Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
on deck, but soon became quiet when he saw me arrive with an armful of the fodder I had
bought for the short sea trip.
When I had attended to everything I realised that I was not feeling well. Waiting in the
fierce sun and the hurrying about all day had been too much for me. The officers and passen-
gers were all eager to attend to me, and by evening I was feeling much better.
Just before sunset, as the engines began to throb, I went up on deck to have a final look at
South America. Victor was very poorly and in a terrible state of excitement, for he had never
seen the sea before, and now he was on a modern liner! The horses were munching away at
their fodder whilst groups of curious passengers looked on.
The sun was setting in a sea of fire, the horizon looking like a burning prairie, while the
ship majestically ploughed its way through the ripples that reflected the glowing sky like fire-
works.Slowlytheblacksilhouetteofthelandbecamethinner,starswerebeginningtotwinkle
and the ship started to sway with the swell of the open sea.
For a long time I stood enjoying the cool air on deck, thinking over the many incidents
and adventures we had lived whilst travelling close on 5,500 miles from one end of the South
American continent to the other. The whole thing seemed like a dream, pleasant and other-
wise, but the chill of the night brought me back to reality and I went to see the horses for the
last time before turning in.
Next afternoon we docked at Colon. What a difference I noticed there. The Canal Zone of-
ficials, businesslike yet courteous, some of them dressed in neat uniforms, all were attending
totheirrespectivetasks,andthingswentlikeclockwork.Manchaagainobjectedtobeinghois-
ted off the ship, and no sooner had he been lowered on the concrete dock than he went off,
bucking through the customs house. Passengers and officials ran helter-skelter in all direc-
tions whilst Mancha continued his war-dance among luggage andtrunks. Ifinally caught him,
and with a few kind words and a little petting made him understand that there was no ill-feel-
ing, and that therefore such behaviour was out of place. Although there were some difficulties
about landing my horses and entering the Canal Zone with them, the officials all joined in
helping me to avoid getting entangled in 'red tape' as they so nicely called it, and by evening
the animals were living in luxury in the Panama Railroad stables.
Space does not permit me to go into details about the whole-hearted assistance I was given
by every official and civilian I came in contact with in the Canal Zone, and the kind welcome
I was given everywhere I went. I had not been there twenty-four hours when it seemed to me
as if I had been there for weeks. All the friends I had made in that short time made me feel
entirely at home.
