Api Hill. Mahagi, Belgian
Congo, Africa
Aug. 8, 1912.
Dear Chas & Bess:
I really don’t know when I’ve written you
and now no doubt you’ll get this about the time you
are visiting at home and there’s really no need of me to write
all I’ve written home - but I wont, I’ll just go on from where
I left off.
This has been such a beautiful spring day
(in Aug.) but we have been having such a lot of cold rainy
weather that it felt very good to have a sunny warm day again.
Of course we don’t know how much the weather changes in the
course of a year but during this wet season the mornings at
least & often during the day it’s as cold as at Kijabe.
When it is sunny then the sun is very hot. I’m glad we are
tenting now & hope we’ll be in our house by Dec. or the
time of the heat. I fear the effect of the sun on the children
& it’s impossible to keep them in the tent all the time.
Pretty hard to do it even during a shower. We’ve had such wind
storms since here but our tent is roped to a big tree and
quite securely roped so we can’t blow away.
Jno has just about finished the walls of
the 2 room house that the ladies & Mr & Mrs Haas will
live in for the present. When they get out it will be our cook
house & store room. He hopes to have it done ready for use
in one more week. He has done very well. Often worked harder
than he should have but Haases have such a little tent and the
girls have such trouble with people taking things when they go
away. Then when he finishes that he’ll go at our permanent
house. He will put the walls only part way up & then build
up all corners & put on the roof. & build up the walls
between as he can. We build of stone. These hills are made of
them. Pretty good for building. Can’t be shaped much but are
naturally in layers which makes them have a good surface on
two sides.
We are quite comfortable - one tent right
onto the other so it’s like one house. [hand-drawn diagram
showing big table, veranda, dining tent, store tent & bath
all in one unit] The bath really belongs onto this tent but I
sewed it onto the other & it gives us a little more room.
That’s where we keep the bananas hanging. They ripen so nicely
there. Because it’s been so rainy & wet things on the
floor were getting quite moldy. today with sunshine & good
dry air I propped up the sides of the tent and let the air
blow thro’ and it dries ever so much.
Don’t see why I make so many mistakes
unless it’s because I’m getting sleepy. Jno works so hard I
like him to lie down after dinner & rest & it’s hardly
safe for both to go to sleep for one never knows when someone
will pick up something & walk off with it.
We caught a boy one day stealing bananas
thro’ an opening in the tent - and another day two boys were
found cutting a hole into Dr’s tent while they were away. One
of those last got away unpunished. We asked the people what
they’d do with such cases & they said “whip them”. They
were just boys - so Jno said they should do with them as they
deserve. Each was given 10 lashes with a switch. We hope this
will stop in time but they do it among themselves and are born
with the idea that it’s alright no mater how much you steal
just so you’re not found out. We have had such a lot of
different experiences since we left Kijabe. But it all comes
in the game I suppose so we’ll swallow the pill & call it
good but bitter.
Mr. Joris, the Gov’t Officer at Mahagi
passed here today with 30 soldiers and a camp outfit. He was
in too much of a hurry to stop. Just what he’s after we
couldn’t make out. He said he’d be back inside of 3 weeks and
would stop here & tell us all about it. He was going to
Uma the big chief. The Gov’t are having quite a time to get
things settled and the country organized.
But if you want a fine place, come here.
Here is a little plan of our house. [hand-drawn diagram, 32x28
ft. showing living room, pantry, veranda, boys room, our room,
one side toward ladies house & other side toward guest
house] This faces the Lake. We are on the highest of lots of
hills & between us & the lake are lower hills &
then the plains by the Lake & on 3 sides hills, hills - so
pretty. We can see way up the Lake even part of the Nile where
it leaves the lake. South of us is a pretty high mountain that
comes down abruptly into the Lake. So pretty - often when the
lake is quiet the edge is reflected in the water. You see we
have a house on each side of us.
I have a letter you (Bess) wrote Dec. 31
but I’m sure I answered it before. At any rate we got the
shoes & the balls but we haven’t the shoes any more for
they were in one of the boxes that were stolen. They were such
nice shoes & just what he’d need now. All the children’s
shoes went but the boots Grandpa made & how glad
we are that they were left for they’ve worn them since so
hard and all the time. few shoes would have stood the wear so
well. We had a pair of shoes sent from Nairobi for Raymond
& when we opened them he felt in them and looked so
disappointed as he asked “But, mama, where are the balls?” He
got an idea that all shoes that come by mail ought to have
balls in them. Sent home for a pr. for Claudon. Don’t know
when they’ll get here. Hope ‘twill be soon for I think the
boots are getting a little small for him. He runs all over so
fast & jabbers everything. Repeats so much of what he
hears. He is taking up the native language too. We shall
always speak English to him tho - as we want him to get
English properly first and then we don’t care how many native
languages he learns.
Suppose you, Chas wonder about game. Well
there isn’t so much right here but a few hours takes one to
where there are plenty antelope. Jno said he saw a little bush
buck near here the other day & natives say there are
leopards around but we’ve not seen nor heard any and in parts
of the country there are many elephants.
An American, Mr. Forbes, has been thro’
here hunting elephants. Got a few.
I suppose you people are enjoying ice cream
& lemonade. Well, I’d like some too but I told Jno a few
days ago when it was so cold & wet that I’d rather had a
cup of hot coffee & a piece of Mama’s coffee cake than ice
cream.
Hope you have a nice time at home. You’ll
see many relatives, no doubt.
Wonder if I sent you any of the pictures
before. I’ll put in one of each. You’ll see the large one I
sent Mama. That’s not so good of Claudon. None of these are.
The one where he’s saying “So big” is about as natural as any.
and now I haven’t my camera nor anything to take any with, so
they’ll get quite large before they get snapped again I
suppose.
The letter you wrote for my birthday didn’t
get to me before May 17. But it had a hard time to find me
then. The flying machine post card came in the same mail.
Thanks for all. The kerchief too.
O the rats are awful. We have one trap set
and catch one every night but they seem to fill up the ranks
almost at once. One day as she visited some villages the Dr.
wore her veil for holding on her hat & the next morning
when she picked it up 11 little rats fell out. Wasn’t that a
harvest?
We can’t use money here at all. Nothing but
trade goods: beads, cloth, salt, soap, needles, fish hooks,
sometimes thread & often safety pins are asked for.
There’s a kind of dark blue bead - large, that they like best.
They work a day for a string - 40 on a string. We have some
from home that we think are lots prettier but they wont look
at it. Or 13 inches of muslin is a days work too. Also the
price of a chicken - or 10 eggs. Empty tins we often give for
fire wood. Milk tins or salmon tins or oatmeal or jam - or
lard. We get so much tinned stuff that we get quite a
collection of tins together. They just about keep us supplied.
But now I must close. I do wish you could
visit us when we get the house done. We may put a grass roof
on at first but hope eventually to have iron. Would like much
to be home Sept. 19. Lots of love from the Congonians - Mr.
Hurlburt’s name for us.
Florence.
P.S. Sat. eve. I told you there were no
animals here. Take it back. Last night a leopard got two of
our chickens. Had a 3rd. but Jno shot at him &
he dropt it. We tho’t it was a native after them or we’d have
aimed better. Tonight we have the big leopard trap set for him
but it’s stormy so scarcely expect him. Plenty of big baboons
around too. Jno killed 3 today. They do a lot of damage to
gardens. Lots of wind & rain tonight. This is the rainy
season so it’s what we must expect.
Flo.
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