eary landlubber who has been weeks without a
sight of land, there never was place more delightful. The first day we
weren't allowed ashore, but there were other troop-ships lying in the
harbor, and soon pretty well every man who could find a footing on the
rigging was semaphoring like mad: "Who are you? Where'd you come from?
Where are you going?" We discovered one boat was full of New
Zealanders and we coo-eed and waved wildly to them, feeling that New
Zealand ought to be part of Australia, anyhow, and they were almost
homelanders. There were also some Indian troops bound for the Persian
Gulf, and immediately the rumor started that that was where we were
bound, and everybody looked pretty blue. Pretty soon some
coal-lighters came alongside--that is, we discovered there was coal in
them after they had discharged their living freight, for they were
simply black with niggers. There did not seem to be an inch of boat
space that was not covered up by nigger. About half of them started to
work, for the method of coaling in these parts is for the niggers to
carry aboard about a teaspoonful in a wicker basket. By working in
shifts and maintaining a constant stream of men hurrying from lighters
to ship each with his spoonful of coal, sufficient is taken inboard in
a very long time. Those who were not coaling, loudly proclaimed that
they would dive for money and thereafter, by day and night, our ears
were assailed by their cries: "Me di'." "Gib it money." "You throw."
It was very amusing for the first hour or two, but we soon got heartily
sick of their importunity and their incessant chatter.

The second day we were allowed a couple of hours ashore, and as many
had a three-weeks' thirst, they saw no more of Colombo than the inside
of a hotel bar. Others of us were amused at being escorted through the
streets by the nigger policemen with whips, who did not hesitate to
belabor very energetically any niggers who approached us too closely;
but while the policeman was chasing one nigger another would seize his
chance and offer for sale native jewelry of exquisite workmanship, at
what would seem to us a ridiculously low price, but we were assured by
every one that whatever price they asked was ten times its value. Some
of the boys were after souvenirs, and as soon as it was realized that
we had money to spend we were followed about, during our whole stay, by
scores of merchants, some simply loaded down with the entire stoc