The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1909-05-20
Being Some Almost Humorous Mem
orabiIia Of the Cruise Around the
World.

: to be welcomed home and were kill
ing time out there, after $4,000 miles
of cruise routine and entertainment,
until the minute was ripe for us to
stand in through the Capes so as to
open up with the FOUNDERS, our
| 21-gun hail to Theodore, at IL o'clock
sharp. AS we rode at anchor in omin-
Gus silence 1t was our last chance to
| indulge in little playful reminiscing,
for our short stay as unit in the
Roads would be absorbed with look
ing pretty-and after that the sepa-
ration. So.swe enjoyed ourselves to
the limit, unbeknownst to the old ma
of the fleet who was below in his
bunk pounding his ear like true SON
OF his Father Neptune.
Man Overheard.
Would we ever forget the time
when that rookie on the Missouri
had the nightmare in his hammock
and yelled, MAN overheard"
| Never, as long as our cruising
days lasted.
It's funny how one common sea-
man recruited from Kansas, who had
never been aboard man-O'-war be-
fore in his life can pipe out q couple
of words in his sleep that will bring
to full stop a globe-circling fleet
of 16 sea-fighters, raise the old man
up out of his bunk, make him climb
to the admiral's bridge of the flagship
in his pajamas and cause delay of
an hour and half just at critical
point of the cruise when we were hit
ting it up for twelve per, trying to
steam into our first big port exactly
on schedule time But that's just
what did happen and here is the stor
of it:
We were blowing through a
smooth and oily sea off the Brazilian
coast, two days out from Rio. It
was night. We stretched for three
miles in long line, 400 yards of deep
dark, quivering water between each
of US. Suddenly somebody on the
Missouri yelled, MAN overheard!
The man on watch at the signal-gun
pulled the trigger (for that's what
he's there for), the ardois lanterns
at the masthead sputtered their COM
munication to the other ships that
the Missouri slowed down and turned
a man had fallen over the side and
out the column. In less than one
minute the whole 16 of us had re-
duced our speed to half The near
est neighbors ofthe Missouri, the Obi
and the Maine, also turned out of col
umn to give the poor devil in the wa
er a chance. Cooper life buoys had
been thrown off the Missouri when
her gun was fired and now the search
lights of three big fighters were
sweeping the' water nervously I'M
great circles.
A boat was manned and swung |
out on the davits Of the Missouri toi
pick up the life buoys, holding that
the sailor would be sticking to onel
of them-for they carried tanks filled
with calcium chloride and light up,
body who has fallen over can see
as they strike the water so that any,
them and make for them By this
time the whole bunch of US had come
to a full stop and every ship passed
the Ohio, and including her, had
turned out of column.
At last the buoyS were, gathered in
with nary sailor on any of them.
Not sign of life did the searchlights
discover as they swept the surface
of the water in all directions The
life-boat crews were unsuccessful and
they put back to their respective.
ships. But the old man of the fleet
up on his bridge in his pajamas and
cap black, unlighted, torpedo-shap-
ed cigar between his teeth, wanted
to know the result of all this delay |
and he took pains to find out So,
the ardois on the Connecticut flash
ed the interrogative. Ask Admiral |
Bob what words he uses, and how
he puts them together, and what he
looks like when he wants to know
the cause of something that initiates
him and you will be better able to,
imagine the exact expression he used
that night when his flagship flashed
the fnterrogative."
There was nothing doing for al
minute and then the Missouri beganl
to blink and sputter with her ardois.
The lights, in dot and dash, spelled
long message. Somebody chuckled, !
somebody else laughed out loud and
one indiscreet rookie doubled up with
merrfment. The old man chewed the
breech Of his cigar and waited for his
signalman to take down the message
and translate it for him into real En-
glish.
''The Missouri's compliments, sir,
said the signalman when he had fin
lshed, touching his cap, "and she
begs to report false alarm. Seaman
sleeping in hammock had nightmare,
and shouted Man Overboarit' ?
The old man spat the end of his
cigar on the deck, gave a little Choir
tie way down in his larnyx, made use
of common little exclamation of one
word which has four letters and be-
gins with b (for those who may mis-
take this word for Heavens, 1T might
be wise to say that the second letter
is the same as the second letter in
Heavens, but the last two letters
are 1's) and moved down the ladder
leading to his room.
Sixteen battleships had been put
back Is knots because one of total
crew of $4,000 men hadn't as yet got
over the elects of his Christmas plum
pudding.
Crossing the Line.
Buf the most fun we Had among