The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1906-06-25

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. IN OLD NAVIES. =
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Many quaint and curious customs vii
be found by the inquisitive visitor to tn
warships lying off the jamestown Expo
sition to be held at Hampton Roads il
1907. These customs derive their great
est charm from the fact that they are {
survival of olden days and events lonl
since forgotten.
For instance, the visitor will see OF
the sleeves of many British officers
patch of lighter colored cloth with &
row of three buttons. If the visitor i:
so curious as TO ask what rank that sign
indicates, his host will tell him that il
il not indicative of rank but is sur
vival of the time when MY Lords of the
British Admiralty" found it necessary tc
curb the young midshipman's tendency
to use his sleeve as an impromptu hand
kerchief. Hence the three buttons
Chevrons worn on the sleeve of petty
officers survive from feudal usage. Chev'
ron is the French word for "rafter', and
the chevron worn on the sleeve was put
there to show the wearer belonged to
the house of the lord whose heraldic
emblems were displayed underneath the
chevrons. For long time the United
States Army wore their chevrons point
ing down. Considering the origin of the
custom of wearing chevrons, this was
wrong and when it was called to the
attention OF the War Department, the
custom was Immediately changed so
that now army cheyrons point upward as
do the rafters in any well behaved house.
The visitor will observe that in the
British navy the officers leave and enter
their ship by means of the port or left
gangway instead of the starboard gang
way which is on the right side looking
toward the bow, as is the custom in
other navies. This custom also prevailed
in the British navy until the great
mutiny at More in 1850 when the crews
of the vessels in the mutiny sent the
officers over the port gangplank as a
mark of disrespect and set them down on
the beach. When the mutiny was sup
pressed the officers came back into their
ships over the port gangway and have
ever since used that as the most honor
able entrance to the ship.
Time is counted on shipboard by bells.
The day is divided into six periods of
four5 each. The periods or watches
commence at noon, p m, 8 p. m, mid
night. q a. M, s a. m. At 1890 p. m.
the ships bell is struck once. Two bells
announces l O'Clock, 3, half past and 4,
2 p. m. This goes on until p. m. is
sounded by eight bells when the count
for that watch is ended. At half past
four it is begun again with one tap on
the bell. This custom is followed in all
navies except the British which instead
of striking four bells at o'clock, strike
only once. This also is in memory of a
mutiny. The legend as still told in the
British navy is of great British feet
lying at anchor in a British port crowded
with mutinous men who had pledged
each other to arise and overpower their
officers when the last stroke of four
bells in the second dog watch (6 p. m.)
were dying away in echoes. With his
hand poised to strike the bell four times,
the marine who duty it was to keep the
time. first learned of the mutiny. His
captain and the admiral of the fleet were
both absent. If he struck the full meas
ure the mutineers would be on him be-
fore help could reach him. To confuse
them and gain time, the marine struck
the bell but once and for some time the
mutineers supposed it to be only half
past 4 o'clock. Their first intimation
that their plot had been discovered was
when the soldiers appeared among them
and arrested their ringleaders.
Still another curious fact for the visi- |
tor to the jamestown Exposition to re-
member will be that the three white
stripes running around the wide collar
of the bluejacket was originally placed
there to commemorate lord Nelson's |
three greatest victories, the Nile, Copen-
hagen and Trafalgar. Not knowing what
they represented at that time the French |
navies also adopted the idea and to this
day the three white stripes run around
The collars Of French and Spanish blue
jackets, commemorating their own defeat |
at Trafalgar.