A Liberian Journey

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                  Tues Aug 17^th  In the morning it was still showering so I decided to go after the bush cow which are reported to be around the place. Ca Dunbar, Colbar, a local youth, and I – armed with the rigby and the 20 guage loaded with slugs started out along the main highway. This road runs from Careysburg NE and E across the country to the French border. It is a wide straight slash sha which in places has been stripped of vegetation and levelled. Around Kakatown they are going so far as to cut down the hills so that automobiles can go over them. As the hills are practically absent and a very low grade it seems to us a waste of labor. Also the bridges are made of very small sticks covered with dirt which rot quickly & will let the first auto drop thru. In other places there is just a well worn path thru grass & bushes about 3-4 ft high. A

                  After about 20 minutes West we came to the Du river which we crossed on a semi suspension bridge which in places sagged dangerously to one side. <Drawing of cross strips> These cross strips are further bound together by a sort of crochet stitch with thin fibre <Drawing of crochet stitch> In consequence they are extremely strong where new – before the wood rots. After we . crossed we left the road for a well walked trail about NW for an hour or so but then our local guide informed us that the bush cows were west and that we were not in the right place. A fine guide-. We cut off the trail into a palm swamp and started off SW for about half an hour seeing only 1 bush cow track & that about a week old. So we cut over to a coffee plantation out of which we found some fresh “bush hog”(?) tracks in pursuit of which we started. Of course the pesky things worked rapidly into a swamp and for about an hour and ½ we stole – nose in the mud, feet in the mud, arms scratched by all matter of grass, thorny-vines and palm fronds with spines. It was the meanest going I have seen in many a year and my arms were cut and bleeding from the many scratches I had got before I had sense enough to roll my sleeves down. And in all this it started to pour. After a while we decided that we were not going to see anything and that we were getting hungry – so we started for home. After a while we struck a game trail which I thought went towards camp. Dunbar however pointed in the opposite direction but we went my way. Soon we came out on a rice field – again we differed & I won – and finally we came out on the road about 1 hr from Kaka town.

<Map of main highway to Kaka Town>

                  As we went along the small trails we would come to a broken shrub etc which would signify palm come, and at the end of a short path we could come to a palm tree up which a native ladder was placed. And at the end of a  long string a couple of bottles would hang. One man climbed the tree & supplied booze to his associates. They say it is very strong but I haven’t tasted any yet.

                  Shortly after I got back to camp Dr. Bequaert came in with his carriers. He told us that Dr. Allen had arrived at Lango town and that Linder was sick with a slight fever. In the afternoon I skinned out the bush shrike of yesterday and as there was a slight touch of sun – for about 15 minutes I got more things out into the sun to dry. My passport I think will survive the bath and my watch still runs. 

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