Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1920-05-25
WOODEN SHIPS AND IRON MEN

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WOODEN SHIPS AND IRON MEN"
What Is the world coming to- any.
way; The Graphic editor has an nd
vertisement sent out by the Navy De-
partment holding out the alluring in
ducement Of n laundry aboard ship for
the cleansing Of linen for the ships
company. Shades OF Davy Jones.-or
was II Paul Jonesi Not only do mod
ern bluejackets have their clothes
made and washed for them. but they
have regular bath rooms with hot and
cold water and other luxuries that
would have made the memo -warsmen
OF the old school swear at the effemi-
nate tendencies Of the age.
The Graphic editor received his train
Ing aboard the old 4. $. s. Essex, Of
immortal fame; life was otherwise
aboard the gallant old hooker. She
had been built before the days of
steam; sloop Of war. sixteen guns, bark
rugged and a flush spar deck, gun
deck, berth deck and hold carrying
about 800 men and boys-don't forget
that, In the old days, the boys were an
important part Of the ships company,
both aloft and at the guns.
In them days" as the old jimmy legs
used to say. 1--WE had wooden ships ana
iron men now we have iron ships and
wooden men," Those were the days Of
simplicity and iron discipline. Being Il
fOrsaken crew the Simperlng senti-
mentalists did not discover the "cruel-
ties" practiced upon us-wc boys from
II to Is years Of age. Most of us look
back upon those days with tender re-
membranes of lots Of things.
We received but quart Of fresh
water day and the jimmy legs dOled
II out from the scuttlc butt in the
morning. Graft was rife then ns now
and | can remember that we once
complained at the mast" Of the jimmy
legs habit Of allowing some water to
remain each time In his quart measure
water that he afterward appropriated
to his own use or dispensed TO his
friends. Win this quart OF water we
were expected to make our morning
toilet stripped TO the waist on the spar
deck, summer or winter; subsequent
toilets were made with salt water and
"paymaster's bouquet salt water
soap that would take the dirt and hide
together. We soon learned not to get
the combination into our hair. One
wash II day sufficed.
We were eXpected-nay, required
TO wash out one suit of underwear an1
one white Uniform each morning In the
tropics and TO appear al morning quar-
ters with the clothes scrubbed" the
day before. They were scrubbed with
n brush when the deck was wet down"
I'm the morning. using salt water and
the soap mentioned before. If you have
ever tried TO cleanse anything with salt
water you will appreciate that elbow
grease" * one Of the required elements
of the laundry process.
There was one source Of fresh water
that has not been mentioned water
melted from the ice In the skipper's
pantry But the ships carpenter
"chips" II vested right tn this
which he perpetuated TO himself by al
lowing the orderly small portion. This
arrangement showed wisdom on his
part for the orderly would certainly
have appropriated some or all Of il to
himself In the dead OF night The Ora
phic editor stood his watch before the 4
skipper's quarters aft on the gun deck .
many night and scrubbed his clothes /
in the fresh water that seemed then I
so luxurious waiting until well after
midnight for the drip. drip, drip he
meath the Ice box to fill deck bucket
Near the end Of II long voyage the ice
would he used up and the water car
red In the hold would become brnckish
and almost as "gummy" as the salt
water.
Some OF MS had heard of bath tubs
and few of us may have seen them
in early life, but the officers and men
aboard the good ship Essex enjoyed no
such luxury Of decadent generation.
When the boatswaln piped "all hands
In the morning we had just seven min
Ites Ia dress, lash our hammocks on
he gun deck and carry them TO the
hammock netting on the spar deck
Woe to the last few on the gun or berth
leck. The petty officers always car
ried monkey fists"-a short length of
utllne with hard knot at the end.
he whole STEPPED in tar and as hard
rs brick Our soft driii breechcs
we're small protection against the re-
Deated application Of this -persuader."
md we WED with each other to see who
,ould get his hammock slowed In the
letting first. A petty officer was ON {
land there to see that our hammocks
we're properly lashed with seven turns
md he measured the size of It by pass ,
ng II through hole In board. II too /
arge, back to the gun deck and the
lreaded monkey fist. We took our
,ath each morning and accomplished 4
'ur ablutiOns by letting a deck bucket Il
iver the side and dousing its contents '
ver our bare bodies; in winter this
vas cool process that was kept 10 4
Efficiency hV liberal applicatiOn of a [