Seeing Other Americans (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Frederick M. Dearborn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1330139321 ISBN 13: 9781330139325

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Excerpt from Seeing Other Americans

A few minutes after twelve we pushed off from Man hattan and sailed down the bay, out of the Narrows and by Sandy Hook. Sixty-three passengers where one hun dred and fifty could be accommodated made travel easy, like a Pullman with only the lowers occupied. All of these Fruit Company ships carry a general cargo from the United States and a banana cargo back, while about twenty of the larger and newer boats carry the incidental item of human beings. Sultry weather in New York presaged fog at sea, and sure enough by 44 rm. It closed down, and the toot-toot of our whistle never ceased until about seven, when the weather cleared. Later, the appearance of the moon made us feel quite tranquil. I always did like the moon, for she seems so much more reasonable than the sun, for moonlight does not interfere with privacy. Sunday brought us, ao cording to the skipper, fine weather, a moderate sea, and a brisk s.w. Wind. Noon logged 361 miles from New York - 341 from Scotland Light. A few bold spirits have al ready embraced Shufile-board and quoits, but most of us are content to sit still and watch the sad sea waves. This is a quiet boat, no boisterous souls aboard, although inquiries are being made about planters' punches and other endemic trouble-breeders. The passengers are about evenly divided between those who are touring for a vacation, those who are returning home, and those who are going back to the various American-owned mines in South America. The mid dle group is interesting because it is difficult to decipher just how much Caucasian, Mongolian, Indian or Negro blood is necessary to make the perfect being.

Monday, July 13th. - Incidentally the thirteenth trip of this boat and a great day otherwise-my birthday. The a la carte method, so unlike most liners, is productive ofmuch good, for it prevents overloading of one's digestion. As you pay for what you eat, usually a sane attitude toward food is observed. The all-round tendency on shipboard is to overeat. We find that per day does the trick well, for the charges have been reduced since the inauguration of this system. The food is as good as on any boat of its size, and the service first class - mostly English stewards. The skipper says at noon that the weather is fine, brisk, ssw. Wind and choppy sea. Distance covered, 371 miles for the day. Among the ladies and the Latins there are some signs of indisposition, with actual evidence of mal de mer on the lower decks. We ate only two meals this day breakfast, mostly of fruit, at ten, and an early birthday supper of fresh broiled lobster and a quart of Cordon Rouge, the latter at the Judge's urgent request to duly celebrate the day. On board are two Jersey mosquitoes from Hackensack, patients of mine, and Mr. And Mrs. T fel low passengers on the Turrialba two years ago. Thus is demonstrated again that the traveling world is small, and one must never expect to leave New York without being well chaperoned. We have connecting rooms on the boat deck which we were fortunate to secure at the minimum fare. There are only eight cabins on this deck, and this is by far the best location on the boat. We have passed a couple of boats each day, but too far off to see well even with strong glasses, which should always be carried. The wind has shifted and we no longer get the strenuous breeze we have enjoyed on the starboard side for two days. Fine moon light night but to bed at 9 rm.

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Product Description

Excerpt from Seeing Other Americans You will gather by reading these few pages that they comprise an informal account of places visited, scenes witnessed and people met with. The text is taken from letters hurriedly written to my dear ones at home and hence lacks even a semblance of literary style. I am indebted to my old friend, Hugo Kafka, for drawing, after my unskilled suggestions, a map of South America and for conceiving a cover design. With the exception of two views, the photographs herein employed, although unfortunately much reduced, are entirely from my own camera. They were chosen from about two hundred and fifty exposures taken during the trip. If your memory, curiosity or interest is aroused by the perusal of this wee book or if you are afforded a few minutes of pleasure by peeping at its informality, the perpetrator of these lines will be the happier thereby. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1330139321
• ISBN 13: 9781330139325
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 104