The Republican journal., 1909-08-19
FJGUREHEADS.

limo Far Back in Prehistoric Time,
Old Time Glories with Which Old
Ships Were Bedizened are Dis
caring
From the Boston Transcript
.ba sentiment, all the stirring lore
n .aa that clusters around the figure
snnot keep it from passing into the
81 e. things that have been. 1t is a
". ~ Of the past, and with things of
'yr i belongs. Slowly but inexor-
~ has been banished from the sea,
. arc one ship in fifty carries one.
, We, semblance of some wind or
snrit it perched on the prov of
.si man S rude dugout. 1t saw the
u fall of trireme Viking ship, Ro-
gar galley, Spanish treasure gal
and three-decker; it adorned the
I whaler, merchantmen and man.
Routed from it's position in the
ant marine by the advance of a
risn spirit that regards nothing
not a source of profit, it found an
m the United States Navy, which
.,orl the traditions of the mighty
r<ea there, however, it was not
i Iong to abide. AS the ships of
5r.c-eircIing Atlantic feet passed
,sir war dress this summer the
.4a were unshipped and melted
Grim. but serviceable, and above
ding toward invisibility, gray is to
ro.or Of the squadrons hereafter,
NJ and war. Cleaning like the
of Ajax and serving as a target
enemy, weighing the ship down
ytra gun, worth the price of a
h5mestead and costing three or
inbred dollars year to keep bright
ta-shape, the splendid bow-orna-
S cut Of keeping with the battle
aYs that have to be met today.
Ter Las gone forth to clear away
-har per and to ''stow everything"
sentiment.
81. mid blazon which Saint-Gaud-
Igag4 to grace the bow of Dewey's
W. olympia, and which cost $12,-
L. MT, in all probability, be un-
as that cruiser is attached to
.aag squadron at Annapolis and
yer see active service again. This
5 that of the Goddess of Victory,
tev designed and cast in bronze
aborate background. That on
lser incinnati, given by its name
-y is a copy of Saint Gaudens's
and cost SIS, 700. That of the New
r. orm of the seal of the Empire
was also costly, and too peremp-
ing away with these handsome
-ou.i be neither necessary nor
not with irreverent hands, how
aat ships have been deprived of
p Guardians which for ages have
on tempest, wreck and battle.
u the lingering process of evolu-
.igurehead dies hard. Its place
.uomy of the sea was as useful
3. honorable. An object of pride,
II and of superstitious reverence,
nitv to it would have called down
IT Of both quarterback and fore
Bath swore by it, and never
INIT has felt the consolation of
single additional shot in the all
tv locker of marine objurgations.
>ueak irreverently of the figure
IS well utter lightly the dread
Jimmy Square-foot" himself!
{. tell of mutinous crew that
we'd by the captains threat to
,igurehead black.
5rr hacked out by village iack-of-
Is in some obscure loft or
10y some artist of repute COM
ID by rich owners, the figurehead
dose relation to the fortunes of
= md its people. 1t proclaimed
-.iry of the craft, thereby ante
qnal flag and code name. Stand
lhe foreign roadway, with the
he stern concealed from view,
ID ship revealed herself to the
Il agent to whom her rich cargo
signed by the figurehead, recog-
arr or. as dismantled beyond rec
by the barely weathered Gulf
form, she limped into the home
the glimpse of the familiar sign
the bowsprit thrilled the old
& town with the news of her
asr brought youth and age, man,
III, matron, hurrying to the
s Not infrequently a battered
cast upon distant sands told
yer was known of the fate of
a three-sticker that had stood
bay, manned by the brave lads
.lage.
only speculate as to the process
ct man evolved his first rough
1t is not a violent supposition
l.st sailors primitive magma
Yged his handiwork with the at
{ a living thing. That done,
natural than that he should
with the carved resemblance
-.ad of some creature, perhaps
-hat of his savage mate? The
4der today paddles war craft
III the furious visage of some
warrior, whose countenance
opposed to pierce the enemy's
ID the chill of fear. The Chi
amer still decks his junk with
rs On either side of the bow.
-grehead had still other duties
oul. If it could guard against
Qee, surely one made in the image
powerful deity could bring good
10 bear upon the craft, and
-vJring winds to sit in her sails.
Ntent to which the figurehesd has
MO disuse is governed largely by
and racial influences. Few
All ships carry such appurtenan-
ay although a considerable num-
British ships still do. The Swedes,
5ians and Danes, descendants of
Eho ravaged the coast of Europe
ou-ships, cling almost universally
style of characterization. True
ers, the imagery of the old days
something to them. German,
and Italian ship-owners show a
rable tendency to cherish the
us of the past. The figurehead
-mory in Boston harbor; in New
srOor it is hardly that. A New
" aterfront reporter, years ago,