Cheyenne record., 1919-02-13
CHAPTER !.
In the American Navy.

Ny father was a seaman, 90. nat
urally, all ny LIFE heard q great deal
about ships and the sea. Even when
I was q little boy. In Walston. Pa. I
thought about them Q whole lot and
wanted to be a sailor-especially .
sailor In the q. 8. navy.
You might say I was brought up on
the water.
When was twelve years old went
to sea a. 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,
especially In storm on the Newfound-
land Banks. where we lost our instru-
ments, and had a 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 shipped as flrst-class helms
man ON the British tramp Southern
down. q 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. I was on the SoutherndOwn
two years and In that time visited
most Of the important ports Of Eu-
rope. There 10 nothing like q tramp
steamer If you want to see the world.
hA L. Ak1~ ~ kHnMt
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 q voy.
age which landed me in New York
decided to get into the United States
navy. After laying around for a week
o. two enlisted and was assigned to
duty a. a second-class fireman.
People have said they thought I was
psetty small to be a fireman; they
have the idea that flremen must be big
men, Well, an 8 feet IN inches In
A1sht. and when was sixteen I was
inst a. tall - am now and weighed
QQ0 pounds. was q whole lot husk-
iQ then. too, for that was before my
Introduction 10 kultur in German pris-
on camps, and life there is not exactly
fatsnins-not exactly. do not know
Why II n, but II you win notice the
navy nrsmsn-the lads with the red
stripes around their left shoulder
you win ind that almost all Of them
xIe small men. But they are . husky
lot, s, ara.
Now. In the navy. they always haze
q newcomer until he shows that he
can take care Of himself. and got
mine very soon after I went into On
Gle Sans service. was washing my
clothes In q bucket on the forecastle
deck, and every garby (sailor) who
came along would give me or the
bucket q kick. and spill one or the
both Of US. Each time I would move
to some other place. but I always
seemed to be In somebody's way. B1-
hally saw Q marine coming. I was
nowhere near him, but he hauled out
Of his course to come up to me and
eave the bucket a boot that sent 1t
twenty feet away, at the same time
banding me q clout on the ear that
inst about Knocked me down. Now,
did not exactly know what a marine
vas. and this fellow Nad 20 many
stt1pes on his sleeves that I thought
he must be some sort Of ofncer, 30 I
Just stood by. There was . gold stripe
commissioned omcer) on the bridge
and I knew that II anything was
wrong be would cut in, 30 I kept look
ing up at him. but he stayed where he
Wa looedng on, and never saying .
Vssd And all the time the marine
- slamminS me about and telling
- to Gst the hsll out Of there.
Finally I said to myself. tn get
- guy II it's the brig for a month"
b I planted him one in the kidneys
and another = the mouth, and he went
aeaA - against the ran But hs
ea0e baek at - strong and we WaE0
at it eee some 0AA
Dst wAW n vas syse The epld stz1ps