176 Crossing the Line 



1885, continued 



They emphasized the last word of each hne by bringing down their clubs 

 together on deck with a whang; when finished singing, they faced to the 

 right, marched forward, and formed on both sides of Neptune's Chariot, he 

 now being ready to be presented to the Admiral and Captain. . . . 



The Chariot, on which he and his wife were seated, was made by lashing 

 two halliard racks together; the motive power, eight of his followers, maimed 

 a drag rope secured to it; with his long grey beard of teazed maniUa, tin 

 crown on his head, and trident in right hand, he looked every inch a King. 

 His better half, with long blonde hair of the same material as his whiskers, 

 a richly colored cahco dress, formerly the property of the ship's minstrel 

 troupe, and stockingless and shoeless pedal extremities, she looked very 

 httle the Queen .... The Doctor, evidently a renegade from this mundane 

 sphere, under his Majesty's protection, [brought] a grip sack well fiUed with 

 . . . medicines .... The pohce, "rigged up" in what Neptime's better half 

 had left of the minstrel's property, suppl[ied] deficiencies with gunny sacks, 

 pieces of canvas, and the hberal use of paint .... 



Neptune, being satisfied with the appearance of his retinue, concluded to 

 move aft; the services of the band were brought into requisition, and to the 

 enhvening strains of a march, the procession moved slowly aft. When the head 

 of the hne reached the mainmast, the Signal Quartermaster hoisted and broke 

 at the main his Majesty's Royal Standard, which consisted of a white field six- 

 teen feet by eight feet, bearing the inscription Neptunus Rex; in the center of 

 the field was painted a large dolphin, and each of the four corners were or- 

 namented widi shell fish painted thereon. On the right of Neptune, manning 

 a stout fine secured to the neck of the stuflFed effigy of a horse, stood twelve 

 seamen bold, with countenances beaming with pleasure in consequence of 

 the pleasant duty they were about to perform, which was nothing less than 

 celebrating in manner following the death of poor old horse. As Neptune 

 moved aft they at the same instant straightened out taut their line and com- 

 menced to drag the horse aft, each one in his turn singing a verse of a "shanty", 

 to which all joined in chorus, the long strong pulls together being regulated 

 by certain emphasized words in each hne of song and chorus. Aniving abreast 

 of the starboard gangway, they halted until Neptune's retinue had passed 

 them, then picking up the old horse, they launched him with a shout into 

 the big drink. This httle side-show was intended to illustrate an event in the 

 life of a sailor on a long voyage; that is, that he had been long enough on 

 the voyage to work up his advance wages, or as he terms it, the "dead horse", 

 and even in the pure atmosphere that he is accustomed to live carrion is 

 objectionable as company, and so old horse must go not to the boneyard but 

 overboard. Arriving on the quarter-deck, the policemen, bears, and other 

 followers of Neptune halted and formed, faced to the front or inboard. Nep- 

 tune and wife, followed by the Doctor and Barber on foot, continued on aft 

 until within a few feet of the Admiral and Captain, when he and his wife 

 alighted, bowed to the Admiral and Captain, and without further ado counter- 



