Tabor City tribune. (Tabor City, N.C.) 1946-1991, 1956-01-11

of ours in total peace once
again.
Now, for my first story this
week, we will have to leave the
year 1856, and go back to the
year 1862: That year, is when
the custom of flashing A broom
to the mast of ship is supposed
to have gotten its start. Here is
the story.
Lashing a broom to a mast
to denote clean sweep" of
some nature or another, is a !
long continued custom said to
have had its origin nearly three
centuries ago.
In 1862, when Holland and
England were at conflict on the
sea, Maarten HarpertszoonI
tromp, a Dutch Admiral, dur:ngI
enc phase of the war succeeded
in defeating a detachment of the
British fleet between Dover and
DungvncSS and thus gained
temporary control Of the Eng
llSh Channcl.
1t is recorded that Admiral.
Tromp. in subsequent engage
HentS with the British, ordered.
his warships to carry broom
at the mast to indicate that they.
.uuld continue 10 sweep the.
seas. Although Tromp was kill.
ed i'll a battle soma months lat
G.. and the Dutch failed in their.
ultimate cndCavor 10 keep the.
seas clean of III, English. the
custom of carrying the broom
has been passed along TO this
day.
For many years the American
Navy hOistcd a broom at the
masthead Of ships that won
|summcry and engineering COM
petitions. During World War II.
u. S. submarines frequently re-
vivcd the custom by flashing
broom TO the pcriscupC prior to
The return TO bas2 10 indicate
.teat they had made n clean
Sweep Of enemy vessels en-
.ccuntcrcd on the patrol.
. My next story for this week
has 10 do with something that
has been identified with men of
the sea for many years. tattooS.
, The word tattoo" has several
meanings, but when sailor
hears the term he usually thinks
of either an ornamcntation Of
the skin, or the buglc call
sounded shortly before taps.
AS for the former, etomolo-
gists (pCOplc who make Il study
OF word origin agree that tat
too is a polyncSian origin and
derives from the Maori Ia. 10
|. SCAR. and the tahitian tatu. a
mark, punCturc or prickinG of
the skin.
a primitive practice. tattooing'
appears TO have started simply
as personal establishment. al
though various markings later
took on symbolic or hcraldic
Significance. Many wsrc of Soc
Iial or religious nature and 9TH
'crs served as crude marks of
Identification.
Scamcn accompanying early
explorers and traders 10 the
South Seas and Fast Indian Is
lands were quick to adopt the
custom as a fad. Tntoday's Navy
itatioi1G is discouraged and
! looked upon with disfavor. Of
fcnsivc, indecent or orsccn,
tattooing is cause for rejection
Tor enlistment. Tattoo mark, are
Tournament and can be r moved
icnly by long and often painful
Operations or process attended
with the risk of infection.
There is some divcrg nee Of
Iopinion as TO the derivation Of
Tattoo" in reference TO the cv-
ening buglc call sounded as a
signal TO repair TO quarters.
maintain silence and prepare 10
retire. However. most authorit-
les agree tnat the English word
comes from the old Dutch tap
toe a combination Of tap
fauccO and toe (to shut). The
Swedish. Russian, German and
Danish languages all have ap-
|Droximat-ly the same word.
n tap was a plug or spigot TO.
stop n hole in a cask. Later IL
applied 10 a hole or pine thro-
Ugh which liquor could be-.
drawn Today We have taproom.
beer on tap, etc, and of course.
the buglc call taps"
J Taptoe was corrupted to tap
too and eventually tattoo. In