When a battleship is hurling shot and shell at an enemy, the brave deeds
of the officers and men on board are told from one end of the land to
the other; but how many people know how these men live from day to day,
when the great ship is lying in the harbor, or cruising peacefully about
the seas?
Who makes the lieutenant's bed and buys his food? Most people think that
the government provides all that he needs; but this is not so. He must
carry his own bed linen to sea with him and arrange for his own food.
The officers choose one of their number to buy the provisions, and he
must give good meals at one dollar a day for each man. At the end of
the month, every officer pays this amount out of his salary.
The first meal of the day is always eggs, and is served at any time from
7:30 until 8:30 in the morning. If ever a naval officer invites you to
breakfast, he does not expect you to come to this meal. He calls a
twelve o'clock luncheon breakfast, and will give you a substantial meal
at that time. Dinner is served at 6 or 6:30, and, on the flagship, is
accompanied by the band.
The ward-room boys who wait upon the officers are almost all Japanese.
Because their names are so hard to pronounce, every one is called
"William." When the big ship is hurling shot and shell in time of
battle, where is William? In the pantry washing dishes? No, indeed.
Somebody must be down in the magazine putting the powder on the hoists
which carry it up to the guns. This is William's work. In time of fire,
it is he who holds the nozzle of the hose, or who brings hammocks to
smother the flames.
Now "Jacky," as the sailor man is called, does not provide his food or
his bed-linen. His bed is a hammock, and it is a very different one
from those we swing on our porches in summer. It is made of canvas, with
ropes in the ends. He has a mattress and a blanket in his bed, and he
always keeps them there.
At five o'clock in the morning the bugle calls, and Jacky has six
minutes in which to scramble out of his bed and get into his clothes.
Then he must roll up his hammock and stow it away. Jacky then has some
hard tack and coffee before he goes to work.
From half-past five until six he does his laundry work. He wears white
suits and must wash them himself; untidiness is never excused. The
clothes are then hung so as to be dry for the inspection drill which
will come at half-past nine.
Then for one hour, the ship is scrubbed. Water pours over the decks in
streams. Every nook and cranny is numbered, and each man has his own
number to keep clean.
By half-past seven there is nothing cleaner on land or sea. The ship
shines from prow to stern, and the decks are clean enough to eat from.
Every piece of metal is polished until it glitters in the sunlight.
When this is finished, Jacky has his breakfast. The government allows
thirty cents a day for the rations of each sailor. The paymaster serves
out food enough to last several days or sometimes a week, and if the
cook does not make this last the crew must go hungry.
The sailors are divided into "messes," each mess having its own cook who
is under the direction of the general ship's cook. Jacky has no
table-cloth or napkins. He washes his own tin plate, cup, knife, fork,
and spoon, when he has finished his hasty meal.
At eight o'clock, he is dressed for the day, and the colors go up. From
then until six o'clock in the evening he is busy with different drills
and duties about the ship. In the evening, from six until eight o'clock,
Jacky has an easy time. It is then that he takes his ease, smoking his
pipe and singing his songs.
At nine o'clock "taps" are sounded, and once more he rolls up in his
hammock for the night.
Saturday is mending day, and every man must do his own work. Some of the
men make their own clothes, although there is a tailor on board. In the
ship's crew there are also barbers, shoemakers, and printers.
On Sunday morning, the captain goes about the ship and gravely inspects
the men, and it is then that each one tries to look his best. Then they
must all attend religious services, after which they rest most of the
day.
The marines on a ship-of-war are men about whom most people know
nothing. A marine is not a sailor. He is a soldier who does duty on a
warship. He is a kind of policeman, and sees that Jacky behaves himself.
He wears a soldier's uniform and has soldier's drills.
The marines have their own mess and their own sleeping space, forming a
community of their own.
Perhaps some boys and girls may think that the captain and his officers
have a much easier time than Jacky or the marines. This is not so. In
the first place, they had many studies to master before they could be
officers. They had to learn a great deal about mathematics, mechanical
and electrical engineering, navigation, gunnery, and international law.
And then these studies are never ended; the progress that is made in
them, each year all over the world, must be known by each officer.
The officers are responsible for the lives of the crew and the safety of
the ship. They must be ready to think and act quickly in emergencies. In
hours of peril they never leave their posts.