Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1910-04-20

waves fifty feet high, rolling up
against the great ship made it roll
and pitch and toss so that our ''sea-
legs" had to be pretty we'll estab-
lished in order for us to maintain
our equilibrium. The writer had
four-days' siege of sea-sickness on
the down trip, but got off with only
a part of day returning, and the
other passengers Jared about the
same. Moreover, it was a delight
full trip home. After we reached
the Gulf of Mexico the sea was
lmuch more placid, and we enjoyed
every hour.
The second day out we passed
Corn Islands, near to the coast of
Nicaragua, where the Nicaraguan
government keeps its prisoners.
When we. passed it there were $50
ES Npers confined there, having
be e eptured during the revolution
'whk 4, still in progress.
At\ q. S del Toro we picked up
o gentk e from Bluefelds, Nicar-
aqua, an >erican, who had been
there for q time in charge Of
the wireless graph station, and
also correspof. for the Associat-
ed Press. He \ Il gotten into some
trouble with the officials, presum-
ably on account of news of the
revolution he had sent to the United
States, and taking a small launch,
ran down the coast a couple of hun
dred miles, boarded our slip. and
accompanied us to New Orleans.
He was a fine gentleman, and a
man of newspaper experience, so
that he made a very agreeable mem
ber of the party. and he was forced
Nicaraguan revolution, the country
Zelaya, Estrada, Madriz, and the
others of that turbulent republic
who nave been SO much in the pub
lie eye in the United States Of late
We ran through several schools of
big porpoise, and enjoyed watching
them flop their Shiny, cumbersome
bodies out of the water. Flying fish
were seen on every hand, at almost
any time, and along the shores here
are also large sea tortoise, six or
eight feet in diameter.
Every day there were parties in
the library and ladies' drawing
room or the gentleman's smoking
room, card parties, lectures and
amusements of various kinds TO
keep the party in good spirits. The
wireless telegraph apparatus was
kept busy, ard every hour or two
there was posted on the bulletin
board the news from the United
States and all the world, so that the
time did not lag on our hands, and
the days went by rapidly.
Everything went we'll until we
had crossed the Gulf of Mexico and
arrived at the bar of the Missis-
sippi, at the foot of the delta or
jetties, where tie river flows into
the gulf. We had been running at
extra speed for two days. making
run for the Mississippi, in the hope
that We might reach there before
night on Tuesday, for every ship
entering the river has to pass quar-
antine, and unless a ship arrives at
the quarantine station before mid
night the quarantine officials will
not come out to examine the pas
sengers, and the ship must anchor
until morning. We were making a
fine run and expected to make it
with time TO spare, but just as we
passed the bar" the entrance to
the river, a deep. dense fog settled
down over the river, so thick that
one could see only a few feet ahead
The quarantine station was twenty
hope was lost. There was nothing
TO do but steam at very slow speed
through the night, and wait at the
station until morning. The passen-
gers had all been kept up, and when
they turned in about midnight they
were sorely disappointed lot, for
we were all getting anxious to get
home. All through the night the
blowing of the fog whistles every
two minutes, the doleful ringing OF
the bell-buoys and the ship bells
cast n spell over the ship which
presaged further disappointment
and anxiety: but everything came
out all right. In the morning we
We're routed out early with the call
"all passengers on deck" and when
We got there we found we were di-
rectly opposite Uncle Sans quaran-
tine station. He is not so particular
about your physical condition when
you leave the country, but he wants
TO be certain that you bring no dis
case back with you. We were lined
up in long rows on the main deck,
while two uniformed physicians
passed down the line, and placed a
thermometer i'm each ones mouth.
When they had completed the line,