April 1 Tuesday – At sea on board the Kanawha en route to Nassau, Bahamas, stopped at Rum Cay. Sam wrote to Livy that they were “homeward bound,” though he was unsure when they might reach home, possibly Apr. 12 or 14.

All our prophecies go to grass. We go to places we never intended to visit, & don’t go to others that were on our list. We did not return to Havana, so I have never received any letters but those which you & Jean wrote me on the 19th [not extant]. …

April – The North American Review published Sam’s essay, “Does the Race of Man Love a Lord?” It was collected in The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories (1906) [Budd, Collected 2: 1007]. Paine calls this piece “a most interesting treatise on snobbery as a universal weakness” [MTB 1164].

Sam also wrote one of his aphorisms to an unidentified person: “On the whole it is better to deserve honors & not have them, than have them & not deserve them.” [MTP].

March 31 Monday – The Kanawha sailed from Santiago, Cuba, to Nassau, Bahamas.

Sam’s notebook: “Sailed at 8 a.m. on a 2-day stretch due north” [NB 45 TS 8]. Note: Sam’s ship log essentially the same notation.

March 30 Sunday – The Kanawha made the port of Santiago in southern Cuba, where the men “visited the points of historical interest near Santiago” [NY Times Apr. 1, 1902, p.9 “The Kanawha at Santiago”].

Sam’s notebook: “Easter / Sailed early for Santiago. Rough. Arr. 3 p.m. at the Morro Castle. Prado. Queen’s …. [Square] Well kept cats & dogs. No smoking” [NB 45 TS 8].

March 29 Saturday – On board the Kanawha in Boden, Jamaica, Sam wrote to Livy [MTP].

March 28 Friday – Sam’s Mar. 29 to Livy related this days’ activities in Kingston, Jamaica.

March 27 Thursday – The Kanawha made its way to Kingston, Jamaica.

Sam’s notebook: “7 a.m. took pilot. Black, with 3 young blacks. Quite indifferent to their peril. Had to take their boat aboard—it would never have towed—sea too rough. Island densely wooded—can’t insert a knife between the trees. 9—noon. Ashore & drove. Captain of the Galena—$1” [NB 45 TS 7].

Sam’s ship log:

March 26 Wednesday – The Kanawha was en route to Kingston, Jamaica, arriving there at 5 p.m, as indicated by Sam’s notebook: “Cold salt water baths. / At breakfast in 18° N. Pointed for Jamaica. Rased the island 5 p.m.Too Late. Concluded to sail all around it” [NB 45 TS 7]. Note: Sam’s ship log gives nearly verbatim the same report.

March 25 Tuesday – The Kanawha was en route around the western tip of Cuba, then south and east to Kingston, Jamaica. Sam’s notebook gives their progress: “Turned western end of Cuba 8 a.m. Balmy weather. Deep-blue sea. Flying fishes. It is 756 knots from Havana to Kingston. We have permits from H.B.M. Consul” [NB 45 TS 7]. Note: Sam’s ship log gives nearly verbatim the same report.

March 24 Monday – On board the Kanawha in Havana harbor, Sam wrote to Livy [MTP].

Dearheart, we are anchored fifty yards from the wrenched & tangled battered bunch of rusty iron which stands for the “Maine” & looks like a brobdignagian tarantula in his death-squirm.

Sam then wrote of the activities of the prior day, Mar. 23 (see entry), and finished with: