Hammock

( hamac, Fr. ) a sort of bed made of cotton or canvas. Those used in America consisted of a broad piece of canvas which was suspended between two branches of a tree, or between two stakes, and in which the savages are accustomed to sleep. Among sailors the hammock is about six feet long and three feet broad, and drawn together at the two ends, and hung horizontally under the deck for the sailors to repose in. In time of battle, the hammocks are strongly fastened and laid above the rails on the quarter-deck and forecastle, to barricade, and to prevent the execution of small shot.