The Nineteenth Century 131 



which is filled with water. Neptune shakes hands with them all, telling 

 them that he must perform certain rites to initiate them into his family. Each 

 man is then required to stand in the tub of water and be shaved. 



Tar and slush stirred together are used for lather, and a piece of iron hoop 

 six inches in length is used for a razor. The face being scraped the captain's 

 speaking trumpet is brought and the victim is told to hail the ship. As he 

 puts it to his mouth and cries "Ship, ahoy!" a bucket of salt water is tmrned 

 down into the trumpet, drenching the poor feUow, much to the amusement 

 of the old sailors. 



Having been told that I might escape the ordeal by treating Neptune, I 

 procured a bottle of brandy, gave him a drink, and was allowed to go free. 

 The ceremony being ended, Neptune took a solemn farewell of his children 

 and left the ship as he came. Some of the more verdant boys believed Nep- 

 tune really had visited them. 



(Charles Wetherby Gelett. A life on the ocean; Autobiography of 

 Captain Charles Wetherby Gelett. Reprinted from the Ojai; a little 

 country California newspaper of the early 90s. With an introduction by 

 Lorrin A. Thurston. Honolulu, 1917. p. 10. The Advertiser Historical 

 Series, no. 3. ) 



1834 



Wednesday, October 1st. Crossed the equator in long. 24 24 W. I now, for 

 the first time felt at hberty, according to the old usage, to call myself a son 

 of Neptune, and was very glad to be able to claim the title without the dis- 

 agreeable initiation which so many have to go through. After once crossing 

 the line you can never be subjected to the process, but are considered a son 

 of Neptune, with full powers to play tricks upon others. This ancient custom 

 is now seldom allowed, unless tliere are passengers on board, in which case 

 there is always a good deal of sport. 



( Richard Henry Dana. Two years before tlie mast. Boston, 1840. p. 26. ) 



Friday, December 19th [1834], we crossed the equator for the second time. 

 I had the sense of incongruity which all have when, for the first time, they 

 find themselves hving imder an entire change of seasons; as, crossing the 

 hne under a burning sim in the midst of December. 



(Richard Henry Dana. Two years before the mast. Boston, 1911. p. 61.) 



Every now and then we hear how "this ancient custom is now seldom allowed," only to have 

 another example follow hard apace to show how the "ancient custom" refuses to die. A Lttle later, 

 ( Colton, under 1845 ) we shall read that it was abolished aboard our men o' war. There is added 

 in the note to Colton a bit of documentation about its ups and downs, its ons and ofiFs in our Navy. 



Remember in this connection how under 1823 we noted the Russian Kotzebue's comment on 

 the ceremony: "These sports, while they serve to keep up the spirits of the men, and make them 

 forget the difficulties they have to go through, produce also the most beneficial influence upon 

 their health; a cheerful man being much more capable of resisting a fit of sickness than a melan- 

 choly one. It is the duty of commanders to use every innocent means of maintaining this temper 

 in their crews." 



