The Elbert County tribune., 1906-09-13

count OF the life OF an apprentice IN
the new navy is written by Ed. Benson
an Omaha boy, who enlisted about five
years ago, and who rose during his
first four years to the rank of chief
qusrtermaster, which post he now
holds on the United States Ship Illi-
Iois. 1t will be found very interest
ing, as indicating the opportunities in
the new navy:
ALL aboard, going west" so
bawled the conductor of a Union Pa
cific train as 1t began to move slowly
toward the setting sun. Sixty-five
young men, hopeful, Americans looked
wistfully back from the fast-receding
city of Omaha, as 1t became a blurred
mass in the distance, and friends and
relatives faded from view, becoming
indistinct in the revolving landscape.
First CALL for supper in the
d-i-n-i:.-g carl Boys, you shall have
the first table," so bawled the Pullman
dining car waiter, as he ushered these
young men to their seats at the table,
where they were instructed to "help
yosefs" by the grinning waiter and or
der anything they wished. That wist-
full look soon disappeared as the 'por-
terhouse steak and mushrooms"
warmed the boys, who soon began
laughing and talking, discussing their
future careers in Uncle Sans navy.
Three days and two nights on the
California Limited, which meanwhile
had been speeding through the Bad
Lands" of Nebraska, the sweet clover
scented hills of Wyoming, the snow
clad Rockies and the seemingly bound
less American desert, thence climbing
the pretty pine-clad Sierra Nevadas,
right amongst the big trees and red
land country, over beautiful Califor-
MIA The small boys who sold cherries
and fruit, which abound so plentifully,
when they heard that young sailors
were aboard the train. refused to ac-
cept pay, and it was useless to try to
force money on them.
Reception at Goat Island.
The train slid down the western
slope of the Sierras and ran on the
longest ferry in the world at Porta
Costa, and in one hours time it glided
into the station at Oakland Mole,
where all embarked on the San Fran
cisco ferry named Oakland and received
cur first ride on salt water and our first
view of our future home and training
quarters-Goat Island.
We were met at the ferry station at
San Francisco by a real blue jacket,
corted us to the tug, which took us
over to Goat Island. Many of us felt
so salty on that ride that we thought
we could smell the spray of the sea,
and it did make us feel good to think
that we were to be soon real sailors
and defenders of our country's rights.
We arrived at p. m. and dinner
was Immediately served, the officers
knowing very well that we had eaten
at 9 o'clock at Sacramento, California,
Our first navy meal-how good it %as!
consisted of corned beef and cab
bage, and I'm sure it received full JUS
tice at our hands. Some one asked:
Where is the sea biscuit?" Surprised?
Well, / guess we were, when one of the
men who waited in the table said 1--WE
don't eat sea biscuit here. Have some
of this jam?"
We were told that our quarters
would be on the old ship Pensacola,
on which we had our first navy meal.
Hammocks were served out to us, and
each had two nice white blankets ana
hair mattress.
Learning to Be Sailors.
We each received a station billet,
telling us our duties and station at
fire quarters and collision drill, gen.
eral quarters (battle exercises), and
also the division we were in aud our
watch number. Now, a ship has more
watches than one; there are two (but
they don't keep time except to the
music at drills), called the port and
starboard watches. These watches we
found later constituted the foundation
of the ships routine; and l was de-
tailed on the port watch.
In the evening before taps" the
band played and the boys danced and
felt at home because everybody felt
sociable. At o'clock came taps" and
lights out" Everybody turned into
their hammocks and were soon fast
asleep, rocked in the cradle of the
deep"
At $50 in the morning "reveille"
was blown on the bugle-"Can't get
'em up, can't get 'em up in the morn
ing" etc., and all hands turned out to
be ushered into a real tiled bath room
and provided generously with towels
and soap
At 1880 breakfast call went, and
much to our surprise ham and eggs
was the meal. 1t now began to dawn
on us that the old navy was no longer
in existence. We were now among
good young Americans and all of us
decided to appreciate the kind treat
ment and food we were getting. You
know before we enlisted everybody
seemed to know all about the navy and
said, old ladylilSe: you mark my
words, you'll get starved and bullied
and mistreated," etc, and now we saw
that people who were never in the SER
vice were in no position to judge at all,
and that their advice was the result
of deep-set prejudice fastened by un-
truthful stories and books describing
the merchant marine and not our
manly blue jacket or his career.
Actual Duties Begin.
Our naval careers really commenced