The Ordway new era., 1906-09-14

any oHIccr. as such is the co,Irtos,. "'"te
80 o,, our superiors and which tbey bovo
YOU" 'hey return to
,,b,-uiy ''sl Iay We received instructions I,
paySlcai p,a culture, fencing. artjIIery onn ~
rliie practice. infantry drill so,,ini Tnu
Sn,i' iurlihs sail. making knots. oIs9
.'''. ue''olia IN signals, ordnance nnJ
Sy S"nnery' now ship is built its many
eo.NS, s'.. niaSts, holds. etc. Rowing vas
oul c.lei exercise and amusement and
esuii uay we would visit some new na,,
oil the bay and harbor. P''
we soon realized that there woro
sleat advantages to be pnined h,.
atuuy ana attention to duty, and many
men soon gained the name Of hain!,
smart, intelligent and frank and W.
tne respect of the officers and the mcn
VINO Were their constant COMPANIONS
competitive examinations were hoId
10 determine who should be the nottv
officers of their divisions. which nWco
man held one month or more me-.
viding he was smart enough IN tnnn
Il. s" " Keep
Shore leave was granted on
wednesdays, Saturdays and SUNDAYS,
we organized base ball team. foot
Dall team, fencing team and as many
OF the boys had guitars or mandolins
a glee club was formed. and MANY
happy evenings we spent in the moon.
ilSht on the "foreCastle" singing. dane.
ing and froliCking to our hearts con
tent.
Away for Practice Cruise.
After few months under shore
training we boarded the United States
ship MohiCan, with three rouslng
cheers for those who were unfortunate
enough to remain on the old Pensacola.
Only l5O could go aboard for the
eleHen'months' cruise, and | was one Of
the chosen ones. In fact, all the Omaha
dtait was taken, as II was their turn
10 30, further instructions and train.
ing before boarding n battlCship OF the
line, as real. true. man-o'warsmcn.
How lofty the ship looked: how
pretty 1t rode the waves: Ike n swan
on pleasure bent.
One evening in November We gIlded
smoothly out OF the Golden Gate" into
the Pacific. just as the sun was setting
Ia the fullness OF gold beyond the dis.
tant Faraioncs Islands. on board this
our lives brondcuCd again. Here we
were doing the real sailors work, in
making spliccs, knotting. getting sail.
etc. On each side OF us we saw the
towering hills. bTistlinG with guns and
mortars. We saw the Cliff House. Seal
Rocks and Mile Rock, on which the Ill.
fatcd Rio JancIro struck and sank one
foggy morning.
AS evening closed and the curtains
Of the night came softly stealing down.
wards on the purple sea, and the little
stars were twinkllng, peeping with n
flood of silycry light. and the moon
came stealthily creeping over the Call.
fornia hills. We knocked off stenming
and set our sails and changed the
course to the southwark. toward Old
Mexico. Old Father Neptune tthe
keeper OF all good sailors) did not
favor us with good winds rs we rolled
slowly along on the bosom OF the
sleepy Pacific. Many Of us got seasick,
but. thank goodness. II Is not a permn'
nent ailment. so all OF us recovered.
and with shaTpened appctitcs We rel.
ished the hardtnck. biscuits and coarse
food which we had 20 longed and pincd
for. Soon our evenings were spent as
nicely. singing and playing, as they
had been on the old Pensacola, and we
liked this free healthful life. Our
drills continued and the ship rolled
lazily along.
Passing to Higher Grade.
When out seventy days at sen no.
tIce was posted telling us that all who
wished to could hand In their names
and be examined for ordinary seaman.
Many OF us were little afraid that we
didn't know enough to become an or
binary seaman. but the 0oldost Of us
nut in our names and were examined
by n board of officers appointed FOR
that purpose. How we studied ana
crammcd splices and knots, tackles
and blocks into our brains. Good thing
I'm "chip OF the old block as
wooden things came easier. Many or
us passed with high percentages ana
had an additional stripe put on tte
sleeves OF our blouses. besides an In
crease in pay Of SO per month.
How proud we were as we realized
that personal endeavor' was reaily
being appreciated and was the real
road to success. III loulNtth p"N".'
passed days we anchored in Masda'
lena bay, Mexico. Here we stayed tor
three weeks, drilled ashore ana on
board. had sailing and swimming
races, hunted turtles. went bathihg IN
the surf in Dead Mans cove, ana on
Sundays would take boats and lines
and 90 trawlng for the speedy, snapp!'
1ashy yellow.t tail and mackerel.
Sights in the Pacific.
Fresh fish of all kinds were our
main food item. but we received pee.
rom n rnnchero who had n herd OF
,teers. We reluctantly cast on our
mornings and were soon on our way
or uonolulu, Thirty days of sailing
us to the Garden of the ia,
.itic." the most beautiful place we had
,yer seen. Orange and banana trees
.overed the slope of the "Old Punch
,oui " on whose peaceful crater sugar
.ane was growing.
shore leave was given each day, so