Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1907-03-16
Copyright, by Joseph u, Dowles,)

(Mrs. Charles D. sigsbee wife Of Ad-
mlral slgsbeo Of the United States navy
is the daughter of the late Gen, Lock
wood She has been much at sea and
her kindly interest in the sailors has
given her a close insight into their lives
as the following article discloses)
Comparing the modern sailor with
those who enlisted on board our men
of.war so or 60 years ago we see that
Jack nowadays fares far better than
IN those good old times"
In the early days of the nineteenth
century and until about 1s45 ilogging
was administered for even minor Of
fenses. The cat" a scourge with
nine tails, used on the bare back, was
one of the instruments of torture. All
the ships company were required to
witness this degradation of their com
rades. The colt, or ropes end, was
frequently kept coiled in the caps of
the boatswain's mates ready to be
used at a moments notice on the luck
less offender.
Now what a change! Confinement
in the brig" on bread and water for a
stated time or deprivation of liberty
on shore is the punishment for small
offenses, while for the greater a sum
mary or general cOurt-martial is held
according to the gravity of the wrong
doing.
In former times the ships library
consisted of few old-fashioned books,
too dry mostly for Jacks taste-es-
says, lectures, sermons, with sprink'
ling of poems and lives of notable peo-
pie. These were kept in cask or
barrel commonly, which was capsized
whenever volume was to be selected.
Now Jack has good library com
prising tales of travel and adventure,
the newest novels, as well as the
standard works, histories. poems-ln
fact the kind of books that he would
care to read.
On the battleships in summer the
men are called at four o'clock or 4:3O,
according to the executive officers or
der book. First the buglers sound
the reveille. The boatswain's mates
nine in unison shril call and then
roar:
"A.a.all hands! ITp All ham
mocks! Turn QUIT Lash and carry!
Shake leg! Bear a hand!"
This in stentorian tones. The
sleepy occupants of the hammocks
turn out rubbing their eyes and
stretching themselves. The sluggards
receive push underneath the ham
mock from the masterat-arms, caus-
ing the sleepest to turn out quickly
Half-clothed already-not sleeping In
paiamas-their remaining garments,
which are tucked away in their ham
mocks, are soon put on.
They proceed to lash their ham
mocks, rolling them in a cylindrical
bundle secured with seven round taut
turns of manila lashing and then neat
" slowing them away in the netting
on deck.
The mess cooks then appear, bring
ing tin buckets two feet high filled
with hot, strong coffee, sweetened and
diluted with milk. Each man drinks
his howl of coffee, then comforts him
self with a pipe or with cigarettes
from his "dltty box" ! regret to say
that the cigarette habit has Invaded
the ranks of our fine stalwart body of
bIueiackets. Jack with pipe sounds
historic and as he should be, but with
cigarette he is inconsistent. The
ditty box is about foot across and
in this Jack keeps safely locked his
priyate letters, photographs, writing
materials, perhaps a cake OF soap and
other treasures. For half an hour the
sailor may sip his coffee, smoke, write
letter or do as he pleases.
The bell strikes the half-hour. The
boatswatf's mates pipe and then sing
out Turn TOT" the pipe or whistle
blast coming first and the order fol
lowing. This means that lhe men
must tumble out on deck and in obedl'
once to the orders as given must
"wash clothes" scrub down the decks
with sand" wipe of paintwork, or