Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-22
TRICKS OF JACK TARS

s.The middies at Annapolis know how to
show their disapproval Of dislked Of
ficer as, for instance, when they staked
one of them to the silence in mess hall the
other day." said a former chief petty Off
Ger in the American navy. but they
haven't the science of hazing officers they
don't care for down to the fine point of
the enlisted men in that sort of work.
Early in my last cruise new executive
officer Joined my ship at the Mare Island
navy yard in California He was a hard.
peevish man, and uncommonly cynical as
to the meanings and motives of all men
for'ard. Afterguards and prentice lads on
anchor watch had often heard him declare
in the mess room that he believed In the
restoration of the cato '-nine-tails to the
navy and he addressed all hands of the en-
listed force as if they were Lascars. One
afternoon this first luff,' as executive offi-
GERS are called. went down to San Fran
cisco from Mare Island to attend nigh
jnks dinner, at that famed high-jinks out
fit, the Bohemian Club. He had such a
merry, riotous time at the dinner that when
he left Oakland for Vallejo to cross over
to rejoin the ship about o'clock In the
morning he was in a humor to hold a chaw
with anybody who happened to swing
alongside of him.
1.-The Anybody, in this case the executive
officers seat-mate on the train, happened
to be one of those shouting Californ1ans
who dub all fasteners snow shovelers and
ice eaters. He was. in addition, the owner
and editor of a newspaper published In a
little California town not far from San
Francisco. The officer had his knocking
clothes on and when he fell into giug-
glug talk with this effeverscent Californian
he was unwise enough to sail in and knock
the allegedness of the gal-lorious climate
of California. He didn't stop at this. but
he got his mallet out for the state of Cali
fornia in general. from fore to miZZen, ana.
as he was right smart sudsed after those
long hours at the Bohemian Club, his re-
marks atoned in vindictiveness for what
they lacked in conference.
We'll, two days later California gunners
mate of our ships company saw something
in his home paper which he had just re-
ceived. that seemed to divert him great
deal 1t was a luridly written account OF
the antics and the animadversions of a
drunken naval officer in the smoking car OF
a train out Of Oakland on the previous
Sunday morning.
The officers name was not given. but his
personal appearance was described with a
wealth of detail. Nobody knowing the OF
ficer and reading the article could help
recognizing him. The ofhceI was d o 1i.,
like the bloomin' leadin' stoker of British
tramp on Singapore shore drunKaah oS o.
that and worse: The gunner's mate cue
the clipping out Of the paper. slapped
little dab of shellac on the back OF 1T Tor
haste and stuck it to the orard bulletin
board in a thoughtless kind of way me
bluejackets took turns rubberlng at IL.
The executive officer, looking over the mems
quarters before morning inspection, caught
sight of the clipping, read 1t with sro"ing
horror. scratched it off the board with ms
Northumberland he was always pretty
square kind of an executive ofrcer a1ter
that. He knew that the men for ara kne"
something about him that his brother OF
ficers including the skipper. didn't Know;
That's the kind of bulge that softened
him up so that he was pretty decent TO
wander the seas with for the remainder
of that cruise.
"A little different kind of bulge was that
which ships company used. ever so light
ly, to remold the character or young
Junior lieutenant who was developing pucko
traits He had q great habit of making the
apprentice boys uncomfortable-and I'd
like to know where. at sea, you're going to
find any people more shrewdiy critical OF
the ways of ships officers than these same
man-o' war apprentice lads.
"Well one night at Honolulu. the ships
officers gave a ball on board to the swell
shore folks. 1t was cute ball, too, and
the ship was dressed from stem to stern.
while there was a fine illumination on the
main deck where the dancing occurred.
The only comfortably dark, that is to say,
shadowy. part Of the ship, In fact. was the
bridge house The bridge house was re-
moved from the sphere Of operations. and.
consequently, from the strong light, and to
the bridge house the young officers carry
ing on their firtations with the shore girls
repaired. in alternate couples. while the
dance was on. 1t was something like
palm-screened corner of a conservatory for
privacy you see. and all of the officers
Knew about it. Well, this junior lieutenant.
who was permitting himself to develop
bucko characteristics in his treatment Of
men and boys for'ard. got up to TIE bridge
house with a handsome young Honolulu
woman along toward the midwatch of the
ball. The affair was somewhat complicated
by the fact that the handsome young Homo
lulu woman was the wife of quite prom
inent Honolulu citizen.
They had been in the bridge house but
very short time when the junior lieutenant
and the Honolulu lady were startled by the
sound as of horrifcally eager oscillations
coming from somewhere aloft. About a
dozen Of the ships boys, not to mention
some of the men, were stretched aloft on
the fore signal yard-taking the air The
tremendously exaggerated sounds as of
osculatory exercises proceeded from them.
The lieutenant and the young woman hur-
ried out of the bridge house and below to
the brilliantly lighted main deck.
''The junior lieutenant was officer Of the
deck the next day, and the osculatory
sounds that met his ears from the minute
that he donned his belt and appeared on
deck were something scandalouS, although
not necessarily subversive Of discipline, for
the men and boys just traipsed about their
work with perfectly solemn faces, but MAX
ing those osculatory sounds as If thought
lessly, and never looking at anybody. much
less the lieutenant, when they did SO.
with face of the shifting hues Of Jo-
seph's coat, the lieutenant stood 1t for an
hour or so. Then he grinned sheepishly
Tsssst" he suddenly let out, and all
hands at work on deck suddenly looked up
at him.
HE smiled again. and waved his hand
deprecatingly. In a beseeching sort of way,
too. The men and boys understood, and
quit making those noises From then on
there wasn't a better or easier lieutenant
In the navy than that one. He knew
bulge, too, when he saw it face to face"
Tho Nov Who Rune tho poiJrood