Forty Years On The Pacific/Introduction

by Frank Coffee

INTRODUCTION

A GOOD many years ago—more than I like to confess— it dawned on me that I was getting too old for the deck sports that enliven a long sea-voyage; so I decided on a new sport for myself: to pass the time in setting down impressions of ocean travel, the places I visited, and the interesting side-lights on life that came to my attention. The first result was a series of letters to friends, the second, a number of newspaper interviews, and finally the present volume.

My original intention was to confine myself to personal experiences, but the more I studied the conditions of the Pacific, its marvelous panorama of countries and peoples, the more fascinated I became with my subject, and it grew far beyond my initial purpose; I felt compelled to take in a wider range, to include general information and jottings that covered a period of more than forty years.

I have sailed other oceans, but the Pacific is the one I know and love the best. The book I offer you is therefore primarily about my favorite ocean, the Pacific, although I wander now and again in my narrative to other waters for example and comparison.

Some of the subjects held up for consideration may not prove of prime interest to all readers, but at least my guiding principle in selecting them has been the knowledge—I venture to claim—-of what interests most persons. As an old campaigner, meeting all sorts and conditions of people, and mingling with them as one of the eternal human comedy, I have had unusual opportunities of finding out what the average mind responds to. Hence, I have tried to let common understanding direct my pen. •

This work is largely reminiscent, a fact permitting me the widest latitude. As I proceeded to enlarge my scope and marshal all my varied material, it was borne in on me that matters assumed several aspects when viewed from different angles, and thus the importance of accuracy early impressed itself upon me. As a consequence, not only have I consulted maritime men whom I have met at sea for years, but authorities on Pacific subjects—authorities such as Mr. D. C. Jenkins; Mr. Frank Burnett, of Vancouver; Mr. Percy Allen, of Sydney; Mr. Blacklock, for many years in Samoa; Captain Allen, of the Ellice and Phoenix groups of islands; Mr. T. J. McMahon; Eben Low, of Honolulu; Willie Greig, who knows the North Pacific well, and Mr. Will Lawson.

From sources of this sort I have refreshed my memory. In many cases I have received additional valuable details by talking with old friends whose travels have covered the same courses as my own. To these men—naval officers, ships' captains and officers, engineers, island traders and others—I am deeply indebted. Furthermore, the chapters I give on technical topics, such as wireless, have been gone over by experts; and to these gentlemen I also wish to express my appreciation of their kindly assistance. For some of the illustrations I am indebted to the courtesy of various steamship and railroad companies, Messrs. Baker-Williams, the Honolulu Promotion Committee and to the Honolulu Photo Supply Company.

One feature of the book many readers will get at once, and that is, they will find themselves suddenly transported from one scene to another without warning or preparation, but I hope it will not cause them any discomfort. Let them lay it to the habit of mind engendered in the old traveler by his familiarity and indifference to thousands of miles. An old campaigner like myself thinks nothing of an eight-thousand-mile jump.

It is with considerable diffidence that I submit my book to the public, and I do it only at the insistence of many good friends who have read my letters of travel. Also, I have been consoled by the remark of a well-known New York editor who, when I expressed trepidation as to the possible reception of my book, said with great emphasis: "I would not give a d for a book that was not disliked by somebody!"

But, withal, my experience may be akin to that of Mark Twain. Turning from authorship to publishing, he suffered a rude financial jar. Now, I am a publisher venturing to become an author, and the same sort of rude jolt may be awaiting me. Again, another picture comes to mind. Last summer, while strolling with a friend in Central Park, New York, we had to jump quick to get out of the way of a ninety horse-power automobile. My friend turned and said:

"The man in that car is a publisher."

Not long after, a Ford passed us and my companion pointed out the occupant as a book-binder. Then we met a thoughtful-looking man on foot—he was an author.

At all events, my book will serve the purpose if, even in a small measure, it contributes to the growing interest now apparent in the Pacific and its islands. I have often wondered why more people do not take the trip to the Antipodes and the Orient. Steamship rates are reasonable enough, and the service is high-class. Rich in folklore, in quaint peoples, in the beauty of reef and palm, the islands of the Pacific are certain to charm and enthrall the visitor.

Besides giving an account of my travels, I have included general information relating to the science of navigation, and some hints that I hope will prove useful to the general reader. So many questions have been asked me by prospective travelers about life on board ship, that I feel that these pages will be of practical service to them.

I adopt no pose in the world of letters. What I have written and compiled is largely' a book of my impressions— not a history in any sense. And I have told it in my own way, because that was the natural and unstudied thing to do. Whatever may be the reception of my book, I have already been recompensed in the pleasure I have had in putting it together.

THE AUTHOR.