A Liberian Journey

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Monday Oct 4^th Dr. Strong and Shattuck went off to the French boundary today but before they started the patient from up the line came in and they worked on her for a while. After they left Hal and I sat around writing diaries, drawing pictures and doing very little. In the afternoon we continued our life of ease, talking with Mr. Yausen and Mr. Taylor. Mr. Yausen doesn’t want to stay here any longer. He already had sent his men off to Ziche town with his rice etc and felt that he had best be following it. No persuasion could keep him here hunting so we were forced to leave let him go. Hal also worked over chop boxes etc. And During the entire day we listened to some 30 girls pounding govt rice. <Drawing of girls pounding rice> They work in pairs pounding in a big wooden mortar with long sticks about 2” in diam. First one then the other And they always keep time – the whole 30 so that you get a regular thump thump thump thump – And they sing in time. The one I like best is this as near as I can write it. <Drawing of musical notes> They keep up this pounding and singing from early dawn to late evening, singing about songs thru which they run over and over again. Inside one of the kitchens they step on the heads of rice separating the grain from the straw.

            In the evening just before we supper Mr. Taylor, the school master and I went hunting guinea fowl. The system is as follow s- the 3 of us were stationed ourselves under 3 trees where the birds were known to roost and waited. Then when the birds flew in we were to shoot them. The trees were high and made a fairly long shot but I hoped to be able to get one if he came. After about 15 minutes I heard one squawking in Mr. Taylors tree and a few moments later one came to mine and after a preliminary look around called So I waited and was rewarded shortly by having 3 more fly up. So I decided to shoot and let fire – One bird dropped – I fired again – and another a bunch of feathers flew but the bird flew too apparently uninjured. The 3^rd one was still there so I fired again and wounded it but it went so far before dropping that I knew I would never find it. Then I started to look for the first. Now altho on the edge of of a big open field – or rather with 3 sides open, the bird had fallen in very thick bush filled with saw grass. And as it was getting quite dark I saw that I probably wouldn’t find it. And just then another bird flew in which I shot as it sat – and then again as it flew bringing it down dead – again in the bush. I did go in after it but it was very black. So I sent home to supper and afterwards started out with Hal, and Vani who was carrying a lantern and a cutlass. As we were walking over to the school compound we met the school master and a plucked guinea fowl which one of mine which his boy had found and plucked. – One specimen gone. And so I went down to look for the other which I found – in a pool of swamp water – ruined. Oh well I got them anyhow.

            Mr. Taylor had shot with a 20 gauge at two but they got away And Mr. the schoolmaster and the misfortune to have a deer run by him which he was about to shoot but just then saw a porter carrying sticks directly in line. 

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