ACROSS THE EQUATOR WITH THE AMERICAN XAVY 579 



* " "v mmm If 



■MM 



AMERICAN BLUEJACKETS BARTERING WITH NATIVES IN ONE OE THE WEST INDIES 



Official Photographs, U. S. Navy 



THE "GOB'S SPECIAL," AT BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS, BRITISH WEST INDIES 



The dictionary will inform yon that a "gob" is "a mass or lump, as of mud or meat: a 

 large or good-sized mouthful; also a large sum, as of money," but not a word about sailor 

 or seaman. How the word came to be applied to the American bluejacket is a matter of 

 mystery, but the "gob" himself has done it, and, despite all officialdom, "gob" he is to his 

 messmates. 



