Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-19
SAILORS USE QUEER TERMS.
The Curious Lingo Which Passes for
Good English Aboard Battleships.

Good English Aboard Battleships.
| From the Detroit Tribune
The time-worn growl of the disgruntled
bluejacket, why did 1 ever sell my farm
and go to sea?" shows the trend of the
sailors mind toward the peaceful occupa-
ton of his rustic brother and may account
for applying terms agricultural to things
nautical
The casual visitor to a warship is always
| mystitied by seeing what appears to be
bale of hay in the fore hold, and his Gu
riosity is not abated when told 1t goes to
feed the 'jackasses," kept appropriately.
In the Manager His shrunken creduity
resumes normal dimensions when it is ex-
planned that 'jackasses' are canvas bags
filled with oakum, which are forced into
the hawse pipes to prevent water from en-
tering at sea.
Neither is a Flemish horse" a rare
! breed of equine, nor bride port place
for hitching him; the former Is foot rope
for men to stand upon when furling sail.
and the latter is an air port in the bows
| through which towering hawsers used to be
| led; The saddle of the bowsprit COM
pletes the riding outfit Of the ship.
The menagerie Of a man-o-war- contains
cat" and fish," both of which are used
to weigh the anchor; "catheads,' where
watch; Wildcats" which, with 'whelps,"
hold the chain on the capstan, and the
bees of the bowsprit." On some days it
| Is possible to find a "catspaw''-a sudden
| puff of wind-and q landlubber can easily
''catch crab in pulling a boat; indeed.
| 1t is hard to let one go without unshipping
| the oar.
Dog watches are of nightly occurrence
between 4 and 8 o'clock, when the usual
| four-hour watch is split into two parts
| The dog watches are supposed to get their
| name from the fact that they are cur
| tailed" and not because the dog star
C{ri,, hon
! When the gunner orders his mates to
| clean the dashpot," he is not using polite
profanity. but directing the cleaning Of a
| part Of the gun-recoil cylinder. The
| turning the sod for the enemy, but not
| in literal sense. Nor do the "telltales"
| of the engine room give 1t away; instead,
| they peacefully record the revolutions Of
the screws.
The propellers usually on strut
! but it is not the vulgar parlance for saying
| they are angry; the strut is the steel arm
that holds them in position Ships masts,
| like men, have partners which, though
wooden, strengthen them and make them
| firm. These are ''payed' with pitch. AVN
| ings have "backbones. "strongbacks,
| Sharks mouth" dogs ears and ear
| rings"
| The trimming tanks are huge compart-
ments for holding sea water which may be
| let in to change the trim or inclination OF
| the ship, due to the fact that the coal may
| have been used from only one side, giving
the ship ''list.'
A queer commodity in the engineers
store room is 'loofa" a kind of Japanese
sea cucumber, used for filter In the boil
ers. Ground glass is also carried to grind
valve seats and bearings. The ward room
country" Is the space around the officers
quarters The hammock MEETINGS" are no
more an affair of thread mesh than Is the
| main sheet a part of the sail; the former
being stowage space for the crews ham
mocks when not in use, and the latter a
rome made fast to the cew, corner Of
the sail Even anchors have 'shanks."
rings crowns" arms and "flukes."