624 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



He seems to have been thoroughly 

 modern in his financial theories. After 

 capturing many mule-loads of gold, he 

 had it all loaded on board his own ship. 

 Then he set sail for the nearest port in 

 which a responsible official could be 

 found, bought a pardon and the knight- 

 hood which gave him his title, and then 

 blithely set about hunting down his old 

 comrades for the bounty which was then 

 paid for buccaneering scalps. 



One visit to Old Panama was enough, 

 however, and once was enough over the 

 rough country road that led to it through 

 fields that gave evidence of the fertility 

 of the Isthmus when the jungle is once 

 cleared away, and between rows of tin- 

 roofed shacks in which brown men and 

 women mixed relentless drinks for all 

 comers. 



Some of the sailors carried their anti- 

 quarian researches so far as to visit the 

 golden altar which had been taken from 

 Old Panama in time to save it from Sir 

 Henry Morgan's hands. 



PETS OF ALE SORTS COLLECTED 



Most of the men devoted themselves 

 to the investigation of the town. Many 

 bought the most extraordinary assort- 

 ment of pets that even a longsuffering 

 American battle fleet ever carried. Pigs 

 and dogs and parrakeets and ducks and 

 rabbits were taken aboard. One man 

 even brought on board the Pennsylvania 

 a tiger's cub, the tiger being of the Isth- 

 mian variety, of course. Then they were 

 ready for the inter-fleet competition. 



One result of the boxing matches was 

 the development of perhaps the first 

 Filipino champion in the person of 

 Javier, a mess attendant, who won the 

 flyweight boxing contest without the 

 slightest difficulty and seemed competent 

 to win a score more in the same ring. 

 The Atlantic fleet won most of the box- 

 ing and wrestling and aquatic events, but 

 lost the three baseball matches. 



The fact is worthy of note, because it 



afforded opportunity for one of the finest 

 exhibitions of sportsmanship one could 

 ask to see. 



TRUE SPORTSMANSHIP IN THE NAVY 



The Atlantic fleet had a band of 195 

 pieces — the sort of band that made the 

 listeners want to throw their hats and 

 cheer when it played patriotic pieces — 

 and a cheering section under the leader- 

 ship of a young ensign, who once made 

 New York talk about him instead of the 

 Army and Navy football game, when he 

 led his cheerers there. It also had an 

 immense banner, one hundred odd feet 

 long, with the letters A-T-L-A-N-T-I-C 

 printed on it six feet high. 



So the Atlantics were beaten. Through 

 the series the gobs had rooted for their 

 players as best they knew how. They 

 had cheered defiantly and insultingly and 

 they had cheered when cheers were 

 needed to restore morale. Curly had 

 thrown handsprings and turned flipflops 

 and danced with the music. They had 

 clapped their hands — a thousand of them, 

 like this — tatatata, tatatata, tatatata, tata, 

 tata, and they had driven the Pacifies 

 utterly wild by wailing "Margie" at 

 them. No one knows why the Pacifies so 

 hate and utterly detest this harmless 

 song of "Margie" ; but they do. 



Then the Atlantics were beaten. And 

 that huge band crashed into a chorus 

 that made the cold chills run up and 

 down one's spine and brought the specta- 

 tors yelling to their feet. The big ban- 

 ner with "Atlantic" on it, supported on 

 boathooks by forty sailors, was paraded 

 about the field, preceded by a cheering 

 section of five hundred men and followed 

 by a solid square of loyal Atlantics. Hom- 

 age was paid to the victors, and then the 

 Atlantics marched to the box where the 

 admirals sat in state, and cheered while 

 admirals and staffs stood in salute. 



It was a fine and sportsmanlike thing 

 to do. 



Then the fleets parted for the winter's 

 work with the guns. 



Notice of change of address of your Geographic Magazine should be re- 

 ceived in the office of the National Geographic Society by the first of the month to 

 affect the following month's issue. For instance, if you desire the address changed 

 for your August number, the Society should be notified of your new address not 

 later than July first. 



