enlisted in the
navy a year ago, in which is given a
fund of information about the every
day life of the United States seamen.
"Wl EN- ayoung man first enlists in
the navy he is first asked as to what
trade he has and to what he wants to
follow. Men enlist as tremen. coal
passers, machinists, boiler makers, cop
persmths and electricians, all of which
belong to the engineer corps. Men who
enlist as landsmen, iandsmen for train
| ing shipwrights, painters, ordinary sea-
men, seamen, yeomen, and master-at-
lnrms are classed in the seaman branch
Of the service.
"They also enlist boys from IA to 19
years of age as apprentices, who are
semitic Newport Rhode Island where
they are sel,y to school for number of
4 months and are then put aboard a
sailing vessel and sent to sea for a
cruise Of from four to six months, and
those who are qualified at the end of
the crnise are then put into the general
iservice on board manofwar, with the
rating of apprentice second class, and
are given chance to rise higher in the
ranks as soon as he is able to do the
work of the higher ratings.
"Landsmen for training are given
! much the same training as All appren-
tice. He is kept at the training. sta
tions, either at Norfolk, Va, or Bell Is
i land, Penn, where he is taught the in
fantry drill, the wig wag, compass,
knotting and splicing, and is given a
certain amount of sail drill to make
acquainted with the different parts of
the rigging, that he might have some
4 idea Of the duties he has to. perform
when assigned to a sea-going vessel.
After three to four months of such
!, training &c is sent to sea OH a training
| ship, where he is taught the different
parts of the ship how to rig a ship, how
to steer, the names of all the sails, the
way to set them, and is given a general
schooling about the ship and all the
duties that one might have to perform
OH board one of Uncle Sans vessels.
After lie has received from three to
four months of this he is given an ex-
animation for his rating as ordinary
seaman, and those who do not pass the
? examination are made landsmen for
general service, and are given whatever
work they are most adapted to.
"Men who enlist as tradesmen are set
: to work at their trade or sometimes
sent to school, where they may have
chance to get a better idea Of the du-
ties to be performed when assigned to
a man of-War.
"Men Of the navy are also furnished
. a library on every ship, with the usual
! privileges.
Nrhe Department also furnishes tie
! men with baseball outfits, foot balls,
! boxing gloves, club pins, and all such
things used IN making gymnasium,
with which the men have such exercise
and amusement as on land
'When one first enlists he is given an
Outiit of clothes and is also furnished
, va stencil to mark his name on each ar
: ticle of clothing, SO there will be no
mistake in getting the wrong clothes.
He is also given bag with his number
: stamped or it. and which is registered
in the ships book; he is furnished a
hammock and mattress which are
also numbered the same as his bag; lie
! also has billet by the same numLer
| that he may know where to hang his
hammock.
:.rhe bags are generally hung OIL a
jack-stay OH the berth deck and one is
S allowed to get them out only at certain
: hours. The hamlnocks are laslied up
I as soon as the men turn out in the
. morning, aud are stored away in the
q hammock netting Caring the day. Ev-
cry man is required to keep his bag and
hammock clean, as they are made OF
coarse, heavy cotton canvas, and must
be scrubbed twice month.
"When OH board a sea going ship
there is always an extra Set Of bags
and hammocks, SO that wEe. one set is
being cleaned the other is served out.
"When one goes aboard a eagoing
ship he is put in either the port or star-
board watch, as the whole crew is di-
vided III that manner. When at sea
each watch takes its turn Oh deck and
attends to tie duties of the ship, for u
period OF four hours, when ii is te-
lieved by the watch below,or off duty.
When watch is off duty it looks after
the lower decks. II