Robert Suggate journal and commonplace book, 1874-1878.

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On stepping on deck I heard them ask me something and the same when I got as I judged near where Neptune sat, but from the noise and talking that was going on I could not distinguish what was said. I felt no razors upon me but presently when I least expected it, splash I went "head over heels" into the water. I thought at first I was overboard but when I got the bandage off my eyes, I found myself in the sail of water, before described, along with the bear and his leader, here I floundered about a bit being choked with the salt water getting down my throat, and I had a gentle hug or two from bruin or his leader, and I have no doubt I cut a funny figure before I got a footing, for I heard their gruff laughing, presently I got a lift up the side of the sail, and I soon tumbled out on to the deck and got away altogether. My stomach was full of salt water and my hair of tar and filth, but on the whole I had no great reason to complain of my treatment, compared with some of my ship mates' treatment. After my escape and I had shaken myself a little straighter again, I was soon on deck to take a note or two of how others were served.

Each one had his eyes bandaged as mine were, and the moment they began to ascend the hatchway ladder, torrents of water met them in all directions, one man would empty a bucketful down the poor devil's back, and another would cooly perform the same act of kindness for him down his bosom, another as his head came above the [illegible?] of the hatchway would deluge it with a tubful, whilst small shot from pots and pans of water would meet him on all sides, at the same time the spiteful little engine would be squirting the water in a small continous stream in his face with all the force that four men could exert upon it.

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Like a half drowned rat the man arrives upon the upper deck, and is led up to Neptune where the barber and his assistant meet him, the assistant with the tar brush rubs his chin and mouth over with some of the stuff out of the tar bucket and called the lather box, and asks him what country man he is, and the moment he speaks in goes the tar brush with some of the precious mixture. Then the barber begins scraping his chin with the rough or smooth razor according to what footing he may be upon with his [menmates?] or shipmates, and I saw blood follow the stroke of the razor where the rough one was used. After this scarifying of the chin and face is ended the doctor takes him in hand and kindly asks him how he feels, and should the poor fellow (not being wise by experience) open his mouth, some of the contents of the medicine bottle is immediately poured in with the addition of a pill or two from the box which the doctor's assistant carries, and it must be understood that this doctor and assistant are people belonging to Neptune for the day, of course the doctor belonging to the ship has no hand in such barbarity.

It might be supposed that no man possessing the full use of his hands or feet would patiently submit to all of which is above described, and sometimes an ugly customer causes considerable trouble to the divinities even to upsetting the God himself, but with so many strong men around him, he is eventually mastered, in fact resistance would be worse than useless, the odds against him are too many, besides the whole process is quickly gone through with, in much less time than it takes to describe, so that a man is scarcely given time to think what to do.

At this stage of the proceedings and when the

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Man least expects it, he is suddenly thrown backward into the water where the bear and his mate are ready to receive him, and he soon has reason to dislike their proceedings as much as he did theirs whose hands he has just passed through, here he gets rolled tumbled and half suffocated with dirty water, nor can he now help himself, for when left to get out from the sides of the sail being without any support for the foot, he slips back into the water again. However the bear to make room for more customers gives him a lift up the side next the forecastle, where before he touches the deck he is deluged again with water from all quarters, one man I saw in his effort to get away was knocked flat onto the deck by the force of the water thrown at him, persons throwing water from the forecastle being a raised part of the vessel, were able to give great force to it.

Having made his way through all these tormentors in the best way he can, but not always without some bruises, he is at length able to escape to his berth on the gun deck, in somewhat as woeful a plight as a hunted hare, he vows vengeance upon all his tormentors and his only consolation is that of having it in his power to serve others in the same way on his next visit to old Neptune, and thus after a man has had his face and head smeared with tar the skin scraped off his chin, drenched inside and out with dirty salt water, and his mouth filled with a disgusting filth, in fact suffered indignities that are a thorough disgrace to those who carry them out and also a disgrace to those in authority who allow such proceedings, he is declared free of the ocean and "one of Neptune's Children" and allowed to go to any part of the world without being subjected to the like again.

The Captain was walking the poop the greater

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part of the time and seemed to be amused at what was going on and I saw him stop to look and speak to No1. as we called him, the Chief Mate, but all the officers took good care to keep out of the reach of the water that was flying about in all directions, in the neighborhood of the waist of the ship. They probably enjoyed the sport as intensely as anyone in their youthful sailorhood.

In trying to get away after his exit from the sail of water one man had broken his toe and was long lame in consequence but that was an accident, no real suffering can result from the water alone which is dashed about, any old dress is worn for the occasion and the water is warm enough although not very clean, it takes some time however to free the hair from the grease and filth. Some Maltese sailors that we had on board and not standing in very high favours with their shipmates, suffered severely, as I saw the marks of the razor on their chin for long afterwards, and one was in the sick list in consequence for sometime.

Some people have expressed their disbelief that our noble and manly "hearts of oak" which our sailors are supposed to be made of (the ships are made of Iron now) would carry their sports and amusements to such an extent, but I have given as an exact account of the ceremony as it was possible for a person in my position to get at, and there are plenty of my shipmates still alive that can vouch for its correctness, one smart little fellow who was on that voyage captain of the mizen top, was afterwards long master of a fine Smack sailing out of Yarmouth harbour, and whose name was Womack. We had fine and good men on board real sailors, and I know entitled to be called

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"Hearts of Oak" but merchant ships whether Indiamen or others are often in difficulty as to the choice of men for their crews and must often take such as offer themselves, without a possibility of ascertaining their characters, one or two of our lot were flogged for theft, and I am happy to say, flogging punishment in that ship, was only put in force for the crime of theft.

As soon as Neptune had visited all his children with those marks of fatherly affection, the procession formed in order again, passed along the quarter deck to the cuddy door where another glass of rum is given to each man belonging to it and they then disperse. The decks are cleaned up and the gun carriage restored to its proper place, but at night the gun deck was a regular scene of confusion, grog was plentyful and many of them with their noviatiation still fresh in their minds were pugnacious, and the consequence was numerous fights and a goodly show of black eyes the following morning.

In the "Asiatic Register" is an account of a lawsuit occasioned by these sports, a gentleman passenger to India on board an Indiaman told the Captain he would not submit to the usual ceremony on "crossing the Line" and demanded protection from insult. The Captain said it was a custom and he could not stop it.

"Very well" said the passenger, "I have paid you for my cabin, I shall consider it as my house no one shall enter it without my consent. I shall not pay your crew their demand, not suffer them to intrude upon my privacy on the day you think proper to give them a license to act tyranical.

"As you please" was the Captain's reply.

On the following day Neptune hailed the ship and the gentleman who had retired to his cabin