Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-12-01
SAILORS OBSERVE
THANKSGIVING DAY
HOW THE DAY is PASSED ABOARD
A MAN-o.WAR IN UNITED
STATES NAVY
Usually Have Sports and Contests on
Program Which Lasts All Day
Good Dinner Served-Boat Races a
Feature-Large Prizes Awarded.

Very few people living inland have
very little conception of how American
sailors aboard the men-o'-war Of the
United States navy spend Thanksgiv-
ing day.
The prevailing idea among landsmen,
is that the American sailor is ostra-
cized from all the pleasures in life.
They think that he receives nothing
but long night watches at sea in rough
weather, while living on canned goods
and experiencing untold hardships.
Their conception Of Thanksgiving
day for Jack is, that he is blowing the
bounding pillows headed for some dis
tant foreign country, leaning over the
rail Of his ship signing with the re-
membranes of Thanksgiving gone
by. That when dinner time arrives he
tautens up another hitch in his trous-
erS and descendS below for his meagre
meal consisting Of bareback and cof-
fee with perhaps a dash Of plum duff
as an extra because it happens to be
Thanksgiving day.
Sumptuous Meal Is Served.
II these people could be aboard a
man-o'-war on Thanksgiving day, sit
down to the sumptuous meal spread on
the gun deck gayly decorated with the
ships bunting and then afterwards join
in the contests and sports held dur
ing the day, they would change their
opinions Of the sailors life on holt
day.
There is no place on land or sea,
where legal holiday is so fully observ-
ed as in the American navy. No mat
ter at what port or distant country a
ship may be, when a holiday comes
that belongs to the United States, it is
kept with as much ceremony and form
as it would be in any of the home ports
or cities inland.
Sometimes while at sea, ships meet
with rough weather and storm on q
holiday, but it has to be exceptionally
bad, if they do not have field day"
or sports.
Sport Begins in the Morning.
For Thanksgiving day, the sports
generally last all day. Early in the
morning the ship is made clean, all the
decks are washed down. the brass work
polished, guns cleaned and paint work
wiped off. After the mornings inspec-
ton of the ship and crew at quarters
the fun begins.
Aboard the ships, purse is made up
cording to the size Of the ship and
crew. This money is divided into cash
prizes, which are awarded during the
course of the day to winners in the
different contests on the program.
The contests on the program consist
of rope climbing racing over the mast
head, tub races, around the deck go-as-
you-please race, bobbing for apples, pie
eating contest, sack race, three legged
race, obstacle race, potato race, and
boxing bouts.
Boat Race Big Feature of Sports.
The big feature of the day is gener-
ally boat race with the ships cutters
usually one division against the other
unless laying in fleet. If the wind is
good, sailing race in the cutters is
pulled off. Another feature is life
boat race. Each ship carries two OF
these boats, which are always ready
for an emergency in case of some ono
falling overheard. The crews of these
life boats are well trained. In the con-
test the boats are lowered from cal
that may me at any moment withou,
warning, during the day while the
sports are in progress.
The crews are compelled to mar
their boats, drop them and pick up q
buoy which is let go with the call. In q
contest of this sort an instance is
known where the winning boats crew
manned their boat, dropped it and