The Kadoka press and Kadoka reporter. [volume] (Kadoka, S.D.) 1910-1923, 1918-09-20
CHAPTER I.
In the American Navy.


Ny father was a seaman. so, nat
urally, all my life heard a great deal
about ships and the sea. Even when
was little boy, in WalstOn, Pa. l
thought about them a whole lot and
wanted 10 be sailor-especially a
sailor In the U. S. navy.
You might say / was brought up on
the water.
When l was twelve years old went
10 sea as cabin boy on the whaler
TherIfus, out OF Boston. She was an
old square-rlgged sailing ship. built
more for work than for speed. We
were out four months on my first
cruise, and got knocked around a lot,
especially in a storm on the NewfOund-
land Banks, where we lost our instru-
ments, and had hard time navigat.
Ing the ship. Whaling crews work on
shares and during the two years was
on the Therifus my shares amounted
to fourteen hundred dollars.
Then l shipped as first-class helms
man on the British tramp Southern
down, twin-screw steamer out OF
Liverpool. Many people are surprised
that fourteen-year-old boy should be
helmsman on an ocean-golng craft,
but all over the world you will see
young lads doing their trick at the
wheel. l was on the Southerndown
two years and In that time visited
most OF the important ports Of Eu-
rope. There is nothing like & tramp
steamer If you want to see the world.
The SOutherndoWn is the vessel that,
In the fall OF 1917, sighted a German
U-boat rigged up like sailing ship.
Although liked visiting the foreign
ports, got tired OF the Southerndown
after while and at the end OF voy-
age which landed me In New York l
decided to get into the United States
navy. After laying around for week
or two | enlisted and was assigned to
duty as n socOnd-class fireman.
People have said they thought l was
pretty small to be Il fireman; they
have the idea that firemen must be big
men. We'll, am feet 7la inches in
height, and when j was sixteen / was
just as tall as / am now and weighed
163 pounds. was a whole lot husk'
Ter then, too, for that was before my
Introduction TO llultur in German pris-
on camps, and life there Is not exactly
fattening-nOt exactly. 1 do not know
why IL is but If you viii notice the
navy flremen--the lads with the REQ
stripes around their left shoulders
are small men. But they are q husky
lot
Now, In the navy, they always haze
n newcomer until he shows that he
can take care of himself, and l go'
mine very soon after / went into Un
Gle Sans service. / was washing my
clothes In a bucket on the forecastlC
deck, and every garby (sailor) WHIT
came along would give me or the
bucket a kick, and spill one or the
both Of us. Each time I would move
10 some other place, but i always
seemed TO be in somebody's way. III
nally l saw n marine coming. / wa
nowhere near him, but he hauled on
Of his course to come up 10 me ant
gave the bucket boot that sent |
twenty feet away, at the same tim
handing me Il clout on the ear tina
just about knocked me down. Now
did not exactly know what n marin
was. and this fellow had so man
stripes on his sleeves that / though
he must be some sort of officer, so
just stood by. There was a gold strip
Commissioned officer) on the bridg
and l knew that If anything wa
wrong he would cut in, so l kept lool
ing up at him., but he stayed where h
was, looking on, and never saying
word. And all the time the marin
kept slamming me about and tellin
me TO get the he'll out of there.
Finally said to myself, "I1l &c
this guy II It's the brig for a month.
SO / planted him one in the kidney
and another in the mouth, and he wen
clean up against the rail. But h
came back at me strong. and we wer
st IL for some time.
But when II was over the gold strip,