April 22. Wind is very high, lost a life Boat this morning at 5.20 A.M. from the after Davits, good thing the wind is head on, the Sea is runing high. 8 P.M. Sea and wind has gon down considerable. Making about 10½ knots. Ellis is sick poor man, I am standing his watch to night. 11.45 P.M. going about the same and all is well.
April 23. I think we will have a dash of Gen Quarters, Just to shake the Boys up. the old man is anxious to have targate Practis, he believes this ship whips the shoes off any thing that floats in the line of Battle ships, of corse Baring a Torpedo if one should hapen to hit, and I think the old man is right too, for this crew feals scrapy now. I think we would fight fer Keeps. Had Gen Quarters in the morning and Church in the afternoon.
April 24. All is well, at 12 O clock noon to day we wer in Lat. 44ª 23m and Lon 57ª 48m. had some fire drill to day mixed with a little collision drill.
April 25. 4 A.M. Just came on watch and I am going on deck to get a cup of cocoa to wake me up abit. the old man is in the Chart house snoozing, so I guess it is safe to go. Every thing has settled down to the same old thing except when we have some Targate Practis By throwing boxes over board.
April 26. 8 A.M. All is well, same thing, Making 10½ sometimes 11 knots. Had clear ship for action today.
April 27. Every body begins to feal the trip now, geting tiresome now. since they have taken all of our ditty Boxes and benches and all extra mess chests and stored them away, we have no place to sit down except on deck and let our feet hang over. then the men forward cant get enough water to keep themselves clean. I am more lucky than most of them for I have a chance to steal a Bucketful one every night. our cook is no good, he makes sour Bread and would make good schrapnel for clearing the decks, and of corse your humble servant has to chew Hard Tack. had more Targate practis to day.
April 28. good stiff Breeze to day. Expect to have more targate practis to day with ful charges of amanition; no practis, wind too high.
April 29. good day to day, guess we will have it to day, no we dont have it. the old man has changed his mind and we will try and make Port to morrow.
April 30. Started to pul out this morning at 5.30 A.M, useing forsed draught, making 14.5 knots, going to try and make it by 4 P.M, have a head wind and light head sea. Droped anchor at 3 P.M. in the beautyfull harber of Rio de Janeiro, and befor the Mud hook struck the botom we had the news that war was declared on the 21st of April 1898, the very day we puled out of Sandy Point. as soon as every thing was put to order we Broke out the Band to give us the Star Spangled Baner, and the Crew diden do a thing But yell and whoop her up, so they had to play it over 4 times. The Marietta got in at 7 P.M. The Forts at this place were not going to let her in. But when they see her Signal they let her pass O.K. started to coal up at 8.25 P.M. and we get out of hear as soon as we can. I hear the Spanish has got one of our Merchant ships, the Shanandore, loaded with English goods. I wonder how that is going to com out. Every one on this ship is crasie to get at the Spanish.
May 1. Just com on watch. Beautyfull morning and still coaling ship. Hear is where you can get lots of sour frute and Bananas by the ship load for a little mony. But we are not aloud to Buy any thing that isent sour on account of Yellow Feaver at this place. The Brazilian soldiers stop up all night to be up erly in the morning; they started to give us Revelee about 3 O clock this morning, diden get through until 4 A.M. it sounds very pretty early in the morning when you are all ready awake, and such a beautyfull morning as this is you can hear the echo of the drums up in the hils far away. You would all most wish you could stop hear all the time and be a Brazilian for good. But I coulden leave my Dear land for all the pretty sights Ive seen togather.