Days of a Man [^1902 



whole matter was concluded with the least possible 

 publicity. 



After a pleasant little visit at Honolulu, including 

 a drive up to the incomparable Pali, the Sonoma 

 carried us all southward to Pago. There we spent a 

 few hours at the hospitable home of the commandant, 

 Captain (since Rear Admiral) Uriel Sebree, and his 

 charming wife. During the day we drew a long seine 

 in the harbor behind the barrier, bringing in a multi- 

 tude of free-swimming fishes, at the same time 

 Our merry observing with much interest the natives, both men 

 assistants an( j womeri) w h o ca me out by the dozens to help; 

 for after a little they began to pelt each other on the 

 bare shoulders with stinging jellyfishes (which also 

 crowded the net), so that our efforts ended in a scene 

 quite indescribable but amusing and good-natured 

 to the limit. 



Planning to return in about a month, we set out 

 that evening for Upolu in the Kauau, thirty-five tons, 

 the worst craft of its kind I ever saw. To add to our 

 general discomfort we soon entered a rough sea, and 

 as the vessel had no regular deck, only a rim around 

 the hold, to this we had to cling throughout the trip. 

 Weird All night long, moreover, a bodiless and disconsolate 

 warning phonograph crooned in the depths of the boat, its 

 favorite airs being "Nearer My God to Thee," "Lead, 

 Kindly Alight," and "You'll Never Be an Angel, 

 Daddy," a progressive series painful in its implica- 

 tions. 



But this experience finally came to an end, and at 

 solemn break of dawn we found ourselves off the 

 barrier of Apia harbor. The sight was charming - 

 the green bay, the gray reefs, the scattering white 



C 102 ] 



