The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1918-07-19
CHAPTER |.
In the American Navy.


My father was a seaman, so, nat
urally, all my life heard a great dea
about ships and the sea. Even wher
Il was little boy, in Walston, Pa,
thought about them a whole lot ant
wanted to be sailor-especially 9
sailor in the q. S. navy.
You might say / was brought up on
The water.
When | was twelve years old / went
10 sea as cabin boy on the whaler
Therifus, out of Boston She was an
old square-rigged sailing ship, built
more for work than for speed. We
were out four months on my first
cruise, and got knocked around lot,
especiallyin storm on the Newfound-
land Banks, where we lost our instru-
ments, and had a hard time navigat-
sng the ship. Whaling crews work on
shares and during the two years was
on the Therifus my shares amounted
to fourteen hundred dollars.
/. Then I shipped as first-class helms
man on the British tramp Southern
down, a twin-screw steamer out of
Liverpool. Many people are surprised
that fourteen-year-old boy should be
helmsman on an ocean-going craft,
but all over the world you will see
young lads doing their trick at the
wheel. / was on the Southerndown
two years and In that time visited
most of the important ports of Eu-
rope. There is nothing like a 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 rugged up like a 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 1
decided to get into the United States
navy. After laying around for a week
or two enlisted and was assigned to
duty as second-class fireman.
People have said they thought was
pretty small to be a fireman; they
have the idea that fremen must be big
men. Well, am feet 71z inches In
height, and when / was sixteen I was
just as tall as l am now and weighed
1853 pounds. / was whole lot hUsk-
Ter then, too, for that was before my
Introduction to kultur in German pris-
on camps, and life there is not exactly
fattening-not exactly. / do not know
why it is, but if you will notice the
navy fremen-the lads with the red
stripes around their left shoulders ,
you will find that almost all of them
are small men. But they are husky
OF
Now, in the navy, they always haze |
/ newcomer until he shows that he
an take care of himself, and 1 got
nine very soon after went into Un-
lie Sans service. / was washing my
lothes in bucket on the forecastle
leck, and every garby (sailor) who 4
anne along would give me or the a
'ucket kick, and spill one or the 1
9th Of us. Each time would move O
0 some other place, but / always u
eemed to be in somebody's way. FL "
ally saw marine coming. 1 was a
6where near him, but he hauled out v
his course to come up to me and n
ave the bucket boot that sent it
venty feet away, at the same time hi
adding me clOut on the ear that m
IT about knocked me down. Now,
Id not exactly know what a marine II
-, and this fellow had so many o.
1opes on his sleeves that I thought Ct
} must be some sort Of officer, SO I m
= stood by. There was gold stripe ht
of1cer) on the bridge til
= / knew that If anything was ca
Fung he would cut In, so kept look ",
\ mp at him, but he stayed where he in
=, looking on, and never saying a VII
nd And all the time the marine Of
II slamming me about and telling N,
/ to get the hell out Of there. try
Finally said to myself, "I1l get no
y guy II IT'S the brig for month" mt
4 planted him one In the kidneys ga
q another In the mouth, and he went
IN up against the rail. But he ste
ne back at me strong, and we were ex
~ tor some time. kn
3ut whan II was over the gold stripe til,