Hoima
Uganda Protectorate, Aug. 1st 1910.
My
dearest Bibi
I
wonder if you are really dead or alive. It seems almost an age
since
I heard from you last. The last letter I got from you was at
Hoima
almost a month ago. We are now within a few miles of Hoima
again
(Ink gone) [writing changes to pencil] and this is Monday
morning. I
am ahead of Gribble and the porters so I will write a little
hoping
it will reach Kijabe before I do. We missed your mail at Koba
and on
Sat. at Butiaba I saw the bag that had your letters but they
would’nt
give them to us because the bag was addressed to Koba and what
is
more still they wont get back to Hoima until the 10th
but
that wont stop us we go straight on to Mengo. I dont know how
we are
managing it without getting one cent of money since we left
Kijabe
but we are not in debt and still have enough to get on so we
will
come as near home as we can. The Lord has been taking care of
us in
wonderful ways almost more so than in America but this is too
long a
story so I will leave it until I get back. I am just as well
as I
can be and always have been. Am in the Congo (ah you dont know
how
much good it does me to say I have been there) it was almost
like
Kikuyu country on the other side of Nyeri. We saw country over
9,000
ft high crowded with people and food and as pretty as a
paradise. There thats just to give you a good taste the rest
you will get
later.
We
dont expect now to get our mail until we get to Mengo but it
will
likely be there from Koba by time we get down at any rate. I
dont
think now I can reach Kijabe before Sat morning Aug 20th.
If not I do hope school will close on the 19th so
you wont
be busy. I have a plan. I will be tired and wont care to be
bothered with all sorts of questions on Sunday so you fix up
something nice to eat and Sunday morning early just you and
Raymond
and I will go out somewhere with a good book and spend the
day. I
will have a lot to tell you and you no doubt will have a lot
to tell
me and then people wont be able to bother us. You dont know
how nice
it seems to actually be coming home and I am immensely pleased
with
the results of our trip. We have chosen an excellent place for
a
station with full permission to occupy at once. It can be
reached
very easily with sail boats from Butiaba as it lies there on
the
shore of lake Albert so we can take everything along even our
big
organ. The West shore of lake Albert has the prettiest beach I
have
ever seen all nice clean sand and gravel and after we left the
Semliki River we never saw a single mosquito there are no tse
tse
flies and no fever ticks. The shore rises in places over 2,000
ft
straight up with immense rock and plenty trees. We went in
swimming
nearly every day. No crocodiles whatever. This is all true a
regular little paradise and I mean to make it our home just as
soon
as possible. but this letter is almost like saying hello for I
will
turn up a few days after you get it so I will close. This is
the
last letter I expect ever to write you because I am never
going to
leave you alone again. Do as you like about meeting the train
I
think Raymond would enjoy going to meet daddy but dont come
unless
suitable. I will send a telegram if I come any other time than
Sat.
morning Aug 20th. Hold out a few days more and
Johnny
will come marching home.
John
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