Stanton H. King

“ On another occasion I was on a ship where the captain did not allow any towing of clothes over the side, as he claimed it decreased the speed of his vessel. At night he prowled around the decks and if there was a line made fast on deck on which some sailor was towing his clothes, he would set the whole adrift, a serious loss to the owner.
A sailor’s great delight is to overhaul his belongings. His vessel is at anchor in the bay or perhaps moored alongside some wharf. He has been hard at work from daylight till dark every day of the week. ”

“ We have to face the ignorance of those who need our help, and gradually carry on our reforming movements. The clean, respectable seamen will help the untidy, careless fellows to appreciate what is being done for them, and will join hands with the ship owners in making the sailor’s calling desirable. A ship’s forecastle is not a temporary place for some college student who is working his passage across the Atlantic during his summer vacation. It is the permanent home of the sailor. Therefore, if we are to have good men on our vessels, we must offer them comfortable quarters. ”

“ No wealth could entice me to walk alone through a graveyard at night. Not that I believe the dead can harm me, but simply there is a feeling that comes over me which I cannot master. I was told that if I were to point my hand or throw a stone at a ghost, the arm would stiffen and remain so forever. ”

“ How then can we expect men who are ignorant of the laws governing their health to rise up and not be influenced by their circumstances? How do we expect our men in the engine room and on deck to be otherwise than they are? The hopeful sign is to find so many dissatisfied with their surroundings.
Not long ago I visited the firemen on a steamer. It was supper time. The room was dark, even though the sun was shining on deck. I thought one of my feet was in something slippery, and, going to the door of the forecastle, I discovered I had stepped into the “black pan.” ”

“ THE rules governing the direction which ships may take at sea are very clearly defined by the international laws of all maritime countries, and when violated by masters of either steam or sailing vessels, are very drastically punished. If a collision occurs by disregarding the rule of the road at sea, the ship so doing is held responsible for all damage, and in case, as it sometimes happens, lives are sacrificed, the master of the ship at fault is tried before the court of the country in whose jurisdiction the casualty happens for manslaughter, and punished as a common criminal. ”

“ On board of a merchant vessel it matters not how long a sailor desires to keep his clothes on deck, no one cares where he puts them or what is done with them, so long as they are forward and below the rail of the ship, but on a war ship it is different. A man-of-war’s man owns a clothes bag in which he keeps his clothing, a hammock containing his mattress and bedding, his ditty box for his sewing gear, and pipe and tobacco. ”

“ On some ships there are times when the boatswains are not severe and cruel, then a sailor may slip into the forecastle and steal a few draws from his pipe. Especially if the man has come from the wheel where he has been grinding salt water for two hours, doing his best to keep the ship on her course, lest the officer of the watch find her wake is crooked and greets him with an oath or blow, or from the lookout where he has spent his watch in strange meditations. ”

“ His vessel now groaning under the pressure of the gale with lee scuppers awash, the sea wild and fierce as an untamed beast, the lightning darting through the black and frightening sky, all speak to him of a [37] higher power; and as many a bad man has a good mother, so many a sailor, who, although living a life of recklessness, has no doubt of the existence of God, and that He is good.
The sailor has a religious nature. He is as other men and should be treated as such. Some seamen drink to excess, swear immoderately, and live loosely, so do some men on shore. ”

“ The Lead Line
SINCE the coming of the mariners’ compass many centuries ago, navigation has made steady headway. It is now an exact science, and vessels properly equipped with needed instruments and with men able to use them, can, no matter what the winds or seas, or how extended the voyage, be brought safely to their destination.
The instruments used in navigation are, the compass, by which ship’s courses are steered; the sextant by which observations of the sun, moon and stars are taken, and through which the latitude is ascertained ”

“ While in a sailor’s boarding house in Antwerp, some of the crew of an American ship which had arrived from San Francisco with grain, declared that the ship was haunted. Every man had a story to tell of his encountering a ghost on that voyage. It was said that while the men were asleep this creature of another world would enter the forecastle and rub its cold hands over the faces of the men. It was rumored in the grog shops that the [74] apparition in the form of a man would walk aft on a stormy night just as the bell was struck at the close of a watch, and relieve the wheel. ”

“ When the sailor visits the mission, his supposed home while in port, he does not care to sing hymns all the time, he will not constantly read the Bible for he enjoys the literature of the day. We must provide for him the homelife, sociability and freedom in the mission, or he will find it in that most democratic social settlement, the saloon. What we need is more good judgment, the knack of being a companion and a friend, and catch the meaning of the social teaching of Christ. ”

“ It is a doleful sound to hear each man along the rail shouting, “Watch, there, watch!” I once saw the second mate of ship leave the poop, and, running down to the main deck, hustle a fellow along who was slow in getting aft to haul in the lead line. ”

“ He may earn a few dollars by making clothes, hence the ownership of a small sewing machine. He may possess a set of boxing gloves, swinging clubs, a musical instrument, or curiosities that he has bought for his sweetheart or for his friends, and while there is a certain time given him each day when he can bring his belongings on deck, and overhaul everything he owns to his satisfaction and to the [90] delight of his shipmates, there are other times when everything he possesses must be stowed away, otherwise it will reach the ever open, avaricious jaws of the lucky bag. ”

“ The merchant sailor can smoke his pipe only during his watch below at sea, and in the meal hours and the evenings when in port. I have heard that on some English vessels and American coasters, the crews are allowed to smoke at all times, even at the wheel; but I have never sailed in such homes. In the United States Navy there is such a thing as a “smoking lamp,” and when it is lighted every man can fill his pipe and smoke on any part of the spar deck forward of the mainmast. ”

“ We all know that in bad weather at seamen are exposed on deck. They wear their oilskins and rubber boots; they go below after spending four hours on deck. They are compelled to hang up their wet oilskins at the head of their bunks or on the bulkhead of the forecastle, and throw their sea-boots under a bunk where they may find them when called again to go on deck. We also know that the work in the fireroom is dirty. Where can a fireman hang up his dirty fireroom clothes wet through with perspiration? There is no place except it be over the top of his own bunk. ”

“ Again it may be a day when all hands are busily engaged coaling ship or taking aboard provisions, something that keeps the whole crew busy, such a time the seamen feel they have sufficient reason to ask permission for the smoking lamp to be lighted.
Most seafaring men enjoy a smoke the last thing at night. It is a comfort to stretch oneself in a hammock and just before dozing into that unconscious state between wakefulness and sleep [104] to withdraw the pipe from the lips and place it under the pillow, then roll over and slumber away. ”

“ All being ready, the man on the forecastle head throws the lead overboard, well to windward, shouting as he does so, “Heave.” The man nearest to him feels the tug on the line, and he then throws what he has in his hand to windward making sure the bight of the line is clear of all eyebolts, and shouts, “Watch, there, watch.” Then the next man as he feels the strain lets go of what he is holding and shouts the signal, “Watch, there, watch,” and so on until the line reaches the leadsman aft. Then if the lead has not struck the bottom he pays out the line and tries to get a sounding. ”

“ You will find a large, undivided space, a place where a dozen men may be able to move around in comfort, containing from twenty to forty men. Their clothes are hung on lines around their bunks. At its best you will say: “What a gloomy den!”
I have never witnessed such a miserable condition on board ship as I encountered in the forecastle of an ocean steamer one Sunday morning. I went on board to invite the men to the services at the Mission. About thirty-five men were in a room filled with bunks, with a narrow passage between them. The men were asleep. ”

“ The day may come when by providing the homelife in our missions for seamen we will have come to know them, our Christian young women will become acquainted with them and find that many young seamen are as clean and as moral as their own brothers, and they will dance with them as they do with [45] young men of their acquaintance on land.
It is not that the sailor enjoys places of ill-repute more than something better. It is simply that is the best he finds after he leaves his ship. He likes the company of women; two-thirds of his life he is debarred from their society ”

“ The safety of life and property at sea depends upon the competency of the crew, and if we are to have efficient men, and an adequate merchant marine, and men of intelligence and skill, we must offer some inducements to secure such men and not the riff raff of the world. ”

“ During a cruise on a war vessel we called in at several ports in Madagascar. Before we finally left the island we had a large supply of what the sailors called Madagascar cats. These [117] Lemuroids (half monkey and half cat) took possession of the ship. Their arboreal lives made them discontented with the flat surface of the deck, but once they were allowed to climb the rigging, they seemed satisfied with their new surroundings. The majority of these pets slept during the day, but in the evening, as the sun neared the western horizon they were wide awake and full of animation. ”

“ Let there be a man shipped to be known as the forward mess steward, his duty at sea and in port to care for the dishes, knives and forks which the ship should provide; hold him responsible for all the utensils, having him turn them over to the chief steward at the end of the voyage. Have him keep the mess-room and men’s quarters clean. Have a large bathroom and lavatory far away from the men’s quarters and mess-room, put in it lockers for oilskins and sea-boots—as many lockers as there are rooms; men in room No. 1 to use the corresponding numbered locker in the bathroom. ”

“ At such a time there may be other evolutions in progress; the light yards are coming down, the awnings triced up; everything accomplished as though it were the movements of one great machine.
The question of fresh water arises at this time. The paymaster has served us with salt water soap, a mixture of potash and grease which [132] does not give the cleansing lather in salt water that ordinary soap will give in fresh. It is a poor substitute at its best. Fresh water on a war vessel is a scarce luxury. The condenser is at work most of the time for there are many men to use the supply. ”

“ The sailor uses less alcohol than the man ashore; not being accustomed to drinking, a very few glasses makes him totter and shake, and soon throws him on his beam’s end, while his brother, the landlubber, has been pouring it down his throat all day, and is able at the close of the night to meander his way home safely.
On a sailing ship it would be considered a breach of discipline for a man to be seen smoking his pipe while on duty. ”

“ When that solid down-pour fell upon us we all turned out from below with dirty clothes and blankets, and made a lather of soap visible everywhere. To keep clean during the days we were on our allowance, I bent on my clothes to the end of my chest lashing, and had the ship haul them along on the crest of the waves. In this way much dirt was removed. The towing of clothes, if the ship is making good headway, reduces the sailor’s wardrobe, [129] for it will not take many hours for a vessel to drag a piece of clothing to ribbons, if she is sailing at a good rate. ”

“ Knowing then that they are as other men, we try to make the Sailor’s Haven not only a church but also a home for seamen. In our mission we hold religious services twice a week. At such times men are invited to attend; they have their choice. They can continue reading in the club rooms if it is Sunday, or play their games if it is a week night. Usually we have to lower some of the lights in the club rooms as the seamen have vacated them of their own free will and have attended the service. ”

“ Some of these young men had danced with the best young women of their town, their comrades and schoolmates, but now because the term sailor is attached to them and they have on the blue naval uniform they are debarred from every place except that of ill-repute. If Jack does not care to enter such a dive he must abide his time till he mingles with his own friends again though it may be for years, or it may never be, before he can step to a waltz, as no one of respectability dances with a sailor. ”

“ Although a sailor may have no experience with the lead still he has a knowledge of its use in soundings. Long before I had ever taken a cast I knew how it should be done. My first experience of the deep-sea lead was on the Bermudan brig Excelsior. We were drawing near to the American coast bound in to New York, when we were enveloped in thick fog. Our captain was a competent navigator, and to make [144] sure of his whereabouts after sailing without the sun or stars for three days, it became necessary for him to seek information from the bottom of the sea. ”