Aggust 14 - 
The old Southwest Monsoon, that hes been held out as a sort 
of bogey to us, has not been so bad. Sudden gusts of wind and rain 
come up from time to time, and we ell scurry to see if our particu- 
lar animal line is well covered with tarp. But the sea has been 
pleasant, and no rough weather since the Second day out. It is 
just as well; how I would survive slicing bananas and apples down 
in the smelly, noisy hatch, where the pigs squeal, the cockatoos 
shriek, the siemangs howl , and all the little birds twitter, I 
don * t know unless the floor under me was fairly steady. 
We had a swift current - three knots an hour - against us 
all the way along the coast of Ceylon, and instead of getting into 
Colombo in mid-afternoon, it was seven at night when we came into 
the harbor, and nearly nine before we got ashore. The harbor is 
pretty at night, with the big hotels lighted up, a light house 
blinking just outside of town, and a big sign gsriH that spells 
over and Over again "Ceylon: For Good Tea". The harbor was full 
of ships, and they added their lights to the general festive 
effect. 
Mr. Buell, the American Consul, came down to the ship to 
meet us, and also Dr. Hill of the Medical School. When we finally 
got ashore we went to the Hotel to pick up Mrs. Hill and their small 
daughter Dorothy, and then went around to see Mrs. John Hagenbeck, 
to find out if she had any animals for sale. All she had, that we 
could use, was one squirrel, so we asked her to deliver it aboard 
in the morr.ing. 
Then we went out to the Hill's house, and saw his private 
collection of birds and animals, which included some rare things. 
Here were flying sauirrels and flying phalangers, in cages that 
actually gave them room to fly; two kinds of purple-faced mcniEkxy 
monkeys; a pangolin busily eating mashed banan a and milk; slender 
loris, with its big eyes and queer thin legs; slow loris; red 
langurs (one of them stole a big black wooden button off my 
dress); and many birds, including a pair of Queen of Bavaria parrots. 
August 15 - 
The Hills came on board early to see our menagerie. 
He brought us one slender loris in a cage, and I do hope it lives 
till we get home; it is a weird little beast. Our rock squirrel was 
also delivered, and we sailed at nine o'clock. All along the 
lovely, mountainous, hazy-blue coast we busily peeled bananas, seeing 
nothing of the land, and when we came up on deck again we were well 
out o§ sight of land, and rolling along across the Indian Ocean. 
A stiff breeze blew up in the evening, and we were afraid 
of another storm, but the Silverash rides steadily, being heavily 
loaded, and all went well through the night. 
August 17 - 
There is plenty to worry about, even though the weather 
stays fine. The big Mawas kuda from Atjeh refuses to eat, having 
been fed exclusively on durian before being turned over to us, and 
durian being absent from the bill of fare we carry for our monks. 
