After her time in Hong Kong, Nellie was quite taken with Japan: “After seeing Hong Kong with its wharfs crowded with dirty boats manned by still dirtier people, and its streets packed with a filthy crowd, Yokohama has a cleaned-up Sunday appearance..”
But it was not only first impressions that were favorable; he country grew on her with every passing hour: “If I loved and married, I would say to my mate: ‘Come, I know where Eden is, and. . . desert the land of my birth for Japan, the land of love – beauty – poetry – cleanliness.”
She admired just about everything she saw in Japan. “English is taught in the Japan schools and so is gracefulness. . Japanese children are unlike any other children I ever saw at play. They always look happy and never seem to quarrel or cry.”
But of course she had a larger goal, and soon it was time to resume her journey. On Jan. 7, 1890 she left Yokohama aboard the Oceanic, the fastest ship on the ocean. (In Nov., 1889 the Oceanic had set the record for the fastest eastbound Pacific crossing, making it from San Francisco to Yokohama in a mere 13 days.) Everything looked promising. The Chief-engineer William Allen even “caused to be written over the engines and throughout the engine room, this date and couplet:
‘For Nellie Bly,
We’ll win or die.
January 20, 1890.’ ”
This would put Nellie into San Francisco two full days ahead of schedule. And for three days at sea, it seemed a safe prediction. But then the Oceanic ran into foul weather, unrelenting foul weather. . .
Pat says
January 15, 2015 at 11:58 amYour book is great and making the rounds in our neighborhood. The most recent question is “Just how did Marshall come to get so involved with Nellie?”