From collection Penobscot Marine Museum Archives
Greenlief A. Merriam Diary
Diary kept by Greenlief A. Merriam while an ensign and master in the U.S. Navy. The first part of the diary was written in the summer of 1872, when Merriam and another ensign were traveling from Shanghai to Yokohama on the Pacific Mail steamer COSTA RICA to join the USS COLORADO. These entries descibe Merriam's impressions of boardinghouses in Shanghai; a passenger's experience on the mail steamer; observations on the ports of Nagasaki, Kobe (Hiogo) and Yokohama, Japan, including female stevedores and jinrikishas; and his formal reception aboard the USS COLORADO. The second part of the diary covers Merriam's voyage from Newport, Rhode Island to Rio de Janeiro on the USS MONONGAHELA in the fall of 1873. These entries deal with Merriam's experience as an ensign at sea, including navigation, sail handling, gun exercises, and a stint in the engine room, with a few comments on fellow officers and life on board. In 1919, this book was re-used by an unidentified writer to make notes on the principles of occupational therapy and considerations on starting a school for the same.
