Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-14

| presented arms as the transport went down:
and the admiration Of the world was
| cited when, at Samoa in the great gale
the sailors OF the Trenton. driving fast to
| her death. cheered the British man-of-war
| which was escaping. while the doomed
| ships band paraded on the quarterback
| playing The Star Spangled Banner amid
the fury of the tempest hurtling the help
| less ship to her certain doom
As a Matter Of Routine.
But the men of the Huron had nothing
| to support them: neither the excitement
| OF battle nor the consciousness that, face
| to face with one OF the perIls incident to
| their profession and not to be guarded
| against. and doomed to die therefore, they
were at least dying like gentlemen and
| sailors They deliberately and as a matter
OF routine. with no bands playing no can
non booming. no stage effects. prosaically
and quietly, as they would have answered
| the call to Quarters-steamed out to death,
Knowing II to be such in obedience to
orders"
''Oh. WELL" broke in tn. surgeon. "a
| short-tailed coat or O. short shrift-what
| does it matter? II It is In the regulations
| 1t must be all right-and to return to the
| more cheerful subject of orders and uni
| forms, you remember old Capt. -, don't
your"
Remember him! should think l did,
| replied the first lieutenant II sailed with
MIN once. The ship had got a hard name
| somehow as regarded discipline. and old
- was ordered to her for the purpose OF
| getting her In shape. He did 1t.
1T was suggested to him that he make a
! little speech to the men on taking COM
| mand. giving them few kindly words or
warning and advice. He consented. Tie
| crew was mustered and the old fellow
| appeared at the break of the poop. For a
r,t,ta hna 49,.
look which was enough to make chills run
up and down ones back. Then he roared
out: You've heard of Black Jack. haven't
you? Well. I'm Red Bill. Tipe down."
Very good story" dryly remarked the
doctor. and too long now a part of naval
tradition to be considered apocryphal When
1 was cub doctor, fresh caught. l was
ordered to report to this same Capt -.
| and hurried on to Baltimore. where his
ship was lying. My orders read, without
delay and l interpreted them literally |
had some trouble with my luggage and so.
without waiting to shift into uniform. 1
hurried on board In citizens clothing and
presented my orders to the captain. He
looked over my orders eyed me with look
which made me feel like a schoolboy about
to be fogged and then. throwing the papers
back at me, yelled: Go home and dress
Paymaster Got Square.
You know how young paymaster got
square with MIN, QOn you. asked one OF
the lieutenants. THE captain had applied
for paymaster and they sent him a young
assistant paymaster. The youth reported
and the old man raved at him. Go away
he said, won't have YOU I want a full
paymaster. The boy went ashore. ac-
cumulated q jag, and returning on board.
appeared again in the cabin. saying: Well,
captain, here's your full paymaster.'"
What happened to him? Nothing. He
mar yvar hos ri de
after.
''Avaunt with such old tales said the
executive that was in our unregenerate
days. Our paymasters In those times would
be Mortified at the base suggestion of such
an exploit as you have mentioned. Critcise
as we may. how much better of We are
than our predecessors in the service In
many ways. When 1 first entered the sery- :
ice-that was not SO long ago, either-the
officers of the steerage used to live packed
in like sardines We slept In hammocks
slung over the mess table-hammocks hung -
81 close together that man could not leave
his nest without disturbing the whole mess.
and on narrow transoms which ran around
three sides Of the steerage. We had things
little better than they were in the days
when midshipmen on board the old frigate
United States, recorded by Admiral
Franklin. used to eat their soup out of a
cigar box which was passed to each one ~
turn and the MILDLY who first cried 'drst
beef got the latest cut of the 'salt-horse,
which was their principal article OF diet ] !
THE middes of those days were mere
boys of fourteen or sixteen or seventeen
They lived like pigs In their narrow quar-
ters and made up for a scant supply or
food by drinking whisky. a demitohn Of
which some messes used to keep standing
on the steerage table. vt - IL
Flogged Even Midshipmen.
And we used to fog our men. too-how
we did fog 'em! In the early part OF the
last century conditions In tho United States
Sofih had nv
Maryat In his sea stories Of the royal
navy. 1t is a tradition that sometimes even
! a midshlpman would be logged. which
beats anything In Marryat, and the men
received the lash for nearly all onenses
THE other day came into possession
of an interesting Journal kept by sailor
on the cd Ohio In 1910. Here Is one entry:'
"A seaman belonging to the Brandywine
was tried by court-martial for striking
ships corporal He received 100 lashes.
fifty on board our ship and fifty on the
Brandywfne-' '.-.-
This entry was under date Of Washing
tons birthday!
you see. they used to fog them through
the fleet The cuprit was taken from ship
to ship and punished on EACH for the edi-
fication of the crews The lashes were
welt laid on by muscular boatswain's
mate, each sting Of the cat bringing the
blood.
ION every page of the diary find rec
ord of aoggings. Here is an entry apropos
the subject of the old-time MILDLY morals
of which We were speaking:
1.-Two of our midshipmen smuggled liquor
aboard the ship. After remaining drunk
for some time it was discovered and their
liberty was stopped. One of these mid
shpmen made a boast in Castle street that
rum would shorten his days ten years
This same midshipman has got more men
fiogged for getting drunk than all the other
midshipmen on board together. These young
gentlemen of the watch are hard on the
enlisted man, but they have to receive
their meat at the butchers block, like the
rest of us, and this brings them. for the
time at least, down to the level OF seamen
Pretty picture isn't 1t Yet out OF this
rough school came our naval heroes. You
see a boy who went to sea In those days
had to be a hero born. in order to survive
physically and morally. 1t was a case OF
the survival of the fittest.
We'll here's to the Old navy, any way,
and here's to the better new. Gentlemen.
good night"
WHY THEY ELOPED