The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-09-12

the figurehead cannot keep it from
passing into the limbo IF things that
have kept it. II is a tradition Of the
past, and with things Of the past il
belongs. Slowly but ineXOTably it has
been banished from the sea, until
scarcely one ship in fifty carries one,
writes Mary h NOTthend in the BOs
Ton Transcript.
In tOtemic sem0lanCe of some wind
or wafer spirit it perChed on the
prov OF grimeyal mans rude dUgoUt.
1t saw rise and fall Of trireme Viking
ship. Roman war galley. Spanish
treasure galieOn. and TIN ee-deCkeT, il
adorned the bow of whaleT, merchant
man, and mau-C f-War- Routed from
the position in the merchant marine
by the advance of an unitarian spirit
that regards nothing that is not
source of profit, it found an asylum in
the United States navy, which stiE
hOnOTs the Traditions of the mighty
past. Even there, however, il was
not destined long to abide. AS the
ships of the world circling Atlantic
fleet passed into their war dress this
summer the figuTeheads were IN
Shined and melted down. Trim. but
serviceable and above all tending to-
ward inyisibility, gray is to be the
color of the squadrOns hereafter, in
peace and war Cleaning like the
shield of AJAX and serving as d tar
get for the enemy, weighing the price
of d modest homestead, and costing
three or four hundred dollars a year
to keep bright and shipshape, the
splendid bow ornament Is out of keep
ing with the battle conditions that
have to be met today. The order has
gone forth to clear away the top ham,
per to stow everything -even SEN
timent
The spIenid blazon which Saint
Gaudens designed to grace the bow
of DGwey's victorious Olympia, and
which cost $4,000, will not in all
probability, be unshipped, as that CRUZ
ser Is attached to the training squad
ron at annapolis, and may never see
active service again. This figure is
that of the Goddess of Victory. elab-
Orately designed and cast in bronze
with an elaborate background. That
on the cruiser Cincinnati, given by
its namesake city, is a copy of Saint
Gaudens' design and cost $500. That
of the New York in form of the seal OF
the Empire state, was also costly and
a too peremptory doing away with
these handsome gifts would be Meth
eT necessary nor graceful.
Object of Pride.
1t is not with iTreverent hands
however, that ships have been depriv-
ed of the bOw-guaTdians which for
ages have looked on tempest, wreck
and battle Even by the lingering pro-
cess of evolution the figuTehead dies
hard. It's place in the economy of the
sea was as useful as it was honorable.
An object of pride, an indignity to
it would have called down the wrath
of both quarterback and fOrecastIe
Both swOTe by it, and never a seadoS
but has felt the consolation of even
a single additional shot in the all too
empty locker of marine ObjurgatiOns.
But to speak irreverentIy of the
fguTehead! As we'll utter lightly the
dread name of Jimmy Sguare-foot"
himself. MaTryatt tells Of a mutinOus
crew that was COWed by the captain's
threat to paint the figurehead black.
Whether hacked out by village jack
Of-all-trades in some obscure loft or
wrought by some artist Of repute COM
miSSiOled by rich owners. the figure
head bore a close relation to the for
tunes Of the ship and its people, It
proclaimed the identity of the craft.
thereby antedating' signal flag aud
code name Standing up the foreign
roadway, with the name BY the stern
concealed from view. the good ship
revealed herself to the watchfuI agent
to whom her rich cargo was consigned
by the fisurehead. recognized afar. or.
as dismantled beyond recognition by
the barely weathered Gulf stream
storm, she limped into the home har-
Dor. the glimpse of the familiar sign
beneath the bOW-sprit thrilled the old
shipping town with the news of her
return that brought youth and age,
man. maid and matrOn hUTTying to the
wharves, Not infrequentIy battered
igUrebead. cast upon distant sands,
told all that ever was known of the
fate of the stout thTee-s ticker that
had stood down the BAY. manned by
the brave lads Of the village
We can only speculate as 10 the pro-
cess by which man evolved his first
rough craft bUt it is not a violent
supposition that the first sailors pTi-
mitive Imagination endowed his hand
iwOrk with the attributes Of living
thing That done what more natural
than that ne should ornament il with
the carved resemblance of the head
of some creature. perhaps his own or
that of his savage maTe2 The Malay
Islander today paddles q war craft
ornate with the furious usage Of some
mighty warrior. whose cOUntenance
alone is supposed to pierce the enc
my's vitaIs with the chill of fear. The
Chinese mariner still decks his JUNK
with eyes one on either side Of the
bow.
The fgurehead had still other du-
ties to perform. j It could guard
against misfortune surely one made
in the image of some powerful deity
could bring good influences to bear
upon the craft and cause favOrins
winds.
The extent to which the figurehead
has fallen into disuse IS governed
largely by national and racial in
fluences. Few American ships carry
such aDpurtenances today, although
a considerable number OF British ships
still DO. The Swedes, NOTweigians
and Danes. descendants Of the men
who ravaged the coast Of Europe in
dragon ships. cling almost universal /
" to this style of OrnamentatiOn- True /.
sea rOvers. the imagery Of the old
DAYS. means something TO them Ger /