Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1895 — "CLEAR SHIP FOR ACTION." [ARTICLE]

"CLEAR SHIP FOR ACTION."

Getting Ready for Battle on a Man of War. “Clear ship for action and be handy, oh!” say the words of the i old song in which Jack still sings of i the glorious victory of the Constitui tion over the Guerriere in the old *l2 war, and a veritable clearing ehip it is, when the trumpet’s harsh notes I or the sharp rattle of drum, mingling with the shrill whistles and rough voices of the boatswain’s mates and the noisy clanging of the electric gongs, call the crew to general quarters. Hard work and brisk work it is, stirring and exciting even in piping peace times, and the decks throb with the rush of hurrying feet, as the men, swarming up out of the hatches, hasten to their stations. The gun crews cast loose the great guns, the murderous rapid fire and revolving cannon, hastily donning equipments, filling sponge buckets, and, in many cases, stripping themselves of all superfluous clothing, laying bare brawny torsos, often tat-' tooed all over with devices dear to the heart of man-o’-war Jack. Hatches are covered, hose laid and pumps rigged, ladders torn away and the decks turned topsy turvy in the twinkling of an eye. Rifles, cutlases and revolvers are served out from the armory, the marine guard falls in and topmen scramble nimbly aloft to secure anything which, hit by an enemy's shot, might fall and injure those on deck below. Down come the rails; out come davits and awning stanchions; everything movable —lockers, chain, anything and everything that might interfere with the work of battle—is stowed away or secured. The magazines are opened, and stewards, ward room boys, cooks, and yeomen rig the tackle over the ammunition hatches ready to hoist shot and shell for the guns, while the water tight doors are closed and bilge pumps made ready for use in case of a blow below the water line. The doctor and his assistants prepare for their work of succor for the wounded—lint, bandages, anesthetics, and all the dread paraphernalia of surgery are laid out in the sick bay, most inconveniently situated way forward in the very eyes of the ship, there having been seemingly but little attention paid by the designers of our new ships to improvement in quarters for the sick. On the New York, for instance, when she cleared for action in Rio harbor last year, a temporary operating room was improvised in the Ward room. Below, in the officers’ jness rooms, tables and chairs are hastily laid aside, if, as is usually the case, entrance to a magazine is required, and even the captain’s sacred cabin is invaded “on the jump’’ by the crews of the after sruns there.