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The town, as seen from the harbor, is pretty. Palms are along the coast, with a number of thickly leaved trees behind them, all bent in the same direction, from the strong wind. There are many big modern buildings, Government House, the Post Office, two large hotels, and several brick apartment houses, all looking bright and clean in the strong sunshine. The Cathedral, with its dome and two obelisk-like towers, overlooks the city.

The day was chilly, with a strong wind blowing constantly. The most motley crew of natives I have ever seen was waiting to help us tie up, and to begin unloading cargo. The variety of head-gear fascinated me all day - red fezes, helmets painted red or black or aluminum, turbans wrapped in various styles - sometimes just a sort of skull cap, sometimes with folds under the chin and around the neck - several woolen stocking caps, and one helmet of red and brown raffia with small ornaments woven into it and a big brass knob on top. Many of the men wore burnooses, made of everything from blue denim to patched and ragged white damask. They were a lean and hungry-looking lot, and the blackest negroes possible.

Our ship tied up, to our considerable discomfiture, right alongside a coal yard, and as there was a ship there being coaled, the derricks were working, and the wind brought coal dust in clouds onto our ship. In ten minutes we all had black faces, and the white paint of the West Kebar was speckled and gritty. It was nearly noon before the agent came aboard, and we asked about the possibility of obtaining a pass to go ashore. He went off with our passports but came back with the news that the Commandant would allow no transit passengers to leave the ship.

Unloading of cargo began promptly. Three thousand barrels of gasoline and kerosene were taken out of Number 1 hold, three big caterpillar tractors and a huge road-scraping machine came out of Number 2, with much screaming and shouting. The natives do not understand English, of course, and the mate had to pantomime instructions to get the great [[strikethrough]] unwiledy [[/strikethrough]] unwieldy crates out of the hold and overside. Two of them weighed 11 tons, and one weighed 18 tons, but with cables around them, and the big boom working they were lifted out and over and set down on the wharf. Tin, tobacco and cigarettes were other cargo for Dakar.

The missionaries finally left us about three o'clock, to set out to find a hotel, and to see what news they could get of a ship that would take them on down the coast. We were sorry to see them go, especially Marian Nelson, who is so young and seems so unprepared for the sort of life she is going to have in the Congo.

About five o'clock we finally got a pass, which stated that Monsieur William Mann would be allowed ashore from 6 to 20 o'clock if he stayed within the limits of the quai and the jardin zoologique. The agent told us that the zoo director would come aboard in the morning to take us out to the zoo himself. The Captain and some of the officers went ashore for the evening, but we all stayed on board, and Bernice and I played anagrams to pass the time.