Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1918-09-12
CHAPTER l.
In tho American Navy.

NV NAN "n0 " ~ 4oV
Ar=xay. sAl my tie I heard a great deal
sixssE Etips and the sea. Even when
q was q little boy. in Walston. Pa, I
1avaght about them a whole lot and
xaa1tsa to he a sailor-especially q
rossw IN the q. S. navy.
yu~ might say l was brought up on
e4sss usNter.
When I was twelve years old I went
as swn as cabin boy on the whaler
EAxr~dss, ont Of Boston. She vas an
ssfs4 s4uare.rigged sailing ship, built
axss,s fer work than for speed. We
seexe out four months on my first
a.rsSxe. and got knocked around a lot,
esEarfaNy In a storm ON the Newfound.
4s.ak Eanks, where we lost our instru.
5~yntss aud had 4 hard time navigat-
issxr Sae ship. Whaling crews work on
ztrsnca and during the two years I was
ss.a The Therlfus my shares amounted
81 ssusteen hundred dollars.
'yfRn I shipped as first.class helms
ns0 "a the British tramp Southern
AEs.n. a twin-screw steamer out Of
AR~Rzpcoi. Many people are surprised
sAot a fourteen.year-old boy should be
sbsiszsanan on an ocean-going craft.
asG MI ever the world you will see
9ssznE lads doing their trick at the
7~tsAg4. I was on the Southerndown
1wpr years and In that time visited
ssssxk Ut the important ports Of Eu.
assCe- There is nothing like a tramp
sss.saner II you want to see the world.
Fs7se. Ssutherndown Is the vessel that,
hi Ne faii Of 1917. sighted a German
IagAak rugged up like a sailing ship.
AAahough I liked visiting the foreign
anE4k ! got tired Of the Southerndown
aEanr d while and at the end Of q voy-
axes which landed me in New York l
sxneiHsd to get into the United States
aarsx- After laying around for a week
ar two I enlisted and was assigned to
shsAU rs a second.class fireman.
1ss,ple have said they thought I was
EsrFsSU small to be a fireman; they
ahssoa the idea that iremen must be big
HsaM. Well, I am S feet ~ inches in
aa,s.&1. and when I was sixteen I was
Last ss tall al I am now and weighed
ESX Dsunds. ! was a whole lot husk-
'O-- tAep. too. for that was before my
I~H.YManrti0n to kultur in German pris-
n aEsnps. and life there is not exactly
aAttaslng-n0t exactly. I do not know
vssag IL is. but II you will notice the
HfaRx hremen-the lads with the red
.asx-fsss around their left shoulders
y*SE will find that almost all of them
~. small men. But they are a husky
tEms-
Nnw. In the navy, they always haze
~ #sssrcner until he shows that he
<a1 take care Of himself, and I got
Htass. very % after I went into On.
sss Sans service. I was washing my
,foeAss In a bucket ON the forecastle
" 4sk. and every garby (%sailor) who
. Fssme along would give me or the
As6lEse q kick. and spill one or the
NAAA II us. Each time I would move
40 ssne other place, but / always
MEsned to be in somebody's way. ri.
z uaaky I saw a marine coming. I was
n1uaere near him, but he hauled out
~ NJ course to come mp to me and
7nnc the bucket q boot that sent It
npenty feet away. at the same time
tfasssang me a clout on the ear that
tsssS Uncut knocked me down. Now,
da not exactly know what a marine
~nA and this fellow had so many
saEScss on his sleeves that I thought
H zsust be some sort Of officer, 90 /
" I'M stood BY. There was a gold stripe
y sassnslssioned oficer) on the bridge
'azxA i knew that II anything was
~Essg he would cut Ia, so I kept look.
tuse ~ at him, but he stayed where he
wsxs looking gu. and never saying q
wunssl And all tho time the marine
'uEok ssamnnlng me about and telling
rsa . get tho hell out Of there.
3lnally I said to myself, 'T1l get
- xuy II It's tho brig for 1 month"
- planted him one In tho kidneys
~ aaoshcr In the mouth. and ne went
s1Amn mp against the rail. But he
S1aae hack at me strong. and We vese
IT Z Tor some time.
Lat when II was over ths gold stzipe