The Memoir of Daniel E. Meehan Sr.

Produced in partnership with Legacy Letters

After all the cargo was loaded in Mombasa, the steamship agent said to Captain Wells, “I have one more piece of cargo for you—it’s a live cheetah.”

The captain said, “Live cheetah?”

And the agent said, “Yeah, we’re putting two hundred pounds of raw meat in the icebox, and somebody will have to take care of it.” The Captain chose the lowest-paid guy on the ship, the midshipman—me! He said, “Midshipman, you take care of the cheetah.”

The cheetah did not look happy.