The Republican journal., 1904-11-03
and not easily mended by swabber,' u
said third.

and not easily mended by swabber,' u
said third.
g eyes," said a fourth, ''you were
celebrating when and where to fire on
Lake Erie, and before making up your
mind you were following Perry's wake
with your colors second from the TOP
"'"Wait until you fall in with the
Constitution, and you will learn some
thing about firing" .
Z" "Hurrah for Old Ironsides!''
"' ''Three cheers for the gallant Per
ry"
Many such expressions came from
the prisoners, so the officer was com.
PEELED to retire in discontinue, his re-
treat being greeted by nine hearty
cheers.
L expected unpleasant conse-
quences to follow Immediately after his
leaving the hatchway-as, indeed, did
all the prisoners whose mad excitement
left them sense enough for a sober
thought. But we were not disturbed
for the remainder of that night. The
singing and shouting were kept up until
daybreak, not allowing the wardroom
officers moments rest, as they were
situated on the deck Immediately above
us. We were told, on the next day,
that we would be provided for if we per.
sisted in disturbing the ships company
in their rest.
Nothing daunted by this threat the
prisoners began their singing on the fol
lowing night as before. The songs and
choruses had gone on for two hours or
more, without any notice being taken of
our proceedings, when all at once, a
dozen shots of the largest size in the fri
gate (44 pounders) were let loose on the
deck above us and left free to roll with
the motion of the ship the livelong
night. Scantling was so fixed on the
deck as to confine the area of their
rolling to the space directly over our
heads.
GAS the shot passed from one side to
the other at each roll of the frigate, they
caused low, harsh, thunderlike rumb-
ling as deafeGing, as dreadful, and more
horrible than ten thousand Chinese
gongs, iptermingled with as many bell
clappers. They were brought suddenly
to standStill when coming to the
scantling, and with jar and noise but
little less than the discharge of small
artillery.
In this there was no variation, ex-
cept as they came in contact with each
other, when the sharp snap of the balls
meeting was enough to split the brains
of us who were underneath with the ad-
vantage of the planks Immediately
above our heads to convey and magnify
the rumbling noise as a sounding board
hundredfOld
Many OF us were determined to
brave it out and let those on deck know
that they still had the same party to
deal with. Some strOve hard to keep up
the singing. but the power of cold shot
was greater. Some jeered, laughed and
joked, but the rolling shot were imper-
vious to all such inducements, to quit
their noise. Some swore, raved and
cursed but the shot went booming on
stupidity, dead to every allurlng bland
ishment or imprecation. Some halloed.
yelled and whooped-on came the shot,
doggedly Indifferent to it all. Some
clustered, threatened and stormed-
still rolled Oh the shot, as stoically un-
concerned as if it were their legitimate
employment. Some sighed, groaned and
roared-rumble-d de bump went on the
shot, utterly regardless of the throbbing
ear drums and twitching nerves of the
sufferers below
The singers, the jokers, the sheer
ers, the stormers and the roarers one by
one dropped off till all in the cable tier
were silenced. Finally, not one sound
was to be heard save that caused by
those dull, heavy messengers of mortal
anguish which kept on rolling their un-
ceasing rounds thereby creating tor
ments fit only for the greatest damned.
| have read somewhere that the greatest
physical punishment yet put upon the
human frame is that of being placed in
a confined position where water was
slowly but constantly dripping drop
upon drop, upon the bare head of the
victim. But l am sure the originator Of
this assertion could never have been in
the situation we were in that night with
those Shot rolling on the deck so close to
our heads that we could scarcely sit in
an upright position.
Ever after this, if we continued our
songs later than 10 o'clock, the shot
were set rolling and ceased not until
the songs were hushed The shot were
an accompaniment neither agreeable to
the performers nor melting to the hear
ers, and which we were glad to dispense
with even at the expense of losing the
reputation we had SO fearlessly earned
by the display of our vocal talent under
the very thunder of England's heaviest
whose deafening roar was
only equalled by its never ceasing roll
which slackened not till her every oppo-
nent lay low in silence.