SAILING THE SEVEN SEAS 



680 



Contrasted with the industry of the 

 women, we saw a native man, clothed 

 with a soiled piece of calico twisted about 

 his waist, sitting alone on the warm sand 

 of the beach in the shade of the palm 

 trees, gazing out over the surf. Appar- 

 ently unable to concentrate his thoughts, 

 he decided to have a smoke. Glancing 

 around, he selected a dry stick, split it, 

 and, rubbing one part on the other lei- 

 surely until a groove had been formed and 

 a small pile of powdered wood had been 

 collected at one end, he suddenly began 

 moving one stick rapidly back and forth 

 in the groove of the other until the heat 

 thus generated started the powdered wood 

 to smoking and glowing. 



Twisting a small bundle of dried 

 banana and coconut-palm leaves, he set 

 this on fire by dumping the glowing pile 

 of wood powder upon it and holding it 

 up to the breeze. When it was well ablaze 

 he placed it on the ground and began 

 piling twigs and branches over it until he 

 had a fire going. Then, searching amid 

 the debris at his side, he selected a long 

 piece of dry banana leaf and split it to 

 proper width ; next he tore it off and laid 

 it upon his knee. Reaching into the 

 twisted piece of calico about his waist, he 

 pulled out a roll of tobacco leaf, selected 

 a small amount, replaced the balance, and 

 leisurely rolled the tobacco in the piece 

 of dried banana leaf, fashioning a ciga- 

 rette some six inches in length. 



Picking up one of the glowing twigs 

 from the fire, he was soon enjoying his 

 long smoke. All this was done without 

 moving from his position, and apparently 

 he was oblivious of the foreigner who 

 was seated on the sand not far distant 

 watching the whole performance. Thus 

 does the native break the monotony of 

 existence in the South Seas. When he 

 tires of smoking, he will rest and philoso- 

 phize again. 



PHYSICIAN LEFT AT RAROTONGA 



It was now time to sail for Panama, 

 and then on home to Washington. On 

 the way it was necessary to stop at Raro- 

 tonga for one day, to leave our doctor at 

 the hospital to recover from a seriously 

 infected arm. During the first five days 

 after the doctor had been left ashore, six 

 patients came to try out the medical ability 



of the captain, who had to be the tempo- 

 rary physician. 



They seemed to be more than satisfied 

 with the doses given; at least, they did 

 not return for more. 



On the voyage through the stormy 

 southern latitudes the rudder stock was 

 splintered and rendered useless during a 

 heavy gale. In the one day's* calm be- 

 tween storms we were able to send down 

 the royal yard and rig it up across the 

 quarter-deck as part of the temporary 

 steering gear, or "jury-rudder." 



HOMEWARD BOUND 



Coming up through the southeast trades 

 toward Panama, we saw numbers of the 

 wandering albatross, Cape pigeons, bos'n 

 birds, whales, porpoises, bonitos, and fly- 

 ing fish. Frequently in the morning Alike, 

 the cat, would have that satisfied look 

 which comes after a full meal, and the 

 fins and tails of several flying fish found 

 on deck told the story. Doubtless, at- 

 tracted by the ship's lights, they had flown 

 on board during the night. 



Many specimens of marine life would 

 come to the surface of the sea during 

 calms. Hidden beneath the tiny Portu- 

 guese man-of-war, or physalia, we would 

 find several tiny little fish, less than one 

 inch in length, very highly colored, the 

 brilliant blue stripes contrasting vividly 

 with the rich silver sheen of their scales. 



Sailing up through the Gulf of Panama, 

 12 snakes were seen during the day, some 

 being three feet in length, with dark, yel- 

 low-spotted back, yellow belly, and flat 

 spatulate tail. During heavy rains the 

 rivers carry hundreds of these snakes 

 down into the sea from the interior. 



The Director, Dr. Bauer, joined us at 

 Panama on one of his inspection trips and 

 accompanied the party on the voyage to 

 Washington. 



After passing through the Panama 

 Canal, dodging the hurricanes of the West 

 Indies, and weathering the usual storms 

 off Cape Hatteras, we at last sighted the 

 light at Cape Henry early one morning 

 in November and were soon at home 

 again, after an absence of 25 months. 



It is a wonderful experience to sight 

 a light flashing regularly in the night 

 whereas for several months there has been 

 nothing to see except the vast expanse of 



