FROM NEW YORK TO MOMBASA 
79 
good-bye and wish good luck to the departing hunter. On reaching 
the wharf of the Hamburg-American Line, where waited the ocean 
greyhound “Hamburg,” ready to convey him to Naples, a cheering 
throng, thousands in number, awaited to give him an enthusiastic 
send-off. It was no easy matter to reach the deck of the steamer 
through this mass of admiring humanity. 
Many friends and members of his late administration accom¬ 
panied him on board, and as the great steamer slowly glided out from 
her dock the distinguished traveler stood on the captain’s bridge, wav¬ 
ing a parting farewell with his black slouch hat. By his side stood his 
son, Kermit, both gladdened by the cheers of the friendly multitude. 
One of the latest and most pleasing incidents of the departure 
was the advent of a messenger from President Taft, who brought as 
a present a collapsable gold ruler, one foot long, with pencil attached, 
and inscribed as follows: 
“To Theodore Roosevelt from William Howard Taft. Good-bye 
and good luck. Best wishes for a safe return.” 
That the outgoing traveler w‘as highly pleased with this parting 
tribute need scarcely be said. The returning messenger bore back his 
grateful thanks. 
What shall we say of the voyage? What can be said other than 
of the innumerable voyages of innumerable tourists, whose principal 
aim is to prevent the journey from becoming wearisomely monoto¬ 
nous. That there was little rest for Roosevelt on board ship, we may 
be sure. He is of the unresting type. Those who wished to interview 
him had to do so en route, for every day he walked a good ten miles 
to and fro on the deck. And the deck did not limit the range of his 
activity. He pervaded the ship. Not a part or a feature of it escaped 
his attention. From the bridge to the coal-heavers’ den he made his 
way, everybody who knew anything was obliged to give up his last 
item of useful information, and by the time shore was reached again 
the traveler had learned enough about life on shipboard to write a 
nautical novel. 
Meanwhile his diet was of the simplest, his meals being limited 
to two a day. The purpose of this abstemiousness was to keep down 
his weight. Lightness and agility were requisite in the purpose he 
had in view. 
