Canteen (drinking vessel)

“ A common canteen, with iron plates and cups, lamp and methylated spirits, suffices for the cooking department. Cigars, tobacco and snuff, must be carried by those who are not likely to relish the island supply; also tea and cognac, if coffee and Danish “brandy-wine” are not good enough. ”

“ A young woman seized the canteen and ran into a thicket hard by, returning with it in a few minutes filled with delicious, cool, clear water, from some hidden well, known only to themselves. I sought for it many a time afterwards, but never found it. I drank of the cool, life-giving liquid—sweeter than champagne or nectar, it seemed to me then (it is but just to the manufacturers of the articles named to say that I had no chance of making a fair comparison at the moment) , and then with my blankets on the dry sand under a spreading mesquite, slept the sleep of the just. ”

“ The supplies that a canoeist takes with him in his boat should consist of a few pounds of sugar, a box of salt, three or four pounds of ground coffee in a tin box with a close-fitting screw top, some bacon, a pound of tea, a couple of jars of marmalade or jam, a tin of deviled ham, and a pound or two of pilot-bread or hardtack. There will be lots of places along the course of your cruise where you will be able to replenish these stores should they run short, and at the villages you pass you can secure fresh meat if you care for it or are skilful enough cook to prepare it. ”

“ Now, a full canteen is no mere chance or commonplace acquaintance. You don’t drink that down at a gulp, and standing up. The full canteen will be a comrade for a time, who makes his presence felt and who attracts attention. It’s a rough joker, a frightful tease and, if I had to paint its portrait. I’d put in the joyous eyes of a vagabond, and a very bristly chin, and I’d expect to have people recognize, from this picture, a good old character ready to break into poetry at a moment’s notice.
So, one day, we were holding out our canteens, myself and our sergeant. ”

“ On the shelves of these canteens may be found the usual line of necessities—and luxuries—carried in all Navy canteens, but in unusual quantities; from the most commonplace pair of shoe laces to the most dainty package of bon-bons. Naturally, a vast amount of small items must be handled to make up $5,000 worth of daily sales. And these sales are made, not in leisurely lady-like fashion, over counter and show-case, but through the canteen window to a never-ending line of clamoring sailors and doughboys by but five storekeepers—one to each canteen. ”

“ The pleasant canteen, or Post Exchange, the soldiers' club-room, was established, where the men could go to relieve the monotony of their lives.
With the abolition of whiskey, the tone of the post improved greatly; the men were contented with a glass of beer or light wine, the canteen was well managed, so the profits went back into the company messes in the shape of luxuries heretofore unknown; billiards and reading-rooms were established; and from that time on, the canteen came to be regarded in the army as a most excellent institution. The men gained in self-respect ”

“ I refer especially to canteens and water-bottles. The water-bottle of wicker differed little from the boiling-basket. It was generally rounder--492-bodied, longer and narrower necked, and provided at one side near the shoulders or rim with two loops of hair or strong fiber, usually braided. (See Fig. 520.) The ends of the burden-strap passed through these loops made suspension of the vessel easy, or when the latter was used simply as a receptacle, the pair of loops served as a handle. Sometimes these basket-bottles were strengthened at the bottom with rawhide or buckskin, stuck on with gum. ”

“ But the ship’s galley does its little utmost; and the saloon passenger, on his way to the other side of the equator, may regale himself with such a breakfast as the following, which is taken from the steward’s book of a vessel belonging to the Union Line:—
Porridge, fillets of haddock with fine herbs, mutton chops and chip potatoes, savoury omelet, bacon on toast, minced collops, curry and rice, fruit, rolls, toast, etc., tea and coffee. ”

“ The stores were distributed to the three canoes. Our stock of provision unfortunately did not amount to more than sufficient for one day’s consumption, exclusive of two barrels of flour, three cases of preserved meat, some chocolate, arrow-root, and portable soup, which we had brought from England, and intended to reserve for our journey to the coast next season. It was gratifying, however, to perceive that this scarcity of food did not depress the spirits of our Canadian companions, who cheerfully loaded their canoes, and embarked in high glee, after receiving the customary dram. ”

“ In the large canoe I put my chest, charts, quadrant, clothing, nine hundred dollars in specie, and a ten gallon keg of rum, knowing it would stimulate them to perform the voyage with despatch, by giving them a drink on arriving at certain places we could see ahead. The cook had boiled me a piece of salt beef to carry with me, and put up two or three pounds of sea-bread. I took a jug of rum in addition to the ten gallon keg, on board of the canoe in which I embarked, and put a tea-cup in my pocket to serve as a tumbler. ”

“ The canteen of the British Army, so far as drinks are concerned, provides beer only for its men, but beer is scarcely ever seen in a French canteen. Various brands of wine are at the disposal of the conscript, and it is possible to get a bottle of drinkable stuff for fivepence, though in order to obtain a really good brand one must pay at least a franc, for which the wine obtained is equal to that for which many a London restaurant will charge half a crown. Wine is the staple drink of the Army, though brandy finds favour among the hardened drinkers. ”

“ The French had no anteroom, although I think they could have secured one had they desired it.
There were about 250 prisoners in the building, about 200 of whom were Russian and French.
There was a canteen, where almost everything but food could be obtained. The beer was not bad, and fairly cheap; but the only other drinks obtainable were a yellow fluid and a reddish fluid, which was given by the canteen manager the humorous description of sherry and port wine. ”

“ Mention of the canteen takes us on to another point of military economy, that of supplies of varying kinds apart from the actual ration bread and meat. In each unit serving at home, a canteen is established for the supply to the troops of articles of the best possible quality at the lowest possible price “without limiting the right of the men to purchase” in other markets, according to King’s Regulations on the subject. ”

“ Then strain it into some woodden vessels; and when it is almost cold, put some Ale-barm into it. And when it worketh well, Tun it into some well seasoned vessel, where neither Ale nor Beer hath been, for marring the colour of it. When it hath done working, if you like it, Take a quantity of Cloves, Nutmegs, Mace, Cinnamon, Ginger, or any of these that you like best, and bruise them, and put them in a boulter bag, and hang it in the vessel. Put not too much of the Spice, because many do not like the taste of much Spice. ”

“ Not that the canteen is the only place of amusement, but in stated hours, as in the British Army, the canteen is the rallying point of men off duty. It is closed to men undergoing salle de police at all times, and this forms a not inconsiderable part of their punishment; for to a soldier the canteen is not merely a place where he may obtain refreshments, alcoholic and otherwise, but also a place to meet his friends, hear a good song, discuss the doings of various companies, and of various friends, whom he meets here and with whom he can compare notes. ”

“ A rude mast and tattered sail lay along the seats, ready for use, should a favourable breeze spring up; but this seldom occurred, the oars being our chief dependence during the greater part of the voyage.
The provisions of the men consisted of pemmican and flour; while the passengers revelled in the enjoyment of a ham, several cured buffalo-tongues, tea, sugar, butter, and biscuit, and a little brandy and wine, wherewith to warm us in cold weather, and to cheer the crew with a dram after a day of unusual exertion. ”

“ I have a canteen; the Gendarme, who has had some business training, is to work in the office. My canteen is in Saint Thiebault, the village next door. In the morning I go down the hill, past the grey houses built like steps on either side—some with odd pear trees, their branches trained gridiron-wise flat against the fronts,—over the river Meuse, here a sleepy little stream, to Saint Thiebault. On the way I pass lads in olive drab with whom I exchange a smile and a hello, villagers bare-headed, in sabots, and poilus in what was once horizon blue. ”

“ The Surf-boat, having rather more rum than we, and fewer to drink it, gave us, as I estimated, another quart into our keg. In return, we gave them three double handfuls of coffee, tied up in a piece of a handkerchief; they reported that they had aboard besides, a bag of biscuit, a piece of beef, a small cask of water, a small box of lemons, and a Dutch cheese. It took a long time to make these exchanges, and they were not made without risk to both parties; the sea running quite high enough to make our approaching near to one another very hazardous. ”

“ A bartender placed a schooner of dark and portentous beer on the bar. Its monumental form upreared until the froth a-top was above the crown of the young man's brown derby.
"Soup over there, gents," said the bartender affably. A little yellow man in rags and the youth grasped their schooners and went with speed toward a lunch counter, where a man with oily but imposing whiskers ladled genially from a kettle until he had furnished his two mendicants with a soup that was steaming hot, and in which there were little floating suggestions of chicken. ”

“ Added to this, the canteen allowed each man six shillings, and this of course meant several pounds to each mess. Stint is a foreign word to most naval men, and Christmas-tide is a demonstration of this fact.
Messes emulate each other as to decorations. Many crafty and dexterous men are there in all our ships who take a delight in this kind of work: they also vie with each other as to the quality of their plum puddings. Time would fail to tell you the ingredients with which they are made. ”

“ Upon one occasion, while tea was serving, a passenger in the saloon asked for a cup, and was told to go upon deck for it.
I also procured a supply of soda water at Aden. I had suffered much from the want of this refreshing beverage during my fever, the supply taken on board having been exhausted on the voyage up. The passengers down the Red Sea have the disadvantage of sailing with exhausted stores. ”

“ They were a charming contrast to rough Siberia. The [215] deck passengers drank vodka and sang. Down below deck was a public stove, and there sizzled a score of pots—pots with jam, with eggs, with fish, with chickens, with milk. I made my coffee there, and would frequently see it rising at the boil and be unable to pick the pot out for others tending their fish-soup and women taking the scum off their strawberry jam. At each little village people bought things to cook, so that at times you might have thought it was a sort of cooking expedition. ”

“ Much the larger portion of the collection consists of vessels of various kinds, such as bowls, cooking utensils, canteens, bottles, jars, pitchers, cups, ladles, jugs, water vases, ornamental vessels, paint-pots, &c. These vary in size from the large vase, capable of holding ten gallons, to the little cup and canteen, which will contain less than half a pint. The other and much smaller portion includes all those articles which cannot be classed as vessels, such as images, toys, toilet articles, representations of animals, &c. ”

“ One end of his boat was boarded over into a closet, with shelves filled with a supply of fresh fruit and berries in the season, cider, cakes, pies, root-beer, lemons, crackers, etc. His customers were chiefly the "hands" on board sloops becalmed opposite the landing, or passing barges and canal-boats, slowly trailed in the wake of a panting propeller, or escorted by dingy little "tugs," struggling along like lively black beetles. ”

“ A few high-brimmed cups have handles, and are not unlike modern tankards. Drinking-cups in general are the handsomest and the most skilfully baked of all the British sepulchral vessels; but in course of time their forms gradually deteriorated, for each generation had inferior models to copy.816 193
Fig. 33. 1⁄2
Food-vessels, which range between three and eight inches in height, are very diversified in form, and, unlike drinking-cups, vary greatly in quality. ”

“ A vessel of sixty, or eighty tons burthen, is about ninety or one hundred feet long, twelve or fourteen broad at midships, and draws six or seven feet depth of water. These canoes, whether large or small, are generally fragile, and it is astonishing how they bear the heavy cargoes with which they are laden, and which consist of rice, millet, butter, honey, onions, pistachios, colat-nuts, stuffs, and various kinds of preserved articles. In addition to their cargo they frequently have on board forty or fifty slaves, half of whom remain on deck. ”

“ Deeming it best to say nothing, the boys quickly finished their ablutions and accompanied the skipper aft to the dining-cabin.
On the port side the boys beheld the crew seated at tables covered with white oil cloth. Each table was provided with a big portion of corned beef and cabbage, fish, potatoes, squash, peas, pies, bread, and cake, while from the coffee-pots there came the savoury aroma of good coffee.
“See any hard tack?” smiled the captain.
“It looks bully,” exclaimed Phil. “Where do we sit, anywhere?” ”