I therefore
cannot get myself to think that a man of your attainments and
experience would attempt such a proceeding, which is nothing less
than courting death in that way. And even if you were to escape for
some time, your whole Person, and those with you would be bruised
from the ceaseless motion of a craft of the above size, even if she
were padded, a thing not usual at sea." Thank you, kind friend,
thank you for that qualification, "a thing not usual at sea." Nor
is this friend ignorant of the sea. As he says of himself, "I am
not a land-lubber, and I have sailed every sea and ocean." And he
winds up his letter with: "Although not wishing to offend, it would
be madness to take any woman outside the bay even, in such a craft."
And yet, at the moment of writing this, Charmian is in her state-
room at the typewriter, Martin is cooking dinner, Tochigi is setting
the table, Roscoe and Bert are caulking the deck, and the Snark is
steering herself some five knots an hour in a rattling good sea - and
the Snark is not padded, either.
"Seeing a piece in the paper about your intended trip, would like to
know if you would like a good crew, as there is six of us boys all
good sailor men, with good discharges from the Navy and Merchant
Service, all true Americans, all between the ages of 20 and 22, and
at present are employed as riggers at the Union Iron Works, and
would like very much to sail with you." - It was letters like this
that made me regret the boat was not larger.
And here writes the one woman in all the world - outside of Charmian-
-for the cruise: "If you have not succeeded in getting a cook I
would like very much to take the trip in that capacity. I am a
woman of fifty, healthy and capable, and can do the work for the
small company that compose the crew of the Snark. I am a very good
cook and a very good sailor and something of a traveller, and the
length of the voyage, if of ten years' duration, would suit me
better than one. References, etc."
Some day, when I have made a lot of money, I'm going to build a big
ship, with room in it for a thousand volunteers. They will have to
do all the work of navigating that boat around the world, or they'll
stay at home. I believe that they'll work the boat around the
world, for I know that Adventure is not dead. I know Adventure is
not dead because I have had a long and intimate correspondence with
Adventure.
