Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1912-01-18
ON HIGH SEAS
Our Young Friend, Will Beedle Is
Again Heard From. Nearing His
Home In Manila Philippines
Aboard Steamship Fernando Poo
AT Sea, Dee. 5, 1911

Aboard Steamship Fernando Poo
AT Sea, Dee. 5, 1911
Mr.. ]. w. B. Cole,
Audubon, Iowa
Dear Friend:-W Well, Mr.. Cole am
still on the Indian Ocean and bound
fer Singapore. l arrived at Colombo
at 6:20 a. m. Nov. 29th and went ashere
at 500 a. m. We soaled ship there
dis charged ST me freight and took on
about so East Indian deck passengers
for Singapore and Manila. Colombo is
on the Island of Ceylon and is part of
India.
Colombo is very cosmopolitan. There
are also several different kinds of In
dians there. Some have their heads
shaved and wear a pig-tail like the
Chinese. This is the first time l have
ever seen this race and they are about
the same build as the Chinese but are Il
great deal darker. The city of Colom-
ba ia very pretty and everything is
green and it looks good to see the ba-
nanas and cocoanuts growing once
more. The trees and plants at Colom-
DO are very much tho same as what
we have in the Philippines. There
are various kinds of In ians here.
There are Mohammedans, Buddhists
and some CONTIGUOUS and l was ;old by
q Catholic Priest that there are eleven
thousand Catholics in the City of
Colombo. Most of the Indians wear
very little clothes. Some wear coats
made like ours but they are mostly of
white duck cloth and they all wear a
wrapper around them from their waist
down. 1t is hard to tell which are
women and which are men as the men
of one tribe wear long hair like the
women. Very few of the Indians wear
shoes. Colombia is only short ways
north of the Equator so you see they
don't need many clothes as it is always
hot there. They have Two lines of steel
railways running through the city but
most of the people use the jinrickshaw,
a small two wheeled rig pulled by an
Indian. They charge one-half rupe an
hour which is equal to about sixteen
cents in American money. The houses
in Colombo are constructed ofstone and
brick with tile roofs, and in the Malay
quarters the houses are of stone with
thatched roofs. They use mostly palm
leaves for thatching. The streets in
the main part of the city arewide, very
clean and are all paved. The city has
very pretty harbor and many ships
call there for coal on their way to In
dia, China and the far east. The Island
of Ceylon produces great deal of tea
and it is known all over the world for
its quality. We sailed FROM Colombo
for Singapore at 1920 p. M. the same
day, Nov. 30, 1911 and expect to reach
there sometime Tuesday, Dec. 9TH.
We made 2lS miles up to now, No
vember Seth and 24S miles Dee. l, 1911.
December End, weather fine, sea
smoothe as Joe. We made PAT miles.
December 3rd, we made 253 miles,
sea smoothe, weather fair but very hot,
We sighted the Northwest corner of
the Island of Sumatra just before noon
December 4th, we made 263 miles.
Sea smoothe. We had some rain in the
afternoon.
December 5th, weather fair, sea
smoo he. We made 275 miles and are
due at Singapore at about 600 p. m
miles away. Then we say goodbye to
the Indian Ocean and enter the China
Sea. Well, Mr.. Cole, this is all for this
time so goodbye, Give my best regards
to all my old friends.
Your Friend,
Wro II paaIla