The Washington herald., 1908-01-12

less message from Father Neptune warn
ing it to be ready to receive him on Cross
ing the line The message was genuine
because it was posted up and copy sent
TO the executive officer as soon as II was
received. An orderly brought it to him
with an unusually stiff salute while the
wardr0Om was AT mess.
It served notice on all '1and lubbers,
poIIywogs, and sea lawyers" that they
must be initiated, and It appointed one
Fore TOpmast as official representative
Of his most gracious majesty. Neptune
Rex, ruler of the royal domain" It
called for a meeting Of the faithful sub
jects" to arrange for the ceremonies Of
his visit
The meeting on the Louisiana was held
in No. = casemate, on the after port side
OF the gun deck. The proceedings are
secret, but # is known that royal police
men, royal BARRIERS royal judges, royal
counsel. and lot Of other royal function
aries were appointed The word has gone
through the ship that the ceremonies are
20 be pretty strenuous; that no one who
has not crossed the equator can escape.
Every one who has crossed is required
10 produce a certificate. These are Of
the diploma order and are already being
exhibited in private on board. Il Is de-
Jared that land lubbers Of the newspaper
correspondent order are going 10 get it
in the stiffest manner. lot Of the
youngsters Of the crew are alreadys
trembling. and il is recorded that at least
one newspaper man has walled:
"Oh. why did I Gomez"
Orders from Neptune.
To show how serious this all is. here is
a copy of one Of Neptune's messages
and the order that followed its reception:
NOTICE
Tie following wireless vas received a. Il ?. m,
December I9 1867.
Fore Topnast Official representative oa board the
good slip Louisiana of his ma iestv Neptune Rex.
ruler Of the royal domain
Al the TINE Fhe Thomas ". lawson turned turtle
uaHT Of nv trusted police were on board. and a
result they less injured aIh al Of the
/ regulation uniforms carried by them were lost
Therefore. II VII Be Necessary for 10 dezguats
many Of my royal subjects on board the good ship
reITesented b. yog % act In their stead, and y0I
authorized 70 make the selection from amongst
the most faithful Of those who belong 70 the royal
realm
In making the appointments y0u VIII consider their
qualifications as % severity seTness. ssad0gness
their knowledge as % tIe interior plans Of The snip
and their ability 70 follow the tTail Of any landlub
Der, pJilyw0g LAWYER who erdeaF0Ts to escape
1 the initiation as prescribed b. ne.
You VIII report 10 me hy wireless the names q
the subjects selected, the position assigned. and the
D I
their commissions az once
You viii have the regulation uniforms made Up az
once and VII carry out al orders in this c0nnec-
/ ton. Your majesty. NEPTUNE REX,
| Ruler Of the royal domain
General order No. 3.
/ In view of ihe above have This day the 3fh q
! Deceuber 1907 selected from amongst the royzl
subjects on board the good ship Louisiana the trusted
police directed hy his majesty. and those selected
have been notified Il their appointment. all o. Wnom
have accepted. The attention Of all the royal sub
/ ects Is invited "a PauUaVh Y Article vi. Y TUEIs
iatio1s q the royal realm relative 70 police duty
/ and % the pamishmeuts prescribed for those Who
fail 10 perform t1er duty properly and % the land
lubber. poIywos, or SEA lawyer who tries 10 avoid
/ the initiation prescribed by his MAJESTY
As noted in the wireless message from bis masesty.
many of the uniforms were lost The trusted poles
selected viii az once visit his msiestys tailor tbs
Z ssiulabezs mate, and he measured for the Uniform
70 protect him from the crabs, eeIs, and shaTss-
FORE Top, o. r. H NJ y. r
Two days later this wireless was re-
ceiveG and an order issued complying with
directions:
The following wireless was received At q n
/ Decemb-r o.
Fore Topmast. OEcsl Representative Of His Majesty
! Neptune Rex Ruler Of the Royal Domain, On
board the Good ship Louisiana:
] II has been reported 10 me hT a member q ms
secret police on board Of the good ship which you
are my representative that there several land
lubbrrs pgllywlEs and sea lawyers who intend %
/ escape the initiation prescribed by ne by stow
ing themselves away. OF course this is folly ou
their part there is not a hole corner On board
the good ship Louisiana that my faithful police and
subjects are not familiar with and Il IS therefore
impossible for any one % avoid escaping the ROYAL
initiation Those who do I'd 10 esCaDs the initia-
ton in this manner viii Ct course be sFrrebeBdsd,
and when brought before ne the day OF the eere-
monies they VIII not soon forget the trick they en-
deayored 10 play the royal realm. and the dose
they get viii be severe than any have as Jet
prescribed Referring 20 the secret code Of the royal
/ realm the following iandluhbeTs poilywcgz. and sea
| lawyers have been reported 20 me as mentioned
/ above: GabucSto, Thuruovk, Mawltrqmorptzs.
| WQquopbchr, and Ybxqordhge. You VIII therefore
az issue orders 10 the chief of police TO attend
TO these crabs and TO Put his best men on their
trail and if the above Is tue they viii report 70
NE upon my arrival on board Your MAJESTY
NEPTUNE REX.
Ruler Of the Royal Domsin.
GENERAL ORDER No 4
| This is 10 inform the members Of the rogsi realm
on board the good ship Louisiana that I have this
day issued orders 10 the chief Of police 20 place 1vs
Of hrs best men on the tTaI Of the men as men
toned in his maestvs wireless, and whom you vii
all know By referring to the royal secret code which
YOU have IN your possession. lou viii also keep
track Of these animals and report 10 auy Out-Oi-
the-Fay move which they should make. You VIII
also be on the lookout for any ether Of these who
happen % he board, and if they should make a
false move ] viii make special report to bis maj
esty with recommendations which VIII cover ali de-
| secls FORE TOPMAST.
Official Representative Of HIS Majesty.
There win be great dOings when we
cross the line the latter part Of the first
week in January.
The Weather Good.
The wireless messages from the feet
have chrOnicled the leading Incidents OF
the first leg Of the cruise. After one
days steaming in four columns the fleet
was deployed into two columns. For one
day the speed was increased TO Il knots.
| The little tender Yankton. which is to
be used as the admirars yacht in port
and for short journeys. and which has
been running with the feet off the star
board side of the flagship was sent on
ahead to get a good start. One days
steaming at Il knots brought her back TO
us. and then the fleet resumed the slower
speed
The weather was fine throughout.
When the trade winds belt was encoun-
tered. about 800 miles north Of St Thomas.
the ships pitched good deal. but there
was little rolling. Sea legs had been ac-
quired by that time and few on board
were incapacitated. There was a squail
now and then in the Caribbean. with a
dash of rain for five or ten minutes, but
that was nothing.
On Friday, December 20 the Missouri
was detached from the fleet to take
sailor sick with peritonitis 10 San Juan.
and later that night the Illinois was sent
20 f'ftfabra with . sailor who had rerau-