THIRD TOUR ABROAD
Salt Lake City--Canada--Vancouver--Hawaii--Fiji--Australia--New
Zealand--Tasmania--Summer at Home.
The fall of 1908 saw me off on a tour which finally took me round the
world. Space will only permit of its itinerary and a few of my
impressions and experiences. From Amarillo I trained north to Salt Lake
City, passing through the wonderful gorge of the Arkansas River and the
cañon of the Grand; scenery extremely wild and impressive. At Salt Lake
found a large, busy, up-to-date city. Visited the tabernacle, and heard
the great organ, the largest in the world; and a very fine choir. The
acoustics of this immense and peculiarly-shaped building are most
perfect. The Temple Gentiles are not allowed to enter. Outside the
irrigation limits the country has a most desolate, desert, hopeless
aspect. What nerve the Mormons had to penetrate to such a spot.[3]
[Footnote 3: _See_ Appendix.]
It may be noted here that one Sidney Rigdon was the compiling genius of
Mormonism; and it was he who concocted the Mormon Bible, not Joe Smith.
And what a concoction! No greater fraud was ever perpetrated.
Hence by Butte, Montana, the great copper-mining city, to Great Falls,
where we crossed the Missouri River, there 4000 miles from the sea, yet
twice as large as the Thames at Windsor. On entering Canadian territory
a remarkable change in the character of the people, the towns and the
Press was at once noticeable. From Calgary by the C.P.R. the trip
through the Selkirk range to Vancouver was one of continuous wonder and
delight--noble peaks, dense pine forests, rushing rivers and peaceful
lakes. Arrived at Vancouver city, a city of illimitable ambition and
bright prospects. I there met in the lobby of the hotel two very old
friends whom I had not seen for many years. They dined with me, or
rather wined and dined, and we afterwards spent a probably uproarious
evening. I say probably, because the end was never evident to me till I
woke up in my bed, whither someone had carried me, with my stockinged
foot burning in a candle; another such illuminant had been lighted and
placed at my head. My waking (and I was "waked" in two senses)
endangered, and at the same time prevented, the probable burning down of
the building. Next morning I was taken suddenly ill, but not due to the
evening's carousal, so went across the bay to Victoria and hunted up a
doctor, who immediately ordered me into hospital (the Victoria Jubilee)
and operated on me the very same day. The operation was the most painful
that I have ever undergone but was entirely successful, though it
detained me in the hospital for over a month.
From Victoria I trained to San Francisco, passing through lovely
Washington and Oregon States, and Northern California; and from San
Francisco took steamer to Honolulu. San Francisco was rising from its
ashes, but still presented a terrible aspect, and gave a good idea of
how appalling the catastrophe must have been. At Honolulu I spent a most
enjoyable two weeks, golfing a little, surf riding, etc. The climate is
ideal, hotels are good, parts of the islands lovely. They are all
volcanic, and indeed some are nothing but an agglomeration of defunct
craters.
On one of the islands, Maui, is the largest crater on earth (unless
perhaps a certain one in Japan), its dimensions being 2000 feet in
depth, eight miles wide, and situated on the top of a mountain,
Haleakala, 10,000 feet high. Its surface, seen from the rock-rim,
exactly resembles that of the moon. I of course also visited the largest
island of the group--Hawaii--passing _en route_ Molokai, the leper
settlement. Hawaii has two very high volcanic mountains, Mauna Kea and
Mauna Loa, some 13,000 feet. The land is very prolific, the soil
consisting of pulverized lava and volcanic dust, whose extreme
fertility is due to a triple proportion of phosphates and nitrogen. On
the slope of Mauna Loa is the crater of Kilauea, and in its centre the
"pit," called Haleamaumau, the most awe-inspiring and in other ways the
most remarkable volcano in the world. Landing at Hilo, by train and
stage we went to see it. My visit was made at night when the
illumination is greatest. Traversing the huge crater, four miles in
diameter, the surface devoid of all vegetation, seamed and cracked, and
in places steam issuing from great fissures, we suddenly arrived at the
brink of the famous pit, and what an astonishing sight met our gaze! The
sheer walls of the circular pit were some 200 feet deep: the diameter of
the pit one quarter of a mile: the contents a mass of (not boiling, for
what could the temperature be!) restless, seething, molten, red-hot
lava, rising from the centre and spreading to the sides, where its waves
broke against the walls like ocean billows, being a most brilliant red
in colour! Flames and yet not flames. Now and then geysers of fire would
burst through the surface, shoot into the air and fall back again. The
sight was to some people too awful for prolonged contemplation, myself
feeling relieved as from a threat when returning to the hotel, but still
with a desire to go back and again gaze into that awful maelstrom. The
surface of the pit is not stationary, at one time being, as then, sunk
200 feet; another time flush with the brim and threatening destruction;
and again almost disappearing out of sight. At any time and in whatever
condition it is an appalling spectacle and one never to be forgotten.
Sugar and pineapples are the main products of the islands; but one
should not miss visiting the aquarium at Honolulu to see the collection
of beautiful and even comical-looking native fishes; some of extravagant
colouring, brilliant as humming-birds, gay as butterflies; of shapes
unsuspected, and in some cases indescribable, having neither length nor
breadth, depth nor thickness; hard to distinguish head from tail, upside
from underside; speed being apparently the least desirable of
characteristics. Do they depend for protection and safety on their
grotesque appearance? or do their gaudy robes disarm and enchant their
ferocious and cannibalistic brethren?
One of the funniest sights I ever saw was a base-ball game played here
between Chinese and Japanese youngsters. What a commanding position
these islands occupy in ocean navigation, as a coaling or naval station,
or as a distributing point. America was quick to realize this; and now
splendid harbours and docks are being constructed, and the place
strongly fortified so as to rival Gibraltar.
In January 1909 I joined the new and delightful New Zealand Steamship
Company's steamer _Makura_ bound for Sydney. On board was, amongst a
very agreeable company, a gentleman bound for New Zealand on a
fishing-trip, who told me such marvellous tales of his fishing prowess
in Scotland that I put him down for one of the biggest liars on earth.
More of him afterwards. Also on board was a young English peer, Earl
S----, a very agreeable man, whose company I continued to enjoy for the
greater part of this tour. We had a delightful passage, marred for me,
however, by a severe attack of neuritis, which continued for three solid
months, the best doctors in Sydney and Melbourne failing to give relief.
Our ship first called at Fanning Island, a cable station (delivering
four months' mail), a mere coral atoll with its central lagoon, fringe
of cocoanut trees and reef. The heavy swell breaking on the reef, and
the wonderful blue of the water, the peaceful lagoon, the bright, clear
sky, and the cocoanut trees, formed a picture never to be forgotten. A
picture typical of all the many thousands of such Pacific islets. After
passing the Union and Wallace groups we crossed the 180° meridian, and
so lost a day, Sunday being no Sunday but Monday. Then arrived at Suva,
Fiji Islands. The rainy season having just begun it was very hot and
disagreeable. The Fijians are Papuans, but tall and not bad-looking.
Maoris, Hawaiians and Samoans are Polynesians, a much handsomer race.
The Fijians were remarkable for their quick conversion to devout
Christianity. So late as 1870 cannibalism was general. Prisoners were
deliberately fattened to kill. The dead were even dug up when in such a
condition that only puddings could be made of them. Limbs were cut off
living victims and cooked in their presence; and even more horrible acts
were committed. The islands are volcanic, mountainous, and covered by
forests.
Our visit was about the time of the Balolo worm season. The Balolo worm
appears on the coast punctually twice a year, once in October (the
Little Balolo) and once about the 20th November (the Great Balolo). They
rise to the sea surface in writhing masses, only stay twelve hours and
are gone. The natives make a great feast of them. The worm measures 2
ins. to 2 ft. long, is thin as vermicelli and has many legs. Never is a
single worm seen at any other time.
Leaving Fiji, we passed the Isle of Pines, called at Brisbane, and
arrived at Sydney on the 25th November. Of the beauties and advantages
of Sydney Harbour we have all heard, and I can only endorse the glowing
descriptions of other writers. Hotels in Australia and New Zealand are
very poor, barring perhaps one in Sydney and a small one in Melbourne. A
great cricket match was "on"--Victoria versus New South Wales--so I must
needs go to see, not so much the game itself as the very famous club
ground, said to be the finest in the world. In the Botanical Gardens,
near a certain tree, the familiar, and I thought the unmistakable, odour
of a skunk was most perceptible. Hailing a gardener and drawing his
attention to it, he replied that the smell came from the tree ("malotus"
he called it), but the crushed leaves, the bark and the blossom
certainly gave no sign of it and I remained mystified. Fruit of many
kinds is cheap, abundant and good. Sydney is not a prohibition town! Far
from it. Drink conditions are as bad as in Scotland. Many of the people,
especially from the country, have a pure Cockney accent and drop their
h's freely; indeed I met boys and girls born in the colony, and never
out of it, whose Cockney pronunciation was quite comical. It struck me
that Australians and New Zealanders are certainly not noted for
strenuousness.
Of course the tourist must see the Blue Mountains, and my trip there was
enjoyable enough, I being greatly impressed with the Leura and other
waterfalls (not as falls) and the wonderful and beautiful caves of
Janolan. Wild wallabies were plentiful round about, and the "laughing
jackass" first made himself known to me.
February 2nd.--S---- and myself took passage to New Zealand, the
fish-story man being again a fellow-traveller. During the crossing
numerous albatrosses were seen. In New Zealand we visited all the great
towns, Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and others, all of
them pleasant, agreeable places, Christchurch being especially
attractive. What a grand, healthy, well-fed and physically fit-looking
people the New Zealanders are. Scotch blood predominates, and really
there is a great similarity between the two peoples. At Rotorua we met
the Premier and other celebrities, S---- being very interested in
Colonial politics. Rotorua is a very charming place; I did some fishing
in the lake, where trout were so numerous that it was not much sport
catching them. Illness unfortunately prevented my going further afield
and fishing for larger trout in the rivers. A Colonel M---- and sister
who were in New Zealand at that time claimed to have beaten the record,
their catch averaging over 20 lbs. per fish (rainbows), as they told me
on again meeting them in the Hebrides. We did the Wanganui River of
course; and the geysers at Whakarewarewa, under the charge of Maggie,
the Maori guide.
As you no doubt are aware, the Maori fashion of salutation is to rub
noses together. As long as they are pretty noses there cannot be much
objection; but some of the Maori girls are themselves so pretty that
mere rubbing is apt to degenerate and one's nose is liable to slip out
of place. Maggie, the Maori guide, a very pretty woman and now at
Shepherd's Bush, can tell all about it and even give a demonstration.
Here in Whakarewarewa one is impressed with the fact that this little
settlement is built on what is a mere shallow crust, under which, at the
depth of only a few feet, is a vast region of boiling mud and water.
Everywhere around are bubbling and spluttering mud-wells, some in the
form of miniature geysers; steam is issuing everywhere from clefts and
crannies in the ground; and one almost expects a general upheaval or
sinking of the whole surface. The principal geyser was not and had not
been for some weeks in action. It can be forced into action, however, by
the singular method of dropping a bar of soap down the orifice, when a
tremendous rush of steam and water is vomited out with terrific force.
Sir Joseph Ward, the Premier, is the only person authorized to permit
this operation: but though he was at our hotel, and we were personally
intimate with him, he declined to favour us with the permission, it
being explained that the too-frequent dosing of the geyser had seemed to
have a relaxing effect on the activity.
At Dunedin S---- left me to visit Milford Sound. Too unwell to accompany
him, I continued on to the Bluff and then took steamer to Hobart,
Tasmania. New Zealand has a great whale-fishery and it was my hope to
see something of it by a short trip on one of the ships employed; but
the opportunity did not present itself.
May I here offer a few notes picked up on the subject of whales, etc.
The sperm or cachalot whale is a dangerous and bold fighter and is
perhaps the most interesting of all cetaceans. His skin, like that of
the porpoise, is as thin as gold-beaters' leaf. Underneath it is a
coating of fine hair or fur, not attached to the skin, and then the
blubber. He has enormous teeth or tushes in the lower jaw, but has no
baleen. He devours very large fish, even sharks, but his principal food
seems to be cuttle-fish and squids, some of them of as great bulk as
himself. These cuttle-fish's tentacle discs are as big as soup-plates,
and surrounded by hooks as large and sharp as tiger claws; while their
mouths are armed with a parrot-like beak capable of rending anything
held to them by the tentacles. These disc hooks are often found in
ambergris, an excretion of the sperm whale. The sperm whale spouts
diagonally, other whales upwards. So-called porpoise leather is made of
the skin of the white whale. The porpoise is the true dolphin, the
sailor's dolphin being a fish with vertical tail, scales and gills.
Bonitoes are a species of mackerel, but warm-blooded and having
beef-like flesh.
Near Hobart I saw the famous fruit and hop lands on the Derwent River.
It was midsummer here and extremely hot, hotter than in Melbourne or
anywhere else on this trip. From Hobart I railed to Launceston and
thence steamer to Melbourne.
Melbourne is a very handsome city as we all know. It was my hope to
continue on with S---- north by the Barrier Reef, or rather between the
reef and the mainland, and so on to China, Japan, Corea, and home by
Siberia; but my doctor advised me not to attempt it, so I booked passage
for Colombo instead, and S---- and myself necessarily parted. But it was
with much regret that I missed this wonderful coasting trip, long looked
forward to and now probably never to be accomplished. On my way home I
visited beautiful Adelaide, and the younger city, Perth, which reminded
me much of the West American mining towns. Colombo needs no call for
notice. At Messina we saw the ruined city, the devastation seeming to
have been very terrible; but it presented no such awful spectacle of
absolutely overwhelming destruction as did San Francisco. Etna was
smoking; Stromboli also. Then Marseilles, Paris, and home.
During that summer at home I was fortunate enough to see the polo test
matches between Hurlingham and Meadowbrook teams, otherwise England
versus America. It was a disheartening spectacle. The English could
neither drive a ball with accuracy nor distance; they "dwelt" at the
most critical time, were slow in getting off, overran the ball, and in
fact were beaten with ease, as they deserved to be.
An even more interesting experience was a visit to the aviation meeting
at Rheims, the first ever held in the world, and a most successful one.
Yet the British Empire was hardly represented even by visitors. Such
great filers as Curtis, Lefevre, Latham, Paulhan, Bleriot and Farman
were all present.
In the autumn I had a week's salmon-fishing at Garynahine in the Lews.
The weather was not favourable and the sport poor considering the place.
Close by is the Grimersta river and lodge, perhaps the finest rod salmon
fishery in Scotland. A young East Indian whom I happened to know had a
rod there, and was then at the lodge. On asking him about fishing, etc.,
he told me, and showed me by the lodge books, that the record for this
river was fifty-four salmon in one day to one rod, all caught by the
fly! The fortunate fisherman's name? Mr Naylor! the very man I had
travelled with to New Zealand! I have vainly tried for three seasons now
to get a rod on this river, if only for a week, and at £30 a week that
would be long enough for me. I also this autumn had a rod on the Dee,
but only fished twice; no fish and no water. During this summer I golfed
very determinedly, buoyed up by the vain hope of becoming a first-class
player--a "scratch" man. Alas! alas! but it is all vanity anyway! What
does the angler care for catching a large basket of trout if there be no
one by to show them to? And what does the golfer care about his game if
he have not an opponent or a crowd to witness his prowess? At Muirfield
I enjoyed the amateur championship--R. Maxwell's year.