The Harvard African Expedition Book 1: July 17, 1926
Creator
Loring WhitmanDate
7/17/26Transcription
Sat. July 17th
I got most of my outfit separated and stowed away – this morning and it is a relief to see day light in our room again. For awhile I never expected to get it assorted.
After lunch the chief, Shattuck, Dr. Willis & I went forth in search of congo town – a place supposedly settled by congo slaves and reported to have a very high percentage of degenerates. We were in Mr. Ross’ car – a dodge – with a colored driver who didn’t know that second was used in climbing hills. In consequence after straining the engine in high – with clutch slipping as an additional help.- he would stop dead – put on the break and shift to low. Sometimes we stalled. Another trick was to take all bumps wrong – even pick individual holes when ever he could find them. And thirdly he went fast around corners and slow on the smooth straight stretches. Still we are alive and the car is still running.
After a half hour run along the Du port road we saw a very nice little native village in good repair but deserted, so we stopped and took a few pictures. We then found out that that was congo town. But wasn’t there another oh yes -. We went on this time stopping at a set of buildings (Morris’ Farm). We inquired further – oh yes there was another congo town further on. And so it went each time a new will-o-the wisp rising before us. We event And finally we arrived at the Mount Barclay plantations – the big only Firestone plantation which is working. It was originally planted in 1908 by another company where the govt. ran into the ground by asking for 6 pence a pound tax when rubber was selling for that and in addition the govt. wanted 6 pence a pound on all the rubber that had been exported before when the tax was less. Firestone leases the whole place now and has made $400000 export in the 18 months they have run it.
We stopped to take some photos of the rubber trees and while I was thus busied the doctors started looking over the natives. One little girl – about 5 or 6 – was said to have blood in her urine – so we hastilly produced a bottle and asked her mother to get a specimen for us. It is probably a case of Schistosomiasis. We then went up to Piggots house – the manager of the plantation – when we met him and his wife. He is an older man – rather thin – with heavily tatooed arms. He was dressed in shorts as are most of the men running the plantations. His wife had a beautiful attack of scabes all over both arms. But it was late and we could not stay.
On the way home we made further enquiries at congo town to find that the inhabitants are scattered along the road in individual houses. We stopped at some of these to find very friendly blacks but no sick people to study. – And so at But at one place we found a whole field of young cassava plants blighted by some sought sort of a disease. We picked some leaves to study microscopically.
In the evening we went up to the Hines for dinner – all in our best white suits. It was quite a formal affair with 14 of us and many rounds of cocktails and hor’s doeves on toast before dinner. And at dinner white wine, red wine and champagne. After wards we sat aoround until after 12- a few of us dancing with Mrs Hines and Mrs Willis to the tune of an old Victrola around the corner of the porch. But it was very pleasant and we all enjoyed it very much.