A Liberian Journey

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On board the S.S. Wolfram

Nov 29^th 1926

Dear Peg,

            I have been awfully ungrateful for not writing sooner but well – er – you see I haven’t had time. I enjoyed reading your very descriptive letters very much indeed especially with regards to your trip from England to Copenhagen. Really your vivid pictures still leap to my mind and I recall again the shimmering, shivering doughy pulp oozed into an undersized bunk. I can hear the draughts of air rushing between gold inlayed teeth. You see I am probably all wrong already. 

            But what do you want me to say? I am in an awkward position, for I am writing a very dull, laborious long winded account of my travels and you certainly wouldn’t want me to repeat the whole thing again. But of course, How stupid of me.

            I picked up a few pieces of native jewelry which may interest you. These are for the most part made from an imported aluminum alloy which is brought in in the form of thin cylindrical strips about 8” long and the size of your finder. These are some times merely bent into a bracelet or an anklet without any further alteration. But its from these that they get the material for making the more decorated hair pins, bracelets or rings which I have sent home with Dr. Allen. They are all made by the Mandingo people and are then sold among the natives with whom they trade so that altho common – particularly along the border they are not of local manufacture and all come from a common source. Still they may be interesting to you. As for the brass “cuffs” those I think are local and of aboriginal design, and I think they are free from civilized influence. Otherwise I saw but little of what might be called native art. The weaving (again Mandingo) is primarily simple – a narrow coarse cloth in 4” strips of usually blue and white longitudinal strips. All the newer varieties such as adding cross patterns and checks are I think imported ideas. 

            As far as that goes the whole system of personal adornment is but little developed and in consequence has but little representation in my photos. Tatooing is practically nil and scarrification (cicatrization) is but slight outside of odds and ends of crude lumps here and there. Occasionally one finds women with rather remarkable designs over their entire stomachs but they are more or less rare. Dave Linder has an excellent picture of two, however. In most of the country the use of a white clay as a means of decoration is common but at the same time its application is more like that of a beauty clay.- Their whole faces will be covered with it or they will dabble their hands in the stuff and make finger marks or “white band” insignia over all available portions of their anatomy. Among the Pessi we commonly noticed that they used a black thin pencil line which apparently was got from a plant juice. This system was quite popular among the more coppery members of the community and its form was chiefly long thing cats whiskers extending from the upper lip across the whole face. This design was also coupled with odds and ends of lines scattered over the body.

            As for the country, it is unromantic by comparison with the popular idea of the tropics. I had rather hoped for steaming jungles with ferocious wild animals roaming them – And as it was, Well I think my letter from Gbanga has covered that.

             By the way I got some more “love letters” from J.P.H. These, however, altho showing that he was still remembering me, were not up to the style of the one he presented to me in New York before I left. Otherwise he said nothing. How is he and what is he doing? Also, how is Marcel. You say that he was discouraged with Philadelphia. 

            I just made a terrible discovery. I have become the ornithologist of the party since Allen left and have been lucky enough t get some fifteen specimens. In the And since we have been on this boat I have kept them in a drawer in my stateroom where they are flat and can dry without being squashed.  Today when I looked at them, as I have every day. I found that a rat had removed the bill of my most recent specimen – and had not only clipped off a wing, a leg and half the head of a second but had also disarranged him most scandalously in his attempt to drag him out of the drawer. But I suppose that is the luck of the game.

            By the way I have another picture which I am sending home – a drawing of Principé – a portugese Isl. just north of the Equator. It is attocously drawn (How do you spell that word?) but it gives some what of an idea of the place. It really is a beautiful and quite isolated spot. And it will be a change from the photographs I have not been sending you. The reasons against my sending pictures might be summed up under the heading ‘Stolen thunder”. I think you get what I mean.

            By the way – you remember the offer to come to Monrovia and paint pictures etc. until we returned – well you could have had a swell time doing it. – And about the time we returned from the interior you would have been ready to murder us – slowly and with torture. You could have knit. 

            You would have enjoyed many parts of the interior tho for a camping out place it is pretty poor and the sights are below par. And I am sure that you would have liked sailing from Sino to Monrovia – about 180 miles in an open, double-ended 30 ft. life boat with a sail like this. <Sketch of sail>

            We had a black crew of 15 who manned the oars when it was calm – or who loafed at all times. – It was a hard boiled piratical crew even if they did sing “Adeste Fidelis” out of the darkness of the bow our first day out. We sailed 2 days and 2 nights sleeping on our luggage in the rain. But it was great fun in its own way – and certainly a rather unusual experience.

            But, Peg, I must write on the family letter or I will never finish. So cheerio and the best of luck. Thanks again for your letters.

            Your aff. Brother

            Loring

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