Mount Vernon (AP 22) - Naval Cruise Book

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Several dances were held for the entertainment of the Yanks. The last night In port a dance was scheduled, but liberty was cancelled. There was a mass ship-jumping move, and by 1900 the ship was deserted. Working parties on the dock, under the supervision of Dudley, suddenly had cargo nets filled with sailors headed for town. At that time the ship was In possession of oversized S.I. cans. One of the men, in dress blues, secreted himself in the can, had a couple of fellows cover him with newspapers, carry him to the dock, and set the can down behind some packing cases, where he climbed out and took off. Other men were able to get off over the stern lines. Upon returning, the boys solved the problem of boarding the ship In an equally ingenious manner. Over in cargo nets they came. Some, borrowing leggings, the long coats, and the hats of the Aussie soldiers

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Adelaide, Australia is about an hour ' s train ride up the river from the port. The train, running from the port to the city, is pulled by an engine purchased from the states; the model was popular here in the eighteen hundreds, and the train jerks, and tosses, and stops, it seems, every several hundred yards. Cut off from the rest of Australia by a chain of mountains, the city is a quiet, overgrown country town. Like all cities of English design, it appears old and worn. Adelaide is not large, but what it lacks in size, it makes up in the number of pubs. There were no activities until eve- ning, then, in the blackout, the glow of cigarettes marked the lines of people awaiting entrance to the theatres. In the blackout the sound of footsteps was amplified. This sound rose in volume as the theatres loosed their crowds onto the streets.

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worlclng on the dock, boldly walked aboard, saluted the O.O.D. and said that they were to work in the hold that was being loaded. It sud- denly occurred to the O.O.D. that a very large nunnber of Aussies were conning aboard, especially when he saw a cargo net filled with coats, hats and leggings leaving the ship from number six hold. The next man, he stopped — it was a sailor. Ten men in all came aboard reporting that they were Ramos, Sic. relieved from gate watch. Lt. Harvey called Midshipman O ' Riley and ordered him to make a tour of the ship to stop the illegal returning aboard. A man, in a soldier ' s coat was part way up the stern line. O ' Riley ordered him back and when he continued on toward the ship, pulled his 45 . With the remark You win! , the man crawled back and presented himself to the O.O.D. Mr. Harvey caught another in a Digger uniform, and, at the point of a gun marched him aboard and arrested him. A more successful means of returning to the ship was climbing down the dock, walking along the camel, and entering the fuel port. All in all, there were 48 deck courts, and 8 summary courts. The ship never returned to Adelaide. SYDNEY claimed to be a second New York. In a few ways, they are comparable. Both have their harbors. New York has her Central Park, Sydney has her Domain. The contrast between the bright lights of Cen- tral Park and the blacked-out Domain was obvious; two of the chiefs carried blankets ashore. The Troc was the Mount Vernon ' s while she was in town. The Balti- more made larger sandwiches; the waitresses never left the plates, but jerked them off the table as soon as the customer finished. Replace- ments were impossible to find. Sydney did have food, rare items such as Pig Trotters In jelly at the Carleton, Toheroa soup from Adam ' s Fish Cafe, a peculiar grey liquid called coffee. Milk bars stood at every corner. Traffic was a bother, they were going the wrong way on the right side of the street. Busses carried their gas bags on their tops. The people of King ' s Cross learned not to call all Americans Yanks . Most of the southern men of the ship pounded the Information Into their heads. Brake had never been seasick aboard the ship. The ferry to Luna Park accomplished what the M. V, could not do. Leaning over the rail, he lost his balance, and landed in the drink. The ferry stopped. He was fished from the water. Luna Park was at the foot of the Sydney Bridge, across the bay from Woolomolo. Any night of the week, a muster of the sailors Included the entire liberty section. Durst was discovered on his hands and knees sifting In the sands. Attempting to be helpful, Jack Parsons wandered down started searching, too. What are we looking for? asked Parsons. My tooth , said Durst. I was standing on the bridge and spit it out.