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M A Ree Ne pumps. The thing is not impossible and the passenger will overlook the officer, turned out by the alarm, superintending operations without the collar he didn't take time to don. This system has its drawbacks too, principally the unexpected- ness of the call to the crew, but they would soon get recon- ciled to it, and look on it as part of the life of the "men who go down to the sea in ships." One other thing may be said in its favor, however--the crew would have to make them- selves acquainted with their fire posts as soon after sailing as possible, if not before it, which they needn't do. at present. Again, it might be said that a sudden call to quarters for fire drill would needlessly alarm the passengers, but if they were notified in good time that a fire drill would take place during the voyage. any possibility of a panic on their part could be avoided. ONL, SEEN AND HEARD ON THE LOOKOUT It is taken for granted that many years must elapse before a navigable Panama canal may be classed with the historical "faits accomplis" of making an important geographical change. But a good beginning is half the battle, and the Panama com- mission has certainly commenced correctly by seeing to it at the start that the sanitary condition in the vicinity of the canal zone shall be up to this country's well-known, efficient standard. _ Herewith a description of a scene on shipboard when cholera germs had been unwittingly smuggled over the side. The flush-decked British tramp steamer Elsie hailing from Whitby had been at anchor off Samarang, Java, about a week loading sugar destined for an Italian port. Expecting to re- - ceive enough freight by the following Monday to cause a submersion of every part of "Plimsoll's mark," the law's allow, the captain permitted those members of his crew to go ashore on Saturday afternoon who wished to avail themselves of this privilege. It has not been stated who, or how many, did go, but on Sunday morning at sunrise only two firemen were found absent. At 8 o'clock, when the crew was having breakfast, these firemen came alongside in a Javanese canoe, and after eating they brought their mattresses up on deck under the forward awning to pass this Sunday forenoon in a much needed rest after the fatigues of sight seeing in the tropics. At 9 o'clock the captain pronounced both these men . dead, and at once sent a boat ashore for a doctor. The latter diagnosed it a case of cholera, and, not only had the vessel immediately fumigated, but gave orders to bury the men in 10 fathoms of water. The above is only told to illustrate the suddenness and thoroughness of a cholera attack, but hav- ing gone thus far let a description of the funeral arrangements follow. Sewed in a canvas covering, with broken firebars attached to the lower limbs to insure speedy submersion the bodies were laid on planks that had been placed across the gunwales of a large lifeboat. With two sailors on board-- one to steer, and the other to guard against the corpses slip- ping from the plank at an inopportune moment--the boat was taken in tow by another one containing the captain, second mate, four sailors at the oars and one man in the bow with a "hand lead for finding a spot above which the desired depth --1o fathoms--of tropical ocean glimmered. Upon reaching this place the captain felt that a few words expressive of his regret at the sudden death of two of his crew were expected of him--and he spoke then: "Boys, I have been thirteen years a captain, and this is the first time I have had a death occur on my ship, so I think it best to ask the second mate to say a few good words." Having thus shifted for him so un- common a task of making a speech on the second mate's shoulders the latter suddenly became what Josephine Daskam called "agonizing self-consciousness personified." But, the captain's request being in the nature of a command, he R EO Vo) 23 jumped erect in the sternsheets of the boat, and shouted: "Hats off, all hands, and commit those bodies to the deep." The saying "surroundings influence character" is often quoted by those who describe the sailor as a rugged, valorous being. But in these instances the sea is referred to as the sailor's surroundings, and certainly not the place he more distinctly must regard as "home" during the influencing process on his character by the scenery near his front door. On steamers said "home" is generally forward, in her eyes, below, and dismal. A partition built "fore and aft,' or in nautical parlance "longships," divides the space from the for- ward bulkhead to the vessel's stern; and the port compart- ment thus formed is for the firemen, while the sailors have the freedom of its counterpart to the starboard of this fence. One may find pleasure in building castles in the air; enjoy the sight of some ruined castle; read with amusement of former happenings in a feudal castle, but only disgust can express the feeling of anyone upon entering the average "forecastle." The tenants of the forecastle have to provide their own bed- ding--this refers to deep water craft--and the latter consists generally of what. is. facetiously called a "donkey's breakfast" --though a self-respecting donkey would scorn to partake of the contents of some of these sacks--and a blanket. At the termination of the voyage the mattress is generally thrown overboard, and the blanket is in most instances not deserving of a less inglorious fate. In this connection a French writer recently advocated the enacting of laws making it compulsory for ship owners to fur- nish bedding, crockery, knives, forks--in short, to set the man before the mast, and his confrére behind the shovel up in housekeeping--if only the light variety. To quote this _ writer: "Si lon ne peut pas avoir ce qu 'on aime, il faut aimer ce qu'on a," which is the French equivalent of the English say- ing: "If you cannot be comfortable, be as comfortable as you can," and comfort must now be abandoned during the time of occupancy of most forecastles. An English steamship owner once had a vessel built on board of which as much care had been taken to make the crew's quarters attractive and homelike as if the commodore of the fleet had intimated his intention of becoming the occupant. The first tenants 'described it as At; copper fastened and Lloyd surveyed; and in fact, had this ship run aground near a large city some enterprising house agent might have been tempted to dis- play a sign above the forecastle door with: "Cosy apart- ments to let; all modern improvements." But the ship re- turned to the home port without giving any agent an oppor- tunity to advertise the attractions below the decks, and after the expiration of the first voyage a sign worded as above would have been misrepresentation of the actual conditions. In short--the home had lost its cosy appearance, though faint traces were still discernable of its having seen better days. Also--the modern improvements had been either not used or abused. And there you are, or, rather, where are you? At Fort Totten, Willets Point, on the north shore of Long Island is the war department's unique school of torpedo planting and harbor mining. Not long ago this science of making harbors unsafe for the invader was taught at the United States engineer school, but now all boats, material and apparatus have been turned over to the commandant of the new school. At first five large rowboats, a steam launch and a naphtha launch were deemed sufficient equipment for the school, but when still, after a steam lighter had been ex- pressly built for this purpose, those in charge complained of not being suitably fitted out, marine experts were sent to see some actual mining with a view to determining what 'kind of craft would be needed to most successfully do the required |