Putnam patriot., 1914-05-08

 muster, %. when our watch was overs
 we took to our hunks or hsmmocks in futile attempts to keep warm. And thus began our long voyage 10 Rio
 Janeiro, for we were bound for the Bra
 gil station f-o1th Atlantic it was of- ] ncislly desiznated) to join the flag Of { thst distinguished scholar, scientist and naval officer, the late Rear Admi raj Chsries H. Davis, whose son and l grandson are sgiil in the service 10 maintain The traditions of % honorable ! a name. May the navy never laek Charles Henry Davis.
 Our passsze to the arst port Of cali, Msdeira, was & series Of dlseomf0fts unknown 10 the men of today. It /. blew living gale for many days; the ! hole in the stern through which the rudder stock entered the oyernaug had been left unpacked. {How we eussed the naval constructor responsible for
 this negieclg Consequently, qnanti-
 ties Of water came shooting irto the
 wardroom, a regular geysef, every lime the ship sqaatted into the follow ing sea-
 Moreover. the decks leaked. 1 count
 cd six dfibbles Of water into my own room. 1 wonder how the ieaTefuiIy
 housed officer nowadays woald relish
 sleeping in q berth under & inaekin-
 tosh and umbrella, as ] did? When l
 sst at my desk had to put gratings
 under my feet to keep them out Of the
 water, which, an inch or more deep, swsshed across the floor. The ward room table pitched away in a heavy lee roli, and smashed up most Of our crockeFy, while many Of our chairs were broken, so that only half Of us could mess at one time.
 The crew were no less uncomfortable. At first the cold was so bitter that the | watch on deck kept up dog trot the whole four hours. They jumped st the | ropes when an order was given and l pulled with all their might, so glad |
  selves and keep the blood circulating.
 Gradually, however, conditions grew better. We thawed out crossing the Gulf Stream, and found the weather I milder on llhe other side, bat we car ried the .gale with us nearly all the l way to Madeira. How rejoieed we | were to come to anchor of Loo Rock, FuHehaI, to get some rest and dry out our soaked clothing, mattresses, and l books.
 We touched al santa Cruz, ,Tenenlie, lhe piaoe where grand old Blake sue ceeded, and where Nelson scored his l only defeat and iost an arm.
 It was about here that 8e caught the | northeast trade, CT, rather, the north. east trade caught Us, and sent us spin ming down towards the doldrums. Be ealmed, then, most ot the time, the | sails siatting against the masts as the l ship rolled in the long Atlantic swell, | great downpoufs of rain every hour,the | heat intense, the air damp and mnggy, 1 the experience wns trying in every re- speet. The only bright side to the pie ture was the shower baths the watch | would take-stripped ito the bull. :" We officers took a leaf out Of Jacks book and stole in puris naturalibus on deck after dark to enjoy the one cool moment of the twenty.four hours.
 On our passage tnither the captain pfotited by the favorable conditions to put us through stiff series Of drills that eventually caused the Portsmouth 10 be known as "the smartest ship in the navy.n Every morning every even- ing, he had some evolution or other,re- beating such until perfection was reached. Nothing less would satisfy this accomplished seaman and stern drill master, who told me, on one oc- easion, in tones of deep disgust, of the only question that, in his examina- ton for h,s iieulenanls commission, he had missed: "t was rigging ship with her own resources, and, do you know, Mir Goodrich, 1 bent the gant- lines io the lower treslle.lrees in the wrong place-at the middle, ,Snd not at the forward ends! shall never for give myseli''
 Every mHn on board knew every rope in the ship, his own place and duties.
 No wonder the Portsmouth subse- quentiy took first place in these com petitions; no wonder she was regarded as q marvel and an exemplar. We gar nered the fruits of this incessant schooling little later when we came into Rio harbor.
 Catching, outside, the first of the sea breeze which makes every day at about ten o'clock in the forenoon, we stood in past the Sugar Loaf, the magnificent bay opening before us. A glorious view il was: one of the worlds noblest | panoramas. On our iefl was the tall | granite tooth of the Loaf, then came a series of beautiful lagoon stretching far away, their shores lined with noble | palms, great trees and rank tropical | vegetation, then the lofty Coreovado, l and the suburbs of the city nesting l between the bay and the hills behind i it that mounted peak after peak, to the Gsvia; then the city itself, with its tow eriug spires and the Emperor's palace ol San Cristohal. Far distant the jug.