ON BOARD ss. YASUKUNIMARU (NYK)[1] CROSSING BAY OF BISCAY, 28.3.39

Yasukuni is 11, 950 tons. Do not yet know, but from the vibrations[2] judge that she is a motor-ship. Apart from the bridge, only 3 decks above water-level. Cabins and other appointments pretty good, but certain difficulties in that entire[3] crew and personnel are Japanese and apart[4] from the officers the majority do not speak much English. Second-class fare Casablanca-London £6.10. As the boat normally goes straight to London from Gibraltar & on this occasion went out of her way to deliver a load of tea, fare from Gilbraltar would probably be the same. P. & O. tourist class is £6.10 London-Gibraltar. Food on this ship slightly better than on the P. & O. & service distinctly better, but the stewards here have the advantage that the ship is almost empty. Facilities for drinking not so good, or for deck games, owing to comparatively restricted space.
Do not know what the accomodation° for passengers would be, but presumably at least 500. At present there are only 15 in the second class, about 12 in the third, & evidently not many in the 1st, though I don’t know how many. One or two of the 2nd & 3rd classes are Danes or other Scandinavians, one or two Dutch, the rest English, including some private soldiers who got on at Gibraltar. It appears that for its whole voyage the ship has been as empty as this. Since the Chino-Japanese war English people from the far east will not travel on the Japanese boats. All the P. & O. boast said to be crowded out in consequence.
Run of the ship during the last 24 hours 378 miles. This was in pretty good weather conditions. Left Casablanca 4pm on 26.3.39, & allowing for waiting for tides etc. in London river should apparently dock on evening of 30th or morning of 31st. (morning of 30th) (in dock about 9am = 87 hours Casa-dock.)[5]
Ship gives out cyclostyled sheet of news every day. Movies occasionally (have not seen them yet.)
In Casablanca went to the pictures, & saw films making it virtually certain that the French Gov.t expects war. The first a film on the life of a soldier, following up all the different branches & with some very good shots of the inner arrangement of the Maginot line. This film had evidently been hurriedly constructed & went into much greater detail than is normal in films of this kind. The other was the Pathé news gazette, in which the announcer gave what was practically a political speech denouncing Germany. Then more shots of British & French troops etc. The significant point was the attitude of the audience – utterly unenthusiastic, hardly a clap, & a few hostile comments.
This time all French people are convinced it is war. A number began talking to us spontaneously about it, all deploring the prospect (eg. in one or two cases, “It does no good to us, it’s only the rich who profit out of it”, etc., etc.), though sometimes describing Hitler as a “salaud.”
A.R.P. (ie F.A.P.A.C.) notices, calling for volunteer helpers, posted in Marrakech for the first time about 20th March. According to Madame M., whose son is at St Cyr, even the cadets there do not want war, though ready for it, of course.

[1]NYK] N.Y.K.
[2] vibrations] vibration
[3] entire] the entire
[4] Orwell typed his handwritten diary as far as the word ‘apart.’ The rest of the diary exists only in handwritten form. The point at which typing should resume is marked in the manuscript with the figure 20 – the number of the next page to be typed.
[5] (morning of the 30th…Casa-dock.)] a later addition.

28.3.39.

On board ss. Yasukunimaru (N.Y.K) in bay° of Biscay. The following was written in Marrakech on 21.3.39 to be written into diary when the latter was unpacked:-

Until this afternoon, the last 3 or 4 days astonishingly cold. Two days ago in the midst of a rainstorm there was a few minutes’ hail.

At public gardens many of the animals mating. Tortoises copulating, the male standing almost upright & the female when she moved dragging him round, so that probably he has a long flexible penis which can go round the edge of the shell. Ostriches showing signs of mating, the male chasing the female into a corner & getting astride her (not treading as with flying birds), the female when frightened hiding her head in the corner as a captured hare will do, so perhaps there is some truth in the tales about ostriches hiding their heads in sand. Presumably these two are of the same species, but male & female very different in appearance, the male’s plumage being black & the female’s a kind of dirty grey. Male’ neck is red, female’s grey. Both have bare necks & thighs. Height of either bird something over 7’. They would not eat bread. Frogs making a great noise, though there were tadpoles about already. Male peacocks when displaying shiver their quills with a rustling sound, as though the wind were blowing through them. One monkey (tailless ground monkey of more or less baboon type) has a baby. Evidently about two days old, & making some attempts to move about on its own, which its mother does not allow. As she runs on all fours the baby clings to her under-side with its four legs, looking forward with its face upside down. Fingers, unlike those of adults. The monkey which is evidently the father, & another male, taking great interest in the baby, handling & examining it gently, & also gnashing their teeth at it as they do when angry with one another, but as the baby showed no fear it is presumably not a hostile gesture. The baby screamed with fright when it caught sight of E. & myself, on two occasions.

The tortoises have an egg. They have laid it inside their stone hutch, so it probably won’t hatch.

The father monkey copulated with the mother, or began to do so, when she was carrying the baby in her arms.

We left Casablanca 4pm on 26.3.39, passed Cape Finisterre 7 am on the 28th & should pass Ushant 7 am on the 29th. Run for the last 12 hours 378  miles[1] (notes on this ship are in the other diary.) Weather after leaving Casablanca somewhat choppy, now while crossing the bay very calm, ie. not rough enough to disturb a ship of this tonnage. Of 3 passages across the bay I have made, only one was rough. Have seen no life at all, except the gulls which have followed the ship from Casablanca, & some flights of ducks flying northward, some of them at least 50 miles from land. No seasickness, though the first 24 hours the ship rolled sufficiently to have made me sick if I had not taken Vasano.

The last few days in Casablanca beastly cold. Struck by the changed appearance of the country when coming from M. to C. by train, ie. the temporary greenness everywhere. Crops look pretty good, though great variation in different places. Wildflowers in huge patches, & the little compounds around the Arabs’ huts so smothered in weeds that sometimes even the huts themselves were almost hidden. E. saw camels ploughing. I hadn’t seen this before & thought it didn’t happen, but evidently it is fairly usual as it was one of the things represented on the base of Lyautey’s statue[2].  On this ship several kinds of plants, some of palm type, another of the laurel type, & some of the usual Japanese stunted fir trees, are successfully grown & look healthy.

[1] Orwell originally wrote the mileage as 347.
[2] For Marshal Lyautey, see 511, n. 1. Peter Davison

HOTEL DES NEGOCIANTS, MARRAKECH 21.3.39

Yesterday the Sultan made an official visit and drove through the town, which had been previously decorated  with flags etc. and several thousand troops to line the streets. Obviously this was intended partly as a loyalty-parade in connection with the present crisis. It is evident that the people, ie. Arabs, here have a great feeling of loyalty to the Sultan.  There was much enthusiasm even in the Gueliz where normally there is not a large Arab population. Great numbers of the  petty chiefs and their retainers, forming  a sort of irregular cavalry, all armed with muzzle-loader guns. Evidently the French are not afraid to allow these guns (good up to 2 or 3 hundred yards  in all probability) to be freely scattered about the countryside. The Arabs’ loyalty to the Sultan, who is completely under the thumb of the French, makes things a lot easier for the French.  Madame V. told me that Arabs will even make signs of obeisance when hearing the Sultan’s voice over the radio.  The Sultan is a small, not very impressive-looking man of 30-40.
Senegalese troops when seen in the mass look very good. Saw a detachment of the Foreign Legion march past. Contrary to my earlier impression, physique and carriage very good.
More attention being paid to the war-crisis this time. French people refer to it spontaneously, which they did not do last time. Even Arabs talk about it, eg. our servant Madhjub Mahomed,  who informed us that there was “going to be war” and that it was the same as last time, ie. against Germany. Madhjub evidently fought in Europe in the Great War.  He cannot read any language, but has some ideas of geography, eg. he  knows you have to cross the sea to get to Europe.
E. remarks that Arab children have no toys whatever. This seems to be the case. In the Arab quarters no toys of any sort are on sale, no dolls, kites, tops or what-not, and the very few toys (sometimes a ball) one sees in Arab children’s hands are of European manufacture. In any case they don’t seem to play much. Great numbers are working from the age of about 6 onward, and most seem to know the value of money almost as soon as they can walk.
Soldiers in the Foreign Legion are not allowed into chemists’  shops (because of drugs and poisons) without a special permit.

16.3.39.

Yesterday not quite so hot, overcast & clouds of dust. Ditto today, probably presaging rain.
Other wildflowers here: a small kind of scabius°, several vetches, one of them very pretty, with a flower about the size of that of a garden pea, in two colours, pink & magenta. Several new ones in the last few days which I cannot identify. In many places the ground is now actually covered with them, predominantly the wild marigold, a pale yellow flower which is evidently mustard, & a smallish daisy not unlike the English one.
Yesterday three greenfinches, a cock & two hens, sitting on the telephone wires:
1st. greenfinch:  “little bit of bread.”
2nd.   “    : “little bit of bread.”
1st.    “    : “little bit of bread.”
2nd    “    : “little bit of bread.”
3rd (the cock): “Che-e-e-e-e-e-se!”

Men still ploughing in places. Yesterday a man sowing, broadcast out of a bag. Flocks of domestic pigeons swooping down to try & steal the seed, & the men chasing them off.
Yesterday saw a very young camel cub, evidently only a few days born as it had a bit of navel-string. Nevertheless its legs were almost as long as its mother’s.
Cavalry passing yesterday. Note that all the horses seem to be stallions.

VILLA SIMONT, 12.3.39 [1]

Troops[2]  returning from manoeuvres[3]  passed the house a few days back, to the number of about 5000 men, more than half of[4]  these Senegalese. The spahis look pretty good, general physique better than the average of the population. Horses about 14 hands, strong but not much breed, all colours, whites and greys predominantly, seemingly some castrated and some not, but no mares (never ridden in this country).[5]  Notice at the rifle range that[6]  all horses[7]  are well accustomed to fire. Seeing them on the march en masse, I do not now think (as I did before) that the Senegalese infantry are superior to the Arabs. They look much of a muchness. With the cavalry were some kind of small-bore quick-firing guns[8]  – could not see the mechanism[9]  as they were enveloped in canvas, but evidently the bore of the gun was[10]  1” or less. Rubber tyres to wheels. Transport wagons have huge all-steel disc wheels and are pulled by three mules. In addition there were[11]  pack batteries (screw guns[12] ). These[13]  guns were round about 3”, perhaps 75mm, though, of course, different from the quick-firer 75mm. Field gun.[14]  To carry the whole gun, ammunition etc. evidently requires 6-8 mules. The breech-piece of the gun is a load for one mule. A column such as we saw could manoeuvre[15]  without difficulty anywhere in country such[16]  as this, except in the mountains. The men are sent on manoeuvre[17]  with their heavy khaki overcoats etc., but do not seem to be overloaded as they used to be. Most seemed to be carrying 40 – 50 lb.
Five English and Americans from the Foreign Legion have been to visit us from time to time:
Craig. Glasgow Irish, but Orange. Fairly superior working-class, claims that  his father is well-paid office employee[18]  and to have been the same as himself. Age about 25, healthy and good physique. Distinct signs of paranoia (boasting about past grandeurs etc.) as is usual with these types. Has been about 2 1/2 years in the Legion and spent half of this in prison camps etc., having made two attempts to desert[19].  Speaks little French. Somewhat “anti-red”, showed hostility at mention of Maxton. Does not like the French and would try not to fight if war came[20].
Williams. American, dark hair, possibly a touch of dark blood. Health and physique not very good. He has nearly finished his 15 years, then gets small pension (about 500 francs a month) and expects to remain in Morocco. Is now orderly at the officer’s mess. Not well-educated[21]  but well-disposed and evidently thoughtful.
Rowlands. Age about 30-35. “Superior” type and curious accent which might belong to an[22]  Eurasian. Drinks when possible. Has done 5 years in the Legion, or nearly and thinks of leaving (they engage[23]  for 5 years and can re-engage if they wish). Evidently has not been much in trouble. Gentle disposition, thoughtful type, but not intelligent.
Smith. American, age about 40, employed as bandsman. Some tendency to drink. Has a good many years of service. Not intelligent[24]  but evidently good-hearted.
Also a young Scotsman whom I only met once. Evidently there are only two or three other Englishmen and Americans in this lot (the 4th). It is clear that[25]  Englishmen etc. don’t get on, will not put up with the rough conditions etc., and are also handicapped by inability to learn French, which the Germans are better able to do. All the above-mentioned are still privates. The Legion is predominantly German and the NCOs are usually Germans.
It is clear that life in the Legion is now thoroughly dull. None of the above has[26]  seen any fighting except innocuous skirmishes. Fights occur among the men sometimes, but the dueling once prevalent has been put down. After a year or so of service a Legionnaire[26]  is still only earning about 2 francs a day (3d), and it never gets much above this unless he becomes an NCO. A sergeant gets 1200 francs a month but has to pay for[28]  his food and also something for his clothes. Uniforms are badly-fitting but the men get a fair quantity of clothes. They have to launder them themselves. Each man gets 1/2litre[29] of wine a day. There is no free tobacco issue, and recruits are usually unable to smoke for their first six months.
After the collapse of[30] Catalonia the Petit Marocain immediately became much more pro-Franco. Every comparison of French papers with those we receive from England makes it clear that the French and British publics get their news in very different forms, and that one or other press, more probably both, is habitually lying. Eg. the local press did not mention the machine-gunning of refugees[31] in Catalonia, alleged in the English press.
To judge from the legionnaires’ rumours there is still some expectation of war. Once the rumour went round that they were to be mobilised tonight. Within the last few days they have received a large consignment of machine guns[32] and other small-arms at the depot[33] here, as though in expectation of fresh drafts of men. Whenever a French warship touches at Casablanca numbers of sailors are sent[34] on voluntary-compulsory trips[35] to Marrakech, where they fraternize with the soldiers.
Some of the crops of barley are now in ear and look fairly good. It appears that by local standards there has been a large rainfall this year and crops are expected to be good.

[1] The section of the Morocco Diary from 12 March to ‘Japanese and apart’ in the fourth sentence of 28 March (see 541) exists in manuscript and typed forms. Both are Orwell’s work. The typed version is given here, except for obvious errors. In the following textual notes, unless stated otherwise the typed version is given first. Orwell invariably uses an ampersand for ‘and’ when writing, but spells it out when typing; some other words (e.g. ‘about’ and numerals) are contracted when written but are typed in full. These are not noted. It can be seen that Orwell’s practice in such matters as hyphenation varies.
[2] Troops] Troops,
[3] Typescript erroneously spells this ‘maneouvres’.
[4]  ‘of’ is omitted
[5]  ‘never ridden in this country’ is omitted.
[6]  Typescript has ‘than’.
[7]  horses] the horses
[8]  quick-firing guns] quick-firing gun
[9]  the mechanism] mechanism
[10]  evidently the bore of the gun was] bore of the gun evidently about
[11] were] were were
[12]  screw guns] screw-guns
[13]  These] The
[14]  quick-firer 75mm. Field gun. ]ordinary 75mm.
[15]  Country such] such a country
[16]  manoeuvre] manooeuvres
[17]  ‘that’ is omitted
[18]  office employee] office-employee
[19]  desert] escape
[20]  came] came along
[21]  -educated] -,educated
[22]  an] a
[23]  engage] enlist
[24]  intelligent] intelligent,
[25]  ‘that’ is omitted
[26]  has] have
[27]  légionnaire (The accent, correct in French, is not used in English. Not noted again.)
[28]  pay 300 for (Orwell may have omitted the amount because, on reflection, uncertain of its correctness.)
[29]  litre] a litre
[30]  of] in
[31]  refugees] the refugees
[32]  machine guns] machine-guns
[33]  depot] depôt (See n. 27.)
[34]  on] on a
[35]  trips] trip Peter Davison

11.3.39

Yesterday I found a dead snake, about 2’ long, the first seen in Morocco.

Very hot. It is said that this year there has been more rain than usual, so it should be a good year.

Another flower now common is pale yellow with deeper yellow centre, about 2” across, & resembles a small sunflower.

9.3.39

Quite hot, but today cloudy. Most of our nasturtiums in flower & everything else growing rapidly.
Mosquitoes rather bad.
M. Simont uses blood, in considerable quantities (which he can get as he is a butcher) for manuring the orange trees.

4.3.39.

A good deal hotter. Flies not so bad again, however, perhaps owing to rain.
A boy offered me a quail which he had just caught the other day. Much the same as those in Spain.
Many wild flowers now, including some the same, or almost the same as in England. Poppies, bacon & eggs[1],  a sort of small marguerite not unlike the English daisy, a very tiny flower of primula or polyanthus type, some small flowers resembling dandelions, & a purple flower with petals not unlike those of a foxglove, but smaller. Also anchusa, bird’s eye[2].  Wild marigolds are much the commonest, growing in thick clumps everywhere.
Barley is now in good ear, though still green, in many fields. Where identifiable, nearly all the crops I have seen are barley. They vary, but on the whole seem good. Cherry trees everywhere in blossom. Apples coming into leaf. Pomegranate buds getting large – these evidently put forth leaves before flowers. Lemon trees have fruit at all stages from blossom to ripe fruit on them simultaneously. These apparently continue the year round. Fig buds just appearing. Broad beans about ready to pick (green), lettuce now very good, also peas, carrots & rather small turnips. Evidently some vegetables can be grown more or less continuously here. It is noticeable that there are extremely few insect pests on the vegetables. Men cutting some tall grass resembling wheat or barley, but presumably not that, used for fodder. People also everywhere cutting & carrying home donkey-loads of the weeds which have sprung up everywhere.
The other day caught a young water-tortoise about this size or perhaps a little smaller.

Perfectly formed, but at this age the tail is relatively larger. Presumably it had not been long out of the egg, so this must be breeding season. Have not seen any adult tortoises for some time past. Yesterday saw a centipede about 3-4” long – the first I have seen here.

[1] Somerset name for water crowfoot (Ranunculus fluitans); Wiltshire name for toadflax (Linaria vulgaris); see Geoffrey Grigson, The Englishman’s Flora, 41, 296. Or possibly the bulbous buttercup.
[2] ‘Also Anchusa, bird’s eye’ is at the foot of the page which ends with ‘those of’ in preceeding sentence, Grigson gives bird’s eye as the popular name of sixteen plants. Peter Davison