Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-08-19
ICentinued from first page.

hands, The f1rm uecllneu 10 wait longer
than the specified time, which, after all
gave me ali reasonable latitude for arriv'
ing in Japan. My travelling expense:
were betrayed by Parker Il Mills; and al
together the prospects which lay before
me seemed fair enough. When once
should be member of the "house," Dora
and could pitch our tent matrimonial
without running any risks of hardshlps' III
the strange new land that was but yesee, .
day thrown open to the encroachlng Wes,.
She and her father had come as iar d
Southampton to see me off, ana Ola Lne
farewell on the deck of the steamer tna'
was to wait me along the first stage Vi 'no
watery high road that led to fortune.
The Mediterranean voyage, the transit
of Suez. the descent of the Red sea- ana
the doubling of Cape Comoria' were all
efFectad in uneventful comfort. But at
Po;nt. de- Gale disappointment did occur
The regular packet that should have been
ready to convey mails and passengers
.Jananward, had sustained, on the eve OF
sailing, a severe accident to her machinery
occasioning a vexatious and unavoidable
DELAY. Some of the outward-bound seemed
scacely sorry to have so good an excuse
for q ramble on shore, and short soJourn
in the luxurious climate of Ceylon; but l.
with two or three others who were eager
to reach their destination, made imme-
date INQUIRIES as the quickest means OF
getting to the end of my journey.
81 scarcely know what to recommend.
inst at this moment" said the good-hu-
mored agent of the Peninsular and Orien-
tai. "Ifit were for Shanghai or for Hong
Kong that you wanted passage, there
would be no difficulty at all; but Japan is
another matter. Stay; to be sure there is
the Saucy Maid, clearing out for Nagasaki
harbor with an assorted cargo-a crank
boat, but very fast, and with fair weather
and smooth seas, will make the run at
racing speed. Her passenger accommo-
dalton Is none Of the best; but old Captain
Harris is not bad sort of skipper when
you understand his ways. and he won't
overcharge you for the trip.
/ found on inquiry that the Saucy Maid
was a clipper-built bark, with very tall
masts and powerful auxiliary engines. to
force her along in case of contrary winds
or calm. There was but one berth va
cant In the small space allotted to passen-
gers, and this was yielded up to me with
out murmur by former companions, who
looked with dismay at the cramped quar-
tiers with which voyagers in the clipper
were compelled to be content.
/ was . sailor, however, and had less
fear of roughing it in vessel not built
with any particular regard to a passen-
gers comforts than might have been ex-
cusable in landsman. There could be
no doubt as to the Saucy Maids seven
leagued abilities of covering stretch of
sea, were the weather but favorable; while
gruf Captain Harris, rum-drinking vet
eran Of the old school, was tolerably civil
a. soon as he learned that my own youth
had been spent upon the ocean. For the
rest Of his passengers, who were to use
his passengers, who were to use bis own
phrase. 80 queer lot-Parsee brokers,
Armenian bag-men, and half-caste Portu-
guese from Goa,"-he had contempt
that he did not care to conceal. Nor were
his crew by any means such as a prudent
commander would desire to rely on in
moments iof danger. There were too
many Lascars and Cinnamon, and the
European sailors were chiefly foreign sea-
men from the north Of Europe-patient,
docile fellows enough. but not quite the
sort Of stuff one cares to have near one at
. pinch. The weather was, however,
beautifully fine, and on sailing we soon
saw the low, blue line of the Ceylon coast
hull-down in the distance.
'.If the wind holds" said the skipper as
we walked the deck together, "why Mr..
Harland. you'll sight the tall peak OF Fusi-
yams In fewer days than the time we
manned the capstan to weigh anchor, then
il the mail-steamer had not been crippled
in her gear. I've been on this line. now,
for ten years. and wonderful luck the old |
barky has had, can tell you. Look how
every sail draws, and how the water boils
beneath her counter u
But the luck of the Saucy Maid was des-
tined to interruption. The fair breeze
died away, and was succeeded by battling
head-winds, with usual Accomplishments
Of annoyance, tedium, and sea-sickness
among the landsmen on board. The
strong auxiliary engines carried us, in
spite of the elements, through the water,
but the consumption of coal was so great
that when dead calm made our sails
quite useless, the Captain thought it best
to bear up for the coast of the great island
OF Formosa, in hopes there to obtain a
fresh supply of fuel from some one of the
vessels likely to be then lying in the shell
tered bay of lima. Coal bought under
such circumstances was likely to prove a
costly purchase, but time was ofvalue also,
and Captain Harris did not hesitate.
Unfortunately, as it appeared, not one
of the few steamships along with a far
greater number of sailing vessels of every |
rig and nation, lay becalmed in lima road
side and haven could spare to us at any
price, ton of the precious black da-
monds, without which our engines were
inert lumber. There was nothing for it |
but to wait, and as the tough old skipper
,aid to "whistle for wind" Under this
the worst side of Captains
nature came uppermost. He was an Hit
crate old sea-dog of the,Commodore Trun
aien sort. and in idleness knew no solace
hut the bottle. He was quarrelsome, too
In his cups. insulting the passengers, cuff
ing and cursing as he went among the
crew. and leaving the care OF the Saucy
Maid to his first mate, quiet-looking
young German from Bremen.
In the natural harbor, rocky basin, al
most land-locked, and overlooked by the
sterile mountains of tine mountains of the
Interior, lay junks. torches, and proas
by dusky or yellow-skinned mar
iners Of every nation from Malacca to Co.
rea, and with them were mingled Euro
pean and American crafts of different