Upon
arrival at the ship we watched with interest the progress of other
boats through the surf, and were alarmed to see the men in one madly
divesting themselves of their clothing. When it finally came alongside
its occupants made flying leaps for the gangway, and we discovered
that a great hole had been knocked in its bottom, and that raincoats,
ordinary coats, and trousers had been jammed into this opening in
order to keep the rapidly sinking craft afloat for a few moments.
In the Cagayan valley we had a taste of real tropical heat. Never
have I seen a man suffer more than did Mr. Taft at Ilagan on the day
when we established a provincial government for Isabela, and the night
that followed still lingers in my memory. The air was suffocating. My
bed was in a corner. I dragged it out between a window and a door
and threw both wide open. Still I could not sleep. Slipping off
my pajamas, I seated myself on the broad window sill. The heat was
intolerable. I poured water over myself and resumed my seat in the
window. The water would not evaporate. I sat there until morning,
as I could not endure the heat lying down.
Such conditions are unknown throughout the greater part of the
archipelago, where cool sea breezes temper the heat at all times.
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