Part 15

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18.—I read a good deal, as the ship has an excellent library; frequently I take out two books a day. One I read this morning is entitled, “The Cruise of the ‘Falcon.’” In 1880, an Englishman named E. F. Knight conceived the notion of taking a long voyage in a small yacht called the “Falcon.” The vessel was only forty-two feet long and thirteen feet wide, yet he cruised in it for twenty months, going from England to South America, and thence to the West Indies, where he sold his boat, and took a steamer home. The crew consisted of Knight and three friends, and a boy. One of these friends, Jerdein, had been an officer on a P. & O. liner, and was a skilled navigator and seaman, while Knight was an amateur yachtsman of considerable experience; but the other two, Andrews and Arnand, were landlubbers. The boy was fifteen years old, and had been to sea several times. On the way to South America they stopped at several islands, and had a prosperous and agreeable voyage. Their undertaking was thought to be a foolhardy one, and the newspapers at the time devoted much space to the voyage, but the little “Falcon” turned out to be quite fast, and rode the seas well; two thousand miles were made in ten consecutive days off the coast of South America. Five months were devoted to a trip up the Parana and Paraguay rivers. At Buenos Aires, Jerdein, Andrews and Arnand concluded that they had had enough of it, and quit the little boat. Knight was not discouraged, and hired three Italian sailors, in addition to the boy. With these he put to sea, and had a very rough voyage.... There are two islands called Trinidad; one of them in the West Indies, and the other off the coast of lower South America. Knight determined to visit the latter island, and had a very remarkable experience. The landing was bad, and he found the island an unwholesome and inhospitable place. At one spot on the island he found a great lot of wreckage; it looked as though many foundered ships had drifted in there and gone to pieces. He believed treasure might be found in the wreckage, but the weather was stormy, and he did not know what moment the “Falcon” might be compelled to sail away for safety, so he gave up the treasure, and left the island, where he spent three or four very uncomfortable days. From Trinidad he went to Bahia, and to the Amazon, meeting with all sorts of adventures, finally landing at Barbadoes, where he sold the “Falcon,” and sailed for home on a steamship.... I suppose Knight elaborated his dangers and adventures; talkers do this, and I see no reason why writers should not. Many of his most remarkable stories he had second-hand; the wonderful incidents recorded happened a day, or a week, or a month, after he arrived at certain places. This is true of most very remarkable circumstances; the narrators do not say they witnessed them, but gentlemen they had every reason to believe truthful told them the stories, etc. Dozens of men have told me of the famous pilot-fish of New Zealand, which pilots all ships through a certain channel. None of these gentlemen have actually seen the pilot-fish at work, but they met a gentleman only last week, or the week before, who had seen it. By-the-way, a recent Sydney paper says the famous pilot-fish has not been seen in six months; it is feared that he has been killed by the crew of some whaling-ship.... Another favorite story is of the fogs in London, yet I have never seen anyone who has witnessed one of these fogs. And the _Scientific American_ stated not long ago that the old-fashioned London fog has disappeared; that one has not been seen in a good many years.... Speaking of whalers, it is generally agreed that in the old days when that industry was flourishing and profitable, the Yankees were the smartest men at the business. Indeed, when an English firm built and equipped a whaling-ship, Yankees were employed to teach the English crew the business. I have been grumbling a little because of this voyage of nineteen days. The old whalers used to be gone three years on their voyages; sometimes they did not see land for ten months at a time. Capturing a whale was as dangerous as a naval battle. The sailors went after it in small boats, and a whale was rarely captured under six or seven hours.... The sea is supposed to be very dangerous. As a matter of fact, a sea voyage is not as dangerous as a railroad journey. Take a hundred thousand people who travel a given number of hours by rail, and compare them with a hundred thousand who travel a like number of hours by sea, and those traveling by sea will have very much the best of it, so far as safety is concerned. Indeed, going to sea is safer than staying at home. Ever remark the great number of people who are killed around home? The newspapers are full of dreadful accidents occurring in quiet, rural communities where life is supposed to be particularly safe. Every time a farmer hitches up a team, he runs a risk. A buggy-ride is dangerous; the hold-back straps are liable to break, in going down hill; and a buggy running onto the heels of a horse is almost sure to cause an accident. And public streets and roads are more dangerous than ever since automobiles became so numerous.... In seacoast towns everywhere may be seen thousands of old men who have spent their lives at sea almost without accident. An insurance company regards a seaman as a safe risk; as safe as a farmer. It isn’t the danger that should keep you off the sea; it is seasickness, and four in a room 9×10 feet. Nor is it the expense that should keep you off the sea. For this voyage of practically twenty days I pay $150; or $7.50 a day. It would cost that at a New York hotel for room and board. And there are sea voyages much cheaper than this one: there is a White Star boat running between Sydney and London, by way of South Africa, which charges about $5 a day for the journey. It combines first, second and third-class into one class, but is said to be very fair.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19.—We are the only Americans on board the “Anchises,” although a passenger from London once met an American who lived in Connecticut. The Londoner asked me today if I knew his Connecticut friend. I was compelled to confess I did not know him, although the London man said his friend was one of the prominent men of that part of the world.... It seems we are not a musical crowd; although a concert has been announced for the night before we reach Durban, there is no one to play the piano. I suggested to a member of the Sports Committee that some of us might learn, as we would have ample time, but he did not believe my scheme practical. A man on board has a graphophone, with sixty records, and this is going a good deal. Last night he loaned the machine to his nurse girl, and she gave a concert on the lower deck for the benefit of the crew. One of the firemen plays the violin, and the laundry girls, stewardesses and nurse girls danced with members of the crew. It was a bright moonlight night, and this social event attracted more attention than anything else we have had on board. There was a euchre tournament in the smoking-room, but it did not attract as much attention as the dance. Euchre is called a “nigger’s game” here; it is said to be so simple that niggers can learn it.... Women are in the smoking-room of the “Anchises” constantly, but some captains do not allow this: they say the smoking-room is for men, and that if women are allowed in the room, some of the men will keep out.... The Eurasian on board speaks no English, and, in addition, has had toothache for more than a week. Toothache is one of the dangers of the sea. Captain Trask told me that he once suffered seven weeks with toothache, when on a sailing-ship, and was not free from pain a moment during all that time. On a sailing-ship there is no doctor; the captain doctors the sailors when they become ill, and usually he doesn’t know much about medicine.... We have had an unusually smooth sea today, but the weather has been cloudy; we have not had a clear day since leaving Adelaide, although the sun occasionally shows itself for a short time.... The English people are as crazy about cricket as Americans are about baseball. A man who attends all cricket games, and knows all the fine points, is called a “barracker.” But he does not abuse the players, as do our baseball fans; a “barracker” seems to be more of a gentleman than a “fan.”... I don’t believe I look at the sea more than once a day; usually, when I get up in the morning, I look out the window, and remark that the sea is smoother or rougher than yesterday, but that is about all. I have never seen anything beautiful or unusual at sea, except one evening when on the “Sonoma.” I was leaning over the rail forward, as the sun was setting. The rays of the setting sun were reflected in the waves rolled up by the prow of the ship; I could see all the colors of the rainbow, and the effect was very unusual and beautiful. But as a rule, the sea is never majestic, though it is frequently what the English call “nasty.”... This is our seventh day out, and we have not seen a sail or ship. One day we saw a black spot which might have been smoke from a steamer, but that is all. Even the albatross have deserted us, and we are as lonely as lonely can be. The members of the Sports Committee are working hard to Keep Something Going On, but they are not meeting with any great success. It is amusing to see them hunt up players for the different games. The head of the Sports Committee is a fine old gentleman named Irons, a friend of ours, and we find a good deal of amusement in watching him worry around like the man who proposed a picnic which isn’t going very well. We try to take the Sports Committee seriously, since the other passengers would probably think us “funny” if we did not (if they do not already entertain that suspicion), but as a matter of fact the Sports Committee is a joke to us. “Well,” one member of the committee said to me this evening, “it has been a strenuous day.” I thought it the dullest day I ever experienced anywhere. We hear this evening that our friend Mr. Irons, head of the Sports Committee, is in bed as a result of the excitement of the day, and we are laughing at him, in which his wife joins us.... It is at least clean at sea; no dust and no dirt. If it were not for the idea of it, you might wear a collar a week at sea.... Somewhere out in this wilderness there is said to be a large island where the women greatly outnumber the men; of six hundred adults, five hundred are women. I have forgotten the name of the place, but I have heard the men talk about it a good deal. On this island, the men do nothing, and the women wait upon them with great cheerfulness. A man is at liberty to have as many wives as he pleases; the men tell very amusing stories about life on the island, and usually they tell them in the presence of the women, to adorn a moral. This paradise for men is known in a general way as “The Island,” and I am of the opinion that it is an invention of some man who has dreamed of such a place, after being imposed upon a good deal by women and girls.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20.—In Australia, what we call a tramp is known as a “Sundowner,” because of his habit of appearing at sundown, and asking for a night’s entertainment.... The best thing we have to eat on the ship is oatmeal, which is served every morning for breakfast. I have been neglecting this nutritious and palatable food for years, having drifted off to new breakfast foods extensively advertised, but I shall drift back to the Old Reliable, as I find it surprisingly good.... Opposite me on deck today sat a woman reading an English magazine. On the front cover was an advertisement of “Black and White” whisky. The magazine was about the size of our _Ladies’ Home Journal_; imagine that fine publication with a whisky advertisement occupying two-thirds of the front cover page.... A passenger named Grice was telling this morning of an uncomfortable experience. He was riding after cattle on the plains of Australia, when his horse fell over an ant-hill. The horse broke its neck, and fell on the man in such a way as to pin him to the ground. After six or seven hours, help arrived. There was no surgeon in the district, and the man was carried to Melbourne, 180 miles. Here he was operated on seven times, and is just out of the hospital, where he spent eight months. He is on his way to Mombasa, in Africa, to hunt. When surgeons and hospitals are mentioned, I find that the Mayos, of Rochester, Minnesota, are known everywhere.... I have heard that some men, when they return from a long trip abroad, are very conceited about it, and talk too much of their experiences. In case I am so fortunate as to return from this trip, I shall be very modest, and greatly admire those who had sense enough to remain at home. How I admire Uncle Bruce, of Potato Hill farm, who has nothing to do this winter except haul manure from town for his next year’s crop! What good things he has to eat down at the farm-house! And what an appetite he has! I wish I could change places with him. For dinner today we had venison and pheasant, but they tasted like leather. Game kept a long time isn’t fit to eat.... Last night there was a dance on deck, and members of the Sports Committee were indignant because of the small attendance. “We have worked hard to provide amusement,” they said, “and almost no one is dancing.” It has probably never occurred to the members of the Sports Committee that they are a nuisance rather than a blessing. It would be very much pleasanter on board if a Gay Time had never been thought of. I do not care to dance; nor do I care to have members of the Sports Committee urge me to dance. If I care to play quoits, or any other of the deck games, I do not need a Sports Committee to urge me. The members of the Sports Committee think it an outrage that Adelaide does not dance, and look at me reproachfully. I tell them I had nothing to do with it; that her parents are church members, and do not believe in dancing. This also greatly astonishes them. It wouldn’t surprise me if the members of the Sports Committee did not finally get into trouble with some of the other passengers who want to be let alone. I hear a good deal of grumbling in the smoking-room from men who are being constantly urged to dance, take part in the concert, play skittles, or quoits, or deck billiards, or sea croquet. The members of the Sports Committee remind me of five or six men who decide that a town needs another lodge, and bore all the other citizens to join. Wherever you go, on land or sea, you find impudent men who urge others to do things there is no necessity for doing. Our pastor, the tall clergyman heretofore mentioned, is far more considerate of us than members of the Sports Committee. Sunday morning he sends a steward about the deck tolling a gong, to give notice that religious services will shortly be held in the music-room; but those who do not care to attend are not reprimanded by the holy man for absence. I thoroughly dislike a man who is forever protesting because others do not accept his notions, or admire whatever he happens to admire. Always remember that what you regard as the greatest thing in the world may be regarded as the most useless by many worthy and intelligent people.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21.—On this ship are eighteen thousand frozen sheep carcasses, en route from Australia to London. In order to keep this meat properly, great refrigerators are necessary. This frozen-meat trade is the source of Australia’s prosperity; before it was inaugurated, Australian sheep were not worth much except for their wool and tallow; old-timers in Australia remember when a sheep carcass might be bought for a shilling. This frozen-meat trade is also carried on between South America and England, and the result is that the English have cheap meat. The people of the United States might have cheap meat, also, were it not for the tariff. Our admiration for the farmer is so great that we pay a third or half more for meat than is necessary, in order that the farmer may receive high prices for his live-stock. When an American goes to a meat market, would he cheerfully pay thirty cents instead of twenty for a piece of meat were it not for his Statesmen? I have always doubted that the people see the advantage of a high tariff; it is the Statesmen who are able to figure it out.... The men who thought of the frozen-meat scheme did a lot for humanity, but probably no one knows who they are; hundreds of men had a little to do with it.... The captain says a ship loaded with frozen meat arrives in England from Australia or South America every day of the year.... The “Anchises,” on its last voyage out to Australia, was in a great storm in the Bay of Biscay, and the ship’s doctor was seasick four days. “Tell me,” I said to the doctor today, “how a big storm at sea looks.” “Blessed if I know,” he replied; “I was sick in bed; I didn’t see anything of it.”... My dining-room steward says the captain is always sick for a day or two after leaving port, but the other ship employees deny this. They say that on leaving port the captain has his meals served in his room, which is near the bridge, and thus the story of seasickness started.... We have had a bad sea all day, with drizzling rain. Not many are sick, owing to the ship’s unusual steadiness. It rolls and pitches, but gently, and I wonder the “Anchises” is not famous the world over for its unusual sea-going qualities. Some ships cut up at sea, however carefully they were built, while occasionally one will prove unusually steady. The “Maunganui” was a big ship, and very handsome, but it had a certain little movement of its own that was atrocious. While lying in my bed, the ship came up under me in such a way as to make me feel as though I were hanging on a clothesline, with the back of my head dangling against my heels.... The English have many customs and pronunciations I do not understand. How much do you suppose a hundredweight is in England? Not a hundred pounds, but a hundred and twelve pounds. A ton, consequently, is not 2,000 pounds, but 2,240 pounds; and this system bothers every country with which England does business. The English also use the term guinea in reckoning money, although there is no such coin, nor is English paper money issued in guineas. A guinea is as much more than $5 as a pound is less. If the people of the United States should invent a slang term meaning $1.03, and occasionally use it in reckoning money, instead of the dollar, it would be about the same thing as the English custom of occasionally dragging out the word guinea, and using it, to confuse strangers.... Some Americans say, “Don’t you know?” in conversation, and it is a very bad habit, since the term is meaningless, and soon gets on the nerves of the listener. The English make fun of the expression, and represent all Americans as saying “Don’t you know?” It is a fact that too many of them do. But Australians add, “You see” to their statements a great deal. I believe a majority of the Australians say “Yis,” instead of “Yes,” and they have many other oddities of speech which grate on the nerves of Americans, who believe in pure as well as free speech.... On a rough night, the squeaks in a ship sleeping-room are worth mentioning. Last night as I lay in bed, I made note of the squeaks, and could distinctly count four different ones: two for each pitch, and two for each roll. When the weather is fine, there is no strain on the ship, and the squeaks disappear.... This morning at 10 o’clock the captain made a calculation, and said the time in Atchison was 10 P. M. Thursday night. He showed me how he figured it. Atchison is in 96 degrees longitude; therefore it is six hours and twenty-four minutes _behind_ Greenwich time. The ship today is in 80 degrees longitude, and therefore five hours and twenty minutes _ahead_ of Greenwich. To be exact, the difference in time between Atchison and the position of the ship today is eleven hours and forty-four minutes.... The lady who has five children and two nurses on board says that babies should be made to mind when six months old. I told her that in America we did not begin spanking that young; that our rule was to spank girl babies at eight months, and boy babies at one year.... Which recalls the fact that I have lately been reading R. A. Wallace’s “Malay Archipelago.” Wallace spent several years in that section in hunting the orang-utan, the monkey-like animal which is most like man. One day he killed an adult female, and found that it had a baby six or seven weeks old. This he tried to raise, hoping to present it to the British Museum. He found the baby orang-utan very much like a human baby. It cried for food, or when uncomfortable, and became so badly spoilt that he was compelled to spank it when it became four or five months old. Unfortunately the little orang-utan contracted an illness about this time, and all Professor Wallace could do was not sufficient to save its life.