Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1909-01-08
ME Oh Sal DR.
sperils ths Modern viarship Men ~


eot q ave 90 + ace.
one of the dangers and one cot the
hardest tasks offs the mar man
vanished ont 81 his life when with the
suppIanting sof the frigate BIZ the steam
cruise u the old time drill becaI me
A thing of the past Gets ins the old
days were ntinua lly exercised * e in5S
making and shor tenirlg sai y, ~ iftingsjI
spars and all sinilar Iellyers aloft,Ss
says Captain ] .s lsambie IS the
British navy Ii his Nj inks In NV Life. HI 'SII
AS the greatest II yalry existed among
tie crews as StoS Will ship should u.
carry out the evolution first accid dents
we're frequent. Hardly d drill day
passed without men being seriously M 1-I.
;jured
once during drill Al SieI harbor,
where the rivalry 81 the fleet Vas ir,-.
creased by the eagerness Of foreign
chips. to compete with the Nngl
unfortunate french rntd hipInan went.
head first from the naisaer crosstr Trees
81 the French flagship 10 the deck
That numbers of accide nts should
take place I'M sail drill was not aston
ishing when one remembers that sparb,ss
measuring perhaps seventy or eighty
feet long and weighing two or three
tons were whisked about with be-
Wildering speed with nothing but
mems hands and brains to guide
them; hundreds Of men scramned into
space Of ID few hundred square feet.
where nothing but the most maj yelorlss
organization and disclp line could avert
death On deck or aloft. sSf3ssiisfss
| TO the landsman, who #underst pod
nothing Of the difficulty involved IN
rapidly shifting these great masts and
yards or In Keeling and furling thou
sands Of square feet of stir canvas
perhaps wet or half frozen the rapid
lty with. which it was done was per
Ehaps the chief wonder. 81 s3ssss
Ropes, running like lightning through
blocks that were instantly too hot from
friction to be touched, had Il to be
checked to within a few. Inc hes, requir-s
ling the utmost GOODNESS and presence
: of mind, while the officer In COM
mand had to superintend what to the
uninitiated looked like q tangled mass;
Of cordage, but which was in reality
! no more In confusion than the threads
) In loom. =: ;,.,sts 5,y, II &
In an instant this officer might see
4 something going wrong. To delay a;
single second meant terrible catas-
rophe !. Every one, allow and alofkS
was relying on his judgment.
"Belay! Ease awayla'l 4; .s+ 5':s
+, The order came In an instant. The
I boatswatn's mates repeated It II n
particular call which this life and
i, death necessity soon taught every one
1 to understand, the shrill Whistles rising
above the din of tramping feet and
running ropes or the Sthunderous crash
Of the great sails In the wind. sDeatk
had been 7averted- OF not. IF mt you
looked up and saw some unfortunate
man turning head over heels in the
! afr. Your heart stood still, Would be,
/ catch hold Of something, even IL only
! to break his fall, or, would he come
ibattering on the deck? It was q mere
toss up. II he was killed outright 10
generally stopped the drin for the
day; n he was only seriously injured.
the drill went on, for this was partt
Of. the lesson that must be learned
that In peace, as in war, one must take
his chances. - .ss ss3sST2S5sss