{"id":"01KG8AMGEH97XVMSTK7HT39XBJ","cid":"bafkreidxldkrc7iknjs37xhxalxc7vrpl7eftu5pzp6d44w5kvrt3faxte","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":4020,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:36.270Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 2","source_file":"01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY","start_line":3964,"text":"elements, and “whistle for a wind,” the usual practice of seamen in a\r\ncalm. No fire was allowed, except for the indispensable purpose of\r\ncooking, and heating bottles of water to toast Selvagee’s feet. He who\r\npossessed the largest stock of vitality, stood the best chance to\r\nescape freezing. It was horrifying. In such weather any man could have\r\nundergone amputation with great ease, and helped take up the arteries\r\nhimself.\r\n\r\nIndeed, this state of affairs had not lasted quite twenty-four hours,\r\nwhen the extreme frigidity of the air, united to our increased tendency\r\nto inactivity, would very soon have rendered some of us subjects for\r\nthe surgeon and his mates, had not a humane proceeding of the Captain\r\nsuddenly impelled us to vigorous exercise.\r\n\r\nAnd here be it said, that the appearance of the Boat-swain, with his\r\nsilver whistle to his mouth, at the main hatchway of the gun-deck, is\r\nalways regarded by the crew with the utmost curiosity, for this\r\nbetokens that some general order is about to be promulgated through the\r\nship. What now? is the question that runs on from man to man. A short\r\npreliminary whistle is then given by “Old Yarn,” as they call him,\r\nwhich whistle serves to collect round him, from their various stations,\r\nhis four mates. Then Yarn, or Pipes, as leader of the orchestra, begins\r\na peculiar call, in which his assistants join. This over, the order,\r\nwhatever it may be, is loudly sung out and prolonged, till the remotest\r\ncorner echoes again. The Boatswain and his mates are the town-criers of\r\na man-of-war.\r\n\r\nThe calm had commenced in the afternoon: and the following morning the\r\nship’s company were electrified by a general order, thus set forth and\r\ndeclared: “_D’ye hear there, for and aft! all hands skylark!_”\r\n\r\nThis mandate, nowadays never used except upon very rare occasions,\r\nproduced the same effect upon the men that Exhilarating Gas would have\r\ndone, or an extra allowance of “grog.” For a time, the wonted\r\ndiscipline of the ship was broken through, and perfect license allowed.\r\nIt was a Babel here, a Bedlam there, and a Pandemonium everywhere. The\r\nTheatricals were nothing compared with it. Then the faint-hearted and\r\ntimorous crawled to their hiding-places, and the lusty and bold shouted\r\nforth their glee.\r\n\r\nGangs of men, in all sorts of outlandish habiliments, wild as those\r\nworn at some crazy carnival, rushed to and fro, seizing upon whomsoever\r\nthey pleased—warrant-officers and dangerous pugilists excepted—pulling\r\nand hauling the luckless tars about, till fairly baited into a genial\r\nwarmth. Some were made fast to and hoisted aloft with a will: others,\r\nmounted upon oars, were ridden fore and aft on a rail, to the\r\nboisterous mirth of the spectators, any one of whom might be the next\r\nvictim. Swings were rigged from the tops, or the masts; and the most\r\nreluctant wights being purposely selected, spite of all struggles, were\r\nswung from East to West, in vast arcs of circles, till almost\r\nbreathless. Hornpipes, fandangoes, Donnybrook-jigs, reels, and\r\nquadrilles, were danced under the very nose of the most mighty captain,\r\nand upon the very quarter-deck and poop. Sparring and wrestling, too,\r\nwere all the vogue; _Kentucky bites_ were given, and the _Indian hug_\r\nexchanged. The din frightened the sea-fowl, that flew by with\r\naccelerated wing.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 2"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJQSEG0NG7XBMK0AZEKS5","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AMGEB3PVWB94MQRC1S7TS","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AMGEH1F6RH4A0XMQBM8SK","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:39.377Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:45.673Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}