A Liberian Journey

Creator

Richard Pearson Strong

Date

7/29/26

Coverage

Campsite near the Du (Dukwai) River, Liberia

Transcription

July 29th.

Camp on the Dukwia River is marked on the map (near the village marked on the map “Jah.”)

--The wide seas and the mountains called to him and grey dawn saw his camp fires in the rain—

It has rained heavily all through the night but this morning the showers are lighter. We are camped along the top of a ridge some fifty yards from the river. The “bush” or forest has been cleared around us, and outside this we are surrounded by high forest except for a small strip to the front and left of my tent through which the river flows. I have been writing in my laboratory notebook and looking over some letters from the last mail. One friend writes, “As to the spot you have chosen as a summer resort I pause long enough to remark that I respect your judgment in other things more than that. I pause again to state that you are undertaking too much of a stunt”, etc. Another friend writes, “You are sure to have plenty of ‘thrills’.” I think it would have been appropriate to add “and responsibilities”. Is the following not suggestive of some of them? I was seated at my microscope beneath a cassava palm roof structure just erected as a laboratory, when a native runner brings me two notes. The first reads: “One of the members of Dr. Strong’s expedition from Harvard is very seriously ill and Dr. Willis is anxious to get a message through to Dr. Strong. Dr. Strong left for the Du this morning. Please do your utmost to get a trustworthy messenger to carry this message through to Dr. Strong. It is urgent because it may be a case of life or death. Please if possible see that every one along the way gets word that this is a message of the most urgent nature so that they will hasten the messenger as much as possible.” (Signed) “Campbell” The second note reads: “We thought it best to advise you that Mr. Whitman has had a very serious relapse. His temperature is 105.4º, his pulse 122, respirations 44 and he appears to be delirious. Please come.” (Signed) “Willis and Theiler.” I ask the runner how he has come, and find that he has only brought it up the river by steam launch from the last clearing. (Later I learn it has been sent first by motor as far as possible and then by runner through the forest by night, the runner reaching the clearing at noon the following day). I ask if the launch is waiting and being told that it is, put my microscope in my box and tell my servant to bring it and my tin box, go to Shattuck’s tent and tell him I would like to have him go with me. For the thought runs through my head that if anything unfavorable should happen to Whitman his family might be more comforted to know all the physicians of the party were with him. I also call to Harold Coolidge and ask him if he would like to accompany me, as he is Loring’s close friend. He replies he surely would. I tell Dr. Bequaert to take charge at camp. So in less than fifteen minutes we are steaming down stream. It is eight hours down to where we can get an automobile. The darkness is complete by half past six and there are heavy clouds overhead which obscure the stars and there are occasional showers of rain. The narrow river is full of sunken logs and trees and some rocks but we have an excellent pilot at the wheel and we use our pocket flashlights on each side of the launch. From several trips on the river I can follow our progress down first through the regions where the raffia palms grow so plentifully along the banks and then after several hours the Calamus palms line the shores. Then come the masses of Pandamus with their aerial roots, which give the spooky appearance at night of caves filled with huge stalactites. Finally the mangroves tell us we are in brackish water. The water in the river has become so shallow that the engine can no longer be used. All the boys (servants) in the boat take off their clothes and wade in the stream pushing the boat, which only draws about four inches of water. At last we are on shore and are driven by automobile to Monrovia. On the way down my mind runs back to the Amazon and to Dr. Koch’s death some ten or twelve days after I left. Immediately after arrival I go to Loring Whitman and look him over and then come out and tell Shattuck, Willis and Theiler what I propose for treatment. This is at once agreed to, for which I am thankful, as it saves any argument or explanation. Well, this is not a medical journal so I will only say that Loring is so much better the following day I tell George S. that he (George) can return to camp. I made a careful examination of Whitman’s blood, of both fresh and stained specimens, and had Theiler do a blood count. This takes up most of the morning but I want to be sure of his condition. In the afternoon, having been up until 3 A. M., I lay down for an hour’s rest, though it was too hot to sleep. As soon as Whitman is strong enough, I want to get him up to our camp. When we are all united the responsibility is not so great. By Monday he is well enough to start. On Sunday evening I hear of a case of small pox at “Division No. 2 of the Rubber Plantation”, also on the Dukwia River, and Mr. Ross, manager of the Plantations, asks if we can help them out. Of course all the laborers on the Plantation must be vaccinated. A few years ago there was an epidemic of small pox here with several thousand deaths. So on Monday, having collected the vaccine, we (Whitman, Coolidge, Dr. Willis and myself) all again start up the Dukwia River. All goes well during the morning hours. Harold Coolidge is the only one who has a gun along. He gets three opportunities to shoot three crocodiles at very close range but has hard luck and misses all of them. At about four thirty the propeller strikes a submerged log and the boat is put out of commission as far as the use of her engine is concerned. We drift down the river until after dark and finally land at one of the Firestone plantations. The others all have their camp outfits with them but I had left camp to see Whitman too hurriedly to pack mine. However I have a spare mosquito net in my box and I borrow a blanket for the night. I write a note and send it by runner to Bequaert telling him to have all the men but one (to be left in charge of camp) meet us at Plantation No. 2 and help vaccinate in the morning. Next morning it is raining heavily but under the eaves of one of the sheds we form four long lines of laborers with four of our men cleaning arms and the four others vaccinating; we finally vaccinate everyone. I then see the smallpox case and that it is properly isolated. Just after examining him in a hut just within the forest it began to “pour” rain heavily. I stood some half an hour beneath a tree in the forest and with my umbrella over me, but being fairly wet I walked back to the plantation. Being anxious to get Whitman to our camp, I started out to search for transportation and having found a “ridable” boat and a crew of 8 oars I made a bargain with the captain to take us upstream. Fearing that the boat might disappear, for you can take nothing for granted in this country, I sat in it until the other men came, urging haste in getting our baggage in it as we did not want to spend another night unnecessarily on the river. It rained heavily all the way up but we reached here before dark, where there were dry clothes for all, and last night I was heartily thankful at having my family united again.

Today we (Shattuck, Theiler and I) have started a medical survey of the people in the villages about here and from the rubber plantations. Bequaert has been digging into the center of a huge termite nest some eight feet in height and was successful in finding in the center the queen, pregnant with many thousands of eggs and fifty times the size of her. The king was found with her. Linder has been collecting botanical specimens and Allen small animals in the outskirts of the forest.

<Two photographs of Richard Pearson Strong and Max Theiler operating on the back of a native>

Type

Diary

Citation