THE O.S. (ORDINARY SEAMAN).
In the days when the A.B. was properly considered to be a man who had
learned his trade, and would have been ashamed to ship as an A.B.
unless he were fully capable of doing any job of sailorizing that was
given him, the O.S. was quite an institution. He was a young seaman
who had been through a time of considerable tribulation as a ship-boy;
but, having grown bigger and stronger, able to take his trick at the
wheel, and make himself felt in furling sails, he ventured to take a
step up the ladder. There was no specified manner in which this was to
be done. With that haphazard disregard of the seamen's best interests
which has characterized our Mercantile Marine for many generations, it
was left to chance. One would have thought that a recognized method
would have been for a boy to present himself before certain properly
constituted authorities for an examination into his qualifications, and
that, having satisfied them that he was able to do all that an ordinary
seaman should be capable of, they would grant him a certificate to that
effect.
Nothing of the sort. Sometimes a boy would make friends with an
officer, who would report favourably upon him to the master at the end
of a voyage, and then that master might, if he remembered it or felt
so disposed, give to the boy an ordinary seaman's "discharge." Or if
he were a big fellow, the boy might get a master to ship him as an
O.S., even though he had nothing but a boy's discharge to show. The
whole business was as slipshod as it could well be, for it depended
entirely upon the caprice or kindliness of the master granting it.
There was just this in its favour, that it recognized an A.B. as a
seaman who had been through the regular routine of boy and O.S. before
he became an A.B., so that the presumption was entirely in favour of
his having learned his business. But, as I have shown, perhaps with
what might be brutal clearness, in the preceding pages, that has all
been changed. Under present conditions you _may_ occasionally find an
ordinary seaman on board of a ship, but be very sure that if you do he
is having it drummed into him every watch that he is a fool. "Why," he
will be asked, "should you ship as O.S. when there's plenty of A.B.'s
going that don't know the knight heads from the main-brace, bumpkin?
Don't be a fool. You might just as well have the other pound or thirty
shillings a month as them fellows that ain't half as good as you are!"
And presently he thinks so too, so that he makes up his mind that he'll
never be an O.S. any more.
That determination is mightily strengthened if he happen to be on board
of a ship where there are two or three modern A.B.'s, wastrels who
would be dear if they came for nothing a month and found themselves;
as, for instance, when I was an O.S. in a big ship going out to New
Zealand. There was never a job of work came my way that I didn't do as
if it was going before a Bench of Examiners. I was as nervous of blame
and delighted at commendation as if I had been striving for a valuable
prize. But we had among our A.B.'s four men (if I can call them so) who
were not worth a penny a day, and one black night it was my hap to be
on the main royal yard with one of them for the purpose of furling the
sail. Had the weather been what it should at the furling of this, the
loftiest sail in the ship, I should not have so much minded; but our
redoubtable skipper was always loth to waste one breath of a fair wind,
and so he had "hung on" until it looked as if the three huge masts
would have been blown clean out of her. Then all hands were called in
hot haste, royals, top-gallant-sails, and other top-sails were lowered
all at once, and a pretty fine job it was with our crowd. However, as I
have said, I found myself up there on that giddy height, with all those
vast sails battering far below me, a gale of wind roaring against me,
a sail before me that was straining madly to tear itself away from its
confining gear, and a helpmate who was absolutely paralyzed with fear,
an A.B. an't please you.
I did not know what was the matter with him. Being on the weather-side
of the yard, I was doing my best to get the sail quiet; and although
I wondered greatly what had become of Johnnie, I could not go round
and see. At last, after a hard struggle, I succeeded in getting the
sail snug, only to find that there were no "gaskets" on the yard
(gaskets are small ropes used to wind round the sails and the yards
to keep the sails fast when they are furled). All there was available
for the securing of what I had gained was the "bunt-gasket," a little
criss-crossed piece of plaited spun yarn, which is fitted to hold
fast the centre or bunt of the sail when it is furled--a feeble thing
at the best, but, such as it was, I made use of it to the best of my
ability. Then, twisting my legs round the royal back stay, I slid down
to the deck, rushed below into the bo'sun's locker, and cut off several
fathoms of ratline stuff (small rope). I must here admit that she was a
very slackly ruled ship. Such a piece of impudence by any seaman would
never be allowed, because it would not be necessary, on board of a
properly managed vessel.
Having secured my gaskets, I hurried aloft and made the sail fast. When
the work was done, I discovered Johnnie, clinging like a bat to the
extreme lee-end of the yard. I shouted to him till I was hoarse, but
he made no sign, so I left him, for I did not care to run the risk of
putting two men's weight upon the lift; and, moreover, I was something
scornful at that A.B.'s behaviour. I went below and helped in the work
that was being done until the time came for us to go below, and there
was Johnnie, the A.B., talking as boldly as the rest, and ordering me
to do this, that, and the other. Then a little explanation ensued,
and from that night forward I took orders from him no more. But I had
learned something, and when the time came I met the bo'sun, and put the
question to him whether he did not think I was as well worthy of an
A.B.'s discharge as some of the fellows who had been unable to do the
work that I had undertaken. In the result I got my coveted piece of
paper, and never sailed as O.S. afterwards.
The precise definition of an ordinary seaman's duties has never been
laid before me. But I fancy that those three qualifications which are
often spoken of as the desiderata for an A.B. should more properly be
applied to the O.S., viz. that he should be able to hand, reef, and
steer. Once, and once only, was any question raised with me when I was
an O.S. about my qualification, and that was by a man who was very sore
indeed at having to pay £3 per month for my services. I joined the
vessel in Sydney, where A.B.'s wages were, at the time, £5 a month for
deep water, resisting all the skipper's efforts to get me for £2 10_s._
a month. This so annoyed him, that he tried in various ways to pick
holes in my work, and at last declared that I could not steer (although
I never missed a trick during the whole voyage), and also that I was
not competent to "cross a royal yard," which was fantastically untrue.
I should very much like to explain how this piece of work is done, but
am almost afraid, because of the inevitable use of technical terms.
Still, I feel that I have not worried my readers much, so far, with sea
language, and that perhaps some would like to hear just a little bit of
sailor-talk.
It must be understood that this piece of work is one of the smallest
of rigging manœuvres that is performed on board ship. By "rigging
manœuvres" I mean work aloft which is not always being done or undone,
such as furling or setting sails. In fact, the work aloft of a ship
may be divided into three categories--the temporary, the sub-permanent,
and the permanent. Under the heading of temporary work comes the
setting and furling of sails. Sub-permanent work is the shifting of
sails--heavy-weather canvas for that carried in the doldrums and
trades, and the manipulation of studding-sail gear--although this
latter, except in old ships, rarely troubles sailors much to-day.
But permanent work, by far the most important, and demanding the
greatest amount of seamanship, includes all the care of the standing
rigging, the sending up or down of masts and yards, and the thousand
and one repairs that are necessary in order that the mazy fabric of a
sailing ship's top-hamper may do its work of propulsion in association
with the wind. Of all the heavier work of this kind, _i.e._ shifting
the yards and masts, that of handling the royal and sky-sail yards is
the most frequently indulged in; for many skippers commanding old ships
dare not put too much strain upon the lighter masts in heavy weather,
and they therefore make a rule of sending down the loftiest yards when
they bend their heavy-weather sails. Now, a royal yard _in situ_ is
a spar of, say, thirty-five feet in length (varying, of course, with
the size of the ship), seven or eight inches in diameter in the slings
(the centre), and tapering at both ends, or yard-arms, to four inches,
or even less. By means of three (sometimes only one) encircling iron
sling-bands in its centre, it is attached to an iron, leather-lined
collar, which goes round the royal mast, and is called the "parral."
It is also suspended by a chain "tye," which leads through a
sheave-hole at the masthead, and is connected on the after-side to a
purchase for hoisting the yard, the whole tackle constituting the royal
"haulyards," "halliards," or "halyards," the latter for choice.
From each yard-arm to the masthead run pieces of rope, which are tight
when the yard is lowered. They are called "lifts," and are for the
purpose of keeping the yard horizontal, and of sustaining the extra
weight put upon it by men who go upon it for any purpose. Looped abaft
the yard are the "foot-ropes," upon which the men stand when furling
or bending the sail, and attached to each yard-arm are the "braces"
for the purpose of slinging the yard from one side to the other. All
this gear is for the yard alone. Then there is the sail, with a rope
running through a block under both quarters of the yard, and down
to the corners of the sail abaft all, the "clew-lines," while from
a block at the masthead another rope runs down through a block or
bull's-eye seized on to the tye close down to the yard, and so, being
forked before-all to the foot of the sail, where it is seized, one leg
on either side to the foot. This is the "bunt-line." The clew-lines,
bunt-lines, halyards, and braces are worked from the deck, and
constitute the "running-gear" of the sail.
From the foregoing perfunctory description of the gear attached to
_one_ of the lightest yards in the ship, some slight idea may be
gathered of the immense combination of cordage required to work about
thirty sails, some with much more gear than a royal, of course. But my
principal object in attempting to describe the gear of the royal yard
was to show what used to be considered fair work for an ordinary seaman
in "crossing" it. The running gear was, of course, already aloft; the
standing gear and the sail were sent up with the yard, which was swayed
aloft by a long rope running through the sheave-hole in the masthead,
from which the halyards were temporarily unrove. The youngster charged
with the duty of crossing the yard goes aloft as it is swayed up,
guiding it clear of the rigging as it jerkily ascends. Of course it is
so secured that it rises vertically, and the work of keeping it clear
of the rigging when the ship tumbles about is by no means easy; and, of
course, the higher it ascends the greater is the motion, until, when
it is high enough, it often taxes the utmost strength and skill of
the smartest youngster to deal with it. As the upper yard-arm reaches
the top-gallant masthead he must put on the brace and lift for that
side and cast off the "yard-arm stop," then, as speedily afterwards
as possible, get the lower brace on, and the lift for that side also
secure. As soon as that is done, he can, by casting loose the quarter
stop, allow the yard to be lowered in its proper horizontal position.
It will now be supported by the lifts, so that he can fix the parral to
the mast, and those on deck having steadied the braces tight, the worst
of his troubles are over.
He can now "come up" the yard rope by which the yard has been hoisted,
and, letting it run down on deck, reeve the tye of the halyards in its
place. Then he must secure all the gear to the sail properly, sheets,
clew-lines, and bunt-lines, loose the sail, sing out "Sheet home the
royal," "light up" the gear, and, when the sail is set, "stop" it
loosely with one turn of roping-twine, so that it will not chafe the
sail by being stretched tightly over it, and come down. If he can do
all that smartly and well, in spite of the ship's uneasy motion, he is
superior to two-thirds of the so-called able seamen of to-day.
In the absence of a boy, the ordinary seaman is also the lackey of the
watch in an English ship. The law in this respect is unwritten, and
I have seen a sturdy youngster successfully appeal against it. There
is really no reason why an O.S. should be compelled to sweep up the
fo'c'sle after every meal, keep the men's plates, knives, and forks
clean, trim the lamp, make the cracker-hash, etc. But few indeed are
the fo'c'sles where an O.S. would be able to claim exemption from such
servitude. And if he did get off from dancing attendance upon the
men in his watch below, he would almost certainly be made to do much
of their legitimate work during the watch on deck. For that is one
of the worst features of British ships--that, owing to the peculiar
want of discipline which obtains, so much work that should be fairly
distributed falls upon those who are either indisposed to grumble or
are in a junior position.
For instance, in a sailing ship, let us say, which carries no boys
or apprentices, but an O.S. in each watch, that young man during his
watch on deck will certainly be expected to keep on the _qui vive_.
If he have the good fortune to be commanded by a thoughtful officer,
he will probably be allowed to take a regular trick at the wheel, in
spite of the grumbling of the men, many of whom will be no better than
he is, if as good. But in the great majority of cases he must mount
guard near the break of the poop during his watch on deck at night,
solely in order that he may pass the word along to the sleeping men,
or do himself any job that he can manage without disturbing them. When
any work has been done that requires them all, he will do the lion's
share of it--I have often seen the whole watch standing waiting for an
O.S. to do something, because every one of them was too lazy to make
a start, and the young officer did not care to risk a row by sending
any particular man; and when the pulling and hauling is done, the last
"belay" or "well" has been cried, the men all slouch off to their
corners and pipes, or sleep again, leaving the O.S. to go the round of
the ship and coil up all the ropes.
Of course I am not quoting this as a great hardship. I only mention
it to show how peculiar are the notions held by foremast hands of
the duties of boys and ordinary seamen. It was doubtless a very good
training for the latter, this being made to do everything possible
while the men looked on criticizingly, but it was often carried to
cruel lengths. I have myself seen as well as experienced such treatment
of an O.S. in a ship's fo'c'sle at the hands of men, who certainly did
not deserve to wield any authority, as was sufficient to make a lad
wish himself dead. Worse, remember, for the O.S. than the boy. What do
you think of a fine young man being compelled to wait for his food till
every one else in the fo'c'sle is served, to find then that of his poor
allowance he had been robbed nearly half; made to feel at all times
that the only object of his existence during his watch below was to be
the body-servant of eight or ten men, to preserve before them a silent,
respectful demeanour, and to consider himself honoured if any of them
addressed him in any other than terms of opprobrium? Yet all this might
be changed, has often been changed, in a moment. If one of the little
kings in a burst of magnificent rage at some dereliction of duty on
the part of his slave--fo'c'sle not swept clean, or plate not washed
quickly--struck the O.S. a shameful blow, and the latter had the grit
to return it with interest, following it up with a victory over his
aggressor, thenceforward that fo'c'sle would not be a bad place for the
hitherto-put-upon junior. But under the altered conditions of modern
sea-service this fo'c'sle etiquette is being swept away, and soon will
have as completely disappeared as the reluctance to sail on Friday has
before the necessities of steam.