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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1901)
tUfBBtSP : THE COURIER tl it " ) vs a little, slim individual, clad in ,i white duck uniform, the while lie was tugxinK sit an immense, fierce Em peror William moustache. "That's him." "Ain't he a peach?" "Get onto that moustache, will you?" "I'll bet .1 dollar he's Roin' to soak us," were some of the preliminary expressions which were heard and which were in creased and turned into personal abuse to such an extent that if the words could have taken effect they surely must have ripped him up one side and down another. As it was, I was afraid that he would guess what we had been saying about him and soak it to us, on general principles. At last he was on deck, and, after a short confab with the cap tain, we were ail lined up on deck In two long files, every mothers son or us, passengers and crew, from the cap tain down, and a good many of the ladies, in fear and trembling, as I will explain later on. Then his nibs started slowly down the long lines. looking at each one, from head to foot, and would say to every third or fourth person In a sharp, quick voice: "Itun out your tongue," "roll up your eyes," or "let's feel your pulse." After he had done this, he stood at the head of the two lines and made every one pass by him in single file. I suppose this was to find out if anyone had the blind stag gers; at any rate, we all passed muster and were told that we could go ashore. Before the inspection commenced some joker started the story that everybody would have to show their new vaccin ation mark mid as most of the ladies had chosen to be vaccinated on some part of their nether limbs, there was consequently a good deal of consterna tion in their midst. Again the piston rods commenced to chug in their cylinders, and the im mense propeller to churn the blue water into a white foam and under the guidance of the patriarchal pilot our big transport slowly felt her way through the opening in the coral reef into the small harbor of Honolulu, that beautiful tropical paradise of a city, which was the capital of a dynasty of dusky kings during a century next pre ceding the Aineiican annexation. How different our feelings from those of halt an hour since! How changed to our sight appeared the beauties of nature in this garden of Eden, which a few minutes before had been dwarfed and concealed by the dread anticipation or a possible quarantine. Everything seemed beautiful and joyful and kind and sweet. Everything seemed to beckon us on, bidding us to come and tarry and be welcome to this beauteous tropical gem which has for Its setting the blue waters of the big Pacific. Our vessel carefully pushed her steel nose through the transparent water, scaring up hundreds of flying nsn, which seemed to say "Aloha." (which Is the Hawaiian word for welcome) and dou n below we could see myriads of gold and red and many colored beauties sporting amongst the coral which appeared to look up and whisper "Aloha"; the big rollers breaking over the reef seemed to roar "Aloha," as they sped on toward the beach, and "Aloha," seemed to murmur the state ly cocoanut palms, as they swayed in the tropical breeze and nodded their royal heads. Ve had no sooner tied up at the dock than everyone went ashore to stretch his legs and have a look around. I popped on to Wade Thayer in front of the postollice, and took sup per with him that evening at his house which he has together with half a dozen other young fellows who make up a nice congenial crowd of young fellows. You will remember Wade as a Howe grammar school friend of mine. I also saw Dena Loomis, and Guy Gere, taking lunch with them one day. Dena looks just the same and I think is quite contented where she is. We remained in Honolulu two days and I don't remember of ever having passed two days more pleasantly or enjoyably than I did in that most beautiful and enchanting spot, where it is continual summer and where the tropical vegetation and foliage sur pass in luxuriance and beauty any thing I have ever seen in Mexico, ami to describe which is utterly beyond me. The first day spent there was my birthday and I did my best to celebrate it In accordance with my custom and as the circumstances would permit of. We took the electric road in the morn ing and went up to Pacific Heights, which rises to a thousand feet directly back of the city, and affords a line view of same, with the harbor and shore on each side. On the summit of the heights we found a Japanese tea house, where they served exquisite, finely llavoreil tea at a most ridicu lously low price, the only cheap thing that we found in Honolulu. In the afternoon we went to the famous bath ing resort known as Walklki Ueach, which is located Just three miles from the harbor and which affords finer surf bathing than any to be had any place on the Atlantic coast. The coral leef is about a quarter of a mile out and there is where the big rollers start to come In, curling their foamy crests with a hiss and a roar as if they would swallow everything up. but a duck or dive under, anil when you come up your would-be destroyer has wasted his force on the sandy beach. We spent most of our spare time surf bathing. Just coming to the ship for our meals, and as there was a full moon the evenings were not lost either, it was here that, owing to the ad mirable surf. I was able to taste of .mil enjey th.it king of exhilarating sports, surf riding, which I used to read about in my geography and see illustrated In the shape of a Malay standing upright on a board and com ing shoreward on the top of a wave; only I did not do it on a board, but In a canoe about twenty feet long by about eighteen inches in width, with a sturdy Kanaka in each end, while the rest of us were seated in the Inter vening spue, each with a paddle, for in this exciting and rare sport every one has to paddle like a good fellow or be swamped. We paddle out near the reef where the big rollers commence to come in, and wait for a good one with whiskers on it. The bow of our canoe is pointed shoreward and when the foamy crest of the breaker is within a hundred feet of us everybody bends his back and paddles with all his might, the object being to gain milll clent momentum so that the roller will carry us with It In place of passing under or over us. the latter of which Is very liable to happen. Hut we have caught It Just right, or rather. It has caught us. and to-scs us around like n chip and drives us on before it with the speed of the wind. We novices drop our paddles in the canoe and hang on for dear life, for the canoe has taken a dangerous position, with the prow cutting through the water like a knife, and the front man Just burled In spray, while the one in the stern Is having the same experience with the foamy crest of the breaker which lit erally hangs over him. Here Is where the skill of the canoemeu Is seen In keeping the canoe headed straight, for ever so slight a swerve to right or left means half an hour In the water struggling with the rollers. Onward we speed, like a streak of lightning. Minded by the spray, and breathless fr.oni the speed, until in less time than It takes to tell we Tmvc beached our canoe, backed again Into the water with the receding- wave, turned around and headed again for the reef to repeat the performance. The way the Kanakas handle a canoe In that surf Is something marvelous, and the speed at which the canoe goes is almost Incredible and you will hardly believe me when I tell you that it took us Just twenty seconds to travel the quarter of a mile irom reef to shore. The second trip we were turned over and swamped, just as we were start ing, by an unusually large wave and It took half an hour to get oursel-es and the canoe to the beach. However, out we went again, anil kept It up the whole afternoon, until we were too tired to paddle more. As a boy I have ridden down hill and over icy roads xit the top of my pony's speed, expecting every minute to break my neck; I have coasted down hill on a bob-sled, and a toboggan, have raced down a swift river on a log or a cake of Ice early in the spring, have shot the chutes and indulged in all the sports and pastimes known to the average ''iiiiiiiiiiikiiiiiiiZ&. tv 9S S S &S CS r C G Cr &r C C C C C C C Zr CT C & CT & C Cr C r ' S CS C S r C C G & & f -w. jEHBIUI THE PROGRESSIVE STORE 4tt M Jr N'd frtfrmM I wwaivvwqgu w Lincoln's Foremost Dress Goods Department Special Oflers iljBBSfil Materials for Walking Skirts, Fine Dresses, Silk i Wool Waists, Etc. 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