The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-06-26
LIFE ON THE STEAMSHIP CITY OF
COLUMBIA.
our Guaranteed Friends Can Bear the
Ills They Have, But Don't Refer to
the Rio

ON BOARD THE S. S. CITY OF
COLUMBIA, in quarantine, June "a
Several days have rolled by since our
quarantine began out here, away from
your Gn) hospitable shores. Never has
Honolulu seemed more beautiful to us,
nor our desire to be at home more in
tense than at the present time. Nine
or ten days have passed since the Chi
naman on the Nippon Maru died, and
yet, though according to DR.. Lyman,
the period of incubation after exposure
varies from a few hours to six or seven
days, and though none of us have been
exposed, we have yet to remain out
here another four or five days. What
day of the month and what year we
may be permitted to come ashore is a
topic of much discussion. In the mean
time we keep on rolling. How beauti-
fully an empty ship can roll! We shall
miss it terribly when we do get ashore.
1t will only be possible to take our
meals sitting in a hammock and swing
ing vigorously.
1t would be quite impossible to be en-
tirely reconciled to the action of the
board in insisting upon this unneces-
| sary method of quarantine, or to the
unnecessary delay in arriving at a con-
| clusion and thus prolonging isolation
away beyond the period of incubation.
Already ten days have elapsed since
! the patient died, and our quarantine
! has just begun.
Speaking of every man being on
watch" this is practically true. Sleep,
| excepting to those of unusually good
! digestion and clear conscience is pretty
well out of the question, so the male
portion of the passengers and they are
| ninety-nine per cent, are on watch
\ twenty-four hours in the day. We are
| armed with a telescope apiece and ev-
cry third man has a pair of powerful
| binoculars. Besides this, our search
! light is now in full working order, and
| by actual test its rays penetrate to the
| furthermost splinter of our bow. 1t
will thus be seen that the festive "ba-
| cillus" cannot escape us. 1t is during the
| weary midnight watches that he comes
forth from his secure hiding place, and
meanders up and down the rigging. He
| has been noticed running swiftly along
| the rail; hopping from pillar to post, uI
| the foremast and down the main, even
! alghting on our royal ensign, the cream
colored flag, above. But this is not all
Last night he was actually seen haul
| ing in the slack in our chief surgeons
! (Monsarrat, d. v. s., p. d. O. pajamas
! The whole watch made a determined
and vigorous onslaught, and soon hct
the beast killed. The assault was will
policemen's clubs, our genial host, Nc
Weigh, having sent ashore a day or tive
! ago for a dozen of these weapons.
While we all feel that the measure o
our sorrow is full to overlooking, we
will manage to live it down. We vii
gladly do all the board asks us to do
we will gladly walk up Fort stree
waving a yellow flag, if that is required
of us; we won't mind our friends refus
ing to shake hands with us; we won
feel hurt if we are the only occupaut
of one side of street for an indefinite
period: we will gladly stand all this
But we are agreed that each and ever!
friend who says to us, why didn't yol
come on the Rio?" must die in hi
tracks. We won't stand that. 1t as
sails our foresight, our power to pene
trate the future, our very sanity. |
our foresight had only been as good a
our friends hindsight, we would no
occupy the position we do today.