Elizabeth Stanton (AP 69) - Naval Cruise Book

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L roddina the C auatop When we speak of the word Shellback or Pollywog, we can only use these terms for one description, and that is the initiation the uninitiated must submit to in order to be accepted by King Neptune, or to use the more legal expression, Neptunus Rex. He is the one who, shall we say, is the mythological ruler of the deep. He makes his throne somewhere in the region of latitude 00. Actually, no one can trace the origin of the ritual, but it must be readily admitted by the most skeptical that it is rich with tradition. What is known about the ceremony is that in ancient times and up until fairly modern days the rites were performed upon the jjodies of those who had not passed the stage of being mere novices at this jjusiness of going to sea. In the beginning the indiscretions were harsh and bordered upon the cruel. It is said that this was so because it was a means of testing a man ' s endurance for the coming hardships of the sea. In its gradual evolutions and with the coming of steam, the cruelty gave way to a more picturescjue and showy production . . . but with the Pollywog still the ex;iloited one. It has now narrowed itself down to the slight inconveniences of being doused thoroughly with a hose or immersed in a tank or prodded with a rod charged with electricity. The victim walks the plank of many other prankish doings. His skin is usually well dyed with all the vaiuous colors of the rainbow, applied in the most novel ways. The hues are splattered at him. squirted at him, and even sprayed at him. Foul vegetables and very old eggs sometimes adorn his person while he is shedding his Pollywog condition and assuming the honorable status of accepted shellljack. The night ijefore the big doings proceed the Captain of the ship welcomes aboard Davy Jones, who with acclaim and in the flowery language of the ancients welcomes the ship into the area sanctuary. It is strictly the crew ' s party, and officers too must submit to the initiation. The rites can be traced back as far as the Normans, Saxons, Vikings, and Angles. Each one of these peoples used a different parallel of latitude to introduce the sea, as it were, into a man ' s life. It is interesting to see how eager a man is to inflict Shellbackness on a newcomer just as soon as he himself has donned the newly awarded status. 63

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