The Cordova daily times. [volume] (Cordova, Alaska) 1914-1947, 1917-12-31

forbidden aboard a transport to yell
excessively at the hushed boxing
boxing matches between the engineers
and a hospital corps, say. You may
not join in the leathern.lunged cries
by which one naturally expresses ones
emotions in such an hour. You are
not allowed to roar out Paste him
wan in the puss"-or, at least, not
too many of you at once. You may
not even say "Attaboy" in chorus 1t
is very hard
The officers, non-comm1ssioned Of
ficers, (some of them.) and the
nurses take up the first and second
cabins. The troops are packed below
in quarters that accommodate about
$50 each, dim lit dormitories that
vaguely recall at night the opium den
scene in THE Man Who Game Back"
the men sleeping in tiers of three ex-
cept for those sufficiently alert to take
up their shelter-halfs, ponchos, blank
cts and life-preservers and stake out
an early claim for six feet each of
deck space. After shutdown the decks
are literally carpetet1 with men in
olive drab, those sleeping forward on
the forecastle deck being prudent
enough to lash their shoe laces to the
iron work lest they roll off in the
dark of the moon and be forever rank
ed as deserters.
Sunrise Bath Under the Hose.
On deck, too, the men spread out
for mess unless the day be rainy,
experimenting the regular fare with
such delicacies as they can find at
the canteens aboard Or as they may
have struggled on deep down in their
barracks bags. On deck, also, the
men battle AT least in one transport
they battle on deck, emerging at chill
sunrise to dance uneasily in front of
a streaming hose welded by a deck
hand, whose rich reward for his trou-
.ble is the pleasure of filling with salt
water the occasional shoes left care
lessly within his reach Sometimes you
may see an entire battery being
drench at one moment; it is like a
much multiplied picture of the old
swimming hole
1 There is a good deal of work aboard
transport The various detachments
have their organizations to perfect
en- route, and in the quondam smoking
room of happier days there can now
/ be heard the click of many typewrit
ers. There there is the big business
OF keeping the troops fed and of keep,
ing them and the ship herself clean.
There is plenty of work to do, between
boat drills and NEGOTIATIONS.
/ But is it not all work. There are
amusements aplenty-mostly cards.
There are some rather frenzied games
OF craps and banker-and-broker, ac-
companied by bent heads. groans,
curses and heathenish incantations.
UT, rather, there were such rames,
until word of them went alof., and
there came down an ominous order
foroldding all gambling of any kind.
Ihen there are rubbers of bridge,
prayed with the understanding that
the winners will dine sometime at
the expense of the losers at some
boulevard cafe somewhere in France.
mere are tournaments, too, of bridge
ana pinochle, leading toward prizes
oIefed by the commanding officer.
IL Is no easy thing, by the way, to
play cards with the deck as a table
"heh the wind is taking such an in
,erest in the game that It is madness
10 let card out of your hand for
moment. Just when you have bid
no trumps. you are likely suddenly
TO 'ose three aces and an unguarded
king. |
Then there are entertainments
worked up for the hour before sun
set group of volunteer vocalists
is hkely to assemble any evening in
the forward spar deck and burst in
to song. Last riuht ,,,o,, to,~ l,aa,~