The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-01-09
THE DOCTOR GOT AWAY
DIR. PICKERING LEAVES FOR SAN
FRANCISCO.
A Distinguished California Medical
Man as Cabin Boy of the Bark Dia-
mond Head.

Somewhere on the briny deep be-
tween Honolulu and San Francisco a
distinguished member of the medical
profession of Southern California is
peeling potatoes, backing boots, wash
ing decks, ringing dinner bells, running
to and fro as a waiter and performing
multitudinous other like duties far be-
low the usual dignity of a doctor He
is DR.. ]. G. Pickering, cabin boy of the
bark Diamond Head. 1t is the Doctors
way of getting home, in spite of quar-
antine restrictions.
DIR. Pickering came here as a passen-
ger on the Diamond Head. He lived
on the vessel while in port. He was a
tourist, intending to return about the
first of the year. Then the plague
broke out and he found himself unable
to get away. He had become quite a
friend of Captain Ward, master of the
Diamond Head, and hoped that the lat
ter would consent to take him back.
But the captain would do nothing of
the kind. He did not propose to risk
causing his owners any loss by quar-
antine. The only way for DR.. Pickering
to stay aboard the vessel was as an
employe. The post of cabin boy was
the easiest thing in sight. DIR. Picker
ing signed as cabin boy the other cabin
boy was left behind and the Diamond
! Head sailed away yesterday with a
of bottle washer.
There is no make believe about DIR.
| Pickering's position. He is absolutely
the only cabin boy on board. Captain
! Ward is a number one skipper and a
strict disciplinarian and those who
know him best say that when he ac-
| cepted DR.. Pickering as a cabin boy
| and went without any other cabin boy,
! he meant just what the vessels papers
! show. The doctor will work as he has
! probably never worked before. DR..
Pickering is no shirk. When he sign
ed as cabin boy he knew what he was
doing. Though necessity forced him
to take the job he took it with the de-
| termination of mastering the profess
sion of cabin boy as thoroughly as he
had mastered his own, and of proving
the best cabin boy that ever crossed
the ocean. There was a thorough un-
derstanding on this point between
himself and Captain Ward.
DR.. Pickering is a man of thirty y-three
years. He has large practice in South
ern California and it was the necessity
of getting back to his business, which
he left for brief vacation trip to Ho'
nolulu, that led him to take the steI
he has taken. He has demonstrated
that he is not the man to get left wher
it comes to finding means of travelling
during suspension of the ordinary
means.
BY this time DR.. Pickering has prob.
ably had fair sample of what he mus
expect till he reaches San Francisco
He has doubtless wept over onions in
the galley and bathed himself with
plates of soup en- route to where his
friend the captain sits at table in his
glory. Whether his friends at the Other
end will ever learn of the manner il
which he travelled is a question. If the
quarantine officials at the other enc
should notice what a large and ageC
cabin boy Captain Ward has, the!
might smell a rat though there is il
fact nothing to which exception coulC
be taken in the shipping of the doctor
who has as good a right to work as {
cabin boy if he wants to, as anybod!
else. But when San Francisco is reach
ed he will probably go below and taxi
some opportunity after the shades o
evening have fallen to don appare
such as a doctor should wear and g,
ashore. Perhaps he will not think
worth while to visit the agents offic
and draw his pay. He is earning 50
per month.