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Show JACK TAU AT WgiSK. " JCST WHAT A SAILOR HAS TO DO KACII BAY OS SHIP.KOARD. The mate of a squaif-rlggej ,ner-cliantuuui ,ner-cliantuuui Oius ilCM.nbeU Uie life of au ableKHlk-U Muiaa on a loan voyaijc to a Xtw York Time re-ixrtr. re-ixrtr. A tailor may be said to be-Si" be-Si" Ills ilay'a ork with Uie "jaorn-lug "jaorn-lug watch" at o o'clock, when lie mutt turu out of hU narrow bunk In the 'fo'ca&tle" and tumble uii ou Ueck prepartil to ;ruli and wash down deck. wTileh arealwaji. more or la badly .talned with tall water and iron rutt. Plenty of water for cleaning Hirix5, la always near al hand, and with the aid of buckeU and ordinary brooms, brushes or Hjut-sees" Jack Usually succeeds lu making things tolerably cleau. lluti tliL-hliiplscuniluh'intoiort and the captain wishes the decks to look jarticularly white, Jack muat godoviu ou lux bauds aud knees and scour the decks wllh all the Igor of achamomau with certaiu articles calltrtl "holyttoues." Jsow, holystones are not tome treasured fragmeuts of some classical shrine, but common-looking pieec. of sand-stouu sand-stouu about the size of a brick, aud it is not too much to eav that poetry abandons the uaulkaf mind wheu the hoi stoning profits becomes necessary. The operation isalnas long auu laborious, and the only rc-tpito rc-tpito Jack has front this odious task Is in K)lisliliig tarnished brassttork or being ordered aloft to attend to some troublesome sail or b.tof running run-ning gear. CoiiMiiueiilly, by eight o'cIoi-K, uhen lie is relieved by the "forenoon" ualcli.Iie lias Iiad suftl-cient suftl-cient esercise to get up au altUe for breakfast mtli as is .rarely equaled or surju?cd by anj thing human. Tnls meal, year in aud year out, consists ofa liberal supply of ,a hot, black beverage called collee, u hlrh is stew ed to distraction, and swt-et-ened,ifatalL withmolasves. Then, (here Is a shin's bread, lurridse. or 'burgoo," and a species of hash called "Itbscourse," which uobody but a hungry sailor wls ever known to succesatully digest. Jack, how-evtr, how-evtr, is providentially 110 epleute, but a gastric genius who diiatches ever thing to satisfy pn organic craving with goat like, facility and relish. He then fills' his pipe, spins yarns, or returns to his, uuambroslal nunk for a nap, whllen'issliljmiatef, the 'forenoon watch," are biirfy making things snug on .titik anu alolt. indeed, it would be Uifllcult to say w hat the "forenoon fw atch" will not find to do, for much de-Kfiid de-Kfiid ujuu the state of the weather. liut jards must bo constantly .rlmmta aiciraiug lo tlie direction direc-tion ol the wind. saiN furled and running sear looked after, and, in addition to a seaman's regulir duties f sitting aud shortening sail, literals litera-ls alweys plenty of sail-iueiidiug, rupe-plK-iug, star scraping, oiling, varulsitlng and jaintiug to do, to say notiiing of the dirty work of tarring the standing riggings and roies occasionally. Then every man must take his turn or "trick" at the wheel.whlch lsalnasa mono-tnitmis mono-tnitmis nml extremely dangerous duty in bad Weather. v ell, at ll:3o Uie men who com-jiosed com-jiosed the 'morning watch" are called to a dinner of hot pea soup, tileti rk and a baneful piece of meat that no argument w ill ever convince con-vince Jack is auj thing but army mule or horse which has died a uitural death. '"Salt horse" is therefore tPo name I'estowed by dim on this toush pickleil sub-staiue, sub-staiue, and bethinks himself luck rt hen it is followetl ly plumbuirr 'stickjaw pudding.-' This sumptuous sumptu-ous repast is then washed down u itli copious draughts of coir v, and lfter filling and smoking tlie in-dviuble in-dviuble Jjje once more Jack feel-Invigorated feel-Invigorated and liflji'y. a'"i goes ou deck as one of the "aflenioou watch,;' which relieves the "'fotv-nm "'fotv-nm watch" attwehc. The "afternoon watch,'' w-e will :uposc, for brevity's sake, is employed em-ployed on deck With duties of the same nature as cuzaed the 'forc-moa 'forc-moa watch," and at fjur o'clock this watc-h U again ehuup.il. So you seetliat, gentrally speaking, the men hae tour hours on duty and four hours off. Jlut If this took (ilaet- with undeviatmg regularity, It i evident that oin- set of men Would alw ays be on duly during the IK--J part of the night an arrangement arrange-ment that would be maulfe.tly unfair. un-fair. In order, therefore, that oue A'ulch sliuUjd not have the !ng night's dutj there are what we sailots call the "dog watches'." These walches are tuehours between four oVlod: in the afternoon aud eibt o'clock in the eM niiig. The aft' moon watch'' accordingly go below at four o'clock aud come ou deck at six. when they uae two hours" dog watch. At eight o'clock liny go below again, aud tints by means of these dog watches the crew of a ship git alternate nights of duty on deck. Jack lnes on a Moating house of business, w hieli is continually carrying carry-ing him into uiiexiiccted labors. However, in moderate weather everything Is usually made snug aloft bctw eeu six and eight o'clock lu the evening, when Jack's work is finished for the day. He may then smoke his pipe aud sing his favorite song or "'shanty" to his heart's content Hut if during the next feiv hours or in the course of the night the bjronieter goes down and tlie weather looks ominous of a galr to windward, he 1-as to turn out of his snug corner In the forecastle fore-castle at a moment's notice when he hears the boatswain shout: "All hands shorten tail'" Now. this Is one of the wort features of Jack's life, for nine chauciy out of ten it is blowing great guns when be gropeshis way uportdeckand crawls up the shrouds, and you can lorm no Idea of the perilous momentum of a vessel's pitch until you have lieett on her upjier yards or Jibboom u iug to reef or furl sails in a heavy sea. Ex. |
