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Excerpt from South American Travels
The steamship Of the Company was widely advertised as being equipped with all modern con veniences, and as the Peruvian boat the Ucayali left the day before, I decided to spend an extra day Sightseeing in Panama, and take the other boat. This Old tub of 3387 tons was anchored at Balboa docks, and presented quite a respectable appearance. I began to think that all the yarns that I had heard about the craft Of this line were fairy tales, until a slovenly, pimply-faced native steward made his appearance and asked me for two dollars before he would surrender the key to my cabin. There is a rule that this money is to be returned to the passenger at the end Of the voyage; in my case, for one, it was not, for the steward pocketed it as his tip. I was given no check for my hold baggage, and was told that, at Callao, all baggage would be brought up on deck to be claimed by the owners. Evidently I was misinformed, for, upon arrival at that port, I was obliged to drop into the hold and pick out my own baggage. My entire experience on the was certainly most unpleasant. The ship was four hours late in sailing, and then anchored out by the quarantine station to wait for the purser, a Chilean, who was on shore giving the Panama Railroad Company a receipt for the cargo, and who would probably fill up, and not return till midnight on a launch.
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