The Harvard African Expedition, Book 2: October 18, 1926
Creator
Loring WhitmanDate
10/18/26Coverage
ChTranscription
Mon Oct 18th We got up at 500 packed and had breakfast at 530 but no porters were in sight. I ran up to the center of the village and located Johnson – an English black who had been very helpful to us in the past. I found him just coming out of a hut with a type written letter which he showed to me. It was an order form an Ass’t. D.C. asking that such chiefs as had “Eloped” to Chekomma be returned at once for a meeting of all chiefs in the presence of D.C. Carter. I asked him what he was going to do about it and he said he would wait until we got back from Sino. As to porters the two headmen had humbugged him – for they had gone off to get men at 500 A.M. and hadn’t returned. However he said he would send down all present. So I returned and was soon loading a few chop boxes on women – some of whom had babies on their backs. That was rather annoying – especially as we had asked for men and had been told that we would get them. Dr. Strong now took up the cudgels – vanishing up town to return later with some rather disgruntled men which we hastily placed under the heavy loads and pushed off. Just about that time the chief headman returned with a couple of men, and we discovered that the rice kinjas were scarcely packed at all and that if we carried them the way they were we would leave a trail of rice behind us and arrive with none. I left there – with some 7 loads as yet unlifted.
It was rather pleasant to get into the forest again – and altho my feet were soaked in the first 5 minutes it was comparatively cool. Talking of wet feet – it is one of the most disagreeable features of this country. Your feet are wet 7 days of the week and instead of getting tough they get soft and cracked which are awkward and unpleasant to say the least. After I had gone about half an hour I caught up to a rather small youth just about ready to quite under a heavy 2 man load. He was almost frothing at the mouth and did not have strength enough to put the load down. He was just trembling. I lifted the trunk off his head and waited for somebody in the rear to catch up so that I could shift the load to a bigger man. G.C.S, however soon caught up with me and I left him to attend to it while I pushed on to see where our porters were and how they were faring. After a while I caught up with the main bunch and followed them. I found myself behind a solidly built woman carrying a light chop box with a bag on top if it and a child on her back. As she went along she frequently nursing the child which sill stayed on her back but puts its head around the corner under her arm. There are some real advantages to the very pendant breasts of these people – especially on safari. I was so touched that I made a sketch as I walked – crude to be sure – yet to the point.
After a little over 3 hrs from out I came to Che town where I found Momo and Sando doing their best to hold some local men in town until we could include them in our porter gang. They were also making sure that none present should run away. After about 10 minutes Dr. George arrived and I pushed on with the 18 heavy man loads. But I hadn’t gone far when I found a lone man whom I sent back with jack paulou to Che. On the latters return he told me that I was asked to wait for Dr. Strong. I sat down and amused myself my taking movies of the porters gang as it came thru. It was an old farm which had grown up to tall grass out of which the porters came in small groups single file. I also ate my lunch of a 2 bananas, which I had carried in bright red bandana handkerchief.
When Hal and Dr. Strong caught up I found that it was a false alarm. Soon after we came to a fork in the trail the left hand branch going to Coe town the right – ours – going to Sordya. About this time the trail thickened a bit and I spent some time brushing out the overhanging vines which catch the boxes and make head carrying so difficult. But I we finally came out into more clear going and I put my knife away. After leaving Che we passed quite a few streams which we had to wade thereby filling up our shoes with sands.
And then to our surprise we came out in Sordya – at 1255 instead of 600 as we had been told. It is a remarkable fact that practically no one knows how long it takes to go to the next town. Today we started about 800 and arrived at 1230 when we had been told that it was a 6 to 6 day. When I got to the village I found that most of the men had arr. And were sitting in the shade of the huts leaving the loads out in the broiling sun. I got out my graflex and took some pictures of the porters as they came in with their loads. Then when the rest came we cleaned up on the houses and set up the beds.
Sordya is the last town we see before entering the bush for an indefinite period. Some say that we will walk 3 days and sleep 2 nights. Others say sleep 3 nights and a few say sleep 1 night if we start “soon” morning and walk till sunset.
And all of this provides for the men staying with us and not running away. This latter problem is the biggest. The town is small – about 8-10 huts – but has the new feature of woven walls which make it look quite neat. The houses are rectangular and the floors are a couple of feet above the ground as at Chekomma – but the mat walls extend to the ground covering up the platform floor. These huts also have a window shutter which slides over along a piece of native rope from which it hangs. <Drawing of thatching>
After a bath Hal went down to get out food for Sando while I set up the water bottle bag and chlorinated it. Then it rained hard and I discovered that the roof over my bed leaked extensively and I was forced to repack my entire bedding until the shower was over.
As the men from Chekomma appear to be restless we have decided to guard them tonight or rather our boys have decided to have 2 hr shifts and walk the quite streets of the town truout the night with guns and lanterns.
After supper we sat in the rich light of a nearly full moon until a very threatening looking thunderstorm drove us to bed.