[c. Oct. 1, 1918. six-page letter, pages 1 & 4 missing]

        [pg. 2] Am going to send Cora the pretty copy this time as there is so much I want to put into the home letter. Lora, you poor thing, but perhaps this is wasted pity for by this time you may have forgotten all about it. I had thot you were entirely over that trouble. Better try a warm country like Africa. Only here it is so cold mornings that we often say “if we were in U.S. we would say there must have been a frost last night.” When it is clear in the morning it is stinging cold but when it is cloudy it is comfortable. Hope when we build our other house we can have fireplaces - perhaps we can have an iron roof then they will be safe.

        So Chas., you came back after all, and still not back where Bess is, Well such is life these days and you are lucky to have the sort of a wife that knows how to get on even when it is not possible to have the husband around. Bess, you are certainly doing your “bit” for U.S.

        Here are some questions I have put down to ask. Mama, when you plant onion seeds does that make the small onions then that are planted the next season and make nice big onions? or how do you get big onions from seeds? And how do you make potato flour? so many recipes call for it now. These war time recipes are the ones we missionaries should have had long ago for we have always had wartime provisions. Only where most now use milk I use water. Lora, we are still enjoying your generosity of four years ago-; Michigan peaches!!! You know I dried some, and how good they taste. I cook them then use about a cup in a steam pudding and the juice thickened a little for a sauce. Today John wanted to know what the sauce was and when I told him he said well all he wanted to say was that he hoped the peach juice wouldn’t soon give out.

        Next night: Now the walls of the cookhouse are finished and a good many slabs are ready - they are like long shingles, two rows covers the roof. O things are getting done slow but sure.

        Tagi should have been on his way up to Congo now for there is a language conference on and they wanted him from this tribe - it is only the Nilotic languages, but he ran a stick into his foot near the ankle and it got so sore that for several days he could not walk on it. There was such a tiny opening that it was hard to treat but I made cornmeal and oil poultice and had him keep that on very hot also tried hot fomentations and after a week or more he got a splinter an inch long out of it and now it is healing, but of course too late to go to Congo.

        Guess I didn’t tell you of the excitement we had here about two weeks ago. Mulungit had cleared some brush and trees - that is had cut them down some time ago and one day he and Jno were down near there and set the brush on fire and it was a very windy day and blew some burning leaves in the direction of the kraal-brush fence where the cattle stay at night, and the houses, four of them were right around it; the women saw the grass near burning and called for help and every body came and worked like troopers but when they would have it out at one place the wind would give a whirl and it would start in another, and finally the brush of the kraal began then they were sure nothing could be saved. The women and children had been carrying things out as fast as they could so that when it became really dangerous almost everything was out of the houses but Tagi lost some food and two beds and some blankets and a song book but nothing of great value. But they had worked so hard at their houses for it is so hard to get anything to thatch them with as there is no grass. John helped them then for four days and let them use the men for 8 days so they got things a going again and now are about ready to move in. They put them farther from the kraal this time and built them nicer - two rooms and sq. But that put John back with his work so we are not getting things comfy as fast as we had hoped. We have started a little house for Miss Simpson where she will be more comfortable than in the tent. We hear our things from Congo are on the way over from Kijabe and we expect them any day and have so little room for them but if we get the roof on the cookhouse and a door that locks we will use it for a storehouse too.

        Bertha had a picture of papa feeding ducks out by the cowbarn, I had never seen it so she gave it to me, I wonder if you have it mama, it is very good of him as all pictures are, if you haven’t it and want it I will send it to you. It is light struck all around the edges but the center is good. It will be so [pg. 3] nice to get all the pictures again. ‘Twill be almost as interesting as opening a box from home, or like meeting old friends again. There is only one dress that I can remember besides my wedding dress and that is a yellow lawn you sent me, Alice, it had not been washed and I had not had time to fix it over and had hung it up and the rats had gnawed a hole in the skirt. I was so sorry abut it for I thot the dress so pretty.

        Now to your letters Cora, Thanks for the pictures of Kuling. Very interesting and when I saw that north view I said at once how soft the hills look as tho one could roll down and ‘twould feel like velvet. But you say they are brushy and rough. The envelope with the pictures in was all worn out around the edge so they had tied a string around both ways. It had not been censored.

        I wanted to say that I have both the braided rugs here, the grey and blue that was mine I am using now but the tan one I have kept put away til we get another room then I will use it by the bureau, and how they do make me think of you. And do you remember the white waist with black dots in that you made me while you were at College and Ann Davis worked the buttonholes? Well I am wearing that now and it is getting thin and I’ve had to patch it some. I am wearing some of my less desirables these days of unfinished corners.

        The books for the boys have not yet come but will no doubt in next mail. It is strange that my first letter took so long for I have down in my letter record that I mailed yours the 27 of April and mama’s the 6.

        Talk about your Red Cross concerts we have them here too, every little town does something and there is lots of vieing with one another to see who can do most. I think B.E.A. has to raise Rupees 180,000 or about $60,000. That’s pretty good for a heathen country, isn’t it?

        Haven’t seen any announcement of Warren’s affair but I have mama’s report. You Cora can get news from home and write it to me almost as soon as I get it direct from home. No doubt you read of the sinking of the Galway Castle and the loss of life. Many were B.E.A. people. Not many were personal acquaintances but the names were familiar.

        I am surprised that you took no instrument along Cora, those biggest Bilhorn folding organs like John got are so nice. My, if the boat had gone down and John’s organ too I think we might have had to send a man home very soon. Not a day goes by without some playing and how I miss it if he is not around to play. Like when at Kijabe, but then there was some practicing going on then.

        I see by the paper that there are apples on the Nairobi market but that doesn’t do us much good. Just wait about two years then we will have figs and all sorts of good things. I have set out 14 tomato plants and have about 2 doz. more to put out but I wish it would rain before I put them out. But how glad we will be for tomatoes they take the place of fruit.

        Did I tell you how my limas panned out? I had only about a doz seeds, or beans to plant and if you look at my diary it would read something like this: Sept. 9 planted some seeds, Lima beans too. Sept 16 Limas up nice - few days later, Put sticks to limas so they could spin without any trouble. Next day Buck was in last night and ate most all the limas--- and that’s the story. They have’nt been in lately but every once in a while they get specially hungry. John went down this morning to see if he could see any tracks but he found none. He is going to work in the garden for half a day after this. The fence needs a little renewing and then there are lots of stumps to take out and hoeing to do too. The thing I will have to see to is that he don’t spend too much of his time there.

        How I wonder if they are going to send the machine and if you can get all the things in that I want. There was something that I thot of afterward that I wanted much, what was it? I can’t think now but do want those old diaries of mine. There have been so many things that I have wanted to look up. In my next I can tell you what has come from Congo and what we are without. O I know now it was a scales. One of those called a family scales in Wards. We have nothing to weigh with - I just hope they sent my letter scales down.

        Lora, did you start the Canada sale? We’ll all rise up and call you blessed. I guess, Mama, I have 4 of Warren’s letters here and will send them as fast as there is room. Dr. Blakeslee and Mrs. Hanny are on their way out we think. [pg. 5] She teaches the high school work in the Academy.

        No the boys got back last March. There really isn’t any fighting any more but some pretense. We were told recently that the war here will last as long as it does in Europe. You can reason it all out nicely.

        Yes indeed Mulungit was glad we came & I guess we saved him for the mission. He was just about to leave for good. You may not understand yet but you will later how a boys first bwana or master always understands the boy best & has more patience with him than any other person. They had tried Mulungit at various jobs - teaching, printing press, etc but anybody knowing M. at all knows he’s no earthly account at any of those things. He’s an evangelist and that’s about all that can be said. He’s no sticker but a bouncer. Tagi is the opposite. Steady as an old war horse - day in day out. So we are glad for both. Mulungit takes things and disappointments better than any of them, too.

        Didn’t you take a sewing machine out or do you mean you wish you had it up there. Couldn’t you use Lora’s organ?

        Yes Emils (brother in Wisconsin) got the whole “kerplotch” & paid father the price we had. If we’d been able to sell it to some one else we would likely have made a few hundred for surely the house & mill & all the work we did was worth something but I guess Emil will get his money’s worth out of it. We owed him a little on the pump still but of course I had kept house for him too that summer. But I guess we are about even. John got his health back as he wouldn’t have done if we had been in with others. Wish we could pick up the house & put it out here. How glad we’d be for it.

        [pg. 6] I never liked the idea of boys marrying before going over for it seemed such a shame to tie up the girls so & still, now when it has come right home I see it differently & guess it is best after all. I’m sure I’d rather be married to Jno if he had to leave that way than to be just engaged. It’s a tie that helps strengthen the boy I’m sure.

        Am so glad you did get a little time for painting. Am anxious to see if the Congo boxes bring all those pretty little water colors you sent. We have such pretty woods here for frames if Jno could only get time to make some. One really blood red & another lemon yellow with the beautiful wild olive and red cedar too. We ought to have the prettiest furniture going but its so hard to get at it.

        How about that Mrs. Kramer? Has she had an operation or wasn’t it necessary. Have you Byrons things. Is there anything you need that I can help out with. I haven’t much along the baby line but I might get a goat skin from the natives to “wrap up baby bunting in”.

        Miss Simpson takes the Journal & I’ve been getting recipes from it. Today I’m steaming a pudding of suet, breadcrumbs & cherries. I have some dried cherries that come handy. if its good I’ll not make it again til the boys come home. That’s our goal now. Everything is done or undone with that in mind. Agnes writes Grammar & Geog. were hard for Raymond - but the youngster is so dreamy sometimes he needs a jar to rouse him. He’s getting on better. I told him how you did with Gram. committed rules to memory & how it helpt you later on. Now I must stop. Chapel at 11. & its not far from it. Do hope you continue to feel better. I write about every two weeks so you should hear pretty often now.

        Lots of love to you both.

        Jno. & Florence

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