Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1907-01-10
ACROSS The OCEAN
Miss enevIeye Blars Interesting Account Of Her Trip
Across the Atlantic Last Summer


z a. s4 Il. f ft t7 ~ issstS
t'sented the youth who. TO al externa
appearances. differed little from The av
! erage So,,th Dakota college graduate s.
i Among the pa sengers were tw enty
seven Cook tourists. One Of these wa
Miss Gertrude Wood Denver. whom ",
had met at Nermilion Ia ch rge OF
professor was a Jolly group Of colleg,
boys who were enthusiastic over tn,
prospect Of ID ing Switzerland on foot
They were "a merry SET. and. the las
onnds that came family to,ollr ears d hal
night was the refrain. % my darl ng
u my darling o my darling Gle men.
tine. mingled with he dash Of ocean
waves. Y,
The ship physician proved to be an
old acquaintance of II friend 81 OURS. Who
had sailed on the Merton two years be-
fore. He very kindly escorted little
company Of us over the whole ship,
l'Thls was a great privilege, as the cabin
passengers cannot leave their own decks
without "A special permit from the %
faib. The Merton, an English vessel.
$50 IT, long and So feet wide. had on the
preceding voyage i,2O0 passengers. and
could accommodate 2. 200 On this voy-
age, however, there were but l3S cabin
passengers and 1870 steerage: also cats.
and crew of i'll5 men. We were assured
OF our safety in case Of wreck by finding
on the boat deck twenty-two lfe-boats
having capacity of fifty people each.
and supplied with provisions and water.
On this deck, In a little glass pilot house,
stood the qlartermaster. his eyes fixed
upon he compass before him and his
hand upon the wheel which governs the
rudder three decks below and at the 9TH.
er end Of the boat He proved to be the
man who sounds the bell that indicates
the, time. The beginning of each watch.
or period Of four hours, is designated on
.-shipboard by one bell. and zach sncceed-a
ing half-hour by on additional bell On
this deck was the clock work. which.
when wound, caused the fog horn 10
sound automatically every sixty seconds.
There, too. WAS the brass contriyapce
for holding rockets to be sent off AS SIG,
nails, and the indicator. by turning a
crank of which the captain communi-
Gates orders to the engineer and other
officers ON the lower decks, We ran
around peering at everything and plying
the good natored captain with questions.
The steerage proved even more inter
esting On the. ..steerage promenade
deck there. We're no steamer chairs. but
the passengers, seated on the deck or on
parts fof the ships apparatus, seemed
cohtented, even happy The iingy
steerage cabins and the dining room
with rude tables and bare floor, made
our quarters seem luxurious by c)ntrast.
On the deck below was the shin kitchen
with its immense shining kettles. pre-
sided over by men cooks. We were not
admitted to the engine room where the
stokers work in four,hour shifts on. ac-.
count of the intense heal. sa !.
The second day Of the voyage was
Sunday. and at ten o. clock most of the
cabin passengers gathered in the saloon
for services. As our. eyes roved curious
ly over the assembly. we marveiedi az
the change a day at sea had effected.
Stylish suits, j,nnty hats and fluffy ,urls
had given place to short skirts. Tam 81
ShaDters and stringy locks. While one
of the college boys accompanied at the
piano, all joined i'm a familiar hymn.
Then passenger, Rev. Mr.. Hoy.. of
Philadelphia, gave a ten or fifteen min.
,tites talk on 1.-The Lord is my rod and
my staff. ? The service. though short
and simple, was impressive. for through
II all sounded the incessaut dashing Of
the sea. Later in the day we gathered
70 watch the sailors fire drill. The hose
brigade, directed the hose over the side
Ioflhe vessel. Meanwhile another bril-
gade handed ,kuckets down the liue and
dumped their contents into the sea. Ii, q
seemingly unnecessary tribute ,o Nep-
tupe, .a
The first week was pie sanity cool and
the pass ne'e, s spent nearly All their
I, time on deck. prom nading. chatting, or
| dollngt contentedly in their steamer
chairs The ship was very steady. We
had expected 10 see great waves. hut. Ne
! 0eeanwa asssinoolh as our Great Lakes
| IN pleasant weather A few afternooo1n,s
were cloudy and the ocean was dull
gray, but On the second sunday the sun
shone and the ocean was the. bl,.es, ot
the lue The sunset WIS 4 gorgeous.
THE 81 and sea were a glory of coIors,
merga'lxs.in.oohe another and oidine us
srsIs bound tiil The lasf rosy tint faded
T...n &c; sky
s..ssiSuEp NEXT wEEx)