The Sailor's Word-Book Part 160

MAKE STERN-WAY, TO. To retreat, or move stern foremost.

MAKE THE LAND, TO. To see it from a distance after a voyage.

MAKE WATER, TO. Usually signifies the act of a s.h.i.+p leaking, unless the epithet _foul_ be added. (_See_ FOUL WATER.)

MAKING IRON. One of the caulker's tools; it has a groove in it, and is used after the caulking iron to finish off the seam. (_See_ MEAKING.)

MAKING OFF. Cutting the flensed blubber of a whale into pieces, fitted to pa.s.s in at the bilge-holes of the b.u.t.ts which receive it.

MALA FIDES. In admiralty law, not to be presumed, even under concealment of letters, or deviation from truth in formal papers.

MALDUCK. One of the names given to the fulmar, _Procellaria glacialis_.

MALKIN. A joint-staff sponge, for cleaning out a piece of ordnance.

MALINGERER [Fr. _malingre_]. One who counterfeits illness for the purpose of avoiding duty.

MALLARD. The male of the wild duck (_Anas boschas_).

MALLEMAK, OR MOLLYMAUK. A sea-bird; the _Procellaria glacialis_, called also _fulmar_ (which see).

MALLEMAROKING. The visiting and carousing of seamen in the Greenland s.h.i.+ps.

MALLET. A wooden hammer, of which there are several sorts.--_A caulking mallet_ is employed to drive the oak.u.m into the seams of a s.h.i.+p. The head of this mallet is long, cylindrical, and hooped with iron.--_Serving mallet._ A cylindrical piece of wood with a groove on one side and a handle on the other. It is used in serving the rigging, binding the spun yarn more firmly about it than could be done by hand.

MALLOW. A northern name for the sea-plant _Zostera marina_.

MALTHA. Mineral pitch.

MAN. A s.h.i.+p is frequently spoken of as _man_; as man-of-war, merchantman, Guineaman, East or West Indiaman, Greenlandman, &c.

MAN, TO. To provide a competent number of hands for working and fighting a s.h.i.+p; to place people for duty, as "Man the barge;" "Man the capstan;"

"Man the yards," &c.

MAN, ISLE OF, BATTERY. A name given to the three guns mounted on s.h.i.+ps'

turrets.

MANACLE. A handcuff.

MANARVEL, TO. To pilfer small stores.

MANATEE, MANATI, OR SEA-COW (_Manatus america.n.u.s_). A herbivorous aquatic animal of the order _Sirenia_, found in the West Indies and South American rivers. Another species (_Manatus senegalensis_) inhabits the west coast of Africa.

MAN-BOUND. Detained in port in consequence of being short of complement.

MAN-BROKER. Synonymous with _crimp_ (which see).

MANBY'S MORTAR. An efficient apparatus for throwing a sh.e.l.l with a line and chain attached to it, over a stranded vessel, and thereby opening a communication between the wreck and the sh.o.r.e.

MANCHE OF MANGALORE. A flat-bottomed boat of burden, about 25 to 35 feet long, 6 or 7 feet broad, and 4 or 5 feet deep, for landing the cargoes of the _patamars_, which are discharged and loaded at the mouth of the river. These boats are sewed together like the Masulah boats of Madras.--The _Manche of Calicut_ is very similar to the foregoing, with the exception of a raking stem for the purpose of taking the beach.

MANCHINEEL. _Hippomane mancinella_, a tree which grows to a vast size on the coasts of the Caribbee Isles and neighbouring continent. The fruit and sap are highly poisonous; but sleeping beneath the branches does not cause death, as was erroneously supposed.

MANDARIN. A Portuguese word derived from _mandare_, "to command." It is unknown to the Chinese and Tonquinese, who style their dignitaries "quahn."

MANDILION. A loose boat-cloak of former times.

MANDRIL. A wooden cylinder for forming paper cartridges.

MANGER. A small berthing in the bows, extending athwart the deck of a s.h.i.+p-of-war immediately within the hawse-holes, and separated on the after-part from the rest of the deck by the _manger-board_, a strong coaming rather higher than the hawse-holes, serving to prevent the ingress of the sea when the cables are bent; this water is returned to the sea through the manger-scuppers, which are made large for that purpose.

MANGONEL. An ancient military engine in the form of a gigantic cross-bow, discharging large darts and stones, used in battering fortified places: a kind of ballista.

MANGONIZE, TO. To traffic in slaves.

MAN-HANDLE, TO. To move by force of men, without levers or tackles.

MAN-HOLE. The aperture, secured by a door, in the upper part of a steam-boiler, which allows a person to enter for repairing it or removing the deposit or crust of salt.

MAN-HUNTING. The impress service.

MANIFEST. An official inventory of the cargo of a merchant s.h.i.+p, specifying the name and tonnage of the vessel, the description of goods, the names of s.h.i.+ppers and consignees, and the marks of each package.

MANILLA ROPE. A valuable cordage made in the Philippines, which, not being subject to rot, does not require to be tarred.

MANIPLE. A small armed party; a term derived from the subdivision of a Roman cohort.

MANUVRE. A dexterous management of anything connected with the s.h.i.+p.

MAN-OF-WAR. Any vessel in the royal navy.

MAN-OF-WAR BIRD, OR FRIGATE BIRD. _Fregata aquila_, a sea-bird of the family _Pelecanidae_, found in the tropics, remarkable for the length of its wings and rapidity of its flight.

MAN-OF-WAR FAs.h.i.+ON. A state of order, tidiness, and good discipline.

MAN-OF-WAR'S MAN. A seaman belonging to the royal navy.

MANOMETER. A steam-gauge.

MAN OVERBOARD! A cry which excites greater activity in a s.h.i.+p than any other, from the anxious desire to render a.s.sistance.

MAN s.h.i.+P! Is to range the people on the yards and rigging in readiness to give three cheers, as a salute on meeting, parting company, or other occasions; a good old custom now slackening. In war, as instanced by the _Nymphe_ and _Cleopatra_, the meeting of enemies was truly chivalrous; though there was a case where the response was so moderated as to be laughed at as "a cheer with the chill on."

MANSIONS OF THE MOON. _See_ LUNAR MANSIONS.

MANTILLIS. A kind of s.h.i.+eld anciently fixed upon the tops of s.h.i.+ps as a cover for archers.

MANTLETS. Large movable musket-proof blinds used by besiegers at the head of a sap, now mostly fitted to embrasures to protect the gunners from sharpshooters: they are best when made of plaited rope.