Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1898-08-04

leave on. We have guards on it now.
| They went on board about week ago.
1t is the largest ship that sails the Pacific
waters, being something over 450 feet
long and carries 1900 passengers. She
has four decks and three masts. The
carpenters were at work putting in
berths and repairing the ship in general.
Her sides have already been scraped and
are now ready for new paint. l under
stand she will be painted grey. The
guards would not let us go on board, but
we could look through the port holes
and gain something of an idea what it was
like, but we wanted to get on ship, so
We left and went over to the Centennial.
There we went on board and went all
through the ship. It looks like it would
be very much crowded Judging from the
way the buDks are put in, but the officers
departments are very nice, most of them
will have state rooms land so will we,
but it will all be in one.) We visited the
boiler room and the dynamo rooms. In
the last there was two large dynamoes.
1t is supposed that the New York boys
go on that transport. The next one we
visited was an English trading vessel and
there the captain showed us around and
took us down in his quarters and we had
long talk with him. He said he was a
distant relative of Captain Robert Evans,
of the Iowa. He gave us all kinds of
advice about going on board and when
we get sea sick what we should use, but
if we took everything on board that is
suggested to us we would carry half
dozen trunks. l believe l will trust to
my luck and not to other peoples science
for everyone has remedy to sell and
claim it is the best. am getting off
the ship subject, but when we left the
English ship we went down to where the
st. Paul was. She was just coming up
to the docks as we get there SO of course
we stayed and watched the performance
as it was all new to us. They were bring
ing line ashore and we stopped to see
what it was and some fellow that was
putting in" made the remark that it
must be the largest fish ever caught in
the bay, and then just imagine. We boys
stop to take neck at that fish. They
pulled in about two hundred feet of inch
rope and we were getting very impatient
when all at once the end of three-inch
cable came in sight-and we left. We
went up to the Red Cross building and
had our dinner, after which we felt more
like sightseeing so we just troliied
around and looked at ships. We must
have seen about one hundred; some were
sailing vessels, but they were pretty
good size. We saw several leave for
open sea. They were all escorted by a
tug that pulled them away from the
docks and out of the bay. At two o'clock
we took street car for Camp Merritt
and arrived at our quarters about 2:45.
We was to attend funeral of one of our
boys who died Saturday, but his people
telegraphed to send his body home for
burial, so he was kept until Monday
afternoon and the company went to the
ferry to see him off, except a few of us
and of course one of that few would be
me. I was getting ready to go when 1
was detailed to stay and get supper.
Some of the boys are sick from the
effects of that supper and 1 should think
they would be for this is what | gave
them: Coffee without sugar, boiled
beans with bacon, fried onions, fried
bacon and bread, but we had good
breakfast to make up for it. Clyde
Baker was on guard Sunday so he missed
the trip, but we will go again next Sun
day if nothing happens. | must bring
this to close for the present. Yours
truly, HENRY JOHNSON,
Co. 81" 51st Iowa Vol.