Did not sleep, although a cool breeze was blowing. My head kept burning all night. I arose at 6 and after a good wash and a cup of coffee I felt better. Puncetually at 7 our boat started back by the same route.
At 8 we dropped the pilot and then steamed up. I took a seat on the foredeck where there was a fine breeze and wrote up my diary. I am very sorry we made Ilo Ilo on Sunday as it prevented me from obtaining any post cards. The crew are now giving the deck an extra scrub and this is an amusing spectacle. One goes ahead and wets it down a little, then sand is sprinkled, then four men follow pushing bundles of twigs back and forth with their bare feet. It seems like an old-fashioned performance. The first day out I noticed a boy about ten years old being carried about by an Indian servant, almost in the same manner as the Indians ‘carry their babies. I thought he must have been the pampered son of some rich planter. I since learned that he is a son of a missionary and is crippled. They are sending him to the States to be cured.
At 10 I had my first dinner of two dishes of very good bean soup, bread and a cup of coffee. I am allowed to help myself to the latter, since it is known I do not drink wine. I ate in company with the missionary boy’s servant and another young Indian. Afterwards the former gave me a couple of small papers. I then went up to the foredeck and made my bed in a comfortable place on some ropes.
It is now very hot. It was not until 12 we rounded a lighthouse, passed when going in, that we caught a breeze. This was fine. In the meanwhile I read my papers and settled back for a siesta and slept until 3. We still had the land in sight a couple of miles away. It looked like one mass of volcanic hills, burned and seamed. There were very few trees. I should have noted the fact with the exception of one small steamer, there were no vessels of any size in the harbor at Ilo Ilo. I sat on the deck and enjoyed the breeze until 5. I then had a second dinner. Just at this time a strong breeze strengthened into quite a gale and the sea was covered with whitecaps. I ate dinner with the two Indian boys and it seems the younger is in sore trouble. He has no ticket and will not be allowed to land. I felt sorry for the boy as I had taken a notion to him on account of his manly appearance. I had been trying to cheer him up but it was a poor try. Just at this time we came abreast of a small island on the port side, which contained a lighthouse.
At 7 I took it for granted by the number of lights that we were passing that it was a fair sized town. After strolling along deck for awhile at 8 I went up to another deck and fixed up my bed. The wind was blowing a gale and as I had no shelter this almost blew the hair off my head, but as I wanted the fresh air I stuck it out. I lay gazing at the sky until 11 before going to sleep. I never saw such a sight in my life, the sky seemed to be one mass of stars. This was a very hot day but I did not feel too bad.