The majority of our party, and among them Mrs. Anson and myself,
remained upon the deck that evening chatting of the many beautiful
things that we had seen and gazing in the direction of the
fast-vanishing islands until they were at last lost to sight behind the
mystic veil of the moonlight, and then we sought our stateroom to dream
of the wonderful sights that were yet to come. There was now an ocean
trip of 3,900 miles before us, before we should set foot on shore at New
Zealand, and with never a stop between save a brief wait for the mail at
the Samoan Islands. We were all pretty fair sailors by this time, having
become used to the motion of the vessel, and so the long voyage had for
us no terror, though we could not help but hope that the sea would
remain as smooth as it had been up to that time, and that we should
encounter no storms before reaching our destination.
How to keep the members of the two teams in anything like good condition
for playing had been a problem with me for several days and one that I
had spent some time in studying over during the first week of our
voyage. The boys were all getting restless for lack of active exercise,
and it was plain to me that something would have tot, be done or they
would be in no condition when Australia was reached to do themselves or
the country that, they represented justice.
"See here, George," I said to Wright the afternoon after we had left
Honolulu, as we were sitting beside the steamer rail and looking across
the blue expanse of waters, "this sort of a life will never do for
American ballplayers who expect to exploit the beauties of the game in
foreign lands. We shall be as stiff as old women and as fat as a lot of
aldermen by the time we reach Australia unless we take exercise of some
kind during the voyage. Can't we manage to get some cricket practice in
some way?"
George thought we could do so, and a little later we held an interview
with Capt. Morse, who was one of the best fellows that I ever sailed
with. The result was on the following morning half a dozen sailors were
set to work to roof over and wall in with canvas the rear end of the
quarter deck promenade, upon the larboard side of the ship, which being
done prevented the balls from going into the sea. This, when completed,
gave us an enclosed cricket alley of about forty feet long, eight feet
wide and ten feet high. The wickets were set in the extreme edge of this
alley, the bowler facing the opening of the tent, twenty feet beyond it,
so he had plenty of room to swing his arm and ample distance in which to
break the ball in spite of the smooth decks and the rolling of the ship.
A fifty-foot stretch of cocoa matting that Mr. Wright had thoughtfully
provided gave a surface upon which to bowl almost as goad as genuine
turf, and each day from that time on until the voyage was over several
hours were put in by the boys at practice, the exercise proving to be
just what was needed, the members of both teams, thanks to this,
reaching Australia in good playing condition. After our cricket alley
had been built the time did not hang as heavily on our hands as before,
and between practice at the English national game, cards, music,
conversation and reading, the days glided by both swiftly and
pleasantly. The weather became very warm soon after we left Honolulu and
many of the boys preferred sleeping, in the steamer chairs upon the deck
rather than in the close staterooms that had been allotted to them. The
decks at this time presented some queer sights, and the practical jokers
in the party managed to extract a lot of fun at the expense of the
sleepers. At 5:30 in the morning the slumberers were awakened by the
sailors who started in to wash down the decks, when they would retire to
their staterooms, doff their pajamas and return en natural to the
vicinity to the smoker, where there were two perforated nozzles, and get
their salt water baths. A sponge-off in fresh water followed and then a
cup of black coffee and a soda cracker that was provided by the steward,
and that stayed their stomachs until the welcome sound of the gong
called us to breakfast.
We crossed the Equator some time between 1 and 2 o'clock on the morning
of December 1st, and the occasion was celebrated by a musicale in the
cabin under the supervision of Frank Lincoln, during the progress of
which everybody who could help entertain in the least was pressed into
service. A thrilling account of his own experiences during the Sepoy
mutiny in India and his adventures during the celebrated siege of
Lucknow, told by Gen. Strange, proved most interesting. Later on at the
bow of the ship the whole party assembled and whiled the time away with
song and story until Capt. Morse came himself to inform us that we had
crossed the line and were now safe on the Southern Seas. I did not see
the line nor did I even feel the bottom of the steamer scrape it as she
went over, but it may be that owing to the darkness and the music I
noticed neither of these things.
Early in the morning of December 2d it began blowing hard and by the
time the noon hour had arrived the steamer was rolling about like a
bass-wood log in a mountain torrent. There were some familiar faces
missing from the tables at meal time that day and the stewards who
waited upon those whose stomachs were still in eating order worked under
difficulties, it being always a question of where they would bring up
when they entered the cabin door. All that day:
It was rough, mighty rough,
But the boys they stood by,
And they ran on a bluff
On the grub on the sly,
while the sick ones that lay in their staterooms were hoping and praying
they'd die.
That night there was no comfort to be had on deck, which was wet and
slippery, so a mock trial was held in the cabin that afforded
considerable amusement, General Strange acting as the presiding judge
and Sir James Willoughby as the prisoner at the bar. Charges had been
preferred to the effect that Sir James was not a peer of the realm as he
had represented himself, and that he was carrying concealed weapons in
violation of the ship's law. John Ward acted as counsel for the
defendant, Col. House as prosecuting attorney, and Jimmy Forgarty as
court crier. The witnesses were all sworn not to tell the truth, and
anything but the truth, and as a result there were such whoppers told as
would have made the original Annanias turn green with envy. Thanks to
the eloquence of John Ward, however, Sir James was acquitted with all
honor, but that trial was one of the most amusing incidents of the
voyage.
The spell of heavy weather lasted but a few hours, after which time the
wind died away, the waves calmed down and the sun shone as brilliantly
as ever. On the night of December 30th and while the weather still left
much to be desired, we sighted the Northernmost Island of the Samoan
group, which are famous by reason of the destruction of a fleet of
United States cruisers anchored in one of the harbors by a tornado, a
native insurrection that threatened to bring about war between the
United States and Germany, and as the home and burial place of Robert
Louis Stevenson, the famous writer. Ed Crane and several others of the
party and myself were sitting on deck and under the shelter of an awning
watching for a glimpse of the land that we all knew was not far away,
when a little after 11 o'clock we ran suddenly under the lee of a
mountainous ridge of land that loomed up like a huge shadow in the
uncertain light, and almost immediately found ourselves in smooth water.
Walking toward the bow of the boat we reached there just as a green
signal light was flashed from the bridge. Before us lay the land, and as
we watched, a light twinkled on the shore nearly five miles away in
answer to our signal. Slowly we steamed toward it, the signal lights
flashing their messages at short intervals through the darkness until we
reached the harbor, where we lay about half a mile from the land until a
sloop and a dory reached us with the mail and passengers for Auckland.
Of both the land and the natives we had but a glimpse, one of the
latter, a red-headed and stalwart specimen of his race, clambering to
the steamer's deck in order to get a receipt for the mail and a glassful
of gin, both of which were given him by the purser. The former he stowed
away somewhere in his scanty clothing and the latter he gulped down as
though it were water, after which he swung himself over the rail and
disappeared from sight in the darkness. A few moments later we had left
Samoan Islands behind us and were again tossing on the foam-topped
waves. Samoa was left not far behind, however, when the weather turned
colder and before many hours had passed we were all glad to change our
clothing of a tropical weight for garments that were much heavier, and
to seek comfortable places in the cabin at night rather than the open
deck. Even the cricket practice had begun to get monotonous, and we were
all looking forward with pleasure to the time when we might once more
feel the solid land beneath our feet.
It was with feelings of delight therefore that we heard early on the
morning of December 9th that we were within sight of our destination and
that we should be on shore, barring accident, by the noon hour. Standing
on deck long before it was time for breakfast, we feasted our eyes on
the green hills that were in plain sight, and then fell to wondering
what sort of a welcome awaited us in the New Zealand seaport that we
were rapidly nearing.
While at the breakfast table that morning Capt. Morse was presented by
Gen. Strange, on behalf of the passengers, with a purse of $200 as a
testimonial to his skill, kindness and uniform courtesy. The big Captain
was taken by surprise, but he acknowledged the gift in a brief and manly
speech that brought out a round of applause from the listeners.
The harbor at Auckland is reached by means of a winding passage walled
in by hills of volcanic origin, and the bay itself is second only to
that of Sydney in beauty, the sides of the high hills that wall it in
being dotted here and there by pretty residences of white stone,
surrounded by broad porticos and handsomely arranged grounds. The town
was as quiet as a country funeral and this we marveled at until we were
informed that we had lost a day from our calendar and that instead of
being Saturday as we had thought, it was Sunday. Leigh Lynch, who had
been detained at Sydney, had sent his cousin, Will Lynch, to meet us and
as the steamer was made fast to the dock he came on board with a bouquet
of flowers for the different members of the party. Several newspaper
men, who followed him shortly afterward, expressed their regret that we
had not arrived the day before, as then we could have played to some
eight or ten thousand people. We had expected to remain in Auckland but
a few hours and were therefore agreeably surprised when Capt. Morse
informed us that the Alameda would remain there to coal until 5 o'clock
the next afternoon.
After a good dinner at the Imperial Hotel, Mrs. Anson and myself,
accompanied by others of the party, drove about Auckland and its
environs and though a drizzling rain was falling we found much to admire
and to wonder at in the vicinity of that New Zealand seaport. Soon after
sundown the skies cleared and that evening we enjoyed ourselves in
strolling about the streets, being determined to make the most of the
short time on shore that was allotted to us.
The next day dawned bright and beautiful, and, after paying a visit to
the City Hall, where we received a warm welcome from Mayor Devore, we
proceeded to get into our base-ball uniforms and prepare for the game
that was to take place that afternoon.
During the noon hour the local band came marching down the principal
street to the dock, and shortly afterward it started at the head of a
procession of carriages containing the ball players and two tally-hos
containing the passengers of the Alameda, who attended the game as our
guests. The enclosure in which we played that day was as handsome as any
that we saw in New Zealand, the grounds being as level as a billiard
table and the turf as smooth and soft as velvet. The game was one that
was remarkable on both sides for its heavy batting, the ball rolling
away over the smooth surface of the outfield in a way that almost broke
the hearts of the fielders and at the same time gave them more exercise
than they had had for weeks. The 4,500 people that witnessed the contest
waxed enthusiastic over the heavy batting of the visitors from the
"States" and also over the splendid fielding. Baldwin was in the box for
us in this game and pitched great ball, Crane doing the twirling for the
All-Americas. The Chicago: proved to be the winners and the score, 22 to
13, shows the cannonading done on both sides. This was a good game for
both teams to play when the fact is taken into consideration that the
players still had their sea legs on and simply shows the good condition
that the cricket practice on board the ship had kept them in.
When the "Alameda" left the dock at Auckland that afternoon, a crowd of
at least 2,000 people had assembled to see us off. With Sydney 1,243
miles distant we still had quite a voyage before us. That night we
skirted the coast until after the darkness had fallen and watched the
green hills that seemed to rise abruptly from the water's edge. When the
morning came and we once more sought the deck there was no land in sight
and nothing to be seen save the watery waste of the ocean that stretched
away to the horizon on every side. We had a rough voyage from Auckland
and were glad enough when, on the afternoon of December 14th, we sighted
the Australian coast. At five o'clock that evening, after a hearty
dinner, we again assembled on the deck to watch the headlands that grew
each moment more and more distinct, and' soon afterward a tugboat came
to meet us, bringing the pilot and Manager Leigh Lynch, the latter
notifying us as soon as he could gain the deck of the great reception
that was awaiting us at Sydney.
The harbor at Syndey is a delight to the eye, and as we steamed through
the Heads with the white-winged gulls circling around our masts and the
dolphins playing about our bow, we drank in the beautiful sight with
greedy eyes. Several steamers laden with gentlemen and ladies, and with
bands of music playing our national airs, steamed down the harbor to
meet us, and long ere we reached the quay we were surrounded by a fleet
of small craft gaily decked in colors and carrying crowds of cheering
and kerchief-waving people. Our national colors were to be seen
everywhere, even the lighthouse on the point being draped from top to
bottom in clouds of red, white and blue bunting. The Stars and Stripes
greeted the eye on every hand, and, let me say right here, that there is
no place where the flag of our country appears so handsome to the eyes
of an American as when it greets him in some foreign harbor. The storm
of cheers that greeted us from the throats of the enthusiastic
Sydneyites we answered as best we could, and the strain upon our vocal
organs was something terrific. Viewed from the steamer's deck the city
of Sydney and the beautiful harbor, surrounded by the high hills and
bold headlands, presented a most entrancing picture. Clear down to the
water's edge extend beautifully-kept private grounds and public parks,
and these, with grandly built residences of white stone, with
tower-capped walls and turrets that stand among the trees upon the
hillside, glistening in the sunshine, made the whole picture seem like
a scene from fairyland. At the quay there was another crowd of cheering
people, and it was with difficulty that we made our way to the four-horse
tally-ho coaches and to the Oxford Hotel, where quarters had been
arranged for us.
The entrance to the Oxford Hotel, as well as the dining-room, was
handsomely decorated in red, white and blue, evergreens and colored
lanterns, and, after receiving a brief greeting from U. S. Consul
Griffin, we retired to our rooms to prepare for the formal welcome to
Australia that was to be given to us that night at the Royal Theater.
We were to spend some little time in Australia, and that we had fallen
among friends was evident at once from the reception that had been
accorded us. It was a relief to know that our voyage was at least over
for a time and to feel the solid land once more beneath our feet, though
we parted with Capt. Morse with regret, he having endeared himself to us
all by the uniform kindness and courtesy that he had shown our party on
the long ocean trip.