The Harvard African Expedition Book 1: July 16, 1926

Creator

Loring Whitman

Date

7/16/26

Transcription

Fri July 16th

Another day of repacking – Only today there has been a certain amount of closing of boxes. I made some sun prints of my negatives which were dry by noon. They are clean and clear and I only hope that they will stay that way until we get them home.

In the afternoon Hal & I went shopping – or rather we went out to pay the bills incurred in Hals morning shopping. I left him & went in search of a small cork screw which I finally procured out of a sloans linament bottle of P-Z. While I was there I met Farmer getting an outfit together to build a ware house for the govt at Grand Bassa –

“You see dose – huh? – Take twelve of dem & put em there.- huh?”- He knew more about the store than the clerks and was merely picking out all the things he needed for himself. Tui was doing the dirty work.  I walked up with him to his house and sat around in an idle fashion for about ½ an hour drinking Coca Cola (Cocemacola as he tells his boy) and talking about the world in general. Wharton came in – Clarks secty – tinged with the tar brush – and joined the party. I had to leave soon to dash back to the house to interview more boys.

We engaged one boy – Shaffer – very black good natured and probably dumb as steward boy for Hal and sent others down to No 5 for the others to look over – Each one with a little note saying for whom we recommended them.

In the evening I again developed – this time movies with fair success and great effort. I must admit that I don’t relish movie developing – especially when you get a late start. 

Type

Diary

Identifier

D1_Section14

Citation

Loring Whitman, “The Harvard African Expedition Book 1: July 16, 1926,” A Liberian Journey: History, Memory, and the Making of a Nation, accessed April 29, 2024, https://liberianhistory.org/items/show/3319.