CHAPTER VIII 



HOW WE LAUNCHED THE COLUMBIA 



The building of the launch Transport across country five 

 miles to the river Will she float ? Various pessimistic 

 opinions Triumphant success. 



I ALWAYS like to begin my story at the begin- 

 ning, so I will say first of all that my second son 

 in his time has ridden many hobby-horses as 

 well as horses of flesh and blood. In his boy- 

 hood he would be a sailor, so he went aboard 

 the Worcester training-ship for a time, where 

 one of his contemporaries was the present 

 famous Japanese Admiral Togo ; then at the 

 age of about fourteen he took his first voyage 

 to Sydney. He came home that voyage cured 

 him of his first hobby. Then he must be a 

 farmer. He went to learn farming on a large 

 farm in Shropshire. Then nothing would do 



95 



