Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-10-19
SOME PUNISnMENTS
melted TO "JACNEs'
Baling Tub of Water With q
Spoon One of the Fore
most.
OTHERS MORE S%TRENUOUs
For Instance, Walking Back and Forth
on Deck Carrying in His Arms q
One Hundred Pound
Projectiie.
From Tit-Bits.


Naval officers do moi always mete out
no the men the punishments laid down
in the kings regulations. They fire.
tquently adopt ~punishments OF their
own invention which prove most eff
s~fective in preventing the recurrence Of
offenses. These p~unishments are Of
ten of a very curious and ludicrous
mature.
! 1t is an every day occurrence to see
half a dozen sailors lined up on deck
facing the paint work, their hammocks
ON their shoulders n their faces pre-
lsenting a most woeful picture. For this
punishment is not so trivial as 1t ap-
pears. The hammock is not very heavy.
At Is true. but after an hour or SO II
drags on ones shoulder like lead. Be-
sides, 1t Is far from pleasant to stare
fixedly at a quare foot Of gray-paint-
ed woodwork for sixty minutes at a
stretch. Jack would much prefer to
10 a few days Ten A" or to have his
leave "jambed."
Splitting upon the deck Of a man-o'-
war is strictly prohibited. As soon ~
the bugler has sounded the Stand
Easy spittoons are placed at intervals
along the deck for the use Of the sail
ors, and woe betide the tar who ig-
nores the presence Of these tubs and
expectorates about the spotiess deck.
On many vessels a wide belt Is kept
and this the man who departs from
the regulations la compelled to wear
Upon his person, and Is thus subjected,
to the ridtcule of his shipmates. He Isl
given an opportunity OF retrieving his
character, however. He is permitted
to walk the deck with the other men,,
and should he spot" a sailor commit,
ting a like offense he at once presentSl
him with the hated belt. n the new
victim has to undergo a similar or-l
deal. !,
Some officers adopt more drastic'
measures. If Jack Is detected expec-
torating anywhere but In h recepta-'
cles provided, a "spit kid" Is strapped
to his chest, and any man who cares
to do so may make use of this curious
walking receptacle. AS may be sup
posed, this humiliating punishment eff,
fectively prevents the men from NO
lating the regulations.
An Amusing Sight.
Were a civilian given two large
wooden buckets, m empty and the
other full OF water, M told to bale
the liquid from the full tub into the
empty vessel with q small spoon, he,
would consider the order to be that
of a madman or a revival of ancient
fairy lore. Yet this punishment hasl
on several occasions been melted out to-
refractory 'sea dogs" Nothing i5
more amusing than to see a weather-i
beaten sailor carefully bahng OUT
spoonful after spoonful of water and
as carefully depositing the fluid In a
large bucket at his side.
A punishment frequently employed
Is that of setting the defaulter to walk
slowly backward and forward along
the deck, nursing in his arms a six
inch projectile (weighing a little over
100 pounds). After a quarter OF an
hour or so Of this beneficial exercise"
the unhappy victim Is glad to drop the
IaoI anI rt,h hta aching limbs AT the
same time he probably makes a solemn
mental resolve never to repeat the Of
tense for which he has been awarded
this dire penance.
An old naval captain-one Of the old,
old school-was at n time sadly ad-
dicted to stammering. He could not
utter a simple sentence without a
great amount of spluttering and hest
tation. This was n day too much for
an intrepid sailor who was receiving
an order from the captain in that Of
fciaTs usual hating manner, and he
unfortunately burst into an ~uncontrol-
liable fit Of laughter. This rash laugh
was bitterly ~repented. Captain -
was a disciple Of the homeopathic sys-
tenn. Making Jack stand upon the fore
bridge in full view of the entire ships
crew, the officer mmand his VIC
tim to laugh continuously for an hour
and a half. This he was compelled to
do. though the pitiful expression or
his weatherbeaten. sunburnt visage de-
noted anything but a happy and con-
tented frame of mind.
Whistling in forbidden parts of the
ship has often been punished In a SIM
liar manner The offender has been
obliged to whistle his loudest under the
eagle eye of the commander until poor
Jacks lips have become so parched and
cracked that he could not produce an
other note.