The Harrison times., 1917-08-04

This bit Of wisdom was offered by
an officer on our West Indies steamer
as he leaned against the gray rail OF
the hurricane deck and thoughtfully
nursed the big navy revolver hanging
on his hip
No one disputed him and so far as
could be ascertained no one on the
ship was travelling for pleasure Ii
they were they took their pleasure
mighty serious.
The Trip Home.
A four days trip from Porto Rico 10
New York under ordinary conditions
is a pleasure. Leaving the tropics for
the north always brings its little thrill
of contentment. Behind you lies the
land OF the royal palm with its ro-
nance and mystery; its rich cOlors
and lavish and luxurious flora; its
blue sky and bluer sea, Memories OF
tropical moonlight when it seems one
could almost reach up into the velvet
sky and touch the moon and stars,
memories of racing lace covered serf
breaking in the bluest Of blue waters
on a coral shore; memories OF strange
and interesting people and pictures of
strange foreign customs, enacted in
strange and foreign looking streets,
before strange and fOregn buildings,
all lend charm and satisfaction which
we mentally card index as we turn to
the north. We begin to wonder what
is doing at home, and we long for the
breath of northern air which carries
the wine of energy to replace the las
situde which the rays of trOpic sun
shine have already carried beneath
(our sunburned skin.
There is something in the way we
used to feel when We crossed the bar
leading north.
But now all is different. Everything
is changed Even the ship. We once
knew our ship by her paint But all
ships look alike when bedaubed with
battleship gray. Our ship looked like
a gray ghost and as she streaked thru
the waters at night CTOWding every
ounce of steam she could carry, with
marry light to guide on her way, she
acted very much like a ghost or as
near like it as her 10000 tons would
permit.
Modern Navigation a Game of Hide
and Seek.
We saw no submarines by day and
by night we were not permitted to see
Our windows were suffered the
doors, save one hidden by a blanket
were roped shut and we were not per.
mitted the consolation of even smok.
ing on deck. So much for safety first
The theory of navigation nowadays
seems to be a game of hide and seek
If you can't disarm the other fellow at
least hide the target. The idea that a
long three deck ship with a promenade
of seven laps to the mile could hide
itself against the sky may seem alb.
>Ard on first thought but it isn't Sc
foolish as it seems. The sea is eX.
tremely wide and roomy. The ocean
liner has no fixed path. To sink a
boat one must first catch it, and in
the case of a sub it is necessary to get
to the spot first and wait there The
way they are painting the ships now
it is difficult to separate ship from
shadow and with the speed obtained
on our boat little time was allowed
for the other fellow to make up his
mind,
We were not however, concerned
about submarines. Far from it. Not
a passenger on the boat would admit
he was afraid Of EN- Occasionally
the submarine was used as a point to
some feeble joke, and everybody
laughed uproariously for fear he would
appear nervous. No. we were all very
careless and mind.free regarding subs
and torpedoes-but It will never be
known how many Of us slept with our
clothing on. But Of course none Of us
did this because we were afraid, We
had no lights by which to undress and
we are most Of us undecided as yet as
to whether we resented the incon
yenience or welcomed the excuse
Life on Board.
The easy life aboard a modern YES
sci in conducive to pleasure, We feed
well sleep we'll and loaf well-ordi
narily, But how can one feed well
when in the doorway Of the dining
room stands two stalwart Porto Rican
troopers with fixed bayonets, never
taking their eyes off group of Ger
man prisoners at the next table? OF
course we don't care so much about
the Germans, but suppose something
started A dining saloon is rather