The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-05-19

contented themselves with waving fiaS>
and shouting friendly greeting,
The esy was smooth and ohere was
little trouble in diSemoarking. r. j.
Synmes boarded the flagship first and
as the members Of the executive COM
mit,ee came over the side. introduced
them 10 Chief-of-Staff Grant and Cap
tain oSterhaus, There were handshak-
inSs all around. short informal chat.
and the visitors were escorted 10 the
cabin where Admiral Evans sat await
ing them Il told You would be here. -
exclaimed Evans in glee as Mayor Tay-
lor stepped forward and shook his
hand. and the Mayors answer was
equally characteristic when he asked.
And by the Lord Harry Evans am
glad 70 see You here" There was no
formal greeting. Just a friendly salute
for all and from all. and then over
the cigars the talk drifted 10 the trip.
/ the visit at Coast cities. and the final
entry into the harhor.
/ on deck there was a steady stream
OF officers coming over the side to pay
their respects Dozens Of the feet
launches came jumping through the
water from the hattleships and cruis-
way and then drew OF a few yards
I from the stern and waited,
I The officer Of the deck was the busi-
est man on board. and as one Of the
officers said. He could certainly get a
position as an announcer at a first
class hotel" What with giving ap-
proaching official launches their official
positions. and keeping foolhardy and
ventureSome public launches away
from the landing stage. he had his
hands s~ll.
Through the maze Of launches came
one Steaming across from the Virginia.
and a hundred yards away a jackie
lifted for an instant the red starred
flag OF an admiral. six boys" came
the sharp command. and that number
stepped forward. wheeled at the gang
way. their heels came together with
click and they stood at attention. The
launch stopped and as lit deposited its
passengers the hugle cali rang out an
nouncinS the admiral'S arrival. follow
ed Immediately afterwards by the ma
rine band. The marines presented
arms, the boatSwain's plaintive whis-
tie sounded. and Captain Osterhaus and
Commander Grant came TO attention
as Admiral Thomas stepped over the
side and on to the deck. 4 few brief
words and the admiral disappeared
down the gangway TO make his official
call
Another launch approached, and the
officer examined the men in the stern
through his glass. -Four boys" he
announced. and two fell back from the
call. a few notes by the band. and one
of the captains came aboard.
And so it went throughout the after
noon. until the after deck of the flag
ship was so crowded with official guests
and officers in full dress, that the few
civilians on board felt almost out of
place and uncomfortable.
By the middle OF the afternoon the
officers and executive committee came
on deck. and then it was that the
newspaper photographers who had been
waiting all this time nearly broke their
necks. Where else would you find six
admirals gathered in a group. with the
mayor of a big city and all his official
staff about him? Included in the group
were all the admirals and captains
whose trained intelligence and courage
had helped to make the cruise success
fui- This was the body of men whom
the world had been watching for
months. but there was no indication
from them that they thought they had
done anything else save their ordinary
duty.
The committee left for shore soon
afterwards. but fortunately I was able
TO remain behind with some members
of the committee It was only after
the reception was over that Com
mander Grant could give US an audi
ence 70 arrange some of the details for
the triDs which were 10 be taken in the
next two weeks And during the dis
cussiou it seemed as though the officers
would De almost thankful if they could
escape a few attentions. though there
was no lack OF courtesy in accepting
those offered But when you realize |
that invitations in the navy are not ac-
cepted at a time like this Just as you |
happen to feel about it its different |
The commander wants only to know |
how many men are to be entertained !
On such and such a trip.
Once that is settled he decides wheth-
ar the feet can spare that many II so.
he announces that so many will be de-
tailed from each ship. And they go,
that is all there is TO it. 1t is very
nice for those who are arranging the
trip or diversion on shore because
there IS no uncertainty about the num-
oer of guests who will be on hand.
Official orders have been issued. and
Il the men are not there, there is an
investigation and possible court-mar-
-iaI over the one who dared to disobey
orders But there IS no denying that
the officers have a surfeit Of attention,
and the Katcha Nappa fraternity.
which has sprung up on board. is
reality and many are the humorous
tales told by its members-how at a
If an officer can but get be-
hind pillar he takes a snooze stand
ing up, while a faithful officer keeps
watch to pipe a warning should any
0f the higher officers or hosts Of the
occasion steer his way.
As the last details were arranged we
stopped on deck a moment to speak
with some of the officers. We were
the last Of the shore visitors on board,
and even most OF the officers from the
1tfler ships had departed.
Quite unexpected it was when We
turned suddenly and saw Admiral
Evans coming down the deck on
-rutcfes had not seen him since he
smoke 1t baUnu6t ar rhe ofd Ha-