come for six months, und he vanted us to blant bodadoes, und ve had no
tobacco. He say de bodadoes get ripe in eight months, und I dink if I
shtay dere eight months I go grazy. Ve vas ragged, und efery day ve go
und look for a vessel. Ve gould see dem a long vay ouid, und ve made
signals und big fires, but no ship efer shtopped. De shkipper made
a kvarrel mit de mates, und de old man he say he go away in de boat,
und he bick Alex und me because ve was de bestest sailormen. Ve vas
dere nearly four months ven ve shtart ouid. De oder men dey vas sore,
but dey vanted de old man to bromise to gif dem big money, und ve go
for noding. Ve fix oop de boat und ve kvit."

Steve went on to describe how they fixed up the boat for the voyage
by making guards of canvas about the sides, and an awning which they
could raise and lower. They took a ten-gallon steel oil-drum and
made a stove out of it. They cut it in two at the middle and kept the
bottom half. They then made a place for holding a pot, with pieces of
scrap-iron fixed to the side of the drum, so that they could make a
fire under the pot without setting fire to the boat. Then the captain
set them to learning to make fire by rubbing sticks, and after many
days they learned it. The manager had a steer killed, and they jerked
the meat and loaded up their boat beside with sweet potatoes, taro,
white potatoes, five dozen eggs, and twenty gallons of water in their
tank, with twenty-five more in a barrel.

Then bidding good-by to everybody who gathered to see them off, they
steered for Pitcairn Island. They soon found that the prevailing
wind would not permit them to make that course, and so they laid
for Mangareva in 23º south and 134º west, sixteen hundred miles
distant. They had to go from 28º south and 110º west, 5º of latitude
and 24º of longitude. Again they were at the mercy of the sea, but