-4- 
Behind all the gaity of welcoming and speeding the Empress end 
her passengers, was the strain of the three— months ' shipping strike. 
At the wharf we saw the President Pierce, the President Hays, and 
the Lurline, all of which have been tied tip for months. On the 
Dollar boats the Chinese crew are not allowed any shore leave, and 
on one of the President boats the poor Chinese have not set foot 
ashore since last September, why murder and mutiny have not broken 
out I can*t imagine. 
Among the women in Honolulu whom we met, the chief topic of 
conversation was the high price of oranges and lemons. Oranges are 
$1.50 a dozen, lemons $1.00. Nqther of these fruits can be raised 
in the Islands on account of the Mediterranean fruit fly, and with 
shipping practically at a standstill, there are none in the market 
even at these high prices. 
Janizary 26-27 
Quantities of albatross are following the ship, and give a 
fascinating display of gliding over the waves and through the spray 
January 28. 
No albatross 
January 29 - No such date: We cross the International Date Line 
and have no Friday in this week. 
Janttary ?0. 
The albatross are back, a few terns with them. Williams got some 
movies of them. Bill and I went up to the bridge to see what was 
the closest island, and found that we were between Midway and Fake, 
a little nearer to Midway, and probably the birds have come some 
three hundred miles over the ocean from there. 
Weather still fine. The masquerade ball was held on the 
after deck, under a. full moon. Just as it was about to begin, 
the ship was p^^^^cwiiy stopped, for afcgnafc half an hour, while an 
appendectomy was performed on one of the Chinese crew. 
hiUa IrM^ hS w Tl™ 5 F5 f nln g s **ovt the difficulties we would 
nave in Japan, We had been toxd thrt the climate was bad, the coffee 
foux, the photographic limitations irksome, the convevances and 
rZ^tfniT 8 a H^\ N ° ne ° f theSe prOVed to be true - The customs 
™w n? S Restrict, and we hod to list on our declarations the 
number of books we were bringing in, titles, etc., and "if unbounded 
the number of pr-ges;" also the number of rhinoceros horns and ^? 
l" neS ' Xt was flso s little disturbing to learn about the Japanese 
?ll g df?pS^f!S' which promised to collect baggage and" send it in 
the tn J niA £l*4 I t ±Q 61 8 l lttle dinident about stepping off 
I kh£ °l 0l lf ritish Empress, mo facing an Oriental people of whom 
x Knew so littxe, but we never had one moment in which to feel 
