ng out on the farm. There were a number of chickens on board and
each rooster seemed obliged to salute the dawn with a fanfare of
crowing. They belonged to the governor and were going out to East Africa
to found a colony of chickens. Some day, years hence, the proud
descendents of these chickens will boast that their ancestors came over
on the _Woermann_, just as some people boast about their ancestors on
the _Mayflower_.

[Drawing: _Mauled by a Lion_]

When we crossed the equator, a committee of strong-arm men baptized
those of the passengers who had never before crossed the line. Those who
had crossed the line entered into the fun of the occasion with much
spirit and enthusiasm.

On the hottest day of the trip, just as we left Suez, when the mercury
was sputtering from the heat, we heard that the north pole had been
discovered. It cooled us off considerably for a while.

CHAPTER III

THE ISLAND OF MOMBASA, WITH THE JUNGLES OF EQUATORIAL AFRICA "ONLY A FEW
BLOCKS AWAY." A STORY OF THE WORLD'S CHAMPION MAN-EATING LIONS

In this voyage of the _Woermann_ there were about twenty Englishmen and
thirty Germans in the first class, not including women, and children.
There was practically no communication between the two nationalities,
which seemed deeply significant in these days when there is so much talk
of war between England and Germany. Each went his way without so much as
a "good morning" or a _guten abend_. And it was not a case of
unfamiliarity with the languages, either, that caused this mutual
restraint, for most of the Germans speak English. It was simply an
evidence that at the present time there is decidedly bad feeling between
the two races, and if it is a correct barometer of conditions in Europe,
there is certain to be war one of these days. On the _Woermann_, we only
hoped that it would not break out while the weather was as hot as it was
at that time.

The Germans are not addicted to deck sports while voyaging about, and it
is quite unusual to find on German ships anything in the way of deck
competition. The German, while resting, prefers to play cards, or sing,
or sit in his long easy chair with the children playing about. The
Englishman likes to compete in feats of strength and takes to deck
sports as a duck takes to water. I don't know who started it, but some
one organized deck sports on the _Woermann_, and after we left Aden the
sound of battle raged without cessation. Some of the competi