The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-09-19
EN- ROUTE FOR HONOLULU.
An American Captain That Disgraced Him.
self-Notes of Life on Shipboard.

Correspondence of the Indianapolis journal.
HoSoLuLy, Aug. 2S.-Fancy an American
tub full to the brim of rinsing- water, as the
darkies like it, deeply, darkly blue: fancy it full
OF white shirts that toss up their sleeves-that
is the Pacific ocean as we saw it day after day
1t lies there in the midst of the sky, and the
feeling is that of surprise that it ia so small and
the sky so far beyond ii. spoke Of this TO one
of the officers of the boat, and he said, why
nor We were so near on level with il, we did
not see more than three four miles, while in
Nevada had been looking at mountains eighty
miles away
No one has fully seen San Francisco till he has
watched it from the Golden Gate: then he must
watch the Golden Gate as it lights up in the
setting sun, glooms, and sinks under the green
water, which is very rough; and we swung over
the sea under stiff breeze that made one feel
that at last one has wings. OtL srs tell of
other feelings it gave them, but / missed the
seasickness. Something is ALWAYS crowded out
Some of the people on board were Hawaiians;
part were 'half-whites," the common name here
They are good-.ooking but with the color, lips
and noses of Africa; are fat but graceful
For one thing | was not prepared-the lack of
breeding of the captain. His attention was given
most OF the time to two half white girls and their
father who sat by him at table. After were
all seated, he would leave the table to hunt
of them up, and we must all wait till he returned
and take what he and they did not want The
celery was always passed to them first, and the
four helped themselves so iiberally there were
only green stalks for the rest of his table. The
captain continually took advantage OF his posi-
ton at the head of the table to violate the laws
or good society, not only taking the best of
everything, but in little details of table manners
did not know how disgusting middle aged man
could be till saw him dancing alone on the deck
to the music OF a native banjo one of the half
white girls played, ana before a group of passen-
gers. The man whom he took such pains to en-
terrain lives here with three women in the same
house, and here is regarded savage But he
goes to the coast aud is feted like king.
1t Is not pleasant to hear as one does here.
that the American steamers are the least pleas
ant to ride on, and mat our American and more
rarely English officers serve themselves at the
expense OF their passengers all others consider
the comfort of their guests first. And on Amer
lean steamers alone are any of the passengers
lnsuted by the officers of the boat. The failure
is not in not knowing, hut in the habit of self
qualification. and in the fact that they are per-
mitted to do So The Captain said at table that
there was to he new line of steamers run that
would go back and forth from British Columbia to
the Hawaiian islands, and not stop at San Fran
cisco. From the islam DIS line would go to
Australia and one to China and Japan. The OBJ
ject was to build up British Columbia at the ex
pense OF San Francisco. Said he knew the con-
tract was let for the next eleven years. and
thought San Francisco would be greatly injured.
l watched the little blue world in the great
blue world day after day, the only changes as
the water reflected each cloud and sunbeam
moved with the varying breeze and tossed its
white-caps. From sunrise to sunset there was
something new to see all the time, and when the
sun went down and all the clouds put on their
fnery to assist. and then quietly laid it aside,
bit by bit Then watched from my hammock
the stars come out one by one, till night had all
her jewels on; or. leaning over the side,
watched the phosphorescent light in the water
that looked like thousands of fref1ies. Our only
visitors were the boobies. large dark birds that
we saw every day of our voyage, bat that never
lit on the Ship and boatswains ('bo'sin" they
call it,, silver-white birds with long tails with
two dark feathers in them. They would come
and 60, and dive under the sea.
But it was good to get up when, one morning,
they said land was in sight. 1t was early-be-
fore sunrise. When l went out / found low,
misty. red brown hill rising from the sea- and
beyond it three rounded peaks all quite distant
But on going on the upper deck there was the
rugged outline of Oahu close by.
ALICE CHAPLIN