McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1917-01-26

splendid fare. | never ate such but
ter; it was from Denmark, where
the best butter in the world is made
except that we used to have in Nc
Marry. With great interest | wan
dered over the big ship, looking at
the compasses, the wireless telegraph
the engines, etc. The
wireless operator showed me the
twelve-inch sparks of electricity, the
induction coils, and other things used
in sending messages through the air
wires, and without which no
ship now goes TO sea. | went down
into the engine room-or tried to.
The heat that came up from the
cleaning machinery down in the deep
pit was such that my hand was
scorched when touched the metal
railing. and l could not imagine how
any human being could stand such a
temperature. And yet the Danish
oiler down in the pit was going around
down there and even whistling at his
work, Six big engines were harnessed
to the two propeller shafts, and soon
they would be churning the ocean
waves on the way back across the
deep. Signs in the Danish language
said "Ilden Adgang"-"no admit
tance"-and here and there was an
other sign: "Tabaks Rogning for
bydes." with a slanting stroke through
the Rogning, which meant that to-
bacco smoking was forbidden. My
few words of the language were very
pleasantly replied to by the rosy
checked officers, whose appearance
was enough to prove the healthful-
ness of "a life on the ocean wave. !"
One of them spoke excellent German,
and other languages, and was as nice
as he could be.
Finally the time came to sail; the
last struggling passengers hurried on
board. | was struck particularly by
the departure of a fne-looking old
lady. who paused on the gang plank
and looked back at her three stalwart
sons, all grown men, who were cryir g
like children because their mother
was going away. will wager they
were good boys. Aman is none the
less a man because he cries for his
mother. She shed no tears then; but
it is easy to believe that when she
was far out at sea, and the briny
deep was between her and her beloved
boys, the old lady broke down and
had one good cry. MANY teary eyes
and red noses of those left on the
wharf testified their grief at parting
as the heavy plank was swung loose
by swinging crane and the huge
hulk began to move out toward the
center of the Hudson river. The
band on board played sweet music;
the vessel glided majestically out into
the 'choppy water, and then came
along a little tug boat, like puppy
following an elephant, to turn the
ship around so as to give it a good
start for the great ocean. The sweep
of the tide made this necessary, and
it was amusing to see the tiny tug
pushing the big ship around with its
nose and getting it headed right for
for its long voyage.
You can't leave on these ships
without getting a passport through
the State Department, which has an
agent on Rector street in New York,
a bright young man whom l know
" Ill. There must be three copies of
the application, each with your pho
tograph attached, and you must have
some one to vouch for you, and the
date Of your birth, and a lot of other
things, have to be shown. You show
your passport at a desk<on the wharf,
where it is vised by an officer of our
government If you are all right; if
you are not, you don't go on the yes
sci. / went into one of the state
rooms on a big ship and admired the
luxurious furnishings, and really en-
We'd the man who was going to use
it on the voyage. But be was afraid
of submarines. and it must be an
awful feeling when the ship is sink
Ing beneath your feet and you have
to tumble out into the life boats viii G
the icy waves break over the frail
C aft and you do not known when a
torpedo may blow even that uncertain
help into smithereens and you into
eternity. Thoughts like this perhaps
made those boys weep when they saw
their dear parent boarding the ship