A Ball Player's Career Part 13

In these shops are some clever artisans in bra.s.s and ivory, and the locks that are turned out by hand by some of these bra.s.s-workers, and made to a great extent on the same principles as the celebrated locks made in this country by the Yale Company, are marvels of workmans.h.i.+p in all of their parts, the joints being as neatly filled in as though turned out by the latest improved machinery, the wonder of it all being that the principles upon which they were made have been known to the Chinese for thousands of years, the Yale locks being apparently nothing but a slight improvement on the original John Chinaman ideas.

In the opium dens one sees nothing but squalor and misery. A visit to one of them is a visit to them all, and one visit is generally enough to disgust the seeker after strange sensation, the acrid smell of the smoke and the noisome stench of the close rooms being almost unbearable.

The Joss Houses, in which are hideous idols before which tapers and incense are constantly burning, and the Chinese theaters, with their never-ending performances, are all strange sights in their way, and sights that are well worth the taking in. The Chinese quarter is a blot on the fair name of San Francisco, however, and leaving it one wonders how and why it has ever been allowed to grow into its present huge proportions. The memories of these after-dark trips still linger with me even now, like the shadow of some dark dream, and yet I am glad that I made them, if only for the purpose of seeing how the other half of the world manages to exist.

In company with Tom Daly, Bob Pett.i.t, Harry Palmer and others of the party I enjoyed several horseback rides through the residence and suburban portions of the city, where I found much to wonder at and admire.

During our stay President Spalding, Captain Ward, Captain Hanlon, Mr.

and Mrs. Ed Williamson, Messrs. McMillan and Palmer, and Mrs. Anson and myself were handsomely entertained at Oakland by Mr. Waller Wallace, of the California "Spirit of the Times," a paper now defunct, and the glimpses of the bay and city that we caught at that time made the day a most pleasant one, to say nothing of the hospitality that greeted us on every hand. Messrs. Spalding, Ward, McMillan, Palmer and myself were also handsomely entertained by the Press Club, and also by the Merchants' Club of San Francisco, an organization that numbered among its members at that time many of the leading business men of San Francisco and vicinity.

The day of our departure for Australia had been finally fixed for November 18th, and the evening before Spalding, as a recognition of the kindness with which we had been treated during our stay, gave a farewell banquet to the members of the California League and the San Francisco Press Club at the Baldwin Hotel, covers being laid for seventy-five guests, among them being several men of prominence in the social and business world of the Pacific Coast. The menu card for that occasion, which is circular in form and represents a base-ball cover, now lies before me, the idea originating in the fertile brain of Frank Lincoln.

Under the heading of "score-card," on the inside, is the magic injunction, "Play Ball," with which the majority of us who sat at the table were so familiar, and among the courses, "Eastern oysters on the home run," "Green turtle a la Kangaroo," "Pet.i.t pate a la Spalding,"

"Stewed Terrapin, a la Ward," "Frisco Turkey a la Foul," together with other dishes, all of which had some allusion either to base-ball or to our contemplated Australian trip.

After we had played ball, the debris cleared away and the cigars lighted, there followed a succession of impromptu speech-making, the toasts and those who replied being as follows: "Early Californian Ball-players," Judge Hunt of the Superior Court; "The National League Champions, the New York Base-ball Club," ex-Senator James F. Grady, of New York; "The San Francisco Press," W. N. Hart, of the San Francisco Press Club; "The Good s.h.i.+p Alameda," Capt. Henry G. Morse; "A G.

Spalding and the Australian Trip," Samuel F. Short-ride; "The Chicago Nine," yours truly; "The All-Americans," Capt. John M. Ward; "The 'Base-ball' Cricketers," George Wright. In closing Spalding thanked the press and the base-ball people of the coast for the magnificent reception that we had received, and for all the kindness which had been showered upon us since our arrival, after which we bade farewell to those of our friends that we should not see again before our departure.

That night all was bustle and confusion about, the hotel. With an ocean journey of 7,000 miles before us there was much to be done, and it was again late before we retired to dream of the King of the Cannibal Islands and the Land of the Kangaroo.

Eleven years have rolled away since that trip to San Francisco was made and many of the friends that we then met with and that helped to entertain us so royally have pa.s.sed over the Great Divide that separate the known from the unknown, but their memory still lingers with us and will as long as life shall last.

There was not a minute of the time that was spent on the coast that I did not enjoy myself. I found the Californians a warm-hearted, genial and impulsive people, in whose make-up and habits of life there still live the characteristics of those early pioneers who settled there in:

"The days of old, the days of gold, The days of '49."

and to whom money came easily and went the same way.

CHAPTER XXI. WE VISIT THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

"We sail the ocean blue, Our saucy s.h.i.+p's a beauty.

We're sailors good and true, And attentive to our duty."

So sang the jolly mariners on the good s.h.i.+p Pinafore, and so might have sung the members of the Chicago and All-American base-ball teams as they sailed out through the Golden Gate and into the blue waters of the Pacific on the afternoon of November 18, 1888. Only at that time we were not in the least sure as to whether the Alameda was a beauty or not, pleasant as she looked to the eye, and we had a very reasonable doubt in our minds as to whether we were sailors "good and true." There was a long ocean voyage before us, and the few of us that were inclined to sing refrained from doing so lest it might be thought that, like the boy in the wood, we were making a great noise in order to keep our courage up. We were one day late in leaving San Francisco, it having been originally planned to leave here on Sat.u.r.day, November 17th, and this delay of one day served to cut short our visit at Honolulu. The morning of our departure had dawned gray and sullen and rainy, but toward noon the clouds broke away and by two o'clock in the afternoon, the hour set for our departure, the day had become a fairly pleasant one.

At the wharf in San Francisco, a great crowd had a.s.sembled to wish us bon voyage, conspicuous among them being my paternal ancestor, who would have liked well enough to make the entire trip, and who would doubtless have done so could he have spared the necessary time from his business at Marshalltown. Here, too, we bade farewell to Jim Hart, Van Haltren and others of the party who had accompanied us on our trip across the country, and who were now either going to return to their homes or spend the winter in San Francisco. Hardly had we left the narrow entrance to the harbor, known as the Golden Gate, and entered the deep blue waters of the Pacific before a heavy fog came down upon the surface of the deep, shutting out from our gaze the land that we were fast leaving, and that we were not again destined to see for many months. The steamer was now rising and falling on the long swells of the Pacific Ocean, but so gently as to be scarcely perceptible, except to those who were predisposed to seasickness, and to whom the prospects of a long voyage were anything but pleasant. I am a fairly good sailor myself, and, though I have been seasick at times, this swell that we now encountered bothered me not in the least. Some ten miles from the harbor entrance, the steamer stopped to let the pilot off, and with his departure the last link that bound us to America was broken.

Our party on board the steamer numbered thirty-five people, and besides these there were some twenty-five other pa.s.sengers, among them being Prof. Wm. Miller, the wrestler, whose name and fame are well known to athletes the world over, and who in company with his wife was bound for Australia. Sir Jas. Willoughby, an effeminate-looking Englishman of the dude variety, whose weakness for cigarettes and champagne soon became known to us, and who was doing a bit of a tour for his own pleasure; Major General Strange, of the English army, a tall, awkward-looking man, with eagle eyes, gray beard and a bronzed complexion, who had for years been quartered in India, and who had taken part in the Sepoy rebellion, some of the incidents of which he was never tired of relating; Frank Marion, his pretty wife and bright-eyed baby, the parents being a pair of light comedians, whose home was in the United States and who were going to Australia for the purpose of filling an engagement at Sidney, and to whose ability as musicians and skill in handling the guitar and banjo we were indebted for a great deal of pleasure before reaching our destination; Colonel J. M. House and a Mr. Turner, both from Chicago, where they did business at the stock yards, and who were hale and hearty fellows, a little beyond the meridian of life, and who were making the Australian trip for the purpose of business and pleasure; and last but not least Prof. Bartholomew, an aeronaut, who hailed from the wilds of Michigan and talked in a peculiar dialect of his own, and who joined our party for exhibition purposes at San Francisco, and proved to be a constant source of amus.e.m.e.nt to us all.

We could not have had a more delightful trip than the one from San Francisco to Honolulu had the weather been made expressly to our order, the sea being at all times so smooth that one might almost have made the entire trip in a racing sh.e.l.l, and that without s.h.i.+pping water enough 'to do any damage. It was blue above and blue below, the sky being without a cloud and the water without so much as even a gentle ripple, save at the bow of the boat where the water parted to let us through, and at the stern, where it was churned into ma.s.ses of foam by the revolving screw of the steamer. But if the days were beautiful the nights were simply grand, and the ladies were to be found on deck until a late hour watching the reflections of the moon and the stars upon the water and enjoying the balmy salt breezes that came pure and fresh from the caves of old Ocean. The second afternoon out of San Francisco the pa.s.sengers were suddenly startled by the clanging of a bell and the mad rush on deck of a lot of half-clad seamen, who seemed to come from all sorts of unexpected places, and who, springing to the top of the cabins and boiler rooms began quickly to unreel long lines of hose and attach them to the s.h.i.+p hydrants, while a score or more of sailors stood by the life buoys and the long lines of water buckets that lined the deck. That the s.h.i.+p was on fire was the thought that naturally came to the minds of many of us, and it is not to be wondered at that pale cheeks were here and there to be seen, for I can conceive of nothing in my mind that could be more horrible than a fire at sea. The alarm proved a false one, however, it being simply the daily fire practice of the s.h.i.+p's crew, in which we afterwards took considerable interest.

In spite of the fact that we were steaming along the beaten paths of navigation it was not until our fifth day that we encountered another s.h.i.+p, and then it was about eleven o'clock at night, and after the majority of the pa.s.sengers had "sought the seclusion that a cabin grants," to again quote from Pinafore. Suddenly, as we plowed the waters, the scene was brilliantly illuminated by a powerful calcium light on top of the wheel-house, and by its glare we saw not far distant a steamer that we afterward ascertained to be the one bound from Honolulu to San Francisco. She had left San Francisco for the islands before the Presidential election had taken place, and as the Hawaiian Islands were not connected by cable with the United States, its pa.s.sengers were ignorant of the result. It had been arranged, however, that a single rocket was to be sent up from the Alameda in case of Harrison's election, and two in case of, his defeat. As Harrison had been elected only a single rocket from our steamer cleft the blue, leaving behind it a trail of fiery sparks, and this was answered by a shower of rockets from the "Australia," that being the name of the sister s.h.i.+p that we had met, after which her lights grew dimmer and dimmer until they were finally lost to sight below the horizon.

With music, cards and games of chance of every kind and variety the days and nights pa.s.sed pleasantly enough on board s.h.i.+p, and if there was anything that we had not bet upon before the s.h.i.+p arrived at Honolulu it was simply because it had been overlooked in some careless manner by the tourists. When it came to making up a poker party the old gentleman was greatly missed, as "Pa Anson" had never been found wanting when there was a card party on hand and a chance to wager his chips.

Before leaving San Francisco Mr. Spalding had met the Liverpool, England, agent of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, a Mr. S. A.

Perry, and as a result of a long conversation it was agreed upon that the latter should visit such European cities as the tourists might desire to play ball in, and cable the result of his investigations to Australia. III case he found the indications were favorable to our doing a good business in Great Britain, where we were again desirous of giving exhibitions, it had been about decided by Mr. Spalding and myself that we should continue on around the world instead of returning directly home from Australia, as we had first intended. The possibility of a change in our plans we had, however, kept to ourselves, the newspaper correspondents only being taken into our confidence. The matter was allowed to leak out, however, during the voyage to Honolulu and the proposed trip was greeted with great enthusiasm by the ball players, who looked forward to it with the most pleasant antic.i.p.ations, and who talked of but little else until the details were finally agreed upon at Melbourne and the proposed trip became a reality instead of a mere "castle in the air."

The details of this trip had already been made public in the United States the week after our departure from San Francisco, so that the people at home were aware of what might occur even before the ball players themselves had had a chance to realize that they were to become globetrotters.

Owing to the fact that we had left San Francisco a day late we were a day late in arriving at the capital of the Hawaiian Islands, where we had been scheduled to play a game on Sat.u.r.day, November 24th, but where, owing to an unfortunate combination of circ.u.mstances, we were fated not to play at all in spite of the fact that every preparation for our doing so had been made and that King and court were more than anxious to see the American athletes in action. The nightfall of Sat.u.r.day found us still plowing the blue waters of the Pacific 150 miles from the islands, and as we sat on deck in the moonlight we could picture in fancy the despair of our advance agent, Mr. Simpson, who had gone on ahead of us from San Francisco and who was still in ignorance of the cause of our detention.

It was just as the day began to break on the morning of Sunday, November 25th, that the cry of "Land ho!" from the lookout on the bridge echoed over the steamer's decks, and it was but a few minutes afterward when the members of our party had a.s.sembled next the rail to gaze at what was then but a faint blur upon the distant horizon. An hour later the green verdure of the islands and the rugged peaks of the mountains that loomed up against the rosy tint of the changing sky were plainly discernible, as were the white buildings of the city of Honolulu and the little fleet of s.h.i.+pping that was anch.o.r.ed in its bays. The sight was a beautiful one, and one upon which we gazed with delight as the steamer sailed in past Diamond Head and slowed down in the still waters of the bay upon whose sh.o.r.es Honolulu is located.

Nearing the sh.o.r.e we were met by a s.h.i.+p's boat containing Mr. Geoffrey, the steams.h.i.+p company's resident agent; Harry Simpson, our advance guard; Mr. F. M. Whitney and Mr. Geo. N. Smith, the latter a cousin of Mr. Spalding, then residing in Honolulu, together with a party of natives bearing baskets that were filled with wreaths of flowers called "Leis," with which they proceeded to decorate each member of our party as a token of welcome and good will. As the steamer cables were made fast and we were drawn slowly to our berth at the dock we looked down from our perch on the rail at a crowd of fully 2,000 people that a.s.sembled there to bid us welcome, the King's band, "The Royal Hawaiian," with dark complexions and uniforms of white duck, occupying a conspicuous place and playing for our benefit such familiar tunes as "The Star Spangled Banner," "Yankee-.Doodle," and "The Girl I Left Behind Me," each and every one of them bringing out an answering cheer from the Alameda's pa.s.sengers.

The morning was a bright and beautiful one and the mountains touched with the gold: of the sunrise, the plantations lying green and quiet along the sh.o.r.es, and the rapidly-growing crowd upon the dock, all combined to make the picture beautiful, and one that will never be forgotten.

The officers of the U. S. Cruiser "Alert," which lay not far distant, had given us a hearty cheer as we pa.s.sed, while the cheers that greeted us from the dock were almost incessant and told us in an unmistakable manner that we were indeed welcome to the "Paradise of the Pacific."

Looking down from the steamer deck one saw people of almost every clime, the dark complexioned, straight-haired and intelligent-looking natives being in the majority, their white suits and dark faces adding greatly to the color of the scene. Pretty girls, too, were very much in evidence, and the eyes of many of our party strayed in their direction, especially those of the unmarried men, which variety composed the majority of our party.

Business in Honolulu the day before had been entirely suspended in expectation of our arrival, and great was the disappointment when the day pa.s.sed without the steamer being sighted. It was then thought that we would not put in an appearance before Monday, and so, when the word went around on Sunday morning that the "Alameda" was coming in, the entire city was taken by surprise and everything was bustle and confusion.

King Kalakuau had set up a great portion of the night awaiting our coming, and so disappointed was he when we failed to put in an appearance that he acc.u.mulated an uncomfortable load, and this he was engaged in sleeping off when he was awakened by his courtiers and informed of our arrival.

Shortly after we had shaken hands with the members of the reception committee and the steamer had been made fast to the dock we entered the carriages that had been provided for us and were driven to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, pa.s.sing by the palace of King Kalakuau on the way. The streets were in themselves a novelty, being lined by stately palms, cocoanuts and bananas, laden with fruits and nuts, while there were flowers everywhere. The hotel, which stood in the center of beautifully laid out grounds, seemed like some palatial residence, and we were no sooner seated in the s.p.a.cious dining-room, with its open windows extending from floor to ceiling, than the Royal Band began a concert in the music-stand beneath the windows.

This band was certainly a magnificent one, and one that has but few equals in the world, or had at that time, it being then under the leaders.h.i.+p of Bandmaster Berger, a musician of the first cla.s.s.

At breakfast that morning we were served for the first time with the native dish of "Poi," a pink-colored mush that, to be appreciated, must be eaten in the native manner, the people to the manner born plunging a forefinger into the dish, giving it a peculiar twist that causes it to cling, and then depositing it between the lips, where the "Poi" remains and the finger is again ready to seek the dish. In eating in such a fas.h.i.+on Frank Flint would have had away the best of it, and, as it was, I noticed both then and afterward that men like Williamson, Ward and others, who boasted of a base-ball finger, managed to get away with something more than their share of the delicacy.

On the balconies after breakfast we again listened to the sweet strains of the "Aloha Oe," the welcome song of the native Islanders, with which we had been greeted on our arrival at the docks.

As we stood on the balconies taking in the beautiful sights by which we were surrounded, we were informed that his majesty, "the King of the Cannibal Islands," as some members of the party irreverently referred to him, would be pleased to receive us at eleven o'clock at the palace. An invitation from a King is equivalent to a command, and so we at once made ready for the reception. When the appointed hour arrived Clarence Duval, clad in the full regalia of a drum major, took his place at the head of the Royal Band, which had formed in front of the hotel, and behind the music, headed by United States Minister Morrill and Mr.

Spalding, were the members of the two teams in double file, the ladies following in carriages. In this order the procession marched to the palace, where the King and his cabinet were awaiting our arrival.

The grounds surrounding the palace were beautiful, indeed, and as we reached the ma.s.sive portico at the entrance the band formed on one side as, with hats off, we filed up the steps, being met on the landing by members of the King's Cabinet, and by attendants, who directed us to the blue room, where we deposited our hats and canes. We were then requested to follow Minister Morrill, who took Mr. Spalding's arm and led the way across a great hall hung with pictures of the Island's dead-and-gone rulers, and into the throne room, the latter an imposing apartment large enough for several hundred couples to dance in, where the King, arrayed in citizen's clothes, stood before his throne with a Gentleman of Honor in court costume on either side. Minister Morrill introduced Mr.

Spalding to the King, and he in turn introduced the other members of our party as they filed in by him, be bowing to each of the party as the name was mentioned. After the reception was over we wrote our names on the court register, and then, after being shown through the palace, were escorted back to the hotel by the band.

King Kalakuau was by no means a bad-looking fellow, being tall and somewhat portly, with the usual dark complexion, dark eyes and white teeth, which were plainly visible when he smiled, that distinguished all of the Kanaka race. Somehow, and for no apparent reason, there came to my mind as I looked at him the lines of that old song:

"Hokey, pokey, winky wum, How do you like your murphys done?

Sometimes hot and sometimes cold, King of the Cannibal Islands,"

and I tried hard to fancy what might have happened had we landed on those same islands several centuries before.

Sunday amus.e.m.e.nts of all kinds being prohibited by an old Hawaiian law, a relic of the old missionary days, made an exhibition by the members of the two teams an impossibility, although the members of the Reception Committee, backed by many of the native Islanders, pet.i.tioned that we should do so, offering to bear any and all of the expenses incurred by us should any trouble be forthcoming. Couriers bearing pet.i.tions to the same effect were also sent around the city, and soon over a thousand names to these had been obtained. The risk was too great a one to be taken, however, as in case anything did happen we were almost certain to miss our boat and be detained in Honolulu for a longer period of time than we could afford to spend there. Our refusal to defy the law and play ball anyhow was a great disappointment both to the American contingent and to the natives, they having been looking forward to the game for weeks with most pleasant antic.i.p.ations. They took their disappointment good-naturedly, however, and proceeded to make our stay among them as pleasant as possible. The most of our time was devoted to sight-seeing, some of the party going in one direction and some in the other.

In company with several others, Mrs. Anson and myself drove out to the Pali, viewing the magnificent scenery to be found there from the plateau, where, according to the tales of the natives, it rains every day in the year between certain hours. I was not there long enough to swear to the truth of the story, but as it rained the one day that we were on hand I am willing to a.s.sume that it rained the other three hundred and sixty-four, and let it go at that. We then drove through many of the city's most beautiful avenues, past the Royal mausoleum, where sleep the former Kings and Queens of Hawaii, from Kamehameha to the Princess Like Like, who was the last of those that had been interred there at the time of our visit. The parks and roadways of Honolulu are of rare beauty, and many of the princ.i.p.al residences and public buildings of a kind that would do credit to any country in the world. At the residence of the Hon. A. S. Claghorn, where we stopped for a few minutes, we were introduced to the Princess Kaiulani, a really beautiful Hawaiian girl, and one who was the possessor of rare accomplishments and of a most winning manner. We also paid a visit to the residence of one Hon. John H. c.u.mmins, one of the Hawaiian sugar kings, where we were entertained in a most handsome manner. The time spent in driving around pa.s.sed all too quickly, and, reaching the hotel, we began to prepare for the grand Luau, or native feast, that was to be given in our honor by King Kalakuau and Messrs. Samuel Parker, John Ena and George Beckley, and which proved to be one of the most novel and delightful features of our trip.

This feast was given in the Queen's grounds, in the center of which was placed her private residence. As we drove past the King's palace and through an avenue lined by towering palms and came unexpectedly upon the brilliantly illuminated-grounds, with their magnificent groves of banana, date, cocoanut, royal palms and other trees and plants of a tropical nature, the scene was a never to be forgotten one. The s.p.a.cious enclosure was literally ablaze with light. j.a.panese lanterns of all colors, flaming torches of oil gleaming close together among the foliage.

As the uniformed officers at the gates made way for us we entered the grounds. Minister Morrill, Mr. Spalding, Capt. Morse of the "Alameda,"

and the ladies leading the way and walking toward a great tree near the center of the grounds, beneath which stood the King, the Hon. John c.u.mmins, and the members of the King's Cabinet. At the birth of each member of the Royal family, according to custom, a tree was planted upon royal ground, and as this tree flourishes or decays it is supposed to foreshadow the future of the child for whom it was planted. King Kalakuau on this occasion stood beneath his own birth-tree, planted some, fifty years before, which at that time gave no indication of the fate that a few years later was to overtake him in a strange land.

Greeting each of his guests cordially he bade all make ourselves thoroughly at home, a thing that we proceeded at once to do without further ceremony, wandering about the grounds and seeing whatever was to be seen.

An hour after our arrival the King, offering his arm to Mrs. Spalding, led the way toward the grove where the banquet was to be served, he being followed by H. R. H. Lilino Kalani, the King's sister, Prince Kawanonakoa, Mr. Spalding, Capt. Morse and the rest of the party. The tables were laid upon blocks elevated not more than six inches from the ground, in the shape of a letter U, and upon each side lay long strips of matting, upon which we sat cross-legged, like Turks, while shapely Kanaka girls in flowing robes of white stood over us moving fans of gorgeous colors. Poi was given to us in huge calabashes, while upon the big platters that were set before us and incased in the long, coa.r.s.e-fibred leaves in which they had been baked, were portions of beef, pork, veal, fish, chickens and other viands usual to a banquet in our own land. Bands of native boys with stringed instruments played continuously' during the feast, making music of a peculiar character, that rose and fell as the busy hum of conversation and mingled with the joyous laughter of the men and maidens that were gathered about the table.