Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1907-07-04
scop1rleat, BY 5ossph D. BOvlss.l

miral Sigsbee of the United STATES navy
is the daughter of the late Gen. Lock-
wood She has been much at sea and
her kindly intereAt in, the sailors mas
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 so 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 fogging
was administered for even minor OF
lenses. The "cat" 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 moments notice on the luck
less offender
Now what change! Confinement
in the 'brig" on bread and water for q
stated time or deprivation OF liberty
on shore is the punishment for sman
offenses, while for the greater 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-
saws. lectures, sermons, with sprink-
ling Of poems and lives of notable peo-
pie. These were kept in a cask or
barrel commonly, which was capsized
whenever a 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-in
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 $3.50,
according to the executive officers or
der book. First the buglers sound
the reveilie.s The boatswain's mates
pipe in unison a shrill cal. and then
roar:
"A-a-a-lI hands! Up! All ham
mocks! Turn outl Lash and carry!
Shake leg! Bear a handl"
This in stentorian tones. The
sleepy occupants Of the hammocks
turn out rubbing their eyes and
stretching themselves. The sluggards
receive a push. underneath the ham
mock from the master-atarms, caus-
ing the sleepiest to turn out quickly.
Half-clothed already-not sleeping in
pajamas-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 flashing and then neat
" slowing them away in the netting
on deck.
The mess cooks then appear, bring
ing tin buckets two feet high filed
with hot, strong coffee, sweetened and
diluted with milk. Each man drinks
bis bowl Of coffee, then comforts him
self with a pipe or with cigarettes
from his "ditty box" ] regret to say
that the cigarette habit has invaded
the ranks Of our fne, stalwart body Of
bluejackets. Jack with a pipe sounds
historic and as he should be, but with
a cigarette he il inconsistent. The
ditty box is about q foot across and
IN this Jack keeps safely locked his
private letters. photographs, writing
materials, perhaps q cake Of soap and
other treasures For half an hour the
sailor may sip bis coffee, smoke, write
4 letter or do as he pleases.
The BEN strikes the hRlfhour. The
boatsvain's mates pipe and then sing
out Turn tol" the pipe or whistle
blast coming FIRST and the order fol
lowing. This means that the men
must tumble out an deck and IN obedl-
ence to the orders a. given must
awssh ciothes.- scrub down he decks
Win sand,- "uipe on p4intEork," o.
do vhsiaror the rfogramme Tor tie
morninE's work may b for that day.
Hoe 4 brought ont. pumps are started
~ ana = aprinkltd On ~ decks.
ne men scruh tbe d1clu viii l1n4'
Eanfisf tr1shcs uirlnz 1cu t141