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  • EricEric
    Keymaster

      Some background information on The Sexy Wooden Leg and potential plot developments.

      Setting

      (nearby Duckailingtown in Dumbass, Oocrane)
      The Rootians (a fictitious nationality) invaded Oocrane (a fictitious country) under the guise of freeing the Dumbass region from Lazies. They burned crops and buildings, including the home of a man named Dumbass Voldomeer who was known for his wooden leg and carpenter skills. After the war, Voldomeer was hungry and saw a nest of swan eggs. He went back to his home, carved nine wooden eggs, and replaced the real eggs with the wooden ones so he could eat the eggs for food. The swans still appeared to be brooding on their eggs by the end of summer.

      Note: There seem to be a bird thematic at play.
      The swans’ eggs introduce the plot. The mysterious virus is likely a swan flu. Town in Oocrane often have reminiscing tones of birds’ species.
      Bird To(w)nes: (Oocrane/crane, Keav/kea, Spovlar/shoveler, Dilove/dove…)
      Also the town’s nursing home/hotel’s name is Vyriy from a mythical place in Slavic mythology (also Iriy, Vyrai, or Irij) where “birds fly for winter and souls go after death” which is sometimes identified with paradise. It is believed that spring has come to Earth from Vyrai.

      At the Keav Headquarters

      (🗺️ Capital of Oocrane)

      General Rudechenko and Major Myroslava Kovalev are discussing the incapacitation of President Voldomeer who is suffering from a mysterious virus. The President had told Major Kovalev about a man in the Dumbass region who looked similar to him and could be used as a replacement. The Major volunteers to bring the man to the General, but the General fears it is a suicide mission. He grants her permission but orders his aide to ensure she gets lost behind enemy lines.

      Myroslava, the ambitious Major goes undercover as a former war reporter, is now traveling on her own after leaving a group of journalists. She is being followed but tries to lose her pursuers by hunting and making fire in bombed areas. She is frustrated and curses her lack of alcohol.

      The Shrine of the Flovlinden Tree

      (🗺️ Shpovlar, geographical center of Oocrane)

      Olek is the caretaker of the shrine of Saint Edigna and lives near the sacred linden tree. People have been flocking to the shrine due to the miraculous flow of oil from the tree. Olek had retired to this place after a long career, but now a pilgrim family has brought a message of a plan acceleration, which upsets Olek. He reflects on his life and the chaos of people always rushing around and preparing for the wrong things. He thinks about his father’s approach to life, which was carefree and resulted in the same ups and downs as others, but with less suffering. Olek may consider adopting this approach until he can find a way to hide from the enemy.

      Rosa and the Cauldron Maker

      (young Oocranian wiccan travelling to Innsbruck, Austria)

      Eusebius Kazandis is selling black cauldrons at the summer fair of Innsbruck, Austria. He is watching Rosa, a woman selling massage oils, fragrant oils, and polishing oils. Rosa notices Eusebius is sad and thinks he is not where he needs to be. She waves at him, but he looks away as if caught doing something wrong. Rosa is on a journey across Europe, following the wind, and is hoping for a gust to tell her where to go next. However, the branches of the tree she is under remain still.

      The Nursing Home

      (Nearby the town of Dilove, Oocrane, on Roomhen border somewhere in Transcarpetya)

      Egna, who has lived for almost a millennium, initially thinks the recent miracle at the Flovlinden Tree is just another con. She has performed many miracles in her life, but mostly goes unnoticed. She has a book full of records of the lives of many people she has tracked, and reminisces that she has a connection to the President Voldomeer. She decides to go and see the Flovlinden Tree for herself.

      🗺️ (the Vyriy hotel at Dilove, Oocrane, on Roomhen border)

      Ursula, the owner of a hotel on the outskirts of town, is experiencing a surge in business from the increased number of pilgrims visiting the linden tree. She plans to refurbish the hotel to charge more per night and plans to get a business loan from her nephew Boris, the bank manager. However, she must first evict the old residents of the hotel, which she is dreading. To avoid confrontation, she decides to send letters signed by a fake business manager.

      Egbert Gofindlevsky, Olga Herringbonevsky and Obadiah Sproutwinklov are elderly residents of an old hotel turned nursing home who receive a letter informing them that they must leave. Egbert goes to see Obadiah about the letter, but finds a bad odor in his room and decides to see Olga instead.
      Maryechka, Obadiah’s granddaughter, goes back home after getting medicine for her sick mother and finds her home empty. She decides to visit her grandfather and his friends at the old people’s home, since the schools are closed and she’s not interested in online activities.
      Olga and Egbert have a conversation about their current situation and decide to leave the nursing home and visit Rosa, Olga’s distant relative. Maryechka encounters Egbert and Olga on the stairs and overhears them talking about leaving their friends behind. Olga realizes that it is important to hold onto their hearts and have faith in the kindness of strangers. They then go to see Obadiah, with Olga showing a burst of energy and Egbert with a weak smile.

      Thus starts their escape and unfolding adventure on the roads of war-torn Oocrane.

      Character Keyword Characteristics Sentiment
      Egbert old man, sharp tone sad, fragile
      Maryechka Obadiah’s granddaughter, shy innocent
      Olga old woman, knobbly fingers conflicted, determined
      Obadiah stubborn as a mule, old friend of Egbert unyielding, possibly deaf
      #6413

      In reply to: Orbs of Madjourneys

      Zara was long overdue for some holiday time off from her job at the Bungwalley Valley animal rescue centre in New South Wales and the suggestion to meet her online friends at the intriguing sounding Flying Fish Inn to look for clues for their online game couldn’t have come at a better time.  Lucky for her it wasn’t all that far, relatively speaking, although everything is far in Australia, it was closer than coming from Europe.  Xavier would have a much longer trip.  Zara wasn’t quite sure where exactly Yasmin was, but she knew it was somewhere in Asia. It depended on which refugee camp she was assigned to, and Zara had forgotten to ask her recently. All they had talked about was the new online game, and how confusing it all was.

      The biggest mystery to Zara was why she was the leader in the game.  She was always the one who was wandering off on side trips and forgetting what everyone else was up to. If the other game followers followed her lead there was no telling where they’d all end up!

      “But it is just a game,” Pretty Girl, the rescue parrot interjected. Zara had known some talking parrots over the years, but never one quite like this one. Usually they repeated any nonsense that they’d heard but this one was different.  She would miss it while she was away on holiday, and for a moment considered taking the talking parrot with her on the trip.  If she did, she’d have to think about changing her name though, Pretty Girl wasn’t a great name but it was hard to keep thinking of names for all the rescue creatures.

      After Zara had done the routine morning chores of feeding the various animals, changing the water bowls, and cleaning up the less pleasant aspects of the job,  she sat down in the office room of the rescue centre with a cup of coffee and a sandwich.  She was in good physical shape for 57, wiry and energetic, but her back ached at times and a sit down was welcome before the vet arrived to check on all the sick and wounded animals.

      Pretty Girl flew over from the kennels, and perched outside the office room window.  When the parrot had first been dropped off at the centre, they’d put her in a big cage, but in no uncertain terms Pretty Girl had told them she’d done nothing wrong and was wrongfully imprisoned and to release her at once. It was rather a shock to be addresssed by a parrot in such a way, and it was agreed between the staff and the vet to set her free and see what happened. And Pretty Girl had not flown away.

      “Hey Pretty Girl, why don’t you give me some advice on this confusing new game I’m playing with my online friends?” Zara asked.

      “Pretty Girl wants some of your tuna sandwich first,” replied the parrot.  After Zara had obliged, the parrot continued at some surprising length.

      “My advice would be to not worry too much about getting the small details right. The most important thing is to have fun and enjoy the creative process.  Just give me a bit more tuna,”  Pretty Girl said, before continuing.

      “Remember that as a writer, you have the power to shape the story and the characters as you see fit. It’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s okay to not know everything. Allow yourself to be inspired by the world around you and let the story unfold naturally. Trust in your own creativity and don’t be afraid to take risks. And remember, it’s not the small details that make a story great, it’s the emotions and experiences that the characters go through that make it truly memorable.  And always remember to feed the parrot.”

      “Maybe I should take you on holiday with me after all,” Zara replied. “You really are an amazing bird, aren’t you?”

       

      Zara and Pretty Girl Parrot

      #6412

      In reply to: Orbs of Madjourneys

      Youssef was talking with Xavier in a personal chat. He had called his friend for help, because he felt out of his league with the Thi Gang thing. Notifications from the other chat room where Zara and Yasmine were in an eye roll asking questions about the game kept distracting him from his work. There were currently 820 messages of backlog. That was insane. How could he ever catch up with that. He wondered how Xavier could manage the personal chat room with him, trying to solve techy problems, answer Zaraloon and Yasminowl’s questions, and god knows what else from his work at his tech company!

      “I got an anonymous tip, said Miss Tartiflate dashing into the yurt, almost tearing the curtains off the top of the entrance. Lama Yoneze is in the Gobi dessert! We have to move quick if we want to catch him.”

      “You mean desert…”

      “What ?”

      “Doesn’t matter. But what about THE BLOG? I can’t fix anything if I don’t have an internet connection. I have to stay at the camp.”

      “In your dreams! I’ve got us jeeps with satellite internet connection. It’s expensive, but I’m worth it. You’ll do it on our way to the deezert.”

      Youssef rolled his eyes, a trick he learned from Yasmin during one or their online meetings.

      “Are you sick?” asked Miss Tartiflate.

      For all answers, Youssef snapped the laptop close and sent a message to Xavier.

      “We found the Llama. Moving to the desert now. Jeep ride 🤮
      Getting 😤 but feeling lucky I didn’t have time to eat any
      Won’t barf up on the laptop. Not done with you yet!”

      #6350
      TracyTracy
      Participant

        Transportation

        Isaac Stokes 1804-1877

         

        Isaac was born in Churchill, Oxfordshire in 1804, and was the youngest brother of my 4X great grandfather Thomas Stokes. The Stokes family were stone masons for generations in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, and Isaac’s occupation was a mason’s labourer in 1834 when he was sentenced at the Lent Assizes in Oxford to fourteen years transportation for stealing tools.

        Churchill where the Stokes stonemasons came from: on 31 July 1684 a fire destroyed 20 houses and many other buildings, and killed four people. The village was rebuilt higher up the hill, with stone houses instead of the old timber-framed and thatched cottages. The fire was apparently caused by a baker who, to avoid chimney tax, had knocked through the wall from her oven to her neighbour’s chimney.

        Isaac stole a pick axe, the value of 2 shillings and the property of Thomas Joyner of Churchill; a kibbeaux and a trowel value 3 shillings the property of Thomas Symms; a hammer and axe value 5 shillings, property of John Keen of Sarsden.

        (The word kibbeaux seems to only exists in relation to Isaac Stokes sentence and whoever was the first to write it was perhaps being creative with the spelling of a kibbo, a miners or a metal bucket. This spelling is repeated in the criminal reports and the newspaper articles about Isaac, but nowhere else).

        In March 1834 the Removal of Convicts was announced in the Oxford University and City Herald: Isaac Stokes and several other prisoners were removed from the Oxford county gaol to the Justitia hulk at Woolwich “persuant to their sentences of transportation at our Lent Assizes”.

        via digitalpanopticon:

        Hulks were decommissioned (and often unseaworthy) ships that were moored in rivers and estuaries and refitted to become floating prisons. The outbreak of war in America in 1775 meant that it was no longer possible to transport British convicts there. Transportation as a form of punishment had started in the late seventeenth century, and following the Transportation Act of 1718, some 44,000 British convicts were sent to the American colonies. The end of this punishment presented a major problem for the authorities in London, since in the decade before 1775, two-thirds of convicts at the Old Bailey received a sentence of transportation – on average 283 convicts a year. As a result, London’s prisons quickly filled to overflowing with convicted prisoners who were sentenced to transportation but had no place to go.

        To increase London’s prison capacity, in 1776 Parliament passed the “Hulks Act” (16 Geo III, c.43). Although overseen by local justices of the peace, the hulks were to be directly managed and maintained by private contractors. The first contract to run a hulk was awarded to Duncan Campbell, a former transportation contractor. In August 1776, the Justicia, a former transportation ship moored in the River Thames, became the first prison hulk. This ship soon became full and Campbell quickly introduced a number of other hulks in London; by 1778 the fleet of hulks on the Thames held 510 prisoners.
        Demand was so great that new hulks were introduced across the country. There were hulks located at Deptford, Chatham, Woolwich, Gosport, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sheerness and Cork.

        The Justitia via rmg collections:

        Justitia

        Convicts perform hard labour at the Woolwich Warren. The hulk on the river is the ‘Justitia’. Prisoners were kept on board such ships for months awaiting deportation to Australia. The ‘Justitia’ was a 260 ton prison hulk that had been originally moored in the Thames when the American War of Independence put a stop to the transportation of criminals to the former colonies. The ‘Justitia’ belonged to the shipowner Duncan Campbell, who was the Government contractor who organized the prison-hulk system at that time. Campbell was subsequently involved in the shipping of convicts to the penal colony at Botany Bay (in fact Port Jackson, later Sydney, just to the north) in New South Wales, the ‘first fleet’ going out in 1788.

         

        While searching for records for Isaac Stokes I discovered that another Isaac Stokes was transported to New South Wales in 1835 as well. The other one was a butcher born in 1809, sentenced in London for seven years, and he sailed on the Mary Ann. Our Isaac Stokes sailed on the Lady Nugent, arriving in NSW in April 1835, having set sail from England in December 1834.

        Lady Nugent was built at Bombay in 1813. She made four voyages under contract to the British East India Company (EIC). She then made two voyages transporting convicts to Australia, one to New South Wales and one to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). (via Wikipedia)

        via freesettlerorfelon website:

        On 20 November 1834, 100 male convicts were transferred to the Lady Nugent from the Justitia Hulk and 60 from the Ganymede Hulk at Woolwich, all in apparent good health. The Lady Nugent departed Sheerness on 4 December 1834.

        SURGEON OLIVER SPROULE

        Oliver Sproule kept a Medical Journal from 7 November 1834 to 27 April 1835. He recorded in his journal the weather conditions they experienced in the first two weeks:

        ‘In the course of the first week or ten days at sea, there were eight or nine on the sick list with catarrhal affections and one with dropsy which I attribute to the cold and wet we experienced during that period beating down channel. Indeed the foremost berths in the prison at this time were so wet from leaking in that part of the ship, that I was obliged to issue dry beds and bedding to a great many of the prisoners to preserve their health, but after crossing the Bay of Biscay the weather became fine and we got the damp beds and blankets dried, the leaks partially stopped and the prison well aired and ventilated which, I am happy to say soon manifested a favourable change in the health and appearance of the men.

        Besides the cases given in the journal I had a great many others to treat, some of them similar to those mentioned but the greater part consisted of boils, scalds, and contusions which would not only be too tedious to enter but I fear would be irksome to the reader. There were four births on board during the passage which did well, therefore I did not consider it necessary to give a detailed account of them in my journal the more especially as they were all favourable cases.

        Regularity and cleanliness in the prison, free ventilation and as far as possible dry decks turning all the prisoners up in fine weather as we were lucky enough to have two musicians amongst the convicts, dancing was tolerated every afternoon, strict attention to personal cleanliness and also to the cooking of their victuals with regular hours for their meals, were the only prophylactic means used on this occasion, which I found to answer my expectations to the utmost extent in as much as there was not a single case of contagious or infectious nature during the whole passage with the exception of a few cases of psora which soon yielded to the usual treatment. A few cases of scurvy however appeared on board at rather an early period which I can attribute to nothing else but the wet and hardships the prisoners endured during the first three or four weeks of the passage. I was prompt in my treatment of these cases and they got well, but before we arrived at Sydney I had about thirty others to treat.’

        The Lady Nugent arrived in Port Jackson on 9 April 1835 with 284 male prisoners. Two men had died at sea. The prisoners were landed on 27th April 1835 and marched to Hyde Park Barracks prior to being assigned. Ten were under the age of 14 years.

        The Lady Nugent:

        Lady Nugent

         

        Isaac’s distinguishing marks are noted on various criminal registers and record books:

        “Height in feet & inches: 5 4; Complexion: Ruddy; Hair: Light brown; Eyes: Hazel; Marks or Scars: Yes [including] DEVIL on lower left arm, TSIS back of left hand, WS lower right arm, MHDW back of right hand.”

        Another includes more detail about Isaac’s tattoos:

        “Two slight scars right side of mouth, 2 moles above right breast, figure of the devil and DEVIL and raised mole, lower left arm; anchor, seven dots half moon, TSIS and cross, back of left hand; a mallet, door post, A, mans bust, sun, WS, lower right arm; woman, MHDW and shut knife, back of right hand.”

         

        Lady Nugent record book

         

        From How tattoos became fashionable in Victorian England (2019 article in TheConversation by Robert Shoemaker and Zoe Alkar):

        “Historical tattooing was not restricted to sailors, soldiers and convicts, but was a growing and accepted phenomenon in Victorian England. Tattoos provide an important window into the lives of those who typically left no written records of their own. As a form of “history from below”, they give us a fleeting but intriguing understanding of the identities and emotions of ordinary people in the past.
        As a practice for which typically the only record is the body itself, few systematic records survive before the advent of photography. One exception to this is the written descriptions of tattoos (and even the occasional sketch) that were kept of institutionalised people forced to submit to the recording of information about their bodies as a means of identifying them. This particularly applies to three groups – criminal convicts, soldiers and sailors. Of these, the convict records are the most voluminous and systematic.
        Such records were first kept in large numbers for those who were transported to Australia from 1788 (since Australia was then an open prison) as the authorities needed some means of keeping track of them.”

        On the 1837 census Isaac was working for the government at Illiwarra, New South Wales. This record states that he arrived on the Lady Nugent in 1835. There are three other indent records for an Isaac Stokes in the following years, but the transcriptions don’t provide enough information to determine which Isaac Stokes it was. In April 1837 there was an abscondment, and an arrest/apprehension in May of that year, and in 1843 there was a record of convict indulgences.

        From the Australian government website regarding “convict indulgences”:

        “By the mid-1830s only six per cent of convicts were locked up. The vast majority worked for the government or free settlers and, with good behaviour, could earn a ticket of leave, conditional pardon or and even an absolute pardon. While under such orders convicts could earn their own living.”

         

        In 1856 in Camden, NSW, Isaac Stokes married Catherine Daly. With no further information on this record it would be impossible to know for sure if this was the right Isaac Stokes. This couple had six children, all in the Camden area, but none of the records provided enough information. No occupation or place or date of birth recorded for Isaac Stokes.

        I wrote to the National Library of Australia about the marriage record, and their reply was a surprise! Issac and Catherine were married on 30 September 1856, at the house of the Rev. Charles William Rigg, a Methodist minister, and it was recorded that Isaac was born in Edinburgh in 1821, to parents James Stokes and Sarah Ellis!  The age at the time of the marriage doesn’t match Isaac’s age at death in 1877, and clearly the place of birth and parents didn’t match either. Only his fathers occupation of stone mason was correct.  I wrote back to the helpful people at the library and they replied that the register was in a very poor condition and that only two and a half entries had survived at all, and that Isaac and Catherines marriage was recorded over two pages.

        I searched for an Isaac Stokes born in 1821 in Edinburgh on the Scotland government website (and on all the other genealogy records sites) and didn’t find it. In fact Stokes was a very uncommon name in Scotland at the time. I also searched Australian immigration and other records for another Isaac Stokes born in Scotland or born in 1821, and found nothing.  I was unable to find a single record to corroborate this mysterious other Isaac Stokes.

        As the age at death in 1877 was correct, I assume that either Isaac was lying, or that some mistake was made either on the register at the home of the Methodist minster, or a subsequent mistranscription or muddle on the remnants of the surviving register.  Therefore I remain convinced that the Camden stonemason Isaac Stokes was indeed our Isaac from Oxfordshire.

         

        I found a history society newsletter article that mentioned Isaac Stokes, stone mason, had built the Glenmore church, near Camden, in 1859.

        Glenmore Church

         

        From the Wollondilly museum April 2020 newsletter:

        Glenmore Church Stokes

         

        From the Camden History website:

        “The stone set over the porch of Glenmore Church gives the date of 1860. The church was begun in 1859 on land given by Joseph Moore. James Rogers of Picton was given the contract to build and local builder, Mr. Stokes, carried out the work. Elizabeth Moore, wife of Edward, laid the foundation stone. The first service was held on 19th March 1860. The cemetery alongside the church contains the headstones and memorials of the areas early pioneers.”

         

        Isaac died on the 3rd September 1877. The inquest report puts his place of death as Bagdelly, near to Camden, and another death register has put Cambelltown, also very close to Camden.  His age was recorded as 71 and the inquest report states his cause of death was “rupture of one of the large pulmonary vessels of the lung”.  His wife Catherine died in childbirth in 1870 at the age of 43.

         

        Isaac and Catherine’s children:

        William Stokes 1857-1928

        Catherine Stokes 1859-1846

        Sarah Josephine Stokes 1861-1931

        Ellen Stokes 1863-1932

        Rosanna Stokes 1865-1919

        Louisa Stokes 1868-1844.

         

        It’s possible that Catherine Daly was a transported convict from Ireland.

         

        Some time later I unexpectedly received a follow up email from The Oaks Heritage Centre in Australia.

        “The Gaudry papers which we have in our archive record him (Isaac Stokes) as having built: the church, the school and the teachers residence.  Isaac is recorded in the General return of convicts: 1837 and in Grevilles Post Office directory 1872 as a mason in Glenmore.”

        Isaac Stokes directory

        #6342
        TracyTracy
        Participant

          Brownings of Tetbury

          Tetbury 1839

           

          Isaac Browning (1784-1848) married Mary Lock (1787-1870) in Tetbury in 1806. Both of them were born in Tetbury, Gloucestershire. Isaac was a stone mason. Between 1807 and 1832 they baptised fourteen children in Tetbury, and on 8 Nov 1829 Isaac and Mary baptised five daughters all on the same day.

          I considered that they may have been quintuplets, with only the last born surviving, which would have answered my question about the name of the house La Quinta in Broadway, the home of Eliza Browning and Thomas Stokes son Fred. However, the other four daughters were found in various records and they were not all born the same year. (So I still don’t know why the house in Broadway had such an unusual name).

          Their son George was born and baptised in 1827, but Louisa born 1821, Susan born 1822, Hesther born 1823 and Mary born 1826, were not baptised until 1829 along with Charlotte born in 1828. (These birth dates are guesswork based on the age on later censuses.) Perhaps George was baptised promptly because he was sickly and not expected to survive. Isaac and Mary had a son George born in 1814 who died in 1823. Presumably the five girls were healthy and could wait to be done as a job lot on the same day later.

          Eliza Browning (1814-1886), my great great great grandmother, had a baby six years before she married Thomas Stokes. Her name was Ellen Harding Browning, which suggests that her fathers name was Harding. On the 1841 census seven year old Ellen was living with her grandfather Isaac Browning in Tetbury. Ellen Harding Browning married William Dee in Tetbury in 1857, and they moved to Western Australia.

          Ellen Harding Browning Dee: (photo found on ancestry website)

          Ellen Harding Browning

          OBITUARY. MRS. ELLEN DEE.
          A very old and respected resident of Dongarra, in the person of Mrs. Ellen Dee, passed peacefully away on Sept. 27, at the advanced age of 74 years.

          The deceased had been ailing for some time, but was about and actively employed until Wednesday, Sept. 20, whenn she was heard groaning by some neighbours, who immediately entered her place and found her lying beside the fireplace. Tho deceased had been to bed over night, and had evidently been in the act of lighting thc fire, when she had a seizure. For some hours she was conscious, but had lost the power of speech, and later on became unconscious, in which state she remained until her death.

          The deceased was born in Gloucestershire, England, in 1833, was married to William Dee in Tetbury Church 23 years later. Within a month she left England with her husband for Western Australian in the ship City oí Bristol. She resided in Fremantle for six months, then in Greenough for a short time, and afterwards (for 42 years) in Dongarra. She was, therefore, a colonist of about 51 years. She had a family of four girls and three boys, and five of her children survive her, also 35 grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren. She was very highly respected, and her sudden collapse came as a great shock to many.

           

          Eliza married Thomas Stokes (1816-1885) in September 1840 in Hempstead, Gloucestershire. On the 1841 census, Eliza and her mother Mary Browning (nee Lock) were staying with Thomas Lock and family in Cirencester. Strangely, Thomas Stokes has not been found thus far on the 1841 census, and Thomas and Eliza’s first child William James Stokes birth was registered in Witham, in Essex, on the 6th of September 1841.

          I don’t know why William James was born in Witham, or where Thomas was at the time of the census in 1841. One possibility is that as Thomas Stokes did a considerable amount of work with circus waggons, circus shooting galleries and so on as a journeyman carpenter initially and then later wheelwright, perhaps he was working with a traveling circus at the time.

          But back to the Brownings ~ more on William James Stokes to follow.

          One of Isaac and Mary’s fourteen children died in infancy:  Ann was baptised and died in 1811. Two of their children died at nine years old: the first George, and Mary who died in 1835.  Matilda was 21 years old when she died in 1844.

          Jane Browning (1808-)  married Thomas Buckingham in 1830 in Tetbury. In August 1838 Thomas was charged with feloniously stealing a black gelding.

          Susan Browning (1822-1879) married William Cleaver in November 1844 in Tetbury. Oddly thereafter they use the name Bowman on the census. On the 1851 census Mary Browning (Susan’s mother), widow, has grandson George Bowman born in 1844 living with her. The confusion with the Bowman and Cleaver names was clarified upon finding the criminal registers:

          30 January 1834. Offender: William Cleaver alias Bowman, Richard Bunting alias Barnfield and Jeremiah Cox, labourers of Tetbury. Crime: Stealing part of a dead fence from a rick barton in Tetbury, the property of Robert Tanner, farmer.

           

          And again in 1836:

          29 March 1836 Bowman, William alias Cleaver, of Tetbury, labourer age 18; 5’2.5” tall, brown hair, grey eyes, round visage with fresh complexion; several moles on left cheek, mole on right breast. Charged on the oath of Ann Washbourn & others that on the morning of the 31 March at Tetbury feloniously stolen a lead spout affixed to the dwelling of the said Ann Washbourn, her property. Found guilty 31 March 1836; Sentenced to 6 months.

          On the 1851 census Susan Bowman was a servant living in at a large drapery shop in Cheltenham. She was listed as 29 years old, married and born in Tetbury, so although it was unusual for a married woman not to be living with her husband, (or her son for that matter, who was living with his grandmother Mary Browning), perhaps her husband William Bowman alias Cleaver was in trouble again. By 1861 they are both living together in Tetbury: William was a plasterer, and they had three year old Isaac and Thomas, one year old. In 1871 William was still a plasterer in Tetbury, living with wife Susan, and sons Isaac and Thomas. Interestingly, a William Cleaver is living next door but one!

          Susan was 56 when she died in Tetbury in 1879.

           

          Three of the Browning daughters went to London.

          Louisa Browning (1821-1873) married Robert Claxton, coachman, in 1848 in Bryanston Square, Westminster, London. Ester Browning was a witness.

          Ester Browning (1823-1893)(or Hester) married Charles Hudson Sealey, cabinet maker, in Bethnal Green, London, in 1854. Charles was born in Tetbury. Charlotte Browning was a witness.

          Charlotte Browning (1828-1867?) was admitted to St Marylebone workhouse in London for “parturition”, or childbirth, in 1860. She was 33 years old.  A birth was registered for a Charlotte Browning, no mothers maiden name listed, in 1860 in Marylebone. A death was registered in Camden, buried in Marylebone, for a Charlotte Browning in 1867 but no age was recorded.  As the age and parents were usually recorded for a childs death, I assume this was Charlotte the mother.

          I found Charlotte on the 1851 census by chance while researching her mother Mary Lock’s siblings.  Hesther Lock married Lewin Chandler, and they were living in Stepney, London.  Charlotte is listed as a neice. Although Browning is mistranscribed as Broomey, the original page says Browning. Another mistranscription on this record is Hesthers birthplace which is transcribed as Yorkshire. The original image shows Gloucestershire.

           

          Isaac and Mary’s first son was John Browning (1807-1860). John married Hannah Coates in 1834. John’s brother Charles Browning (1819-1853) married Eliza Coates in 1842. Perhaps they were sisters. On the 1861 census Hannah Browning, John’s wife, was a visitor in the Harding household in a village called Coates near Tetbury. Thomas Harding born in 1801 was the head of the household. Perhaps he was the father of Ellen Harding Browning.

          George Browning (1828-1870) married Louisa Gainey in Tetbury, and died in Tetbury at the age of 42.  Their son Richard Lock Browning, a 32 year old mason, was sentenced to one month hard labour for game tresspass in Tetbury in 1884.

          Isaac Browning (1832-1857) was the youngest son of Isaac and Mary. He was just 25 years old when he died in Tetbury.

          #6300
          TracyTracy
          Participant

            Looking for Carringtons

             

            The Carringtons of Smalley, at least some of them, were Baptist  ~ otherwise known as “non conformist”.  Baptists don’t baptise at birth, believing it’s up to the person to choose when they are of an age to do so, although that appears to be fairly random in practice with small children being baptised.  This makes it hard to find the birth dates registered as not every village had a Baptist church, and the baptisms would take place in another town.   However some of the children were baptised in the village Anglican church as well, so they don’t seem to have been consistent. Perhaps at times a quick baptism locally for a sickly child was considered prudent, and preferable to no baptism at all. It’s impossible to know for sure and perhaps they were not strictly commited to a particular denomination.

            Our Carrington’s start with Ellen Carrington who married William Housley in 1814. William Housley was previously married to Ellen’s older sister Mary Carrington.  Ellen (born 1895 and baptised 1897) and her sister Nanny were baptised at nearby Ilkeston Baptist church but I haven’t found baptisms for Mary or siblings Richard and Francis.  We know they were also children of William Carrington as he mentions them in his 1834 will. Son William was baptised at the local Smalley church in 1784, as was Thomas in 1896.

            The absence of baptisms in Smalley with regard to Baptist influence was noted in the Smalley registers:

            not baptised

             

            Smalley (chapelry of Morley) registers began in 1624, Morley registers began in 1540 with no obvious gaps in either.  The gap with the missing registered baptisms would be 1786-1793. The Ilkeston Baptist register began in 1791. Information from the Smalley registers indicates that about a third of the children were not being baptised due to the Baptist influence.

             

            William Housley son in law, daughter Mary Housley deceased, and daughter Eleanor (Ellen) Housley are all mentioned in William Housley’s 1834 will.  On the marriage allegations and bonds for William Housley and Mary Carrington in 1806, her birth date is registered at 1787, her father William Carrington.

            A Page from the will of William Carrington 1834:

            1834 Will Carrington will

             

            William Carrington was baptised in nearby Horsley Woodhouse on 27 August 1758.  His parents were William and Margaret Carrington “near the Hilltop”. He married Mary Malkin, also of Smalley, on the 27th August 1783.

            When I started looking for Margaret Wright who married William Carrington the elder, I chanced upon the Smalley parish register micro fiche images wrongly labeled by the ancestry site as Longford.   I subsequently found that the Derby Records office published a list of all the wrongly labeled Derbyshire towns that the ancestry site knew about for ten years at least but has not corrected!

            Margaret Wright was baptised in Smalley (mislabeled as Longford although the register images clearly say Smalley!) on the 2nd March 1728. Her parents were John and Margaret Wright.

            But I couldn’t find a birth or baptism anywhere for William Carrington. I found four sources for William and Margaret’s marriage and none of them suggested that William wasn’t local.  On other public trees on ancestry sites, William’s father was Joshua Carrington from Chinley. Indeed, when doing a search for William Carrington born circa 1720 to 1725, this was the only one in Derbyshire.  But why would a teenager move to the other side of the county?  It wasn’t uncommon to be apprenticed in neighbouring villages or towns, but Chinley didn’t seem right to me.  It seemed to me that it had been selected on the other trees because it was the only easily found result for the search, and not because it was the right one.

            I spent days reading every page of the microfiche images of the parish registers locally looking for Carringtons, any Carringtons at all in the area prior to 1720. Had there been none at all, then the possibility of William being the first Carrington in the area having moved there from elsewhere would have been more reasonable.

            But there were many Carringtons in Heanor, a mile or so from Smalley, in the 1600s and early 1700s, although they were often spelled Carenton, sometimes Carrianton in the parish registers. The earliest Carrington I found in the area was Alice Carrington baptised in Ilkeston in 1602.  It seemed obvious that William’s parents were local and not from Chinley.

            The Heanor parish registers of the time were not very clearly written. The handwriting was bad and the spelling variable, depending I suppose on what the name sounded like to the person writing in the registers at the time as the majority of the people were probably illiterate.  The registers are also in a generally poor condition.

            I found a burial of a child called William on the 16th January 1721, whose father was William Carenton of “Losko” (Loscoe is a nearby village also part of Heanor at that time). This looked promising!  If a child died, a later born child would be given the same name. This was very common: in a couple of cases I’ve found three deceased infants with the same first name until a fourth one named the same survived.  It seemed very likely that a subsequent son would be named William and he would be the William Carrington born circa 1720 to 1725 that we were looking for.

            Heanor parish registers: William son of William Carenton of Losko buried January 19th 1721:

            1721 William Carenton

             

            The Heanor parish registers between 1720 and 1729 are in many places illegible, however there are a couple of possibilities that could be the baptism of William in 1724 and 1725. A William son of William Carenton of Loscoe was buried in Jan 1721. In 1722 a Willian son of William Carenton (transcribed Tarenton) of Loscoe was buried. A subsequent son called William is likely. On 15 Oct 1724 a William son of William and Eliz (last name indecipherable) of Loscoe was baptised.  A Mary, daughter of William Carrianton of Loscoe, was baptised in 1727.

            I propose that William Carringtons was born in Loscoe and baptised in Heanor in 1724: if not 1724 then I would assume his baptism is one of the illegible or indecipherable entires within those few years.  This falls short of absolute documented proof of course, but it makes sense to me.

             

             

            In any case, if a William Carrington child died in Heanor in 1721 which we do have documented proof of, it further dismisses the case for William having arrived for no discernable reason from Chinley.

            #6280

            I started reading a book. In fact I started reading it three weeks ago, and have read the first page of the preface every night and fallen asleep. But my neck aches from doing too much gardening so I went back to bed to read this morning. I still fell asleep six times but at least I finished the preface. It’s the story of the family , initiated by the family collection of netsuke (whatever that is. Tiny Japanese carvings) But this is what stopped me reading and made me think (and then fall asleep each time I re read it)

            “And I’m not entitled to nostalgia about all that lost wealth and glamour from a century ago. And I am not interested in thin. I want to know what the relationship has been between this wooden object that I am rolling between my fingers – hard and tricky and Japanese – and where it has been. I want to be able to reach to the handle of the door and turn it and feel it open. I want to walk into each room where this object has lived, to feel the volume of the space, to know what pictures were on the walls, how the light fell from the windows. And I want to know whose hands it has been in, and what they felt about it and thought about it – if they thought about it. I want to know what it has witnessed.” ― Edmund de Waal, The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family’s Century of Art and Loss

            And I felt almost bereft that none of the records tell me which way the light fell in through the windows.

            I know who lived in the house in which years, but I don’t know who sat in the sun streaming through the window and which painting upon the wall they looked at and what the material was that covered the chair they sat on.

            Were his clothes confortable (or hers, likely not), did he have an old favourite pair of trousers that his mother hated?

            There is one house in particular that I keep coming back to. Like I got on the Housley train at Smalley and I can’t get off. Kidsley Grange Farm, they turned it into a nursing home and built extensions, and now it’s for sale for five hundred thousand pounds. But is the ghost still under the back stairs? Is there still a stain somewhere when a carafe of port was dropped?

            Did Anns writing desk survive? Does someone have that, polished, with a vase of spring tulips on it? (on a mat of course so it doesn’t make a ring, despite that there are layers of beeswaxed rings already)

            Does the desk remember the letters, the weight of a forearm or elbow, perhaps a smeared teardrop, or a comsumptive cough stain?

            Is there perhaps a folded bit of paper or card that propped an uneven leg that fell through the floorboards that might tear into little squares if you found it and opened it, and would it be a rough draft of a letter never sent, or just a receipt for five head of cattle the summer before?

            Did he hate the curtain material, or not even think of it? Did he love the house, or want to get away to see something new ~ or both?

            Did he have a favourite cup, a favourite food, did he hate liver or cabbage?

            Did he like his image when the photograph came from the studio or did he think it made his nose look big or his hair too thin, or did he wish he’d worn his other waistcoat?

            Did he love his wife so much he couldn’t bear to see her dying, was it neglect or was it the unbearableness of it all that made him go away and drink?

            Did the sun slanting in through the dormer window of his tiny attic room where he lodged remind him of ~ well no perhaps he was never in the room in daylight hours at all. Work all day and pub all night, keeping busy working hard and drinking hard and perhaps laughing hard, and maybe he only thought of it all on Sunday mornings.

            So many deaths, one after another, his father, his wife, his brother, his sister, and another and another, all the coughing, all the debility. Perhaps he never understood why he lived and they did not, what kind of justice was there in that?

            Did he take a souvenir or two with him, a handkerchief or a shawl perhaps, tucked away at the bottom of a battered leather bag that had his 3 shirts and 2 waistcoats in and a spare cap,something embroidered perhaps.

            The quote in that book started me off with the light coming in the window and the need to know the simplest things, something nobody ever wrote in a letter, maybe never even mentioned to anyone.

            Light coming in windows. I remeber when I was a teenager I had a day off sick and spent the whole day laying on the couch in a big window with the winter sun on my face all day, and I read Bonjour Tristesse in one sitting, and I’ll never forget that afternoon.  I don’t remember much about that book, but I remember being transported. But at the same time as being present in that sunny window.

            “Stories and objects share something, a patina…Perhaps patina is a process of rubbing back so that the essential is revealed…But it also seems additive, in the way that a piece of oak furniture gains over years and years of polishing.”

            “How objects are handed on is all about story-telling. I am giving you this because I love you. Or because it was given to me. Because I bought it somewhere special. Because you will care for it. Because it will complicate your life. Because it will make someone else envious. There is no easy story in legacy. What is remembered and what is forgotten? There can be a chain of forgetting, the rubbing away of previous ownership as much as the slow accretion of stories. What is being passed on to me with all these small Japanese objects?”

            “There are things in this world that the children hear, but whose sounds oscillate below an adult’s sense of pitch.”

            What did the children hear?

            #6269
            TracyTracy
            Participant

              The Housley Letters 

              From Barbara Housley’s Narrative on the Letters.

               

              William Housley (1781-1848) and Ellen Carrington were married on May 30, 1814 at St. Oswald’s church in Ashbourne. William died in 1848 at the age of 67 of “disease of lungs and general debility”. Ellen died in 1872.

              Marriage of William Housley and Ellen Carrington in Ashbourne in 1814:

              William and Ellen Marriage

               

              Parish records show three children for William and his first wife, Mary, Ellens’ sister, who were married December 29, 1806: Mary Ann, christened in 1808 and mentioned frequently in the letters; Elizabeth, christened in 1810, but never mentioned in any letters; and William, born in 1812, probably referred to as Will in the letters. Mary died in 1813.

              William and Ellen had ten children: John, Samuel, Edward, Anne, Charles, George, Joseph, Robert, Emma, and Joseph. The first Joseph died at the age of four, and the last son was also named Joseph. Anne never married, Charles emigrated to Australia in 1851, and George to USA, also in 1851. The letters are to George, from his sisters and brothers in England.

              The following are excerpts of those letters, including excerpts of Barbara Housley’s “Narrative on Historic Letters”. They are grouped according to who they refer to, rather than chronological order.

               

              ELLEN HOUSLEY 1795-1872

              Joseph wrote that when Emma was married, Ellen “broke up the comfortable home and the things went to Derby and she went to live with them but Derby didn’t agree with her so she left again leaving her things behind and came to live with John in the new house where she died.” Ellen was listed with John’s household in the 1871 census.
              In May 1872, the Ilkeston Pioneer carried this notice: “Mr. Hopkins will sell by auction on Saturday next the eleventh of May 1872 the whole of the useful furniture, sewing machine, etc. nearly new on the premises of the late Mrs. Housley at Smalley near Heanor in the county of Derby. Sale at one o’clock in the afternoon.”

              Ellen’s family was evidently rather prominant in Smalley. Two Carringtons (John and William) served on the Parish Council in 1794. Parish records are full of Carrington marriages and christenings; census records confirm many of the family groupings.

              In June of 1856, Emma wrote: “Mother looks as well as ever and was told by a lady the other day that she looked handsome.” Later she wrote: “Mother is as stout as ever although she sometimes complains of not being able to do as she used to.”

               

              Mary’s children:

              MARY ANN HOUSLEY  1808-1878

              There were hard feelings between Mary Ann and Ellen and her children. Anne wrote: “If you remember we were not very friendly when you left. They never came and nothing was too bad for Mary Ann to say of Mother and me, but when Robert died Mother sent for her to the funeral but she did not think well to come so we took no more notice. She would not allow her children to come either.”

              Mary Ann was unlucky in love! In Anne’s second letter she wrote: “William Carrington is paying Mary Ann great attention. He is living in London but they write to each other….We expect it will be a match.” Apparantly the courtship was stormy for in 1855, Emma wrote: “Mary Ann’s wedding with William Carrington has dropped through after she had prepared everything, dresses and all for the occassion.” Then in 1856, Emma wrote: “William Carrington and Mary Ann are separated. They wore him out with their nonsense.” Whether they ever married is unclear. Joseph wrote in 1872: “Mary Ann was married but her husband has left her. She is in very poor health. She has one daughter and they are living with their mother at Smalley.”

              Regarding William Carrington, Emma supplied this bit of news: “His sister, Mrs. Lily, has eloped with a married man. Is she not a nice person!”

               

              WILLIAM HOUSLEY JR. 1812-1890

              According to a letter from Anne, Will’s two sons and daughter were sent to learn dancing so they would be “fit for any society.” Will’s wife was Dorothy Palfry. They were married in Denby on October 20, 1836 when Will was 24. According to the 1851 census, Will and Dorothy had three sons: Alfred 14, Edwin 12, and William 10. All three boys were born in Denby.

              In his letter of May 30, 1872, after just bemoaning that all of his brothers and sisters are gone except Sam and John, Joseph added: “Will is living still.” In another 1872 letter Joseph wrote, “Will is living at Heanor yet and carrying on his cattle dealing.” The 1871 census listed Will, 59, and his son William, 30, of Lascoe Road, Heanor, as cattle dealers.

               

              Ellen’s children:

              JOHN HOUSLEY  1815-1893

              John married Sarah Baggally in Morely in 1838. They had at least six children. Elizabeth (born 2 May 1838) was “out service” in 1854. In her “third year out,Elizabeth was described by Anne as “a very nice steady girl but quite a woman in appearance.” One of her positions was with a Mrs. Frearson in Heanor. Emma wrote in 1856: Elizabeth is still at Mrs. Frearson. She is such a fine stout girl you would not know her.” Joseph wrote in 1872 that Elizabeth was in service with Mrs. Eliza Sitwell at Derby. (About 1850, Miss Eliza Wilmot-Sitwell provided for a small porch with a handsome Norman doorway at the west end of the St. John the Baptist parish church in Smalley.)

              According to Elizabeth’s birth certificate and the 1841 census, John was a butcher. By 1851, the household included a nurse and a servant, and John was listed as a “victular.” Anne wrote in February 1854, John has left the Public House a year and a half ago. He is living where Plumbs (Ann Plumb witnessed William’s death certificate with her mark) did and Thomas Allen has the land. He has been working at James Eley’s all winter.” In 1861, Ellen lived with John and Sarah and the three boys.

              John sold his share in the inheritance from their mother and disappeared after her death. (He died in Doncaster, Yorkshire, in 1893.) At that time Charles, the youngest would have been 21. Indeed, Joseph wrote in July 1872: John’s children are all grown up”.

              In May 1872, Joseph wrote: “For what do you think, John has sold his share and he has acted very bad since his wife died and at the same time he sold all his furniture. You may guess I have never seen him but once since poor mother’s funeral and he is gone now no one knows where.”

              In February 1874 Joseph wrote: “You want to know what made John go away. Well, I will give you one reason. I think I told you that when his wife died he persuaded me to leave Derby and come to live with him. Well so we did and dear Harriet to keep his house. Well he insulted my wife and offered things to her that was not proper and my dear wife had the power to resist his unmanly conduct. I did not think he could of served me such a dirty trick so that is one thing dear brother. He could not look me in the face when we met. Then after we left him he got a woman in the house and I suppose they lived as man and wife. She caught the small pox and died and there he was by himself like some wild man. Well dear brother I could not go to him again after he had served me and mine as he had and I believe he was greatly in debt too so that he sold his share out of the property and when he received the money at Belper he went away and has never been seen by any of us since but I have heard of him being at Sheffield enquiring for Sam Caldwell. You will remember him. He worked in the Nag’s Head yard but I have heard nothing no more of him.”

              A mention of a John Housley of Heanor in the Nottinghma Journal 1875.  I don’t know for sure if the John mentioned here is the brother John who Joseph describes above as behaving improperly to his wife. John Housley had a son Joseph, born in 1840, and John’s wife Sarah died in 1870.

              John Housley

               

              In 1876, the solicitor wrote to George: “Have you heard of John Housley? He is entitled to Robert’s share and I want him to claim it.”

               

              SAMUEL HOUSLEY 1816-

              Sam married Elizabeth Brookes of Sutton Coldfield, and they had three daughters: Elizabeth, Mary Anne and Catherine.  Elizabeth his wife died in 1849, a few months after Samuel’s father William died in 1848. The particular circumstances relating to these individuals have been discussed in previous chapters; the following are letter excerpts relating to them.

              Death of William Housley 15 Dec 1848, and Elizabeth Housley 5 April 1849, Smalley:

              Housley Deaths

               

              Joseph wrote in December 1872: “I saw one of Sam’s daughters, the youngest Kate, you would remember her a baby I dare say. She is very comfortably married.”

              In the same letter (December 15, 1872), Joseph wrote:  “I think we have now found all out now that is concerned in the matter for there was only Sam that we did not know his whereabouts but I was informed a week ago that he is dead–died about three years ago in Birmingham Union. Poor Sam. He ought to have come to a better end than that….His daughter and her husband went to Brimingham and also to Sutton Coldfield that is where he married his wife from and found out his wife’s brother. It appears he has been there and at Birmingham ever since he went away but ever fond of drink.”

              (Sam, however, was still alive in 1871, living as a lodger at the George and Dragon Inn, Henley in Arden. And no trace of Sam has been found since. It would appear that Sam did not want to be found.)

               

              EDWARD HOUSLEY 1819-1843

              Edward died before George left for USA in 1851, and as such there is no mention of him in the letters.

               

              ANNE HOUSLEY 1821-1856

              Anne wrote two letters to her brother George between February 1854 and her death in 1856. Apparently she suffered from a lung disease for she wrote: “I can say you will be surprised I am still living and better but still cough and spit a deal. Can do nothing but sit and sew.” According to the 1851 census, Anne, then 29, was a seamstress. Their friend, Mrs. Davy, wrote in March 1856: “This I send in a box to my Brother….The pincushion cover and pen wiper are Anne’s work–are for thy wife. She would have made it up had she been able.” Anne was not living at home at the time of the 1841 census. She would have been 19 or 20 and perhaps was “out service.”

              In her second letter Anne wrote: “It is a great trouble now for me to write…as the body weakens so does the mind often. I have been very weak all summer. That I continue is a wonder to all and to spit so much although much better than when you left home.” She also wrote: “You know I had a desire for America years ago. Were I in health and strength, it would be the land of my adoption.”

              In November 1855, Emma wrote, “Anne has been very ill all summer and has not been able to write or do anything.” Their neighbor Mrs. Davy wrote on March 21, 1856: “I fear Anne will not be long without a change.” In a black-edged letter the following June, Emma wrote: “I need not tell you how happy she was and how calmly and peacefully she died. She only kept in bed two days.”

              Certainly Anne was a woman of deep faith and strong religious convictions. When she wrote that they were hoping to hear of Charles’ success on the gold fields she added: “But I would rather hear of him having sought and found the Pearl of great price than all the gold Australia can produce, (For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?).” Then she asked George: “I should like to learn how it was you were first led to seek pardon and a savior. I do feel truly rejoiced to hear you have been led to seek and find this Pearl through the workings of the Holy Spirit and I do pray that He who has begun this good work in each of us may fulfill it and carry it on even unto the end and I can never doubt the willingness of Jesus who laid down his life for us. He who said whoever that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.”

              Anne’s will was probated October 14, 1856. Mr. William Davy of Kidsley Park appeared for the family. Her estate was valued at under £20. Emma was to receive fancy needlework, a four post bedstead, feather bed and bedding, a mahogany chest of drawers, plates, linen and china. Emma was also to receive Anne’s writing desk. There was a condition that Ellen would have use of these items until her death.

              The money that Anne was to receive from her grandfather, William Carrington, and her father, William Housley was to be distributed one third to Joseph, one third to Emma, and one third to be divided between her four neices: John’s daughter Elizabeth, 18, and Sam’s daughters Elizabeth, 10, Mary Ann, 9 and Catharine, age 7 to be paid by the trustees as they think “most useful and proper.” Emma Lyon and Elizabeth Davy were the witnesses.

              The Carrington Farm:

              Carringtons Farm

               

              CHARLES HOUSLEY 1823-1855

              Charles went to Australia in 1851, and was last heard from in January 1853. According to the solicitor, who wrote to George on June 3, 1874, Charles had received advances on the settlement of their parent’s estate. “Your promissory note with the two signed by your brother Charles for 20 pounds he received from his father and 20 pounds he received from his mother are now in the possession of the court.”

              Charles and George were probably quite close friends. Anne wrote in 1854: “Charles inquired very particularly in both his letters after you.”

              According to Anne, Charles and a friend married two sisters. He and his father-in-law had a farm where they had 130 cows and 60 pigs. Whatever the trade he learned in England, he never worked at it once he reached Australia. While it does not seem that Charles went to Australia because gold had been discovered there, he was soon caught up in “gold fever”. Anne wrote: “I dare say you have heard of the immense gold fields of Australia discovered about the time he went. Thousands have since then emigrated to Australia, both high and low. Such accounts we heard in the papers of people amassing fortunes we could not believe. I asked him when I wrote if it was true. He said this was no exaggeration for people were making their fortune daily and he intended going to the diggings in six weeks for he could stay away no longer so that we are hoping to hear of his success if he is alive.”

              In March 1856, Mrs. Davy wrote: “I am sorry to tell thee they have had a letter from Charles’s wife giving account of Charles’s death of 6 months consumption at the Victoria diggings. He has left 2 children a boy and a girl William and Ellen.” In June of the same year in a black edged letter, Emma wrote: “I think Mrs. Davy mentioned Charles’s death in her note. His wife wrote to us. They have two children Helen and William. Poor dear little things. How much I should like to see them all. She writes very affectionately.”

              In December 1872, Joseph wrote: “I’m told that Charles two daughters has wrote to Smalley post office making inquiries about his share….” In January 1876, the solicitor wrote: “Charles Housley’s children have claimed their father’s share.”

               

              GEORGE HOUSLEY 1824-1877

              George emigrated to the United states in 1851, arriving in July. The solicitor Abraham John Flint referred in a letter to a 15-pound advance which was made to George on June 9, 1851. This certainly was connected to his journey. George settled along the Delaware River in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The letters from the solicitor were addressed to: Lahaska Post Office, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

              George married Sarah Ann Hill on May 6, 1854 in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In her first letter (February 1854), Anne wrote: “We want to know who and what is this Miss Hill you name in your letter. What age is she? Send us all the particulars but I would advise you not to get married until you have sufficient to make a comfortable home.”

              Upon learning of George’s marriage, Anne wrote: “I hope dear brother you may be happy with your wife….I hope you will be as a son to her parents. Mother unites with me in kind love to you both and to your father and mother with best wishes for your health and happiness.” In 1872 (December) Joseph wrote: “I am sorry to hear that sister’s father is so ill. It is what we must all come to some time and hope we shall meet where there is no more trouble.”

              Emma wrote in 1855, “We write in love to your wife and yourself and you must write soon and tell us whether there is a little nephew or niece and what you call them.” In June of 1856, Emma wrote: “We want to see dear Sarah Ann and the dear little boy. We were much pleased with the “bit of news” you sent.” The bit of news was the birth of John Eley Housley, January 11, 1855. Emma concluded her letter “Give our very kindest love to dear sister and dearest Johnnie.”

              In September 1872, Joseph wrote, “I was very sorry to hear that John your oldest had met with such a sad accident but I hope he is got alright again by this time.” In the same letter, Joseph asked: “Now I want to know what sort of a town you are living in or village. How far is it from New York? Now send me all particulars if you please.”

              In March 1873 Harriet asked Sarah Ann: “And will you please send me all the news at the place and what it is like for it seems to me that it is a wild place but you must tell me what it is like….”.  The question of whether she was referring to Bucks County, Pennsylvania or some other place is raised in Joseph’s letter of the same week.
              On March 17, 1873, Joseph wrote: “I was surprised to hear that you had gone so far away west. Now dear brother what ever are you doing there so far away from home and family–looking out for something better I suppose.”

              The solicitor wrote on May 23, 1874: “Lately I have not written because I was not certain of your address and because I doubted I had much interesting news to tell you.” Later, Joseph wrote concerning the problems settling the estate, “You see dear brother there is only me here on our side and I cannot do much. I wish you were here to help me a bit and if you think of going for another summer trip this turn you might as well run over here.”

              Apparently, George had indicated he might return to England for a visit in 1856. Emma wrote concerning the portrait of their mother which had been sent to George: “I hope you like mother’s portrait. I did not see it but I suppose it was not quite perfect about the eyes….Joseph and I intend having ours taken for you when you come over….Do come over before very long.”

              In March 1873, Joseph wrote: “You ask me what I think of you coming to England. I think as you have given the trustee power to sign for you I think you could do no good but I should like to see you once again for all that. I can’t say whether there would be anything amiss if you did come as you say it would be throwing good money after bad.”

              On June 10, 1875, the solicitor wrote: “I have been expecting to hear from you for some time past. Please let me hear what you are doing and where you are living and how I must send you your money.” George’s big news at that time was that on May 3, 1875, he had become a naturalized citizen “renouncing and abjuring all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, state and sovereignity whatsoever, and particularly to Victoria Queen of Great Britain of whom he was before a subject.”

               

              ROBERT HOUSLEY 1832-1851

              In 1854, Anne wrote: “Poor Robert. He died in August after you left he broke a blood vessel in the lung.”
              From Joseph’s first letter we learn that Robert was 19 when he died: “Dear brother there have been a great many changes in the family since you left us. All is gone except myself and John and Sam–we have heard nothing of him since he left. Robert died first when he was 19 years of age. Then Anne and Charles too died in Australia and then a number of years elapsed before anyone else. Then John lost his wife, then Emma, and last poor dear mother died last January on the 11th.”

              Anne described Robert’s death in this way: “He had thrown up blood many times before in the spring but the last attack weakened him that he only lived a fortnight after. He died at Derby. Mother was with him. Although he suffered much he never uttered a murmur or regret and always a smile on his face for everyone that saw him. He will be regretted by all that knew him”.

              Robert died a resident of St. Peter’s Parish, Derby, but was buried in Smalley on August 16, 1851.
              Apparently Robert was apprenticed to be a joiner for, according to Anne, Joseph took his place: “Joseph wanted to be a joiner. We thought we could do no better than let him take Robert’s place which he did the October after and is there still.”

              In 1876, the solicitor wrote to George: “Have you heard of John Housley? He is entitled to Robert’s share and I want him to claim it.”

               

              EMMA HOUSLEY 1836-1871

              Emma was not mentioned in Anne’s first letter. In the second, Anne wrote that Emma was living at Spondon with two ladies in her “third situation,” and added, “She is grown a bouncing woman.” Anne described her sister well. Emma wrote in her first letter (November 12, 1855): “I must tell you that I am just 21 and we had my pudding last Sunday. I wish I could send you a piece.”

              From Emma’s letters we learn that she was living in Derby from May until November 1855 with Mr. Haywood, an iron merchant. She explained, “He has failed and I have been obliged to leave,” adding, “I expect going to a new situation very soon. It is at Belper.” In 1851 records, William Haywood, age 22, was listed as an iron foundry worker. In the 1857 Derby Directory, James and George were listed as iron and brass founders and ironmongers with an address at 9 Market Place, Derby.

              In June 1856, Emma wrote from “The Cedars, Ashbourne Road” where she was working for Mr. Handysides.
              While she was working for Mr. Handysides, Emma wrote: “Mother is thinking of coming to live at Derby. That will be nice for Joseph and I.”

              Friargate and Ashbourne Road were located in St. Werburgh’s Parish. (In fact, St. Werburgh’s vicarage was at 185 Surrey Street. This clue led to the discovery of the record of Emma’s marriage on May 6, 1858, to Edwin Welch Harvey, son of Samuel Harvey in St. Werburgh’s.)

              In 1872, Joseph wrote: “Our sister Emma, she died at Derby at her own home for she was married. She has left two young children behind. The husband was the son of the man that I went apprentice to and has caused a great deal of trouble to our family and I believe hastened poor Mother’s death….”.   Joseph added that he believed Emma’s “complaint” was consumption and that she was sick a good bit. Joseph wrote: “Mother was living with John when I came home (from Ascension Island around 1867? or to Smalley from Derby around 1870?) for when Emma was married she broke up the comfortable home and the things went to Derby and she went to live with them but Derby did not agree with her so she had to leave it again but left all her things there.”

              Emma Housley and Edwin Welch Harvey wedding, 1858:

              Emma Housley wedding

               

              JOSEPH HOUSLEY 1838-1893

              We first hear of Joseph in a letter from Anne to George in 1854. “Joseph wanted to be a joiner. We thought we could do no better than let him take Robert’s place which he did the October after (probably 1851) and is there still. He is grown as tall as you I think quite a man.” Emma concurred in her first letter: “He is quite a man in his appearance and quite as tall as you.”

              From Emma we learn in 1855: “Joseph has left Mr. Harvey. He had not work to employ him. So mother thought he had better leave his indenture and be at liberty at once than wait for Harvey to be a bankrupt. He has got a very good place of work now and is very steady.” In June of 1856, Emma wrote “Joseph and I intend to have our portraits taken for you when you come over….Mother is thinking of coming to Derby. That will be nice for Joseph and I. Joseph is very hearty I am happy to say.”

              According to Joseph’s letters, he was married to Harriet Ballard. Joseph described their miraculous reunion in this way: “I must tell you that I have been abroad myself to the Island of Ascension. (Elsewhere he wrote that he was on the island when the American civil war broke out). I went as a Royal Marine and worked at my trade and saved a bit of money–enough to buy my discharge and enough to get married with but while I was out on the island who should I meet with there but my dear wife’s sister. (On two occasions Joseph and Harriet sent George the name and address of Harriet’s sister, Mrs. Brooks, in Susquehanna Depot, Pennsylvania, but it is not clear whether this was the same sister.) She was lady’s maid to the captain’s wife. Though I had never seen her before we got to know each other somehow so from that me and my wife recommenced our correspondence and you may be sure I wanted to get home to her. But as soon as I did get home that is to England I was not long before I was married and I have not regretted yet for we are very comfortable as well as circumstances will allow for I am only a journeyman joiner.”

              Proudly, Joseph wrote: “My little family consists of three nice children–John, Joseph and Susy Annie.” On her birth certificate, Susy Ann’s birthdate is listed as 1871. Parish records list a Lucy Annie christened in 1873. The boys were born in Derby, John in 1868 and Joseph in 1869. In his second letter, Joseph repeated: “I have got three nice children, a good wife and I often think is more than I have deserved.” On August 6, 1873, Joseph and Harriet wrote: “We both thank you dear sister for the pieces of money you sent for the children. I don’t know as I have ever see any before.” Joseph ended another letter: “Now I must close with our kindest love to you all and kisses from the children.”

              In Harriet’s letter to Sarah Ann (March 19, 1873), she promised: “I will send you myself and as soon as the weather gets warm as I can take the children to Derby, I will have them taken and send them, but it is too cold yet for we have had a very cold winter and a great deal of rain.” At this time, the children were all under 6 and the baby was not yet two.

              In March 1873 Joseph wrote: “I have been working down at Heanor gate there is a joiner shop there where Kings used to live I have been working there this winter and part of last summer but the wages is very low but it is near home that is one comfort.” (Heanor Gate is about 1/4 mile from Kidsley Grange. There was a school and industrial park there in 1988.) At this time Joseph and his family were living in “the big house–in Old Betty Hanson’s house.” The address in the 1871 census was Smalley Lane.

              A glimpse into Joseph’s personality is revealed by this remark to George in an 1872 letter: “Many thanks for your portrait and will send ours when we can get them taken for I never had but one taken and that was in my old clothes and dear Harriet is not willing to part with that. I tell her she ought to be satisfied with the original.”

              On one occasion Joseph and Harriet both sent seeds. (Marks are still visible on the paper.) Joseph sent “the best cow cabbage seed in the country–Robinson Champion,” and Harriet sent red cabbage–Shaw’s Improved Red. Possibly cow cabbage was also known as ox cabbage: “I hope you will have some good cabbages for the Ox cabbage takes all the prizes here. I suppose you will be taking the prizes out there with them.” Joseph wrote that he would put the name of the seeds by each “but I should think that will not matter. You will tell the difference when they come up.”

              George apparently would have liked Joseph to come to him as early as 1854. Anne wrote: “As to his coming to you that must be left for the present.” In 1872, Joseph wrote: “I have been thinking of making a move from here for some time before I heard from you for it is living from hand to mouth and never certain of a job long either.” Joseph then made plans to come to the United States in the spring of 1873. “For I intend all being well leaving England in the spring. Many thanks for your kind offer but I hope we shall be able to get a comfortable place before we have been out long.” Joseph promised to bring some things George wanted and asked: “What sort of things would be the best to bring out there for I don’t want to bring a lot that is useless.” Joseph’s plans are confirmed in a letter from the solicitor May 23, 1874: “I trust you are prospering and in good health. Joseph seems desirous of coming out to you when this is settled.”

              George must have been reminiscing about gooseberries (Heanor has an annual gooseberry show–one was held July 28, 1872) and Joseph promised to bring cuttings when they came: “Dear Brother, I could not get the gooseberries for they was all gathered when I received your letter but we shall be able to get some seed out the first chance and I shall try to bring some cuttings out along.” In the same letter that he sent the cabbage seeds Joseph wrote: “I have got some gooseberries drying this year for you. They are very fine ones but I have only four as yet but I was promised some more when they were ripe.” In another letter Joseph sent gooseberry seeds and wrote their names: Victoria, Gharibaldi and Globe.

              In September 1872 Joseph wrote; “My wife is anxious to come. I hope it will suit her health for she is not over strong.” Elsewhere Joseph wrote that Harriet was “middling sometimes. She is subject to sick headaches. It knocks her up completely when they come on.” In December 1872 Joseph wrote, “Now dear brother about us coming to America you know we shall have to wait until this affair is settled and if it is not settled and thrown into Chancery I’m afraid we shall have to stay in England for I shall never be able to save money enough to bring me out and my family but I hope of better things.”

              On July 19, 1875 Abraham Flint (the solicitor) wrote: “Joseph Housley has removed from Smalley and is working on some new foundry buildings at Little Chester near Derby. He lives at a village called Little Eaton near Derby. If you address your letter to him as Joseph Housley, carpenter, Little Eaton near Derby that will no doubt find him.”

              George did not save any letters from Joseph after 1874, hopefully he did reach him at Little Eaton. Joseph and his family are not listed in either Little Eaton or Derby on the 1881 census.

              In his last letter (February 11, 1874), Joseph sounded very discouraged and wrote that Harriet’s parents were very poorly and both had been “in bed for a long time.” In addition, Harriet and the children had been ill.
              The move to Little Eaton may indicate that Joseph received his settlement because in August, 1873, he wrote: “I think this is bad news enough and bad luck too, but I have had little else since I came to live at Kiddsley cottages but perhaps it is all for the best if one could only think so. I have begun to think there will be no chance for us coming over to you for I am afraid there will not be so much left as will bring us out without it is settled very shortly but I don’t intend leaving this house until it is settled either one way or the other. “

              Joseph Housley and the Kiddsley cottages:

              Joseph Housley

              #6268
              TracyTracy
              Participant

                From Tanganyika with Love

                continued part 9

                With thanks to Mike Rushby.

                Lyamungu 3rd January 1945

                Dearest Family.

                We had a novel Christmas this year. We decided to avoid the expense of
                entertaining and being entertained at Lyamungu, and went off to spend Christmas
                camping in a forest on the Western slopes of Kilimanjaro. George decided to combine
                business with pleasure and in this way we were able to use Government transport.
                We set out the day before Christmas day and drove along the road which skirts
                the slopes of Kilimanjaro and first visited a beautiful farm where Philip Teare, the ex
                Game Warden, and his wife Mary are staying. We had afternoon tea with them and then
                drove on in to the natural forest above the estate and pitched our tent beside a small
                clear mountain stream. We decorated the tent with paper streamers and a few small
                balloons and John found a small tree of the traditional shape which we decorated where
                it stood with tinsel and small ornaments.

                We put our beer, cool drinks for the children and bottles of fresh milk from Simba
                Estate, in the stream and on Christmas morning they were as cold as if they had been in
                the refrigerator all night. There were not many presents for the children, there never are,
                but they do not seem to mind and are well satisfied with a couple of balloons apiece,
                sweets, tin whistles and a book each.

                George entertain the children before breakfast. He can make a magical thing out
                of the most ordinary balloon. The children watched entranced as he drew on his pipe
                and then blew the smoke into the balloon. He then pinched the neck of the balloon
                between thumb and forefinger and released the smoke in little puffs. Occasionally the
                balloon ejected a perfect smoke ring and the forest rang with shouts of “Do it again
                Daddy.” Another trick was to blow up the balloon to maximum size and then twist the
                neck tightly before releasing. Before subsiding the balloon darted about in a crazy
                fashion causing great hilarity. Such fun, at the cost of a few pence.

                After breakfast George went off to fish for trout. John and Jim decided that they
                also wished to fish so we made rods out of sticks and string and bent pins and they
                fished happily, but of course quite unsuccessfully, for hours. Both of course fell into the
                stream and got soaked, but I was prepared for this, and the little stream was so shallow
                that they could not come to any harm. Henry played happily in the sand and I had a
                most peaceful morning.

                Hamisi roasted a chicken in a pot over the camp fire and the jelly set beautifully in the
                stream. So we had grilled trout and chicken for our Christmas dinner. I had of course
                taken an iced cake for the occasion and, all in all, it was a very successful Christmas day.
                On Boxing day we drove down to the plains where George was to investigate a
                report of game poaching near the Ngassari Furrow. This is a very long ditch which has
                been dug by the Government for watering the Masai stock in the area. It is also used by
                game and we saw herds of zebra and wildebeest, and some Grant’s Gazelle and
                giraffe, all comparatively tame. At one point a small herd of zebra raced beside the lorry
                apparently enjoying the fun of a gallop. They were all sleek and fat and looked wild and
                beautiful in action.

                We camped a considerable distance from the water but this precaution did not
                save us from the mosquitoes which launched a vicious attack on us after sunset, so that
                we took to our beds unusually early. They were on the job again when we got up at
                sunrise so I was very glad when we were once more on our way home.

                “I like Christmas safari. Much nicer that silly old party,” said John. I agree but I think
                it is time that our children learned to play happily with others. There are no other young
                children at Lyamungu though there are two older boys and a girl who go to boarding
                school in Nairobi.

                On New Years Day two Army Officers from the military camp at Moshi, came for
                tea and to talk game hunting with George. I think they rather enjoy visiting a home and
                seeing children and pets around.

                Eleanor.

                Lyamungu 14 May 1945

                Dearest Family.

                So the war in Europe is over at last. It is such marvellous news that I can hardly
                believe it. To think that as soon as George can get leave we will go to England and
                bring Ann and George home with us to Tanganyika. When we know when this leave can
                be arranged we will want Kate to join us here as of course she must go with us to
                England to meet George’s family. She has become so much a part of your lives that I
                know it will be a wrench for you to give her up but I know that you will all be happy to
                think that soon our family will be reunited.

                The V.E. celebrations passed off quietly here. We all went to Moshi to see the
                Victory Parade of the King’s African Rifles and in the evening we went to a celebration
                dinner at the Game Warden’s house. Besides ourselves the Moores had invited the
                Commanding Officer from Moshi and a junior officer. We had a very good dinner and
                many toasts including one to Mrs Moore’s brother, Oliver Milton who is fighting in Burma
                and has recently been awarded the Military Cross.

                There was also a celebration party for the children in the grounds of the Moshi
                Club. Such a spread! I think John and Jim sampled everything. We mothers were
                having our tea separately and a friend laughingly told me to turn around and have a look.
                I did, and saw the long tea tables now deserted by all the children but my two sons who
                were still eating steadily, and finding the party more exciting than the game of Musical
                Bumps into which all the other children had entered with enthusiasm.

                There was also an extremely good puppet show put on by the Italian prisoners
                of war from the camp at Moshi. They had made all the puppets which included well
                loved characters like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the Babes in the Wood as
                well as more sophisticated ones like an irritable pianist and a would be prima donna. The
                most popular puppets with the children were a native askari and his family – a very
                happy little scene. I have never before seen a puppet show and was as entranced as
                the children. It is amazing what clever manipulation and lighting can do. I believe that the
                Italians mean to take their puppets to Nairobi and am glad to think that there, they will
                have larger audiences to appreciate their art.

                George has just come in, and I paused in my writing to ask him for the hundredth
                time when he thinks we will get leave. He says I must be patient because it may be a
                year before our turn comes. Shipping will be disorganised for months to come and we
                cannot expect priority simply because we have been separated so long from our
                children. The same situation applies to scores of other Government Officials.
                I have decided to write the story of my childhood in South Africa and about our
                life together in Tanganyika up to the time Ann and George left the country. I know you
                will have told Kate these stories, but Ann and George were so very little when they left
                home that I fear that they cannot remember much.

                My Mother-in-law will have told them about their father but she can tell them little
                about me. I shall send them one chapter of my story each month in the hope that they
                may be interested and not feel that I am a stranger when at last we meet again.

                Eleanor.

                Lyamungu 19th September 1945

                Dearest Family.

                In a months time we will be saying good-bye to Lyamungu. George is to be
                transferred to Mbeya and I am delighted, not only as I look upon Mbeya as home, but
                because there is now a primary school there which John can attend. I feel he will make
                much better progress in his lessons when he realises that all children of his age attend
                school. At present he is putting up a strong resistance to learning to read and spell, but
                he writes very neatly, does his sums accurately and shows a real talent for drawing. If
                only he had the will to learn I feel he would do very well.

                Jim now just four, is too young for lessons but too intelligent to be interested in
                the ayah’s attempts at entertainment. Yes I’ve had to engage a native girl to look after
                Henry from 9 am to 12.30 when I supervise John’s Correspondence Course. She is
                clean and amiable, but like most African women she has no initiative at all when it comes
                to entertaining children. Most African men and youths are good at this.

                I don’t regret our stay at Lyamungu. It is a beautiful spot and the change to the
                cooler climate after the heat of Morogoro has been good for all the children. John is still
                tall for his age but not so thin as he was and much less pale. He is a handsome little lad
                with his large brown eyes in striking contrast to his fair hair. He is wary of strangers but
                very observant and quite uncanny in the way he sums up people. He seldom gets up
                to mischief but I have a feeling he eggs Jim on. Not that Jim needs egging.

                Jim has an absolute flair for mischief but it is all done in such an artless manner that
                it is not easy to punish him. He is a very sturdy child with a cap of almost black silky hair,
                eyes brown, like mine, and a large mouth which is quick to smile and show most beautiful
                white and even teeth. He is most popular with all the native servants and the Game
                Scouts. The servants call Jim, ‘Bwana Tembo’ (Mr Elephant) because of his sturdy
                build.

                Henry, now nearly two years old, is quite different from the other two in
                appearance. He is fair complexioned and fair haired like Ann and Kate, with large, black
                lashed, light grey eyes. He is a good child, not so merry as Jim was at his age, nor as
                shy as John was. He seldom cries, does not care to be cuddled and is independent and
                strong willed. The servants call Henry, ‘Bwana Ndizi’ (Mr Banana) because he has an
                inexhaustible appetite for this fruit. Fortunately they are very inexpensive here. We buy
                an entire bunch which hangs from a beam on the back verandah, and pluck off the
                bananas as they ripen. This way there is no waste and the fruit never gets bruised as it
                does in greengrocers shops in South Africa. Our three boys make a delightful and
                interesting trio and I do wish you could see them for yourselves.

                We are delighted with the really beautiful photograph of Kate. She is an
                extraordinarily pretty child and looks so happy and healthy and a great credit to you.
                Now that we will be living in Mbeya with a school on the doorstep I hope that we will
                soon be able to arrange for her return home.

                Eleanor.

                c/o Game Dept. Mbeya. 30th October 1945

                Dearest Family.

                How nice to be able to write c/o Game Dept. Mbeya at the head of my letters.
                We arrived here safely after a rather tiresome journey and are installed in a tiny house on
                the edge of the township.

                We left Lyamungu early on the morning of the 22nd. Most of our goods had
                been packed on the big Ford lorry the previous evening, but there were the usual
                delays and farewells. Of our servants, only the cook, Hamisi, accompanied us to
                Mbeya. Japhet, Tovelo and the ayah had to be paid off and largesse handed out.
                Tovelo’s granny had come, bringing a gift of bananas, and she also brought her little
                granddaughter to present a bunch of flowers. The child’s little scolded behind is now
                completely healed. Gifts had to be found for them too.

                At last we were all aboard and what a squash it was! Our few pieces of furniture
                and packing cases and trunks, the cook, his wife, the driver and the turney boy, who
                were to take the truck back to Lyamungu, and all their bits and pieces, bunches of
                bananas and Fanny the dog were all crammed into the body of the lorry. George, the
                children and I were jammed together in the cab. Before we left George looked
                dubiously at the tyres which were very worn and said gloomily that he thought it most
                unlikely that we would make our destination, Dodoma.

                Too true! Shortly after midday, near Kwakachinja, we blew a back tyre and there
                was a tedious delay in the heat whilst the wheel was changed. We were now without a
                spare tyre and George said that he would not risk taking the Ford further than Babati,
                which is less than half way to Dodoma. He drove very slowly and cautiously to Babati
                where he arranged with Sher Mohammed, an Indian trader, for a lorry to take us to
                Dodoma the next morning.

                It had been our intention to spend the night at the furnished Government
                Resthouse at Babati but when we got there we found that it was already occupied by
                several District Officers who had assembled for a conference. So, feeling rather
                disgruntled, we all piled back into the lorry and drove on to a place called Bereku where
                we spent an uncomfortable night in a tumbledown hut.

                Before dawn next morning Sher Mohammed’s lorry drove up, and there was a
                scramble to dress by the light of a storm lamp. The lorry was a very dilapidated one and
                there was already a native woman passenger in the cab. I felt so tired after an almost
                sleepless night that I decided to sit between the driver and this woman with the sleeping
                Henry on my knee. It was as well I did, because I soon found myself dosing off and
                drooping over towards the woman. Had she not been there I might easily have fallen
                out as the battered cab had no door. However I was alert enough when daylight came
                and changed places with the woman to our mutual relief. She was now able to converse
                with the African driver and I was able to enjoy the scenery and the fresh air!
                George, John and Jim were less comfortable. They sat in the lorry behind the
                cab hemmed in by packing cases. As the lorry was an open one the sun beat down
                unmercifully upon them until George, ever resourceful, moved a table to the front of the
                truck. The two boys crouched under this and so got shelter from the sun but they still had
                to endure the dust. Fanny complicated things by getting car sick and with one thing and
                another we were all jolly glad to get to Dodoma.

                We spent the night at the Dodoma Hotel and after hot baths, a good meal and a
                good nights rest we cheerfully boarded a bus of the Tanganyika Bus Service next
                morning to continue our journey to Mbeya. The rest of the journey was uneventful. We slept two nights on the road, the first at Iringa Hotel and the second at Chimala. We
                reached Mbeya on the 27th.

                I was rather taken aback when I first saw the little house which has been allocated
                to us. I had become accustomed to the spacious houses we had in Morogoro and
                Lyamungu. However though the house is tiny it is secluded and has a long garden
                sloping down to the road in front and another long strip sloping up behind. The front
                garden is shaded by several large cypress and eucalyptus trees but the garden behind
                the house has no shade and consists mainly of humpy beds planted with hundreds of
                carnations sadly in need of debudding. I believe that the previous Game Ranger’s wife
                cultivated the carnations and, by selling them, raised money for War Funds.
                Like our own first home, this little house is built of sun dried brick. Its original
                owners were Germans. It is now rented to the Government by the Custodian of Enemy
                Property, and George has his office in another ex German house.

                This afternoon we drove to the school to arrange about enrolling John there. The
                school is about four miles out of town. It was built by the German settlers in the late
                1930’s and they were justifiably proud of it. It consists of a great assembly hall and
                classrooms in one block and there are several attractive single storied dormitories. This
                school was taken over by the Government when the Germans were interned on the
                outbreak of war and many improvements have been made to the original buildings. The
                school certainly looks very attractive now with its grassed playing fields and its lawns and
                bright flower beds.

                The Union Jack flies from a tall flagpole in front of the Hall and all traces of the
                schools German origin have been firmly erased. We met the Headmaster, Mr
                Wallington, and his wife and some members of the staff. The school is co-educational
                and caters for children from the age of seven to standard six. The leaving age is elastic
                owing to the fact that many Tanganyika children started school very late because of lack
                of educational facilities in this country.

                The married members of the staff have their own cottages in the grounds. The
                Matrons have quarters attached to the dormitories for which they are responsible. I felt
                most enthusiastic about the school until I discovered that the Headmaster is adamant
                upon one subject. He utterly refuses to take any day pupils at the school. So now our
                poor reserved Johnny will have to adjust himself to boarding school life.
                We have arranged that he will start school on November 5th and I shall be very
                busy trying to assemble his school uniform at short notice. The clothing list is sensible.
                Boys wear khaki shirts and shorts on weekdays with knitted scarlet jerseys when the
                weather is cold. On Sundays they wear grey flannel shorts and blazers with the silver
                and scarlet school tie.

                Mbeya looks dusty, brown and dry after the lush evergreen vegetation of
                Lyamungu, but I prefer this drier climate and there are still mountains to please the eye.
                In fact the lower slopes of Lolesa Mountain rise at the upper end of our garden.

                Eleanor.

                c/o Game Dept. Mbeya. 21st November 1945

                Dearest Family.

                We’re quite settled in now and I have got the little house fixed up to my
                satisfaction. I have engaged a rather uncouth looking houseboy but he is strong and
                capable and now that I am not tied down in the mornings by John’s lessons I am able to
                go out occasionally in the mornings and take Jim and Henry to play with other children.
                They do not show any great enthusiasm but are not shy by nature as John is.
                I have had a good deal of heartache over putting John to boarding school. It
                would have been different had he been used to the company of children outside his
                own family, or if he had even known one child there. However he seems to be adjusting
                himself to the life, though slowly. At least he looks well and tidy and I am quite sure that
                he is well looked after.

                I must confess that when the time came for John to go to school I simply did not
                have the courage to take him and he went alone with George, looking so smart in his
                new uniform – but his little face so bleak. The next day, Sunday, was visiting day but the
                Headmaster suggested that we should give John time to settle down and not visit him
                until Wednesday.

                When we drove up to the school I spied John on the far side of the field walking
                all alone. Instead of running up with glad greetings, as I had expected, he came almost
                reluctently and had little to say. I asked him to show me his dormitory and classroom and
                he did so politely as though I were a stranger. At last he volunteered some information.
                “Mummy,” he said in an awed voice, Do you know on the night I came here they burnt a
                man! They had a big fire and they burnt him.” After a blank moment the penny dropped.
                Of course John had started school and November the fifth but it had never entered my
                head to tell him about that infamous character, Guy Fawkes!

                I asked John’s Matron how he had settled down. “Well”, she said thoughtfully,
                John is very good and has not cried as many of the juniors do when they first come
                here, but he seems to keep to himself all the time.” I went home very discouraged but
                on the Sunday John came running up with another lad of about his own age.” This is my
                friend Marks,” he announced proudly. I could have hugged Marks.

                Mbeya is very different from the small settlement we knew in the early 1930’s.
                Gone are all the colourful characters from the Lupa diggings for the alluvial claims are all
                worked out now, gone also are our old friends the Menzies from the Pub and also most
                of the Government Officials we used to know. Mbeya has lost its character of a frontier
                township and has become almost suburban.

                The social life revolves around two places, the Club and the school. The Club
                which started out as a little two roomed building, has been expanded and the golf
                course improved. There are also tennis courts and a good library considering the size of
                the community. There are frequent parties and dances, though most of the club revenue
                comes from Bar profits. The parties are relatively sober affairs compared with the parties
                of the 1930’s.

                The school provides entertainment of another kind. Both Mr and Mrs Wallington
                are good amateur actors and I am told that they run an Amateur Dramatic Society. Every
                Wednesday afternoon there is a hockey match at the school. Mbeya town versus a
                mixed team of staff and scholars. The match attracts almost the whole European
                population of Mbeya. Some go to play hockey, others to watch, and others to snatch
                the opportunity to visit their children. I shall have to try to arrange a lift to school when
                George is away on safari.

                I have now met most of the local women and gladly renewed an old friendship
                with Sheilagh Waring whom I knew two years ago at Morogoro. Sheilagh and I have
                much in common, the same disregard for the trappings of civilisation, the same sense of
                the ludicrous, and children. She has eight to our six and she has also been cut off by the
                war from two of her children. Sheilagh looks too young and pretty to be the mother of so
                large a family and is, in fact, several years younger than I am. her husband, Donald, is a
                large quiet man who, as far as I can judge takes life seriously.

                Our next door neighbours are the Bank Manager and his wife, a very pleasant
                couple though we seldom meet. I have however had correspondence with the Bank
                Manager. Early on Saturday afternoon their houseboy brought a note. It informed me
                that my son was disturbing his rest by precipitating a heart attack. Was I aware that my
                son was about 30 feet up in a tree and balanced on a twig? I ran out and,sure enough,
                there was Jim, right at the top of the tallest eucalyptus tree. It would be the one with the
                mound of stones at the bottom! You should have heard me fluting in my most
                wheedling voice. “Sweets, Jimmy, come down slowly dear, I’ve some nice sweets for
                you.”

                I’ll bet that little story makes you smile. I remember how often you have told me
                how, as a child, I used to make your hearts turn over because I had no fear of heights
                and how I used to say, “But that is silly, I won’t fall.” I know now only too well, how you
                must have felt.

                Eleanor.

                c/o Game Dept. Mbeya. 14th January 1946

                Dearest Family.

                I hope that by now you have my telegram to say that Kate got home safely
                yesterday. It was wonderful to have her back and what a beautiful child she is! Kate
                seems to have enjoyed the train journey with Miss Craig, in spite of the tears she tells
                me she shed when she said good-bye to you. She also seems to have felt quite at
                home with the Hopleys at Salisbury. She flew from Salisbury in a small Dove aircraft
                and they had a smooth passage though Kate was a little airsick.

                I was so excited about her home coming! This house is so tiny that I had to turn
                out the little store room to make a bedroom for her. With a fresh coat of whitewash and
                pretty sprigged curtains and matching bedspread, borrowed from Sheilagh Waring, the
                tiny room looks most attractive. I had also iced a cake, made ice-cream and jelly and
                bought crackers for the table so that Kate’s home coming tea could be a proper little
                celebration.

                I was pleased with my preparations and then, a few hours before the plane was
                due, my crowned front tooth dropped out, peg and all! When my houseboy wants to
                describe something very tatty, he calls it “Second-hand Kabisa.” Kabisa meaning
                absolutely. That is an apt description of how I looked and felt. I decided to try some
                emergency dentistry. I think you know our nearest dentist is at Dar es Salaam five
                hundred miles away.

                First I carefully dried the tooth and with a match stick covered the peg and base
                with Durofix. I then took the infants rubber bulb enema, sucked up some heat from a
                candle flame and pumped it into the cavity before filling that with Durofix. Then hopefully
                I stuck the tooth in its former position and held it in place for several minutes. No good. I
                sent the houseboy to a shop for Scotine and tried the whole process again. No good
                either.

                When George came home for lunch I appealed to him for advice. He jokingly
                suggested that a maize seed jammed into the space would probably work, but when
                he saw that I really was upset he produced some chewing gum and suggested that I
                should try that . I did and that worked long enough for my first smile anyway.
                George and the three boys went to meet Kate but I remained at home to
                welcome her there. I was afraid that after all this time away Kate might be reluctant to
                rejoin the family but she threw her arms around me and said “Oh Mummy,” We both
                shed a few tears and then we both felt fine.

                How gay Kate is, and what an infectious laugh she has! The boys follow her
                around in admiration. John in fact asked me, “Is Kate a Princess?” When I said
                “Goodness no, Johnny, she’s your sister,” he explained himself by saying, “Well, she
                has such golden hair.” Kate was less complementary. When I tucked her in bed last night
                she said, “Mummy, I didn’t expect my little brothers to be so yellow!” All three boys
                have been taking a course of Atebrin, an anti-malarial drug which tinges skin and eyeballs
                yellow.

                So now our tiny house is bursting at its seams and how good it feels to have one
                more child under our roof. We are booked to sail for England in May and when we return
                we will have Ann and George home too. Then I shall feel really content.

                Eleanor.

                c/o Game Dept. Mbeya. 2nd March 1946

                Dearest Family.

                My life just now is uneventful but very busy. I am sewing hard and knitting fast to
                try to get together some warm clothes for our leave in England. This is not a simple
                matter because woollen materials are in short supply and very expensive, and now that
                we have boarding school fees to pay for both Kate and John we have to budget very
                carefully indeed.

                Kate seems happy at school. She makes friends easily and seems to enjoy
                communal life. John also seems reconciled to school now that Kate is there. He no
                longer feels that he is the only exile in the family. He seems to rub along with the other
                boys of his age and has a couple of close friends. Although Mbeya School is coeducational
                the smaller boys and girls keep strictly apart. It is considered extremely
                cissy to play with girls.

                The local children are allowed to go home on Sundays after church and may bring
                friends home with them for the day. Both John and Kate do this and Sunday is a very
                busy day for me. The children come home in their Sunday best but bring play clothes to
                change into. There is always a scramble to get them to bath and change again in time to
                deliver them to the school by 6 o’clock.

                When George is home we go out to the school for the morning service. This is
                taken by the Headmaster Mr Wallington, and is very enjoyable. There is an excellent
                school choir to lead the singing. The service is the Church of England one, but is
                attended by children of all denominations, except the Roman Catholics. I don’t think that
                more than half the children are British. A large proportion are Greeks, some as old as
                sixteen, and about the same number are Afrikaners. There are Poles and non-Nazi
                Germans, Swiss and a few American children.

                All instruction is through the medium of English and it is amazing how soon all the
                foreign children learn to chatter in English. George has been told that we will return to
                Mbeya after our leave and for that I am very thankful as it means that we will still be living
                near at hand when Jim and Henry start school. Because many of these children have to
                travel many hundreds of miles to come to school, – Mbeya is a two day journey from the
                railhead, – the school year is divided into two instead of the usual three terms. This
                means that many of these children do not see their parents for months at a time. I think
                this is a very sad state of affairs especially for the seven and eight year olds but the
                Matrons assure me , that many children who live on isolated farms and stations are quite
                reluctant to go home because they miss the companionship and the games and
                entertainment that the school offers.

                My only complaint about the life here is that I see far too little of George. He is
                kept extremely busy on this range and is hardly at home except for a few days at the
                months end when he has to be at his office to check up on the pay vouchers and the
                issue of ammunition to the Scouts. George’s Range takes in the whole of the Southern
                Province and the Southern half of the Western Province and extends to the border with
                Northern Rhodesia and right across to Lake Tanganyika. This vast area is patrolled by
                only 40 Game Scouts because the Department is at present badly under staffed, due
                partly to the still acute shortage of rifles, but even more so to the extraordinary reluctance
                which the Government shows to allocate adequate funds for the efficient running of the
                Department.

                The Game Scouts must see that the Game Laws are enforced, protect native
                crops from raiding elephant, hippo and other game animals. Report disease amongst game and deal with stock raiding lions. By constantly going on safari and checking on
                their work, George makes sure the range is run to his satisfaction. Most of the Game
                Scouts are fine fellows but, considering they receive only meagre pay for dangerous
                and exacting work, it is not surprising that occasionally a Scout is tempted into accepting
                a bribe not to report a serious infringement of the Game Laws and there is, of course,
                always the temptation to sell ivory illicitly to unscrupulous Indian and Arab traders.
                Apart from supervising the running of the Range, George has two major jobs.
                One is to supervise the running of the Game Free Area along the Rhodesia –
                Tanganyika border, and the other to hunt down the man-eating lions which for years have
                terrorised the Njombe District killing hundreds of Africans. Yes I know ‘hundreds’ sounds
                fantastic, but this is perfectly true and one day, when the job is done and the official
                report published I shall send it to you to prove it!

                I hate to think of the Game Free Area and so does George. All the game from
                buffalo to tiny duiker has been shot out in a wide belt extending nearly two hundred
                miles along the Northern Rhodesia -Tanganyika border. There are three Europeans in
                widely spaced camps who supervise this slaughter by African Game Guards. This
                horrible measure is considered necessary by the Veterinary Departments of
                Tanganyika, Rhodesia and South Africa, to prevent the cattle disease of Rinderpest
                from spreading South.

                When George is home however, we do relax and have fun. On the Saturday
                before the school term started we took Kate and the boys up to the top fishing camp in
                the Mporoto Mountains for her first attempt at trout fishing. There are three of these
                camps built by the Mbeya Trout Association on the rivers which were first stocked with
                the trout hatched on our farm at Mchewe. Of the three, the top camp is our favourite. The
                scenery there is most glorious and reminds me strongly of the rivers of the Western
                Cape which I so loved in my childhood.

                The river, the Kawira, flows from the Rungwe Mountain through a narrow valley
                with hills rising steeply on either side. The water runs swiftly over smooth stones and
                sometimes only a foot or two below the level of the banks. It is sparkling and shallow,
                but in places the water is deep and dark and the banks high. I had a busy day keeping
                an eye on the boys, especially Jim, who twice climbed out on branches which overhung
                deep water. “Mummy, I was only looking for trout!”

                How those kids enjoyed the freedom of the camp after the comparative
                restrictions of town. So did Fanny, she raced about on the hills like a mad dog chasing
                imaginary rabbits and having the time of her life. To escape the noise and commotion
                George had gone far upstream to fish and returned in the late afternoon with three good
                sized trout and four smaller ones. Kate proudly showed George the two she had caught
                with the assistance or our cook Hamisi. I fear they were caught in a rather unorthodox
                manner but this I kept a secret from George who is a stickler for the orthodox in trout
                fishing.

                Eleanor.

                Jacksdale England 24th June 1946

                Dearest Family.

                Here we are all together at last in England. You cannot imagine how wonderful it
                feels to have the whole Rushby family reunited. I find myself counting heads. Ann,
                George, Kate, John, Jim, and Henry. All present and well. We had a very pleasant trip
                on the old British India Ship Mantola. She was crowded with East Africans going home
                for the first time since the war, many like us, eagerly looking forward to a reunion with their
                children whom they had not seen for years. There was a great air of anticipation and
                good humour but a little anxiety too.

                “I do hope our children will be glad to see us,” said one, and went on to tell me
                about a Doctor from Dar es Salaam who, after years of separation from his son had
                recently gone to visit him at his school. The Doctor had alighted at the railway station
                where he had arranged to meet his son. A tall youth approached him and said, very
                politely, “Excuse me sir. Are you my Father?” Others told me of children who had
                become so attached to their relatives in England that they gave their parents a very cool
                reception. I began to feel apprehensive about Ann and George but fortunately had no
                time to mope.

                Oh, that washing and ironing for six! I shall remember for ever that steamy little
                laundry in the heat of the Red Sea and queuing up for the ironing and the feeling of guilt
                at the size of my bundle. We met many old friends amongst the passengers, and made
                some new ones, so the voyage was a pleasant one, We did however have our
                anxious moments.

                John was the first to disappear and we had an anxious search for him. He was
                quite surprised that we had been concerned. “I was just talking to my friend Chinky
                Chinaman in his workshop.” Could John have called him that? Then, when I returned to
                the cabin from dinner one night I found Henry swigging Owbridge’s Lung Tonic. He had
                drunk half the bottle neat and the label said ‘five drops in water’. Luckily it did not harm
                him.

                Jim of course was forever risking his neck. George had forbidden him to climb on
                the railings but he was forever doing things which no one had thought of forbidding him
                to do, like hanging from the overhead pipes on the deck or standing on the sill of a
                window and looking down at the well deck far below. An Officer found him doing this and
                gave me the scolding.

                Another day he climbed up on a derrick used for hoisting cargo. George,
                oblivious to this was sitting on the hatch cover with other passengers reading a book. I
                was in the wash house aft on the same deck when Kate rushed in and said, “Mummy
                come and see Jim.” Before I had time to more than gape, the butcher noticed Jim and
                rushed out knife in hand. “Get down from there”, he bellowed. Jim got, and with such
                speed that he caught the leg or his shorts on a projecting piece of metal. The cotton
                ripped across the seam from leg to leg and Jim stood there for a humiliating moment in a
                sort of revealing little kilt enduring the smiles of the passengers who had looked up from
                their books at the butcher’s shout.

                That incident cured Jim of his urge to climb on the ship but he managed to give
                us one more fright. He was lost off Dover. People from whom we enquired said, “Yes
                we saw your little boy. He was by the railings watching that big aircraft carrier.” Now Jim,
                though mischievous , is very obedient. It was not until George and I had conducted an
                exhaustive search above and below decks that I really became anxious. Could he have
                fallen overboard? Jim was returned to us by an unamused Officer. He had been found
                in one of the lifeboats on the deck forbidden to children.

                Our ship passed Dover after dark and it was an unforgettable sight. Dover Castle
                and the cliffs were floodlit for the Victory Celebrations. One of the men passengers sat
                down at the piano and played ‘The White Cliffs of Dover’, and people sang and a few
                wept. The Mantola docked at Tilbury early next morning in a steady drizzle.
                There was a dockers strike on and it took literally hours for all the luggage to be
                put ashore. The ships stewards simply locked the public rooms and went off leaving the
                passengers shivering on the docks. Eventually damp and bedraggled, we arrived at St
                Pancras Station and were given a warm welcome by George’s sister Cath and her
                husband Reg Pears, who had come all the way from Nottingham to meet us.
                As we had to spend an hour in London before our train left for Nottingham,
                George suggested that Cath and I should take the children somewhere for a meal. So
                off we set in the cold drizzle, the boys and I without coats and laden with sundry
                packages, including a hand woven native basket full of shoes. We must have looked like
                a bunch of refugees as we stood in the hall of The Kings Cross Station Hotel because a
                supercilious waiter in tails looked us up and down and said, “I’m afraid not Madam”, in
                answer to my enquiry whether the hotel could provide lunch for six.
                Anyway who cares! We had lunch instead at an ABC tea room — horrible
                sausage and a mound or rather sloppy mashed potatoes, but very good ice-cream.
                After the train journey in a very grimy third class coach, through an incredibly green and
                beautiful countryside, we eventually reached Nottingham and took a bus to Jacksdale,
                where George’s mother and sisters live in large detached houses side by side.
                Ann and George were at the bus stop waiting for us, and thank God, submitted
                to my kiss as though we had been parted for weeks instead of eight years. Even now
                that we are together again my heart aches to think of all those missed years. They have
                not changed much and I would have picked them out of a crowd, but Ann, once thin and
                pale, is now very rosy and blooming. She still has her pretty soft plaits and her eyes are
                still a clear calm blue. Young George is very striking looking with sparkling brown eyes, a
                ready, slightly lopsided smile, and charming manners.

                Mother, and George’s elder sister, Lottie Giles, welcomed us at the door with the
                cheering news that our tea was ready. Ann showed us the way to mother’s lovely lilac
                tiled bathroom for a wash before tea. Before I had even turned the tap, Jim had hung
                form the glass towel rail and it lay in three pieces on the floor. There have since been
                similar tragedies. I can see that life in civilisation is not without snags.

                I am most grateful that Ann and George have accepted us so naturally and
                affectionately. Ann said candidly, “Mummy, it’s a good thing that you had Aunt Cath with
                you when you arrived because, honestly, I wouldn’t have known you.”

                Eleanor.

                Jacksdale England 28th August 1946

                Dearest Family.

                I am sorry that I have not written for some time but honestly, I don’t know whether
                I’m coming or going. Mother handed the top floor of her house to us and the
                arrangement was that I should tidy our rooms and do our laundry and Mother would
                prepare the meals except for breakfast. It looked easy at first. All the rooms have wall to
                wall carpeting and there was a large vacuum cleaner in the box room. I was told a
                window cleaner would do the windows.

                Well the first time I used the Hoover I nearly died of fright. I pressed the switch
                and immediately there was a roar and the bag filled with air to bursting point, or so I
                thought. I screamed for Ann and she came at the run. I pointed to the bag and shouted
                above the din, “What must I do? It’s going to burst!” Ann looked at me in astonishment
                and said, “But Mummy that’s the way it works.” I couldn’t have her thinking me a
                complete fool so I switched the current off and explained to Ann how it was that I had
                never seen this type of equipment in action. How, in Tanganyika , I had never had a
                house with electricity and that, anyway, electric equipment would be superfluous
                because floors are of cement which the houseboy polishes by hand, one only has a
                few rugs or grass mats on the floor. “But what about Granny’s house in South Africa?’”
                she asked, so I explained about your Josephine who threatened to leave if you
                bought a Hoover because that would mean that you did not think she kept the house
                clean. The sad fact remains that, at fourteen, Ann knows far more about housework than I
                do, or rather did! I’m learning fast.

                The older children all go to school at different times in the morning. Ann leaves first
                by bus to go to her Grammar School at Sutton-in-Ashfield. Shortly afterwards George
                catches a bus for Nottingham where he attends the High School. So they have
                breakfast in relays, usually scrambled egg made from a revolting dried egg mixture.
                Then there are beds to make and washing and ironing to do, so I have little time for
                sightseeing, though on a few afternoons George has looked after the younger children
                and I have gone on bus tours in Derbyshire. Life is difficult here with all the restrictions on
                foodstuffs. We all have ration books so get our fair share but meat, fats and eggs are
                scarce and expensive. The weather is very wet. At first I used to hang out the washing
                and then rush to bring it in when a shower came. Now I just let it hang.

                We have left our imprint upon my Mother-in-law’s house for ever. Henry upset a
                bottle of Milk of Magnesia in the middle of the pale fawn bedroom carpet. John, trying to
                be helpful and doing some dusting, broke one of the delicate Dresden china candlesticks
                which adorn our bedroom mantelpiece.Jim and Henry have wrecked the once
                professionally landscaped garden and all the boys together bored a large hole through
                Mother’s prized cherry tree. So now Mother has given up and gone off to Bournemouth
                for a much needed holiday. Once a week I have the capable help of a cleaning woman,
                called for some reason, ‘Mrs Two’, but I have now got all the cooking to do for eight. Mrs
                Two is a godsend. She wears, of all things, a print mob cap with a hole in it. Says it
                belonged to her Grandmother. Her price is far beyond Rubies to me, not so much
                because she does, in a couple of hours, what it takes me all day to do, but because she
                sells me boxes of fifty cigarettes. Some non-smoking relative, who works in Players
                tobacco factory, passes on his ration to her. Until Mrs Two came to my rescue I had
                been starved of cigarettes. Each time I asked for them at the shop the grocer would say,
                “Are you registered with us?” Only very rarely would some kindly soul sell me a little
                packet of five Woodbines.

                England is very beautiful but the sooner we go home to Tanganyika, the better.
                On this, George and I and the children agree.

                Eleanor.

                Jacksdale England 20th September 1946

                Dearest Family.

                Our return passages have now been booked on the Winchester Castle and we
                sail from Southampton on October the sixth. I look forward to returning to Tanganyika but
                hope to visit England again in a few years time when our children are older and when
                rationing is a thing of the past.

                I have grown fond of my Sisters-in-law and admire my Mother-in-law very much.
                She has a great sense of humour and has entertained me with stories of her very
                eventful life, and told me lots of little stories of the children which did not figure in her
                letters. One which amused me was about young George. During one of the air raids
                early in the war when the sirens were screaming and bombers roaring overhead Mother
                made the two children get into the cloak cupboard under the stairs. Young George
                seemed quite unconcerned about the planes and the bombs but soon an anxious voice
                asked in the dark, “Gran, what will I do if a spider falls on me?” I am afraid that Mother is
                going to miss Ann and George very much.

                I had a holiday last weekend when Lottie and I went up to London on a spree. It
                was a most enjoyable weekend, though very rushed. We placed ourselves in the
                hands of Thos. Cook and Sons and saw most of the sights of London and were run off
                our feet in the process. As you all know London I shall not describe what I saw but just
                to say that, best of all, I enjoyed walking along the Thames embankment in the evening
                and the changing of the Guard at Whitehall. On Sunday morning Lottie and I went to
                Kew Gardens and in the afternoon walked in Kensington Gardens.

                We went to only one show, ‘The Skin of our Teeth’ starring Vivienne Leigh.
                Neither of us enjoyed the performance at all and regretted having spent so much on
                circle seats. The show was far too highbrow for my taste, a sort of satire on the survival
                of the human race. Miss Leigh was unrecognisable in a blond wig and her voice strident.
                However the night was not a dead loss as far as entertainment was concerned as we
                were later caught up in a tragicomedy at our hotel.

                We had booked communicating rooms at the enormous Imperial Hotel in Russell
                Square. These rooms were comfortably furnished but very high up, and we had a rather
                terrifying and dreary view from the windows of the enclosed courtyard far below. We
                had some snacks and a chat in Lottie’s room and then I moved to mine and went to bed.
                I had noted earlier that there was a special lock on the outer door of my room so that
                when the door was closed from the inside it automatically locked itself.
                I was just dropping off to sleep when I heard a hammering which seemed to
                come from my wardrobe. I got up, rather fearfully, and opened the wardrobe door and
                noted for the first time that the wardrobe was set in an opening in the wall and that the
                back of the wardrobe also served as the back of the wardrobe in the room next door. I
                quickly shut it again and went to confer with Lottie.

                Suddenly a male voice was raised next door in supplication, “Mary Mother of
                God, Help me! They’ve locked me in!” and the hammering resumed again, sometimes
                on the door, and then again on the back of the wardrobe of the room next door. Lottie
                had by this time joined me and together we listened to the prayers and to the
                hammering. Then the voice began to threaten, “If you don’t let me out I’ll jump out of the
                window.” Great consternation on our side of the wall. I went out into the passage and
                called through the door, “You’re not locked in. Come to your door and I’ll tell you how to
                open it.” Silence for a moment and then again the prayers followed by a threat. All the
                other doors in the corridor remained shut.

                Luckily just then a young man and a woman came walking down the corridor and I
                explained the situation. The young man hurried off for the night porter who went into the
                next door room. In a matter of minutes there was peace next door. When the night
                porter came out into the corridor again I asked for an explanation. He said quite casually,
                “It’s all right Madam. He’s an Irish Gentleman in Show Business. He gets like this on a
                Saturday night when he has had a drop too much. He won’t give any more trouble
                now.” And he didn’t. Next morning at breakfast Lottie and I tried to spot the gentleman in
                the Show Business, but saw no one who looked like the owner of that charming Irish
                voice.

                George had to go to London on business last Monday and took the older
                children with him for a few hours of sight seeing. They returned quite unimpressed.
                Everything was too old and dirty and there were far too many people about, but they
                had enjoyed riding on the escalators at the tube stations, and all agreed that the highlight
                of the trip was, “Dad took us to lunch at the Chicken Inn.”

                Now that it is almost time to leave England I am finding the housework less of a
                drudgery, Also, as it is school holiday time, Jim and Henry are able to go on walks with
                the older children and so use up some of their surplus energy. Cath and I took the
                children (except young George who went rabbit shooting with his uncle Reg, and
                Henry, who stayed at home with his dad) to the Wakes at Selston, the neighbouring
                village. There were the roundabouts and similar contraptions but the side shows had
                more appeal for the children. Ann and Kate found a stall where assorted prizes were
                spread out on a sloping table. Anyone who could land a penny squarely on one of
                these objects was given a similar one as a prize.

                I was touched to see that both girls ignored all the targets except a box of fifty
                cigarettes which they were determined to win for me. After numerous attempts, Kate
                landed her penny successfully and you would have loved to have seen her radiant little
                face.

                Eleanor.

                Dar es Salaam 22nd October 1946

                Dearest Family.

                Back in Tanganyika at last, but not together. We have to stay in Dar es Salaam
                until tomorrow when the train leaves for Dodoma. We arrived yesterday morning to find
                all the hotels filled with people waiting to board ships for England. Fortunately some
                friends came to the rescue and Ann, Kate and John have gone to stay with them. Jim,
                Henry and I are sleeping in a screened corner of the lounge of the New Africa Hotel, and
                George and young George have beds in the Palm Court of the same hotel.

                We travelled out from England in the Winchester Castle under troopship
                conditions. We joined her at Southampton after a rather slow train journey from
                Nottingham. We arrived after dark and from the station we could see a large ship in the
                docks with a floodlit red funnel. “Our ship,” yelled the children in delight, but it was not the
                Winchester Castle but the Queen Elizabeth, newly reconditioned.

                We had hoped to board our ship that evening but George made enquiries and
                found that we would not be allowed on board until noon next day. Without much hope,
                we went off to try to get accommodation for eight at a small hotel recommended by the
                taxi driver. Luckily for us there was a very motherly woman at the reception desk. She
                looked in amusement at the six children and said to me, “Goodness are all these yours,
                ducks? Then she called over her shoulder, “Wilf, come and see this lady with lots of
                children. We must try to help.” They settled the problem most satisfactorily by turning
                two rooms into a dormitory.

                In the morning we had time to inspect bomb damage in the dock area of
                Southampton. Most of the rubble had been cleared away but there are still numbers of
                damaged buildings awaiting demolition. A depressing sight. We saw the Queen Mary
                at anchor, still in her drab war time paint, but magnificent nevertheless.
                The Winchester Castle was crammed with passengers and many travelled in
                acute discomfort. We were luckier than most because the two girls, the three small boys
                and I had a stateroom to ourselves and though it was stripped of peacetime comforts,
                we had a private bathroom and toilet. The two Georges had bunks in a huge men-only
                dormitory somewhere in the bowls of the ship where they had to share communal troop
                ship facilities. The food was plentiful but unexciting and one had to queue for afternoon
                tea. During the day the decks were crowded and there was squatting room only. The
                many children on board got bored.

                Port Said provided a break and we were all entertained by the ‘Gully Gully’ man
                and his conjuring tricks, and though we had no money to spend at Simon Artz, we did at
                least have a chance to stretch our legs. Next day scores of passengers took ill with
                sever stomach upsets, whether from food poisoning, or as was rumoured, from bad
                water taken on at the Egyptian port, I don’t know. Only the two Georges in our family
                were affected and their attacks were comparatively mild.

                As we neared the Kenya port of Mombassa, the passengers for Dar es Salaam
                were told that they would have to disembark at Mombassa and continue their journey in
                a small coaster, the Al Said. The Winchester Castle is too big for the narrow channel
                which leads to Dar es Salaam harbour.

                From the wharf the Al Said looked beautiful. She was once the private yacht of
                the Sultan of Zanzibar and has lovely lines. Our admiration lasted only until we were
                shown our cabins. With one voice our children exclaimed, “Gosh they stink!” They did, of
                a mixture of rancid oil and sweat and stale urine. The beds were not yet made and the
                thin mattresses had ominous stains on them. John, ever fastidious, lifted his mattress and two enormous cockroaches scuttled for cover.

                We had a good homely lunch served by two smiling African stewards and
                afterwards we sat on deck and that was fine too, though behind ones enjoyment there
                was the thought of those stuffy and dirty cabins. That first night nearly everyone,
                including George and our older children, slept on deck. Women occupied deck chairs
                and men and children slept on the bare decks. Horrifying though the idea was, I decided
                that, as Jim had a bad cough, he, Henry and I would sleep in our cabin.

                When I announced my intention of sleeping in the cabin one of the passengers
                gave me some insecticide spray which I used lavishly, but without avail. The children
                slept but I sat up all night with the light on, determined to keep at least their pillows clear
                of the cockroaches which scurried about boldly regardless of the light. All the next day
                and night we avoided the cabins. The Al Said stopped for some hours at Zanzibar to
                offload her deck cargo of live cattle and packing cases from the hold. George and the
                elder children went ashore for a walk but I felt too lazy and there was plenty to watch
                from deck.

                That night I too occupied a deck chair and slept quite comfortably, and next
                morning we entered the palm fringed harbour of Dar es Salaam and were home.

                Eleanor.

                Mbeya 1st November 1946

                Dearest Family.

                Home at last! We are all most happily installed in a real family house about three
                miles out of Mbeya and near the school. This house belongs to an elderly German and
                has been taken over by the Custodian of Enemy Property and leased to the
                Government.

                The owner, whose name is Shenkel, was not interned but is allowed to occupy a
                smaller house on the Estate. I found him in the garden this morning lecturing the children
                on what they may do and may not do. I tried to make it quite clear to him that he was not
                our landlord, though he clearly thinks otherwise. After he had gone I had to take two
                aspirin and lie down to recover my composure! I had been warned that he has this effect
                on people.

                Mr Shenkel is a short and ugly man, his clothes are stained with food and he
                wears steel rimmed glasses tied round his head with a piece of dirty elastic because
                one earpiece is missing. He speaks with a thick German accent but his English is fluent
                and I believe he is a cultured and clever man. But he is maddening. The children were
                more amused than impressed by his exhortations and have happily Christened our
                home, ‘Old Shenks’.

                The house has very large grounds as the place is really a derelict farm. It suits us
                down to the ground. We had no sooner unpacked than George went off on safari after
                those maneating lions in the Njombe District. he accounted for one, and a further two
                jointly with a Game Scout, before we left for England. But none was shot during the five
                months we were away as George’s relief is quite inexperienced in such work. George
                thinks that there are still about a dozen maneaters at large. His theory is that a female
                maneater moved into the area in 1938 when maneating first started, and brought up her
                cubs to be maneaters, and those cubs in turn did the same. The three maneating lions
                that have been shot were all in very good condition and not old and maimed as
                maneaters usually are.

                George anticipates that it will be months before all these lions are accounted for
                because they are constantly on the move and cover a very large area. The lions have to
                be hunted on foot because they range over broken country covered by bush and fairly
                dense thicket.

                I did a bit of shooting myself yesterday and impressed our African servants and
                the children and myself. What a fluke! Our houseboy came to say that there was a snake
                in the garden, the biggest he had ever seen. He said it was too big to kill with a stick and
                would I shoot it. I had no gun but a heavy .450 Webley revolver and I took this and
                hurried out with the children at my heels.

                The snake turned out to be an unusually large puff adder which had just shed its
                skin. It looked beautiful in a repulsive way. So flanked by servants and children I took
                aim and shot, not hitting the head as I had planned, but breaking the snake’s back with
                the heavy bullet. The two native boys then rushed up with sticks and flattened the head.
                “Ma you’re a crack shot,” cried the kids in delighted surprise. I hope to rest on my laurels
                for a long, long while.

                Although there are only a few weeks of school term left the four older children will
                start school on Monday. Not only am I pleased with our new home here but also with
                the staff I have engaged. Our new houseboy, Reuben, (but renamed Robin by our
                children) is not only cheerful and willing but intelligent too, and Jumbe, the wood and
                garden boy, is a born clown and a source of great entertainment to the children.

                I feel sure that we are all going to be very happy here at ‘Old Shenks!.

                Eleanor.

                #6267
                TracyTracy
                Participant

                  From Tanganyika with Love

                  continued part 8

                  With thanks to Mike Rushby.

                  Morogoro 20th January 1941

                  Dearest Family,

                  It is all arranged for us to go on three months leave to Cape Town next month so
                  get out your flags. How I shall love showing off Kate and John to you and this time
                  George will be with us and you’ll be able to get to know him properly. You can’t think
                  what a comfort it will be to leave all the worries of baggage and tipping to him. We will all
                  be travelling by ship to Durban and from there to Cape Town by train. I rather dread the
                  journey because there is a fifth little Rushby on the way and, as always, I am very
                  queasy.

                  Kate has become such a little companion to me that I dread the thought of leaving
                  her behind with you to start schooling. I miss Ann and George so much now and must
                  face separation from Kate as well. There does not seem to be any alternative though.
                  There is a boarding school in Arusha and another has recently been started in Mbeya,
                  but both places are so far away and I know she would be very unhappy as a boarder at
                  this stage. Living happily with you and attending a day school might wean her of her
                  dependance upon me. As soon as this wretched war ends we mean to get Ann and
                  George back home and Kate too and they can then all go to boarding school together.
                  If I were a more methodical person I would try to teach Kate myself, but being a
                  muddler I will have my hands full with Johnny and the new baby. Life passes pleasantly
                  but quietly here. Much of my time is taken up with entertaining the children and sewing
                  for them and just waiting for George to come home.

                  George works so hard on these safaris and this endless elephant hunting to
                  protect native crops entails so much foot safari, that he has lost a good deal of weight. it
                  is more than ten years since he had a holiday so he is greatly looking forward to this one.
                  Four whole months together!

                  I should like to keep the ayah, Janet, for the new baby, but she says she wants
                  to return to her home in the Southern Highlands Province and take a job there. She is
                  unusually efficient and so clean, and the houseboy and cook are quite scared of her. She
                  bawls at them if the children’s meals are served a few minutes late but she is always
                  respectful towards me and practically creeps around on tiptoe when George is home.
                  She has a room next to the outside kitchen. One night thieves broke into the kitchen and
                  stole a few things, also a canvas chair and mat from the verandah. Ayah heard them, and
                  grabbing a bit of firewood, she gave chase. Her shouts so alarmed the thieves that they
                  ran off up the hill jettisoning their loot as they ran. She is a great character.

                  Eleanor.

                  Morogoro 30th July 1941

                  Dearest Family,

                  Safely back in Morogoro after a rather grim voyage from Durban. Our ship was
                  completely blacked out at night and we had to sleep with warm clothing and life belts
                  handy and had so many tedious boat drills. It was a nuisance being held up for a whole
                  month in Durban, because I was so very pregnant when we did embark. In fact George
                  suggested that I had better hide in the ‘Ladies’ until the ship sailed for fear the Captain
                  might refuse to take me. It seems that the ship, on which we were originally booked to
                  travel, was torpedoed somewhere off the Cape.

                  We have been given a very large house this tour with a mosquito netted
                  sleeping porch which will be fine for the new baby. The only disadvantage is that the
                  house is on the very edge of the residential part of Morogoro and Johnny will have to
                  go quite a distance to find playmates.

                  I still miss Kate terribly. She is a loving little person. I had prepared for a scene
                  when we said good-bye but I never expected that she would be the comforter. It
                  nearly broke my heart when she put her arms around me and said, “I’m so sorry
                  Mummy, please don’t cry. I’ll be good. Please don’t cry.” I’m afraid it was all very
                  harrowing for you also. It is a great comfort to hear that she has settled down so happily.
                  I try not to think consciously of my absent children and remind myself that there are
                  thousands of mothers in the same boat, but they are always there at the back of my
                  mind.

                  Mother writes that Ann and George are perfectly happy and well, and that though
                  German bombers do fly over fairly frequently, they are unlikely to drop their bombs on
                  a small place like Jacksdale.

                  George has already left on safari to the Rufiji. There was no replacement for his
                  job while he was away so he is anxious to get things moving again. Johnny and I are
                  going to move in with friends until he returns, just in case all the travelling around brings
                  the new baby on earlier than expected.

                  Eleanor.

                  Morogoro 26th August 1941

                  Dearest Family,

                  Our new son, James Caleb. was born at 3.30 pm yesterday afternoon, with a
                  minimum of fuss, in the hospital here. The Doctor was out so my friend, Sister Murray,
                  delivered the baby. The Sister is a Scots girl, very efficient and calm and encouraging,
                  and an ideal person to have around at such a time.

                  Everything, this time, went without a hitch and I feel fine and proud of my
                  bouncing son. He weighs nine pounds and ten ounces and is a big boned fellow with
                  dark hair and unusually strongly marked eyebrows. His eyes are strong too and already
                  seem to focus. George is delighted with him and brought Hugh Nelson to see him this
                  morning. Hugh took one look, and, astonished I suppose by the baby’s apparent
                  awareness, said, “Gosh, this one has been here before.” The baby’s cot is beside my
                  bed so I can admire him as much as I please. He has large strong hands and George
                  reckons he’ll make a good boxer some day.

                  Another of my early visitors was Mabemba, George’s orderly. He is a very big
                  African and looks impressive in his Game Scouts uniform. George met him years ago at
                  Mahenge when he was a young elephant hunter and Mabemba was an Askari in the
                  Police. Mabemba takes quite a proprietary interest in the family.

                  Eleanor.

                  Morogoro 25th December 1941

                  Dearest Family,

                  Christmas Day today, but not a gay one. I have Johnny in bed with a poisoned
                  leg so he missed the children’s party at the Club. To make things a little festive I have
                  put up a little Christmas tree in the children’s room and have hung up streamers and
                  balloons above the beds. Johnny demands a lot of attention so it is fortunate that little
                  James is such a very good baby. He sleeps all night until 6 am when his feed is due.
                  One morning last week I got up as usual to feed him but I felt so dopey that I
                  thought I’d better have a cold wash first. I went into the bathroom and had a hurried
                  splash and then grabbed a towel to dry my face. Immediately I felt an agonising pain in
                  my nose. Reason? There was a scorpion in the towel! In no time at all my nose looked
                  like a pear and felt burning hot. The baby screamed with frustration whilst I feverishly
                  bathed my nose and applied this and that in an effort to cool it.

                  For three days my nose was very red and tender,”A real boozer nose”, said
                  George. But now, thank goodness, it is back to normal.

                  Some of the younger marrieds and a couple of bachelors came around,
                  complete with portable harmonium, to sing carols in the early hours. No sooner had we
                  settled down again to woo sleep when we were disturbed by shouts and screams from
                  our nearest neighbour’s house. “Just celebrating Christmas”, grunted George, but we
                  heard this morning that the neighbour had fallen down his verandah steps and broken his
                  leg.

                  Eleanor.

                  Morogoro Hospital 30th September 1943

                  Dearest Family,

                  Well now we are eight! Our new son, Henry, was born on the night of the 28th.
                  He is a beautiful baby, weighing ten pounds three and a half ounces. This baby is very
                  well developed, handsome, and rather superior looking, and not at all amusing to look at
                  as the other boys were.George was born with a moustache, John had a large nose and
                  looked like a little old man, and Jim, bless his heart, looked rather like a baby
                  chimpanzee. Henry is different. One of my visitors said, “Heaven he’ll have to be a
                  Bishop!” I expect the lawn sleeves of his nightie really gave her that idea, but the baby
                  does look like ‘Someone’. He is very good and George, John, and Jim are delighted
                  with him, so is Mabemba.

                  We have a dear little nurse looking after us. She is very petite and childish
                  looking. When the baby was born and she brought him for me to see, the nurse asked
                  his name. I said jokingly, “His name is Benjamin – the last of the family.” She is now very
                  peeved to discover that his real name is Henry William and persists in calling him
                  ‘Benjie’.I am longing to get home and into my pleasant rut. I have been away for two
                  whole weeks and George is managing so well that I shall feel quite expendable if I don’t
                  get home soon. As our home is a couple of miles from the hospital, I arranged to move
                  in and stay with the nursing sister on the day the baby was due. There I remained for ten
                  whole days before the baby was born. Each afternoon George came and took me for a
                  ride in the bumpy Bedford lorry and the Doctor tried this and that but the baby refused
                  to be hurried.

                  On the tenth day I had the offer of a lift and decided to go home for tea and
                  surprise George. It was a surprise too, because George was entertaining a young
                  Game Ranger for tea and my arrival, looking like a perambulating big top, must have
                  been rather embarrassing.Henry was born at the exact moment that celebrations started
                  in the Township for the end of the Muslim religious festival of Ramadan. As the Doctor
                  held him up by his ankles, there was the sound of hooters and firecrackers from the town.
                  The baby has a birthmark in the shape of a crescent moon above his left eyebrow.

                  Eleanor.

                  Morogoro 26th January 1944

                  Dearest Family,

                  We have just heard that we are to be transferred to the Headquarters of the
                  Game Department at a place called Lyamungu in the Northern Province. George is not
                  at all pleased because he feels that the new job will entail a good deal of office work and
                  that his beloved but endless elephant hunting will be considerably curtailed. I am glad of
                  that and I am looking forward to seeing a new part of Tanganyika and particularly
                  Kilimanjaro which dominates Lyamungu.

                  Thank goodness our menagerie is now much smaller. We found a home for the
                  guinea pigs last December and Susie, our mischievous guinea-fowl, has flown off to find
                  a mate.Last week I went down to Dar es Salaam for a check up by Doctor John, a
                  woman doctor, leaving George to cope with the three boys. I was away two nights and
                  a day and returned early in the morning just as George was giving Henry his six o’clock
                  bottle. It always amazes me that so very masculine a man can do my chores with no
                  effort and I have a horrible suspicion that he does them better than I do. I enjoyed the
                  short break at the coast very much. I stayed with friends and we bathed in the warm sea
                  and saw a good film.

                  Now I suppose there will be a round of farewell parties. People in this country
                  are most kind and hospitable.

                  Eleanor.

                  Lyamungu 20th March 1944

                  Dearest Family,

                  We left Morogoro after the round of farewell parties I had anticipated. The final
                  one was at the Club on Saturday night. George made a most amusing speech and the
                  party was a very pleasant occasion though I was rather tired after all the packing.
                  Several friends gathered to wave us off on Monday morning. We had two lorries
                  loaded with our goods. I rode in the cab of the first one with Henry on my knee. George
                  with John and Jim rode in the second one. As there was no room for them in the cab,
                  they sat on our couch which was placed across the width of the lorry behind the cab. This
                  seat was not as comfortable as it sounds, because the space behind the couch was
                  taken up with packing cases which were not lashed in place and these kept moving
                  forward as the lorry bumped its way over the bad road.

                  Soon there was hardly any leg room and George had constantly to stand up and
                  push the second layer of packing cases back to prevent them from toppling over onto
                  the children and himself. As it is now the rainy season the road was very muddy and
                  treacherous and the lorries travelled so slowly it was dark by the time we reached
                  Karogwe from where we were booked to take the train next morning to Moshi.
                  Next morning we heard that there had been a washaway on the line and that the
                  train would be delayed for at least twelve hours. I was not feeling well and certainly did
                  not enjoy my day. Early in the afternoon Jimmy ran into a wall and blackened both his
                  eyes. What a child! As the day wore on I felt worse and worse and when at last the train
                  did arrive I simply crawled into my bunk whilst George coped nobly with the luggage
                  and the children.

                  We arrived at Moshi at breakfast time and went straight to the Lion Cub Hotel
                  where I took to my bed with a high temperature. It was, of course, malaria. I always have
                  my attacks at the most inopportune times. Fortunately George ran into some friends
                  called Eccles and the wife Mollie came to my room and bathed Henry and prepared his
                  bottle and fed him. George looked after John and Jim. Next day I felt much better and
                  we drove out to Lyamungu the day after. There we had tea with the Game Warden and
                  his wife before moving into our new home nearby.

                  The Game Warden is Captain Monty Moore VC. He came out to Africa
                  originally as an Officer in the King’s African Rifles and liked the country so much he left the
                  Army and joined the Game Department. He was stationed at Banagi in the Serengetti
                  Game Reserve and is well known for his work with the lions there. He particularly tamed
                  some of the lions by feeding them so that they would come out into the open and could
                  readily be photographed by tourists. His wife Audrey, has written a book about their
                  experiences at Banagi. It is called “Serengetti”

                  Our cook, Hamisi, soon had a meal ready for us and we all went to bed early.
                  This is a very pleasant house and I know we will be happy here. I still feel a little shaky
                  but that is the result of all the quinine I have taken. I expect I shall feel fine in a day or two.

                  Eleanor.

                  Lyamungu 15th May 1944

                  Dearest Family,

                  Well, here we are settled comfortably in our very nice house. The house is
                  modern and roomy, and there is a large enclosed verandah, which will be a Godsend in
                  the wet weather as a playroom for the children. The only drawback is that there are so
                  many windows to be curtained and cleaned. The grounds consist of a very large lawn
                  and a few beds of roses and shrubs. It is an ideal garden for children, unlike our steeply
                  terraced garden at Morogoro.

                  Lyamungu is really the Government Coffee Research Station. It is about sixteen
                  miles from the town of Moshi which is the centre of the Tanganyika coffee growing
                  industry. Lyamungu, which means ‘place of God’ is in the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro and
                  we have a beautiful view of Kilimanjaro. Kibo, the more spectacular of the two mountain
                  peaks, towers above us, looking from this angle, like a giant frosted plum pudding. Often the mountain is veiled by cloud and mist which sometimes comes down to
                  our level so that visibility is practically nil. George dislikes both mist and mountain but I
                  like both and so does John. He in fact saw Kibo before I did. On our first day here, the
                  peak was completely hidden by cloud. In the late afternoon when the children were
                  playing on the lawn outside I was indoors hanging curtains. I heard John call out, “Oh
                  Mummy, isn’t it beautiful!” I ran outside and there, above a scarf of cloud, I saw the
                  showy dome of Kibo with the setting sun shining on it tingeing the snow pink. It was an
                  unforgettable experience.

                  As this is the rainy season, the surrounding country side is very lush and green.
                  Everywhere one sees the rich green of the coffee plantations and the lighter green of
                  the banana groves. Unfortunately our walks are rather circumscribed. Except for the main road to Moshi, there is nowhere to walk except through the Government coffee
                  plantation. Paddy, our dog, thinks life is pretty boring as there is no bush here and
                  nothing to hunt. There are only half a dozen European families here and half of those are
                  on very distant terms with the other half which makes the station a rather uncomfortable
                  one.

                  The coffee expert who runs this station is annoyed because his European staff
                  has been cut down owing to the war, and three of the vacant houses and some office
                  buildings have been taken over temporarily by the Game Department. Another house
                  has been taken over by the head of the Labour Department. However I don’t suppose
                  the ill feeling will effect us much. We are so used to living in the bush that we are not
                  socially inclined any way.

                  Our cook, Hamisi, came with us from Morogoro but I had to engage a new
                  houseboy and kitchenboy. I first engaged a houseboy who produced a wonderful ‘chit’
                  in which his previous employer describes him as his “friend and confidant”. I felt rather
                  dubious about engaging him and how right I was. On his second day with us I produced
                  some of Henry’s napkins, previously rinsed by me, and asked this boy to wash them.
                  He looked most offended and told me that it was beneath his dignity to do women’s
                  work. We parted immediately with mutual relief.

                  Now I have a good natured fellow named Japhet who, though hard on crockery,
                  is prepared to do anything and loves playing with the children. He is a local boy, a
                  member of the Chagga tribe. These Chagga are most intelligent and, on the whole, well
                  to do as they all have their own small coffee shambas. Japhet tells me that his son is at
                  the Uganda University College studying medicine.The kitchen boy is a tall youth called
                  Tovelo, who helps both Hamisi, the cook, and the houseboy and also keeps an eye on
                  Henry when I am sewing. I still make all the children’s clothes and my own. Life is
                  pleasant but dull. George promises that he will take the whole family on safari when
                  Henry is a little older.

                  Eleanor.

                  Lyamungu 18th July 1944

                  Dearest Family,

                  Life drifts quietly by at Lyamungu with each day much like the one before – or
                  they would be, except that the children provide the sort of excitement that prohibits
                  boredom. Of the three boys our Jim is the best at this. Last week Jim wandered into the
                  coffee plantation beside our house and chewed some newly spayed berries. Result?
                  A high temperature and nasty, bloody diarrhoea, so we had to rush him to the hospital at
                  Moshi for treatment. however he was well again next day and George went off on safari.
                  That night there was another crisis. As the nights are now very cold, at this high
                  altitude, we have a large fire lit in the living room and the boy leaves a pile of logs
                  beside the hearth so that I can replenish the fire when necessary. Well that night I took
                  Henry off to bed, leaving John and Jim playing in the living room. When their bedtime
                  came, I called them without leaving the bedroom. When I had tucked John and Jim into
                  bed, I sat reading a bedtime story as I always do. Suddenly I saw smoke drifting
                  through the door, and heard a frightening rumbling noise. Japhet rushed in to say that the
                  lounge chimney was on fire! Picture me, panic on the inside and sweet smile on the
                  outside, as I picked Henry up and said to the other two, “There’s nothing to be
                  frightened about chaps, but get up and come outside for a bit.” Stupid of me to be so
                  heroic because John and Jim were not at all scared but only too delighted at the chance
                  of rushing about outside in the dark. The fire to them was just a bit of extra fun.

                  We hurried out to find one boy already on the roof and the other passing up a
                  brimming bucket of water. Other boys appeared from nowhere and soon cascades of
                  water were pouring down the chimney. The result was a mountain of smouldering soot
                  on the hearth and a pool of black water on the living room floor. However the fire was out
                  and no serious harm done because all the floors here are cement and another stain on
                  the old rug will hardly be noticed. As the children reluctantly returned to bed John
                  remarked smugly, “I told Jim not to put all the wood on the fire at once but he wouldn’t
                  listen.” I might have guessed!

                  However it was not Jim but John who gave me the worst turn of all this week. As
                  a treat I decided to take the boys to the river for a picnic tea. The river is not far from our
                  house but we had never been there before so I took the kitchen boy, Tovelo, to show
                  us the way. The path is on the level until one is in sight of the river when the bank slopes
                  steeply down. I decided that it was too steep for the pram so I stopped to lift Henry out
                  and carry him. When I looked around I saw John running down the slope towards the
                  river. The stream is not wide but flows swiftly and I had no idea how deep it was. All I
                  knew was that it was a trout stream. I called for John, “Stop, wait for me!” but he ran on
                  and made for a rude pole bridge which spanned the river. He started to cross and then,
                  to my horror, I saw John slip. There was a splash and he disappeared under the water. I
                  just dumped the baby on the ground, screamed to the boy to mind him and ran madly
                  down the slope to the river. Suddenly I saw John’s tight fitting felt hat emerge, then his
                  eyes and nose. I dashed into the water and found, to my intense relief, that it only
                  reached up to my shoulders but, thank heaven no further. John’s steady eyes watched
                  me trustingly as I approached him and carried him safely to the bank. He had been
                  standing on a rock and had not panicked at all though he had to stand up very straight
                  and tall to keep his nose out of water. I was too proud of him to scold him for
                  disobedience and too wet anyway.

                  I made John undress and put on two spare pullovers and wrapped Henry’s
                  baby blanket round his waist like a sarong. We made a small fire over which I crouched
                  with literally chattering teeth whilst Tovelo ran home to fetch a coat for me and dry clothes
                  for John.

                  Eleanor.

                  Lyamungu 16th August 1944

                  Dearest Family,

                  We have a new bull terrier bitch pup whom we have named Fanny III . So once
                  more we have a menagerie , the two dogs, two cats Susie and Winnie, and
                  some pet hens who live in the garage and are a real nuisance.

                  As John is nearly six I thought it time that he started lessons and wrote off to Dar
                  es Salaam for the correspondence course. We have had one week of lessons and I am
                  already in a state of physical and mental exhaustion. John is a most reluctant scholar.
                  “Why should I learn to read, when you can read to me?” he asks, and “Anyway why
                  should I read such stupid stuff, ‘Run Rover Run’, and ‘Mother play with baby’ . Who
                  wants to read about things like that? I don’t.”

                  He rather likes sums, but the only subject about which he is enthusiastic is
                  prehistoric history. He laps up information about ‘The Tree Dwellers’, though he is very
                  sceptical about the existence of such people. “God couldn’t be so silly to make people
                  so stupid. Fancy living in trees when it is easy to make huts like the natives.” ‘The Tree
                  Dwellers is a highly imaginative story about a revolting female called Sharptooth and her
                  offspring called Bodo. I have a very clear mental image of Sharptooth, so it came as a
                  shock to me and highly amused George when John looked at me reflectively across the
                  tea table and said, “Mummy I expect Sharptooth looked like you. You have a sharp
                  tooth too!” I have, my eye teeth are rather sharp, but I hope the resemblance stops
                  there.

                  John has an uncomfortably logical mind for a small boy. The other day he was
                  lying on the lawn staring up at the clouds when he suddenly muttered “I don’t believe it.”
                  “Believe what?” I asked. “That Jesus is coming on a cloud one day. How can he? The
                  thick ones always stay high up. What’s he going to do, jump down with a parachute?”
                  Tovelo, my kitchen boy, announced one evening that his grandmother was in the
                  kitchen and wished to see me. She was a handsome and sensible Chagga woman who
                  brought sad news. Her little granddaughter had stumbled backwards into a large cooking
                  pot of almost boiling maize meal porridge and was ‘ngongwa sana’ (very ill). I grabbed
                  a large bottle of Picric Acid and a packet of gauze which we keep for these emergencies
                  and went with her, through coffee shambas and banana groves to her daughter’s house.
                  Inside the very neat thatched hut the mother sat with the naked child lying face
                  downwards on her knee. The child’s buttocks and the back of her legs were covered in
                  huge burst blisters from which a watery pus dripped. It appeared that the accident had
                  happened on the previous day.

                  I could see that it was absolutely necessary to clean up the damaged area, and I
                  suddenly remembered that there was a trained African hospital dresser on the station. I
                  sent the father to fetch him and whilst the dresser cleaned off the sloughed skin with
                  forceps and swabs saturated in Picric Acid, I cut the gauze into small squares which I
                  soaked in the lotion and laid on the cleaned area. I thought the small pieces would be
                  easier to change especially as the whole of the most tender parts, front and back, were
                  badly scalded. The child seemed dazed and neither the dresser nor I thought she would
                  live. I gave her half an aspirin and left three more half tablets to be given four hourly.
                  Next day she seemed much brighter. I poured more lotion on the gauze
                  disturbing as few pieces as possible and again the next day and the next. After a week
                  the skin was healing well and the child eating normally. I am sure she will be all right now.
                  The new skin is a brilliant red and very shiny but it is pale round the edges of the burnt
                  area and will I hope later turn brown. The mother never uttered a word of thanks, but the
                  granny is grateful and today brought the children a bunch of bananas.

                  Eleanor.

                  c/o Game Dept. P.O.Moshi. 29th September 1944

                  Dearest Mummy,

                  I am so glad that you so enjoyed my last letter with the description of our very
                  interesting and enjoyable safari through Masailand. You said you would like an even
                  fuller description of it to pass around amongst the relations, so, to please you, I have
                  written it out in detail and enclose the result.

                  We have spent a quiet week after our exertions and all are well here.

                  Very much love,
                  Eleanor.

                  Safari in Masailand

                  George and I were at tea with our three little boys on the front lawn of our house
                  in Lyamungu, Northern Tanganyika. It was John’s sixth birthday and he and Jim, a
                  happy sturdy three year old, and Henry, aged eleven months, were munching the
                  squares of plain chocolate which rounded off the party, when George said casually
                  across the table to me, “Could you be ready by the day after tomorrow to go on
                  safari?” “Me too?” enquired John anxiously, before I had time to reply, and “Me too?”
                  echoed Jim. “yes, of course I can”, said I to George and “of course you’re coming too”,
                  to the children who rate a day spent in the bush higher than any other pleasure.
                  So in the early morning two days later, we started out happily for Masailand in a
                  three ton Ford lorry loaded to capacity with the five Rushbys, the safari paraphernalia,
                  drums of petrol and quite a retinue of servants and Game Scouts. George travelling
                  alone on his monthly safaris, takes only the cook and a couple of Game Scouts, but this was to be a safari de luxe.

                  Henry and I shared the cab with George who was driving, whilst John and Jim
                  with the faithful orderly Mabemba beside them to point out the game animals, were
                  installed upon rolls of bedding in the body of the lorry. The lorry lumbered along, first
                  through coffee shambas, and then along the main road between Moshi and Arusha.
                  After half an hour or so, we turned South off the road into a track which crossed the
                  Sanya Plains and is the beginning of this part of Masailand. Though the dry season was
                  at its height, and the pasture dry and course, we were soon passing small groups of
                  game. This area is a Game Sanctuary and the antelope grazed quietly quite undisturbed
                  by the passing lorry. Here and there zebra stood bunched by the road, a few wild
                  ostriches stalked jerkily by, and in the distance some wildebeest cavorted around in their
                  crazy way.

                  Soon the grasslands gave way to thorn bush, and we saw six fantastically tall
                  giraffe standing motionless with their heads turned enquiringly towards us. George
                  stopped the lorry so the children could have a good view of them. John was enchanted
                  but Jim, alas, was asleep.

                  At mid day we reached the Kikoletwa River and turned aside to camp. Beside
                  the river, under huge leafy trees, there was a beautiful camping spot, but the river was
                  deep and reputed to be full of crocodiles so we passed it by and made our camp
                  some distance from the river under a tall thorn tree with a flat lacy canopy. All around the
                  camp lay uprooted trees of similar size that had been pushed over by elephants. As
                  soon as the lorry stopped a camp chair was set up for me and the Game Scouts quickly
                  slashed down grass and cleared the camp site of thorns. The same boys then pitched the tent whilst George himself set up the three camp beds and the folding cot for Henry,
                  and set up the safari table and the canvas wash bowl and bath.

                  The cook in the meantime had cleared a cool spot for the kitchen , opened up the
                  chop boxes and started a fire. The cook’s boy and the dhobi (laundry boy) brought
                  water from the rather muddy river and tea was served followed shortly afterward by an
                  excellent lunch. In a very short time the camp had a suprisingly homely look. Nappies
                  fluttered from a clothes line, Henry slept peacefully in his cot, John and Jim sprawled on
                  one bed looking at comics, and I dozed comfortably on another.

                  George, with the Game Scouts, drove off in the lorry about his work. As a Game
                  Ranger it is his business to be on a constant look out for poachers, both African and
                  European, and for disease in game which might infect the valuable herds of Masai cattle.
                  The lorry did not return until dusk by which time the children had bathed enthusiastically in
                  the canvas bath and were ready for supper and bed. George backed the lorry at right
                  angles to the tent, Henry’s cot and two camp beds were set up in the lorry, the tarpaulin
                  was lashed down and the children put to bed in their novel nursery.

                  When darkness fell a large fire was lit in front of the camp, the exited children at
                  last fell asleep and George and I sat on by the fire enjoying the cool and quiet night.
                  When the fire subsided into a bed of glowing coals, it was time for our bed. During the
                  night I was awakened by the sound of breaking branches and strange indescribable
                  noises.” Just elephant”, said George comfortably and instantly fell asleep once more. I
                  didn’t! We rose with the birds next morning, but breakfast was ready and in a
                  remarkably short time the lorry had been reloaded and we were once more on our way.
                  For about half a mile we made our own track across the plain and then we turned
                  into the earth road once more. Soon we had reached the river and were looking with
                  dismay at the suspension bridge which we had to cross. At the far side, one steel
                  hawser was missing and there the bridge tilted dangerously. There was no handrail but
                  only heavy wooden posts which marked the extremities of the bridge. WhenGeorge
                  measured the distance between the posts he found that there could be barely two
                  inches to spare on either side of the cumbersome lorry.

                  He decided to risk crossing, but the children and I and all the servants were told to
                  cross the bridge and go down the track out of sight. The Game Scouts remained on the
                  river bank on the far side of the bridge and stood ready for emergencies. As I walked
                  along anxiously listening, I was horrified to hear the lorry come to a stop on the bridge.
                  There was a loud creaking noise and I instantly visualised the lorry slowly toppling over
                  into the deep crocodile infested river. The engine restarted, the lorry crossed the bridge
                  and came slowly into sight around the bend. My heart slid back into its normal position.
                  George was as imperturbable as ever and simply remarked that it had been a near
                  thing and that we would return to Lyamungu by another route.

                  Beyond the green river belt the very rutted track ran through very uninteresting
                  thorn bush country. Henry was bored and tiresome, jumping up and down on my knee
                  and yelling furiously. “Teeth”, said I apologetically to George, rashly handing a match
                  box to Henry to keep him quiet. No use at all! With a fat finger he poked out the tray
                  spilling the matches all over me and the floor. Within seconds Henry had torn the
                  matchbox to pieces with his teeth and flung the battered remains through the window.
                  An empty cigarette box met with the same fate as the match box and the yells
                  continued unabated until Henry slept from sheer exhaustion. George gave me a smile,
                  half sympathetic and half sardonic, “Enjoying the safari, my love?” he enquired. On these
                  trying occasions George has the inestimable advantage of being able to go into a Yogilike
                  trance, whereas I become irritated to screaming point.

                  In an effort to prolong Henry’s slumber I braced my feet against the floor boards
                  and tried to turn myself into a human shock absorber as we lurched along the eroded
                  track. Several times my head made contact with the bolt of a rifle in the rack above, and
                  once I felt I had shattered my knee cap against the fire extinguisher in a bracket under the
                  dash board.

                  Strange as it may seem, I really was enjoying the trip in spite of these
                  discomforts. At last after three years I was once more on safari with George. This type of
                  country was new to me and there was so much to see We passed a family of giraffe
                  standing in complete immobility only a few yards from the track. Little dick-dick. one of the smallest of the antelope, scuttled in pairs across the road and that afternoon I had my first view of Gerenuk, curious red brown antelope with extremely elongated legs and giraffe-like necks.

                  Most interesting of all was my first sight of Masai at home. We could hear a tuneful
                  jangle of cattle bells and suddenly came across herds of humped cattle browsing upon
                  the thorn bushes. The herds were guarded by athletic,striking looking Masai youths and men.
                  Each had a calabash of water slung over his shoulder and a tall, highly polished spear in his
                  hand. These herdsmen were quite unselfconscious though they wore no clothing except for one carelessly draped blanket. Very few gave us any greeting but glanced indifferently at us from under fringes of clay-daubed plaited hair . The rest of their hair was drawn back behind the ears to display split earlobes stretched into slender loops by the weight of heavy brass or copper tribal ear rings.

                  Most of the villages were set well back in the bush out of sight of the road but we did pass one
                  typical village which looked most primitive indeed. It consisted simply of a few mound like mud huts which were entirely covered with a plaster of mud and cattle dung and the whole clutch of huts were surrounded by a ‘boma’ of thorn to keep the cattle in at night and the lions out. There was a gathering of women and children on the road at this point. The children of both sexes were naked and unadorned, but the women looked very fine indeed. This is not surprising for they have little to do but adorn themselves, unlike their counterparts of other tribes who have to work hard cultivating the fields. The Masai women, and others I saw on safari, were far more amiable and cheerful looking than the men and were well proportioned.

                  They wore skirts of dressed goat skin, knee length in front but ankle length behind. Their arms
                  from elbow to wrist, and legs from knee to ankle, were encased in tight coils of copper and
                  galvanised wire. All had their heads shaved and in some cases bound by a leather band
                  embroidered in red white and blue beads. Circular ear rings hung from slit earlobes and their
                  handsome throats were encircled by stiff wire necklaces strung with brightly coloured beads. These
                  necklaces were carefully graded in size and formed deep collars almost covering their breasts.
                  About a quarter of a mile further along the road we met eleven young braves in gala attire, obviously on their way to call on the girls. They formed a line across the road and danced up and down until the lorry was dangerously near when they parted and grinned cheerfully at us. These were the only cheerful
                  looking male Masai that I saw. Like the herdsmen these youths wore only a blanket, but their
                  blankets were ochre colour, and elegantly draped over their backs. Their naked bodies gleamed with oil. Several had painted white stripes on their faces, and two had whitewashed their faces entirely which I
                  thought a pity. All had their long hair elaborately dressed and some carried not only one,
                  but two gleaming spears.

                  By mid day George decided that we had driven far enough for that day. He
                  stopped the lorry and consulted a rather unreliable map. “Somewhere near here is a
                  place called Lolbeni,” he said. “The name means Sweet Water, I hear that the
                  government have piped spring water down from the mountain into a small dam at which
                  the Masai water their cattle.” Lolbeni sounded pleasant to me. Henry was dusty and
                  cross, the rubber sheet had long slipped from my lap to the floor and I was conscious of
                  a very damp lap. ‘Sweet Waters’ I felt, would put all that right. A few hundred yards
                  away a small herd of cattle was grazing, so George lit his pipe and relaxed at last, whilst
                  a Game Scout went off to find the herdsman. The scout soon returned with an ancient
                  and emaciated Masai who was thrilled at the prospect of his first ride in a lorry and
                  offered to direct us to Lolbeni which was off the main track and about four miles away.

                  Once Lolbeni had been a small administrative post and a good track had
                  led to it, but now the Post had been abandoned and the road is dotted with vigourous
                  thorn bushes and the branches of larger thorn trees encroach on the track The road had
                  deteriorated to a mere cattle track, deeply rutted and eroded by heavy rains over a
                  period of years. The great Ford truck, however, could take it. It lurched victoriously along,
                  mowing down the obstructions, tearing off branches from encroaching thorn trees with its
                  high railed sides, spanning gorges in the track, and climbing in and out of those too wide
                  to span. I felt an army tank could not have done better.

                  I had expected Lolbeni to be a green oasis in a desert of grey thorns, but I was
                  quickly disillusioned. To be sure the thorn trees were larger and more widely spaced and
                  provided welcome shade, but the ground under the trees had been trampled by thousands of cattle into a dreary expanse of dirty grey sand liberally dotted with cattle droppings and made still more uninviting by the bleached bones of dead beasts.

                  To the right of this waste rose a high green hill which gave the place its name and from which
                  the precious water was piped, but its slopes were too steep to provide a camping site.
                  Flies swarmed everywhere and I was most relieved when George said that we would
                  stay only long enough to fill our cans with water. Even the water was a disappointment!
                  The water in the small dam was low and covered by a revolting green scum, and though
                  the water in the feeding pipe was sweet, it trickled so feebly that it took simply ages to
                  fill a four gallon can.

                  However all these disappointments were soon forgotten for we drove away
                  from the flies and dirt and trampled sand and soon, with their quiet efficiency, George
                  and his men set up a comfortable camp. John and Jim immediately started digging
                  operations in the sandy soil whilst Henry and I rested. After tea George took his shot
                  gun and went off to shoot guinea fowl and partridges for the pot. The children and I went
                  walking, keeping well in site of camp, and soon we saw a very large flock of Vulturine
                  Guineafowl, running aimlessly about and looking as tame as barnyard fowls, but melting
                  away as soon as we moved in their direction.

                  We had our second quiet and lovely evening by the camp fire, followed by a
                  peaceful night.

                  We left Lolbeni very early next morning, which was a good thing, for as we left
                  camp the herds of thirsty cattle moved in from all directions. They were accompanied by
                  Masai herdsmen, their naked bodies and blankets now covered by volcanic dust which
                  was being stirred in rising clouds of stifling ash by the milling cattle, and also by grey
                  donkeys laden with panniers filled with corked calabashes for water.

                  Our next stop was Nabarera, a Masai cattle market and trading centre, where we
                  reluctantly stayed for two days in a pokey Goverment Resthouse because George had
                  a job to do in that area. The rest was good for Henry who promptly produced a tooth
                  and was consequently much better behaved for the rest of the trip. George was away in the bush most of the day but he returned for afternoon tea and later took the children out
                  walking. We had noticed curious white dumps about a quarter mile from the resthouse
                  and on the second afternoon we set out to investigate them. Behind the dumps we
                  found passages about six foot wide, cut through solid limestone. We explored two of
                  these and found that both passages led steeply down to circular wells about two and a
                  half feet in diameter.

                  At the very foot of each passage, beside each well, rough drinking troughs had
                  been cut in the stone. The herdsmen haul the water out of the well in home made hide
                  buckets, the troughs are filled and the cattle driven down the ramps to drink at the trough.
                  It was obvious that the wells were ancient and the sloping passages new. George tells
                  me that no one knows what ancient race dug the original wells. It seems incredible that
                  these deep and narrow shafts could have been sunk without machinery. I craned my
                  neck and looked above one well and could see an immensely long shaft reaching up to
                  ground level. Small footholds were cut in the solid rock as far as I could see.
                  It seems that the Masai are as ignorant as ourselves about the origin of these
                  wells. They do say however that when their forebears first occupied what is now known
                  as Masailand, they not only found the Wanderobo tribe in the area but also a light
                  skinned people and they think it possible that these light skinned people dug the wells.
                  These people disappeared. They may have been absorbed or, more likely, they were
                  liquidated.

                  The Masai had found the well impractical in their original form and had hired
                  labourers from neighbouring tribes to cut the passages to water level. Certainly the Masai are not responsible for the wells. They are a purely pastoral people and consider manual labour extremely degrading.

                  They live chiefly on milk from their herd which they allow to go sour, and mix with blood that has been skilfully tapped from the necks of living cattle. They do not eat game meat, nor do they cultivate any
                  land. They hunt with spears, but hunt only lions, to protect their herds, and to test the skill
                  and bravery of their young warriors. What little grain they do eat is transported into
                  Masailand by traders. The next stage of our journey took us to Ngassamet where
                  George was to pick up some elephant tusks. I had looked forward particularly to this
                  stretch of road for I had heard that there was a shallow lake at which game congregates,
                  and at which I had great hopes of seeing elephants. We had come too late in the
                  season though, the lake was dry and there were only piles of elephant droppings to
                  prove that elephant had recently been there in numbers. Ngassamet, though no beauty
                  spot, was interesting. We saw more elaborate editions of the wells already described, and as this area
                  is rich in cattle we saw the aristocrats of the Masai. You cannot conceive of a more arrogant looking male than a young Masai brave striding by on sandalled feet, unselfconscious in all his glory. All the young men wore the casually draped traditional ochre blanket and carried one or more spears. But here belts and long knife sheaths of scarlet leather seem to be the fashion. Here fringes do not seem to be the thing. Most of these young Masai had their hair drawn smoothly back and twisted in a pointed queue, the whole plastered with a smooth coating of red clay. Some tied their horn shaped queues over their heads
                  so that the tip formed a deep Satanic peak on the brow. All these young men wore the traditional
                  copper earrings and I saw one or two with copper bracelets and one with a necklace of brightly coloured
                  beads.

                  It so happened that, on the day of our visit to Ngassamet, there had been a
                  baraza (meeting) which was attended by all the local headmen and elders. These old
                  men came to pay their respects to George and a more shrewd and rascally looking
                  company I have never seen, George told me that some of these men own up to three
                  thousand head of cattle and more. The chief was as fat and Rabelasian as his second in
                  command was emaciated, bucktoothed and prim. The Chief shook hands with George
                  and greeted me and settled himself on the wall of the resthouse porch opposite
                  George. The lesser headmen, after politely greeting us, grouped themselves in a
                  semi circle below the steps with their ‘aides’ respectfully standing behind them. I
                  remained sitting in the only chair and watched the proceedings with interest and
                  amusement.

                  These old Masai, I noticed, cared nothing for adornment. They had proved
                  themselves as warriors in the past and were known to be wealthy and influential so did
                  not need to make any display. Most of them had their heads comfortably shaved and
                  wore only a drab blanket or goatskin cloak. Their only ornaments were earrings whose
                  effect was somewhat marred by the serviceable and homely large safety pin that
                  dangled from the lobe of one ear. All carried staves instead of spears and all, except for
                  Buckteeth and one blind old skeleton of a man, appeared to have a keenly developed
                  sense of humour.

                  “Mummy?” asked John in an urgent whisper, “Is that old blind man nearly dead?”
                  “Yes dear”, said I, “I expect he’ll soon die.” “What here?” breathed John in a tone of
                  keen anticipation and, until the meeting broke up and the old man left, he had John’s
                  undivided attention.

                  After local news and the game situation had been discussed, the talk turned to the
                  war. “When will the war end?” moaned the fat Chief. “We have made great gifts of cattle
                  to the War Funds, we are taxed out of existence.” George replied with the Ki-Swahili
                  equivalent of ‘Sez you!’. This sally was received with laughter and the old fellows rose to
                  go. They made their farewells and dignified exits, pausing on their way to stare at our
                  pink and white Henry, who sat undismayed in his push chair giving them stare for stare
                  from his striking grey eyes.

                  Towards evening some Masai, prompted no doubt by our native servants,
                  brought a sheep for sale. It was the last night of the fast of Ramadan and our
                  Mohammedan boys hoped to feast next day at our expense. Their faces fell when
                  George refused to buy the animal. “Why should I pay fifteen shillings for a sheep?” he
                  asked, “Am I not the Bwana Nyama and is not the bush full of my sheep?” (Bwana
                  Nyama is the native name for a Game Ranger, but means literally, ‘Master of the meat’)
                  George meant that he would shoot a buck for the men next day, but this incident was to
                  have a strange sequel. Ngassamet resthouse consists of one room so small we could
                  not put up all our camp beds and George and I slept on the cement floor which was
                  unkind to my curves. The night was bitterly cold and all night long hyaenas screeched
                  hideously outside. So we rose at dawn without reluctance and were on our way before it
                  was properly light.

                  George had decided that it would be foolhardy to return home by our outward
                  route as he did not care to risk another crossing of the suspension bridge. So we
                  returned to Nabarera and there turned onto a little used track which would eventually take
                  us to the Great North Road a few miles South of Arusha. There was not much game
                  about but I saw Oryx which I had not previously seen. Soon it grew intolerably hot and I
                  think all of us but George were dozing when he suddenly stopped the lorry and pointed
                  to the right. “Mpishi”, he called to the cook, “There’s your sheep!” True enough, on that
                  dreary thorn covered plain,with not another living thing in sight, stood a fat black sheep.

                  There was an incredulous babbling from the back of the lorry. Every native
                  jumped to the ground and in no time at all the wretched sheep was caught and
                  slaughtered. I felt sick. “Oh George”, I wailed, “The poor lost sheep! I shan’t eat a scrap
                  of it.” George said nothing but went and had a look at the sheep and called out to me,
                  “Come and look at it. It was kindness to kill the poor thing, the vultures have been at it
                  already and the hyaenas would have got it tonight.” I went reluctantly and saw one eye
                  horribly torn out, and small deep wounds on the sheep’s back where the beaks of the
                  vultures had cut through the heavy fleece. Poor thing! I went back to the lorry more
                  determined than ever not to eat mutton on that trip. The Scouts and servants had no
                  such scruples. The fine fat sheep had been sent by Allah for their feast day and that was
                  the end of it.

                  “ ‘Mpishi’ is more convinced than ever that I am a wizard”, said George in
                  amusement as he started the lorry. I knew what he meant. Several times before George
                  had foretold something which had later happened. Pure coincidence, but strange enough
                  to give rise to a legend that George had the power to arrange things. “What happened
                  of course”, explained George, “Is that a flock of Masai sheep was driven to market along
                  this track yesterday or the day before. This one strayed and was not missed.”

                  The day grew hotter and hotter and for long miles we looked out for a camping
                  spot but could find little shade and no trace of water anywhere. At last, in the early
                  afternoon we reached another pokey little rest house and asked for water. “There is no
                  water here,” said the native caretaker. “Early in the morning there is water in a well nearby
                  but we are allowed only one kerosene tin full and by ten o’clock the well is dry.” I looked
                  at George in dismay for we were all so tired and dusty. “Where do the Masai from the
                  village water their cattle then?” asked George. “About two miles away through the bush.
                  If you take me with you I shall show you”, replied the native.

                  So we turned off into the bush and followed a cattle track even more tortuous than
                  the one to Lolbeni. Two Scouts walked ahead to warn us of hazards and I stretched my
                  arm across the open window to fend off thorns. Henry screamed with fright and hunger.
                  But George’s efforts to reach water went unrewarded as we were brought to a stop by
                  a deep donga. The native from the resthouse was apologetic. He had mistaken the
                  path, perhaps if we turned back we might find it. George was beyond speech. We
                  lurched back the way we had come and made our camp under the first large tree we
                  could find. Then off went our camp boys on foot to return just before dark with the water.
                  However they were cheerful for there was an unlimited quantity of dry wood for their fires
                  and meat in plenty for their feast. Long after George and I left our campfire and had gone
                  to bed, we could see the cheerful fires of the boys and hear their chatter and laughter.
                  I woke in the small hours to hear the insane cackling of hyaenas gloating over a
                  find. Later I heard scuffling around the camp table, I peered over the tailboard of the lorry
                  and saw George come out of his tent. What are you doing?” I whispered. “Looking for
                  something to throw at those bloody hyaenas,” answered George for all the world as
                  though those big brutes were tomcats on the prowl. Though the hyaenas kept up their
                  concert all night the children never stirred, nor did any of them wake at night throughout
                  the safari.

                  Early next morning I walked across to the camp kitchen to enquire into the loud
                  lamentations coming from that quarter. “Oh Memsahib”, moaned the cook, “We could
                  not sleep last night for the bad hyaenas round our tents. They have taken every scrap of
                  meat we had left over from the feast., even the meat we had left to smoke over the fire.”
                  Jim, who of our three young sons is the cook’s favourite commiserated with him. He said
                  in Ki-Swahili, which he speaks with great fluency, “Truly those hyaenas are very bad
                  creatures. They also robbed us. They have taken my hat from the table and eaten the
                  new soap from the washbowl.

                  Our last day in the bush was a pleasantly lazy one. We drove through country
                  that grew more open and less dry as we approached Arusha. We pitched our camp
                  near a large dam, and the water was a blessed sight after a week of scorched country.
                  On the plains to the right of our camp was a vast herd of native cattle enjoying a brief
                  rest after their long day trek through Masailand. They were destined to walk many more
                  weary miles before reaching their destination, a meat canning factory in Kenya.
                  The ground to the left of the camp rose gently to form a long low hill and on the
                  grassy slopes we could see wild ostriches and herds of wildebeest, zebra and
                  antelope grazing amicably side by side. In the late afternoon I watched the groups of
                  zebra and wildebeest merge into one. Then with a wildebeest leading, they walked
                  down the slope in single file to drink at the vlei . When they were satisfied, a wildebeest
                  once more led the herd up the trail. The others followed in a long and orderly file, and
                  vanished over the hill to their evening pasture.

                  When they had gone, George took up his shotgun and invited John to
                  accompany him to the dam to shoot duck. This was the first time John had acted as
                  retriever but he did very well and proudly helped to carry a mixed bag of sand grouse
                  and duck back to camp.

                  Next morning we turned into the Great North Road and passed first through
                  carefully tended coffee shambas and then through the township of Arusha, nestling at
                  the foot of towering Mount Meru. Beyond Arusha we drove through the Usa River
                  settlement where again coffee shambas and European homesteads line the road, and
                  saw before us the magnificent spectacle of Kilimanjaro unveiled, its white snow cap
                  gleaming in the sunlight. Before mid day we were home. “Well was it worth it?” enquired
                  George at lunch. “Lovely,” I replied. ”Let’s go again soon.” Then thinking regretfully of
                  our absent children I sighed, “If only Ann, George, and Kate could have gone with us
                  too.”

                  Lyamungu 10th November. 1944

                  Dearest Family.

                  Mummy wants to know how I fill in my time with George away on safari for weeks
                  on end. I do believe that you all picture me idling away my days, waited on hand and
                  foot by efficient servants! On the contrary, life is one rush and the days never long
                  enough.

                  To begin with, our servants are anything but efficient, apart from our cook, Hamisi
                  Issa, who really is competent. He suffers from frustration because our budget will not run
                  to elaborate dishes so there is little scope for his culinary art. There is one masterpiece
                  which is much appreciated by John and Jim. Hamisi makes a most realistic crocodile out
                  of pastry and stuffs its innards with minced meat. This revolting reptile is served on a
                  bed of parsley on my largest meat dish. The cook is a strict Mohammedan and
                  observes all the fasts and daily prayers and, like all Mohammedans he is very clean in
                  his person and, thank goodness, in the kitchen.

                  His wife is his pride and joy but not his helpmate. She does absolutely nothing
                  but sit in a chair in the sun all day, sipping tea and smoking cigarettes – a more
                  expensive brand than mine! It is Hamisi who sweeps out their quarters, cooks
                  delectable curries for her, and spends more than he can afford on clothing and trinkets for
                  his wife. She just sits there with her ‘Mona Lisa’ smile and her painted finger and toe
                  nails, doing absolutely nothing.

                  The thing is that natives despise women who do work and this applies especially
                  to their white employers. House servants much prefer a Memsahib who leaves
                  everything to them and is careless about locking up her pantry. When we first came to
                  Lyamungu I had great difficulty in employing a houseboy. A couple of rather efficient
                  ones did approach me but when they heard the wages I was prepared to pay and that
                  there was no number 2 boy, they simply were not interested. Eventually I took on a
                  local boy called Japhet who suits me very well except that his sight is not good and he
                  is extremely hard on the crockery. He tells me that he has lost face by working here
                  because his friends say that he works for a family that is too mean to employ a second
                  boy. I explained that with our large family we simply cannot afford to pay more, but this
                  didn’t register at all. Japhet says “But Wazungu (Europeans) all have money. They just
                  have to get it from the Bank.”

                  The third member of our staff is a strapping youth named Tovelo who helps both
                  cook and boy, and consequently works harder than either. What do I do? I chivvy the
                  servants, look after the children, supervise John’s lessons, and make all my clothing and
                  the children’s on that blessed old hand sewing machine.

                  The folk on this station entertain a good deal but we usually decline invitations
                  because we simply cannot afford to reciprocate. However, last Saturday night I invited
                  two couples to drinks and dinner. This was such an unusual event that the servants and I
                  were thrown into a flurry. In the end the dinner went off well though it ended in disaster. In
                  spite of my entreaties and exhortations to Japhet not to pile everything onto the tray at
                  once when clearing the table, he did just that. We were starting our desert and I was
                  congratulating myself that all had gone well when there was a frightful crash of breaking
                  china on the back verandah. I excused myself and got up to investigate. A large meat
                  dish, six dinner plates and four vegetable dishes lay shattered on the cement floor! I
                  controlled my tongue but what my eyes said to Japhet is another matter. What he said
                  was, “It is not my fault Memsahib. The handle of the tray came off.”

                  It is a curious thing about native servants that they never accept responsibility for
                  a mishap. If they cannot pin their misdeeds onto one of their fellow servants then the responsibility rests with God. ‘Shauri ya Mungu’, (an act of God) is a familiar cry. Fatalists
                  can be very exasperating employees.

                  The loss of my dinner service is a real tragedy because, being war time, one can
                  buy only china of the poorest quality made for the native trade. Nor was that the final
                  disaster of the evening. When we moved to the lounge for coffee I noticed that the
                  coffee had been served in the battered old safari coffee pot instead of the charming little
                  antique coffee pot which my Mother-in-law had sent for our tenth wedding anniversary.
                  As there had already been a disturbance I made no comment but resolved to give the
                  cook a piece of my mind in the morning. My instructions to the cook had been to warm
                  the coffee pot with hot water immediately before serving. On no account was he to put
                  the pewter pot on the hot iron stove. He did and the result was a small hole in the base
                  of the pot – or so he says. When I saw the pot next morning there was a two inch hole in
                  it.

                  Hamisi explained placidly how this had come about. He said he knew I would be
                  mad when I saw the little hole so he thought he would have it mended and I might not
                  notice it. Early in the morning he had taken the pewter pot to the mechanic who looks
                  after the Game Department vehicles and had asked him to repair it. The bright individual
                  got busy with the soldering iron with the most devastating result. “It’s his fault,” said
                  Hamisi, “He is a mechanic, he should have known what would happen.”
                  One thing is certain, there will be no more dinner parties in this house until the war
                  is ended.

                  The children are well and so am I, and so was George when he left on his safari
                  last Monday.

                  Much love,
                  Eleanor.

                   

                  #6266
                  TracyTracy
                  Participant

                    From Tanganyika with Love

                    continued part 7

                    With thanks to Mike Rushby.

                    Oldeani Hospital. 19th September 1938

                    Dearest Family,

                    George arrived today to take us home to Mbulu but Sister Marianne will not allow
                    me to travel for another week as I had a bit of a set back after baby’s birth. At first I was
                    very fit and on the third day Sister stripped the bed and, dictionary in hand, started me
                    off on ante natal exercises. “Now make a bridge Mrs Rushby. So. Up down, up down,’
                    whilst I obediently hoisted myself aloft on heels and head. By the sixth day she
                    considered it was time for me to be up and about but alas, I soon had to return to bed
                    with a temperature and a haemorrhage. I got up and walked outside for the first time this
                    morning.

                    I have had lots of visitors because the local German settlers seem keen to see
                    the first British baby born in the hospital. They have been most kind, sending flowers
                    and little German cards of congratulations festooned with cherubs and rather sweet. Most
                    of the women, besides being pleasant, are very smart indeed, shattering my illusion that
                    German matrons are invariably fat and dowdy. They are all much concerned about the
                    Czecko-Slovakian situation, especially Sister Marianne whose home is right on the
                    border and has several relations who are Sudentan Germans. She is ant-Nazi and
                    keeps on asking me whether I think England will declare war if Hitler invades Czecko-
                    Slovakia, as though I had inside information.

                    George tells me that he has had a grass ‘banda’ put up for us at Mbulu as we are
                    both determined not to return to those prison-like quarters in the Fort. Sister Marianne is
                    horrified at the idea of taking a new baby to live in a grass hut. She told George,
                    “No,No,Mr Rushby. I find that is not to be allowed!” She is an excellent Sister but rather
                    prim and George enjoys teasing her. This morning he asked with mock seriousness,
                    “Sister, why has my wife not received her medal?” Sister fluttered her dictionary before
                    asking. “What medal Mr Rushby”. “Why,” said George, “The medal that Hitler gives to
                    women who have borne four children.” Sister started a long and involved explanation
                    about the medal being only for German mothers whilst George looked at me and
                    grinned.

                    Later. Great Jubilation here. By the noise in Sister Marianne’s sitting room last night it
                    sounded as though the whole German population had gathered to listen to the wireless
                    news. I heard loud exclamations of joy and then my bedroom door burst open and
                    several women rushed in. “Thank God “, they cried, “for Neville Chamberlain. Now there
                    will be no war.” They pumped me by the hand as though I were personally responsible
                    for the whole thing.

                    George on the other hand is disgusted by Chamberlain’s lack of guts. Doesn’t
                    know what England is coming to these days. I feel too content to concern myself with
                    world affairs. I have a fine husband and four wonderful children and am happy, happy,
                    happy.

                    Eleanor.

                    Mbulu. 30th September 1938

                    Dearest Family,

                    Here we are, comfortably installed in our little green house made of poles and
                    rushes from a nearby swamp. The house has of course, no doors or windows, but
                    there are rush blinds which roll up in the day time. There are two rooms and a little porch
                    and out at the back there is a small grass kitchen.

                    Here we have the privacy which we prize so highly as we are screened on one
                    side by a Forest Department plantation and on the other three sides there is nothing but
                    the rolling countryside cropped bare by the far too large herds of cattle and goats of the
                    Wambulu. I have a lovely lazy time. I still have Kesho-Kutwa and the cook we brought
                    with us from the farm. They are both faithful and willing souls though not very good at
                    their respective jobs. As one of these Mbeya boys goes on safari with George whose
                    job takes him from home for three weeks out of four, I have taken on a local boy to cut
                    firewood and heat my bath water and generally make himself useful. His name is Saa,
                    which means ‘Clock’

                    We had an uneventful but very dusty trip from Oldeani. Johnny Jo travelled in his
                    pram in the back of the boxbody and got covered in dust but seems none the worst for
                    it. As the baby now takes up much of my time and Kate was showing signs of
                    boredom, I have engaged a little African girl to come and play with Kate every morning.
                    She is the daughter of the head police Askari and a very attractive and dignified little
                    person she is. Her name is Kajyah. She is scrupulously clean, as all Mohammedan
                    Africans seem to be. Alas, Kajyah, though beautiful, is a bore. She simply does not
                    know how to play, so they just wander around hand in hand.

                    There are only two drawbacks to this little house. Mbulu is a very windy spot so
                    our little reed house is very draughty. I have made a little tent of sheets in one corner of
                    the ‘bedroom’ into which I can retire with Johnny when I wish to bathe or sponge him.
                    The other drawback is that many insects are attracted at night by the lamp and make it
                    almost impossible to read or sew and they have a revolting habit of falling into the soup.
                    There are no dangerous wild animals in this area so I am not at all nervous in this
                    flimsy little house when George is on safari. Most nights hyaenas come around looking
                    for scraps but our dogs, Fanny and Paddy, soon see them off.

                    Eleanor.

                    Mbulu. 25th October 1938

                    Dearest Family,

                    Great news! a vacancy has occurred in the Game Department. George is to
                    transfer to it next month. There will be an increase in salary and a brighter prospect for
                    the future. It will mean a change of scene and I shall be glad of that. We like Mbulu and
                    the people here but the rains have started and our little reed hut is anything but water
                    tight.

                    Before the rain came we had very unpleasant dust storms. I think I told you that
                    this is a treeless area and the grass which normally covers the veldt has been cropped
                    to the roots by the hungry native cattle and goats. When the wind blows the dust
                    collects in tall black columns which sweep across the country in a most spectacular
                    fashion. One such dust devil struck our hut one day whilst we were at lunch. George
                    swept Kate up in a second and held her face against his chest whilst I rushed to Johnny
                    Jo who was asleep in his pram, and stooped over the pram to protect him. The hut
                    groaned and creaked and clouds of dust blew in through the windows and walls covering
                    our persons, food, and belongings in a black pall. The dogs food bowls and an empty
                    petrol tin outside the hut were whirled up and away. It was all over in a moment but you
                    should have seen what a family of sweeps we looked. George looked at our blackened
                    Johnny and mimicked in Sister Marianne’s primmest tones, “I find that this is not to be
                    allowed.”

                    The first rain storm caught me unprepared when George was away on safari. It
                    was a terrific thunderstorm. The quite violent thunder and lightening were followed by a
                    real tropical downpour. As the hut is on a slight slope, the storm water poured through
                    the hut like a river, covering the entire floor, and the roof leaked like a lawn sprinkler.
                    Johnny Jo was snug enough in the pram with the hood raised, but Kate and I had a
                    damp miserable night. Next morning I had deep drains dug around the hut and when
                    George returned from safari he managed to borrow an enormous tarpaulin which is now
                    lashed down over the roof.

                    It did not rain during the next few days George was home but the very next night
                    we were in trouble again. I was awakened by screams from Kate and hurriedly turned up
                    the lamp to see that we were in the midst of an invasion of siafu ants. Kate’s bed was
                    covered in them. Others appeared to be raining down from the thatch. I quickly stripped
                    Kate and carried her across to my bed, whilst I rushed to the pram to see whether
                    Johnny Jo was all right. He was fast asleep, bless him, and slept on through all the
                    commotion, whilst I struggled to pick all the ants out of Kate’s hair, stopping now and
                    again to attend to my own discomfort. These ants have a painful bite and seem to
                    choose all the most tender spots. Kate fell asleep eventually but I sat up for the rest of
                    the night to make sure that the siafu kept clear of the children. Next morning the servants
                    dispersed them by laying hot ash.

                    In spite of the dampness of the hut both children are blooming. Kate has rosy
                    cheeks and Johnny Jo now has a fuzz of fair hair and has lost his ‘old man’ look. He
                    reminds me of Ann at his age.

                    Eleanor.

                    Iringa. 30th November 1938

                    Dearest Family,

                    Here we are back in the Southern Highlands and installed on the second floor of
                    another German Fort. This one has been modernised however and though not so
                    romantic as the Mbulu Fort from the outside, it is much more comfortable.We are all well
                    and I am really proud of our two safari babies who stood up splendidly to a most trying
                    journey North from Mbulu to Arusha and then South down the Great North Road to
                    Iringa where we expect to stay for a month.

                    At Arusha George reported to the headquarters of the Game Department and
                    was instructed to come on down here on Rinderpest Control. There is a great flap on in
                    case the rinderpest spread to Northern Rhodesia and possibly onwards to Southern
                    Rhodesia and South Africa. Extra veterinary officers have been sent to this area to
                    inoculate all the cattle against the disease whilst George and his African game Scouts will
                    comb the bush looking for and destroying diseased game. If the rinderpest spreads,
                    George says it may be necessary to shoot out all the game in a wide belt along the
                    border between the Southern Highlands of Tanganyika and Northern Rhodesia, to
                    prevent the disease spreading South. The very idea of all this destruction sickens us
                    both.

                    George left on a foot safari the day after our arrival and I expect I shall be lucky if I
                    see him occasionally at weekends until this job is over. When rinderpest is under control
                    George is to be stationed at a place called Nzassa in the Eastern Province about 18
                    miles from Dar es Salaam. George’s orderly, who is a tall, cheerful Game Scout called
                    Juma, tells me that he has been stationed at Nzassa and it is a frightful place! However I
                    refuse to be depressed. I now have the cheering prospect of leave to England in thirty
                    months time when we will be able to fetch Ann and George and be a proper family
                    again. Both Ann and George look happy in the snapshots which mother-in-law sends
                    frequently. Ann is doing very well at school and loves it.

                    To get back to our journey from Mbulu. It really was quite an experience. It
                    poured with rain most of the way and the road was very slippery and treacherous the
                    120 miles between Mbulu and Arusha. This is a little used earth road and the drains are
                    so blocked with silt as to be practically non existent. As usual we started our move with
                    the V8 loaded to capacity. I held Johnny on my knee and Kate squeezed in between
                    George and me. All our goods and chattels were in wooden boxes stowed in the back
                    and the two houseboys and the two dogs had to adjust themselves to the space that
                    remained. We soon ran into trouble and it took us all day to travel 47 miles. We stuck
                    several times in deep mud and had some most nasty skids. I simply clutched Kate in
                    one hand and Johnny Jo in the other and put my trust in George who never, under any
                    circumstances, loses his head. Poor Johnny only got his meals when circumstances
                    permitted. Unfortunately I had put him on a bottle only a few days before we left Mbulu
                    and, as I was unable to buy either a primus stove or Thermos flask there we had to
                    make a fire and boil water for each meal. Twice George sat out in the drizzle with a rain
                    coat rapped over his head to protect a miserable little fire of wet sticks drenched with
                    paraffin. Whilst we waited for the water to boil I pacified John by letting him suck a cube
                    of Tate and Lyles sugar held between my rather grubby fingers. Not at all according to
                    the book.

                    That night George, the children and I slept in the car having dumped our boxes
                    and the two servants in a deserted native hut. The rain poured down relentlessly all night
                    and by morning the road was more of a morass than ever. We swerved and skidded
                    alarmingly till eventually one of the wheel chains broke and had to be tied together with
                    string which constantly needed replacing. George was so patient though he was wet
                    and muddy and tired and both children were very good. Shortly before reaching the Great North Road we came upon Jack Gowan, the Stock Inspector from Mbulu. His car
                    was bogged down to its axles in black mud. He refused George’s offer of help saying
                    that he had sent his messenger to a nearby village for help.

                    I hoped that conditions would be better on the Great North Road but how over
                    optimistic I was. For miles the road runs through a belt of ‘black cotton soil’. which was
                    churned up into the consistency of chocolate blancmange by the heavy lorry traffic which
                    runs between Dodoma and Arusha. Soon the car was skidding more fantastically than
                    ever. Once it skidded around in a complete semi circle so George decided that it would
                    be safer for us all to walk whilst he negotiated the very bad patches. You should have
                    seen me plodding along in the mud and drizzle with the baby in one arm and Kate
                    clinging to the other. I was terrified of slipping with Johnny. Each time George reached
                    firm ground he would return on foot to carry Kate and in this way we covered many bad
                    patches.We were more fortunate than many other travellers. We passed several lorries
                    ditched on the side of the road and one car load of German men, all elegantly dressed in
                    lounge suits. One was busy with his camera so will have a record of their plight to laugh
                    over in the years to come. We spent another night camping on the road and next day
                    set out on the last lap of the journey. That also was tiresome but much better than the
                    previous day and we made the haven of the Arusha Hotel before dark. What a picture
                    we made as we walked through the hall in our mud splattered clothes! Even Johnny was
                    well splashed with mud but no harm was done and both he and Kate are blooming.
                    We rested for two days at Arusha and then came South to Iringa. Luckily the sun
                    came out and though for the first day the road was muddy it was no longer so slippery
                    and the second day found us driving through parched country and along badly
                    corrugated roads. The further South we came, the warmer the sun which at times blazed
                    through the windscreen and made us all uncomfortably hot. I have described the country
                    between Arusha and Dodoma before so I shan’t do it again. We reached Iringa without
                    mishap and after a good nights rest all felt full of beans.

                    Eleanor.

                    Mchewe Estate, Mbeya. 7th January 1939.

                    Dearest Family,

                    You will be surprised to note that we are back on the farm! At least the children
                    and I are here. George is away near the Rhodesian border somewhere, still on
                    Rinderpest control.

                    I had a pleasant time at Iringa, lots of invitations to morning tea and Kate had a
                    wonderful time enjoying the novelty of playing with children of her own age. She is not
                    shy but nevertheless likes me to be within call if not within sight. It was all very suburban
                    but pleasant enough. A few days before Christmas George turned up at Iringa and
                    suggested that, as he would be working in the Mbeya area, it might be a good idea for
                    the children and me to move to the farm. I agreed enthusiastically, completely forgetting
                    that after my previous trouble with the leopard I had vowed to myself that I would never
                    again live alone on the farm.

                    Alas no sooner had we arrived when Thomas, our farm headman, brought the
                    news that there were now two leopards terrorising the neighbourhood, and taking dogs,
                    goats and sheep and chickens. Traps and poisoned bait had been tried in vain and he
                    was sure that the female was the same leopard which had besieged our home before.
                    Other leopards said Thomas, came by stealth but this one advertised her whereabouts
                    in the most brazen manner.

                    George stayed with us on the farm over Christmas and all was quiet at night so I
                    cheered up and took the children for walks along the overgrown farm paths. However on
                    New Years Eve that darned leopard advertised her presence again with the most blood
                    chilling grunts and snarls. Horrible! Fanny and Paddy barked and growled and woke up
                    both children. Kate wept and kept saying, “Send it away mummy. I don’t like it.” Johnny
                    Jo howled in sympathy. What a picnic. So now the whole performance of bodyguards
                    has started again and ‘till George returns we confine our exercise to the garden.
                    Our little house is still cosy and sweet but the coffee plantation looks very
                    neglected. I wish to goodness we could sell it.

                    Eleanor.

                    Nzassa 14th February 1939.

                    Dearest Family,

                    After three months of moving around with two small children it is heavenly to be
                    settled in our own home, even though Nzassa is an isolated spot and has the reputation
                    of being unhealthy.

                    We travelled by car from Mbeya to Dodoma by now a very familiar stretch of
                    country, but from Dodoma to Dar es Salaam by train which made a nice change. We
                    spent two nights and a day in the Splendid Hotel in Dar es Salaam, George had some
                    official visits to make and I did some shopping and we took the children to the beach.
                    The bay is so sheltered that the sea is as calm as a pond and the water warm. It is
                    wonderful to see the sea once more and to hear tugs hooting and to watch the Arab
                    dhows putting out to sea with their oddly shaped sails billowing. I do love the bush, but
                    I love the sea best of all, as you know.

                    We made an early start for Nzassa on the 3rd. For about four miles we bowled
                    along a good road. This brought us to a place called Temeke where George called on
                    the District Officer. His house appears to be the only European type house there. The
                    road between Temeke and the turn off to Nzassa is quite good, but the six mile stretch
                    from the turn off to Nzassa is a very neglected bush road. There is nothing to be seen
                    but the impenetrable bush on both sides with here and there a patch of swampy
                    ground where rice is planted in the wet season.

                    After about six miles of bumpy road we reached Nzassa which is nothing more
                    than a sandy clearing in the bush. Our house however is a fine one. It was originally built
                    for the District Officer and there is a small court house which is now George’s office. The
                    District Officer died of blackwater fever so Nzassa was abandoned as an administrative
                    station being considered too unhealthy for Administrative Officers but suitable as
                    Headquarters for a Game Ranger. Later a bachelor Game Ranger was stationed here
                    but his health also broke down and he has been invalided to England. So now the
                    healthy Rushbys are here and we don’t mean to let the place get us down. So don’t
                    worry.

                    The house consists of three very large and airy rooms with their doors opening
                    on to a wide front verandah which we shall use as a living room. There is also a wide
                    back verandah with a store room at one end and a bathroom at the other. Both
                    verandahs and the end windows of the house are screened my mosquito gauze wire
                    and further protected by a trellis work of heavy expanded metal. Hasmani, the Game
                    Scout, who has been acting as caretaker, tells me that the expanded metal is very
                    necessary because lions often come out of the bush at night and roam around the
                    house. Such a comforting thought!

                    On our very first evening we discovered how necessary the mosquito gauze is.
                    After sunset the air outside is thick with mosquitos from the swamps. About an acre of
                    land has been cleared around the house. This is a sandy waste because there is no
                    water laid on here and absolutely nothing grows here except a rather revolting milky
                    desert bush called ‘Manyara’, and a few acacia trees. A little way from the house there is
                    a patch of citrus trees, grape fruit, I think, but whether they ever bear fruit I don’t know.
                    The clearing is bordered on three sides by dense dusty thorn bush which is
                    ‘lousy with buffalo’ according to George. The open side is the road which leads down to
                    George’s office and the huts for the Game Scouts. Only Hasmani and George’s orderly
                    Juma and their wives and families live there, and the other huts provide shelter for the
                    Game Scouts from the bush who come to Nzassa to collect their pay and for a short
                    rest. I can see that my daily walk will always be the same, down the road to the huts and
                    back! However I don’t mind because it is far too hot to take much exercise.

                    The climate here is really tropical and worse than on the coast because the thick
                    bush cuts us off from any sea breeze. George says it will be cooler when the rains start
                    but just now we literally drip all day. Kate wears nothing but a cotton sun suit, and Johnny
                    a napkin only, but still their little bodies are always moist. I have shorn off all Kate’s lovely
                    shoulder length curls and got George to cut my hair very short too.

                    We simply must buy a refrigerator. The butter, and even the cheese we bought
                    in Dar. simply melted into pools of oil overnight, and all our meat went bad, so we are
                    living out of tins. However once we get organised I shall be quite happy here. I like this
                    spacious house and I have good servants. The cook, Hamisi Issa, is a Swahili from Lindi
                    whom we engaged in Dar es Salaam. He is a very dignified person, and like most
                    devout Mohammedan Cooks, keeps both his person and the kitchen spotless. I
                    engaged the house boy here. He is rather a timid little body but is very willing and quite
                    capable. He has an excessively plain but cheerful wife whom I have taken on as ayah. I
                    do not really need help with the children but feel I must have a woman around just in
                    case I go down with malaria when George is away on safari.

                    Eleanor.

                    Nzassa 28th February 1939.

                    Dearest Family,

                    George’s birthday and we had a special tea party this afternoon which the
                    children much enjoyed. We have our frig now so I am able to make jellies and provide
                    them with really cool drinks.

                    Our very first visitor left this morning after spending only one night here. He is Mr
                    Ionides, the Game Ranger from the Southern Province. He acted as stand in here for a
                    short while after George’s predecessor left for England on sick leave, and where he has
                    since died. Mr Ionides returned here to hand over the range and office formally to
                    George. He seems a strange man and is from all accounts a bit of a hermit. He was at
                    one time an Officer in the Regular Army but does not look like a soldier, he wears the
                    most extraordinary clothes but nevertheless contrives to look top-drawer. He was
                    educated at Rugby and Sandhurst and is, I should say, well read. Ionides told us that he
                    hated Nzassa, particularly the house which he thinks sinister and says he always slept
                    down in the office.

                    The house, or at least one bedroom, seems to have the same effect on Kate.
                    She has been very nervous at night ever since we arrived. At first the children occupied
                    the bedroom which is now George’s. One night, soon after our arrival, Kate woke up
                    screaming to say that ‘something’ had looked at her through the mosquito net. She was
                    in such a hysterical state that inspite of the heat and discomfort I was obliged to crawl into
                    her little bed with her and remained there for the rest of the night.

                    Next night I left a night lamp burning but even so I had to sit by her bed until she
                    dropped off to sleep. Again I was awakened by ear-splitting screams and this time
                    found Kate standing rigid on her bed. I lifted her out and carried her to a chair meaning to
                    comfort her but she screeched louder than ever, “Look Mummy it’s under the bed. It’s
                    looking at us.” In vain I pointed out that there was nothing at all there. By this time
                    George had joined us and he carried Kate off to his bed in the other room whilst I got into
                    Kate’s bed thinking she might have been frightened by a rat which might also disturb
                    Johnny.

                    Next morning our houseboy remarked that he had heard Kate screaming in the
                    night from his room behind the kitchen. I explained what had happened and he must
                    have told the old Scout Hasmani who waylaid me that afternoon and informed me quite
                    seriously that that particular room was haunted by a ‘sheitani’ (devil) who hates children.
                    He told me that whilst he was acting as caretaker before our arrival he one night had his
                    wife and small daughter in the room to keep him company. He said that his small
                    daughter woke up and screamed exactly as Kate had done! Silly coincidence I
                    suppose, but such strange things happen in Africa that I decided to move the children
                    into our room and George sleeps in solitary state in the haunted room! Kate now sleeps
                    peacefully once she goes to sleep but I have to stay with her until she does.

                    I like this house and it does not seem at all sinister to me. As I mentioned before,
                    the rooms are high ceilinged and airy, and have cool cement floors. We have made one
                    end of the enclosed verandah into the living room and the other end is the playroom for
                    the children. The space in between is a sort of no-mans land taken over by the dogs as
                    their special territory.

                    Eleanor.

                    Nzassa 25th March 1939.

                    Dearest Family,

                    George is on safari down in the Rufigi River area. He is away for about three
                    weeks in the month on this job. I do hate to see him go and just manage to tick over until
                    he comes back. But what fun and excitement when he does come home.
                    Usually he returns after dark by which time the children are in bed and I have
                    settled down on the verandah with a book. The first warning is usually given by the
                    dogs, Fanny and her son Paddy. They stir, sit up, look at each other and then go and sit
                    side by side by the door with their noses practically pressed to the mosquito gauze and
                    ears pricked. Soon I can hear the hum of the car, and so can Hasmani, the old Game
                    Scout who sleeps on the back verandah with rifle and ammunition by his side when
                    George is away. When he hears the car he turns up his lamp and hurries out to rouse
                    Juma, the houseboy. Juma pokes up the fire and prepares tea which George always
                    drinks whist a hot meal is being prepared. In the meantime I hurriedly comb my hair and
                    powder my nose so that when the car stops I am ready to rush out and welcome
                    George home. The boy and Hasmani and the garden boy appear to help with the
                    luggage and to greet George and the cook, who always accompanies George on
                    Safari. The home coming is always a lively time with much shouting of greetings.
                    ‘Jambo’, and ‘Habari ya safari’, whilst the dogs, beside themselves with excitement,
                    rush around like lunatics.

                    As though his return were not happiness enough, George usually collects the
                    mail on his way home so there is news of Ann and young George and letters from you
                    and bundles of newspapers and magazines. On the day following his return home,
                    George has to deal with official mail in the office but if the following day is a weekday we
                    all, the house servants as well as ourselves, pile into the boxbody and go to Dar es
                    Salaam. To us this means a mornings shopping followed by an afternoon on the beach.
                    It is a bit cooler now that the rains are on but still very humid. Kate keeps chubby
                    and rosy in spite of the climate but Johnny is too pale though sturdy enough. He is such
                    a good baby which is just as well because Kate is a very demanding little girl though
                    sunny tempered and sweet. I appreciate her company very much when George is
                    away because we are so far off the beaten track that no one ever calls.

                    Eleanor.

                    Nzassa 28th April 1939.

                    Dearest Family,

                    You all seem to wonder how I can stand the loneliness and monotony of living at
                    Nzassa when George is on safari, but really and truly I do not mind. Hamisi the cook
                    always goes on safari with George and then the houseboy Juma takes over the cooking
                    and I do the lighter housework. the children are great company during the day, and when
                    they are settled for the night I sit on the verandah and read or write letters or I just dream.
                    The verandah is entirely enclosed with both wire mosquito gauze and a trellis
                    work of heavy expanded metal, so I am safe from all intruders be they human, animal, or
                    insect. Outside the air is alive with mosquitos and the cicadas keep up their monotonous
                    singing all night long. My only companions on the verandah are the pale ghecco lizards
                    on the wall and the two dogs. Fanny the white bull terrier, lies always near my feet
                    dozing happily, but her son Paddy, who is half Airedale has a less phlegmatic
                    disposition. He sits alert and on guard by the metal trellis work door. Often a lion grunts
                    from the surrounding bush and then his hackles rise and he stands up stiffly with his nose
                    pressed to the door. Old Hasmani from his bedroll on the back verandah, gives a little
                    cough just to show he is awake. Sometimes the lions are very close and then I hear the
                    click of a rifle bolt as Hasmani loads his rifle – but this is usually much later at night when
                    the lights are out. One morning I saw large pug marks between the wall of my bedroom
                    and the garage but I do not fear lions like I did that beastly leopard on the farm.
                    A great deal of witchcraft is still practiced in the bush villages in the
                    neighbourhood. I must tell you about old Hasmani’s baby in connection with this. Last
                    week Hasmani came to me in great distress to say that his baby was ‘Ngongwa sana ‘
                    (very ill) and he thought it would die. I hurried down to the Game Scouts quarters to see
                    whether I could do anything for the child and found the mother squatting in the sun
                    outside her hut with the baby on her lap. The mother was a young woman but not an
                    attractive one. She appeared sullen and indifferent compared with old Hasmani who
                    was very distressed. The child was very feverish and breathing with difficulty and
                    seemed to me to be suffering from bronchitis if not pneumonia. I rubbed his back and
                    chest with camphorated oil and dosed him with aspirin and liquid quinine. I repeated the
                    treatment every four hours, but next day there was no apparent improvement.
                    In the afternoon Hasmani begged me to give him that night off duty and asked for
                    a loan of ten shillings. He explained to me that it seemed to him that the white man’s
                    medicine had failed to cure his child and now he wished to take the child to the local witch
                    doctor. “For ten shillings” said Hasmani, “the Maganga will drive the devil out of my
                    child.” “How?” asked I. “With drums”, said Hasmani confidently. I did not know what to
                    do. I thought the child was too ill to be exposed to the night air, yet I knew that if I
                    refused his request and the child were to die, Hasmani and all the other locals would hold
                    me responsible. I very reluctantly granted his request. I was so troubled by the matter
                    that I sent for George’s office clerk. Daniel, and asked him to accompany Hasmani to the
                    ceremony and to report to me the next morning. It started to rain after dark and all night
                    long I lay awake in bed listening to the drums and the light rain. Next morning when I
                    went out to the kitchen to order breakfast I found a beaming Hasmani awaiting me.
                    “Memsahib”, he said. “My child is well, the fever is now quite gone, the Maganga drove
                    out the devil just as I told you.” Believe it or not, when I hurried to his quarters after
                    breakfast I found the mother suckling a perfectly healthy child! It may be my imagination
                    but I thought the mother looked pretty smug.The clerk Daniel told me that after Hasmani
                    had presented gifts of money and food to the ‘Maganga’, the naked baby was placed
                    on a goat skin near the drums. Most of the time he just lay there but sometimes the witch
                    doctor picked him up and danced with the child in his arms. Daniel seemed reluctant to
                    talk about it. Whatever mumbo jumbo was used all this happened a week ago and the
                    baby has never looked back.

                    Eleanor.

                    Nzassa 3rd July 1939.

                    Dearest Family,

                    Did I tell you that one of George’s Game Scouts was murdered last month in the
                    Maneromango area towards the Rufigi border. He was on routine patrol, with a porter
                    carrying his bedding and food, when they suddenly came across a group of African
                    hunters who were busy cutting up a giraffe which they had just killed. These hunters were
                    all armed with muzzle loaders, spears and pangas, but as it is illegal to kill giraffe without
                    a permit, the Scout went up to the group to take their names. Some argument ensued
                    and the Scout was stabbed.

                    The District Officer went to the area to investigate and decided to call in the Police
                    from Dar es Salaam. A party of police went out to search for the murderers but after
                    some days returned without making any arrests. George was on an elephant control
                    safari in the Bagamoyo District and on his return through Dar es Salaam he heard of the
                    murder. George was furious and distressed to hear the news and called in here for an
                    hour on his way to Maneromango to search for the murderers himself.

                    After a great deal of strenuous investigation he arrested three poachers, put them
                    in jail for the night at Maneromango and then brought them to Dar es Salaam where they
                    are all now behind bars. George will now have to prosecute in the Magistrate’s Court
                    and try and ‘make a case’ so that the prisoners may be committed to the High Court to
                    be tried for murder. George is convinced of their guilt and justifiably proud to have
                    succeeded where the police failed.

                    George had to borrow handcuffs for the prisoners from the Chief at
                    Maneromango and these he brought back to Nzassa after delivering the prisoners to
                    Dar es Salaam so that he may return them to the Chief when he revisits the area next
                    week.

                    I had not seen handcuffs before and picked up a pair to examine them. I said to
                    George, engrossed in ‘The Times’, “I bet if you were arrested they’d never get
                    handcuffs on your wrist. Not these anyway, they look too small.” “Standard pattern,”
                    said George still concentrating on the newspaper, but extending an enormous relaxed
                    left wrist. So, my dears, I put a bracelet round his wrist and as there was a wide gap I
                    gave a hard squeeze with both hands. There was a sharp click as the handcuff engaged
                    in the first notch. George dropped the paper and said, “Now you’ve done it, my love,
                    one set of keys are in the Dar es Salaam Police Station, and the others with the Chief at
                    Maneromango.” You can imagine how utterly silly I felt but George was an angel about it
                    and said as he would have to go to Dar es Salaam we might as well all go.

                    So we all piled into the car, George, the children and I in the front, and the cook
                    and houseboy, immaculate in snowy khanzus and embroidered white caps, a Game
                    Scout and the ayah in the back. George never once complain of the discomfort of the
                    handcuff but I was uncomfortably aware that it was much too tight because his arm
                    above the cuff looked red and swollen and the hand unnaturally pale. As the road is so
                    bad George had to use both hands on the wheel and all the time the dangling handcuff
                    clanked against the dashboard in an accusing way.

                    We drove straight to the Police Station and I could hear the roars of laughter as
                    George explained his predicament. Later I had to put up with a good deal of chaffing
                    and congratulations upon putting the handcuffs on George.

                    Eleanor.

                    Nzassa 5th August 1939

                    Dearest Family,

                    George made a point of being here for Kate’s fourth birthday last week. Just
                    because our children have no playmates George and I always do all we can to make
                    birthdays very special occasions. We went to Dar es Salaam the day before the
                    birthday and bought Kate a very sturdy tricycle with which she is absolutely delighted.
                    You will be glad to know that your parcels arrived just in time and Kate loved all your
                    gifts especially the little shop from Dad with all the miniature tins and packets of
                    groceries. The tea set was also a great success and is much in use.

                    We had a lively party which ended with George and me singing ‘Happy
                    Birthday to you’, and ended with a wild game with balloons. Kate wore her frilly white net
                    party frock and looked so pretty that it seemed a shame that there was no one but us to
                    see her. Anyway it was a good party. I wish so much that you could see the children.
                    Kate keeps rosy and has not yet had malaria. Johnny Jo is sturdy but pale. He
                    runs a temperature now and again but I am not sure whether this is due to teething or
                    malaria. Both children of course take quinine every day as George and I do. George
                    quite frequently has malaria in spite of prophylactic quinine but this is not surprising as he
                    got the germ thoroughly established in his system in his early elephant hunting days. I
                    get it too occasionally but have not been really ill since that first time a month after my
                    arrival in the country.

                    Johnny is such a good baby. His chief claim to beauty is his head of soft golden
                    curls but these are due to come off on his first birthday as George considers them too
                    girlish. George left on safari the day after the party and the very next morning our wood
                    boy had a most unfortunate accident. He was chopping a rather tough log when a chip
                    flew up and split his upper lip clean through from mouth to nostril exposing teeth and
                    gums. A truly horrible sight and very bloody. I cleaned up the wound as best I could
                    and sent him off to the hospital at Dar es Salaam on the office bicycle. He wobbled
                    away wretchedly down the road with a white cloth tied over his mouth to keep off the
                    dust. He returned next day with his lip stitched and very swollen and bearing a
                    resemblance to my lip that time I used the hair remover.

                    Eleanor.

                    Splendid Hotel. Dar es Salaam 7th September 1939

                    Dearest Family,

                    So now another war has started and it has disrupted even our lives. We have left
                    Nzassa for good. George is now a Lieutenant in the King’s African Rifles and the children
                    and I are to go to a place called Morogoro to await further developments.
                    I was glad to read in today’s paper that South Africa has declared war on
                    Germany. I would have felt pretty small otherwise in this hotel which is crammed full of
                    men who have been called up for service in the Army. George seems exhilarated by
                    the prospect of active service. He is bursting out of his uniform ( at the shoulders only!)
                    and all too ready for the fray.

                    The war came as a complete surprise to me stuck out in the bush as I was without
                    wireless or mail. George had been away for a fortnight so you can imagine how
                    surprised I was when a messenger arrived on a bicycle with a note from George. The
                    note informed me that war had been declared and that George, as a Reserve Officer in
                    the KAR had been called up. I was to start packing immediately and be ready by noon
                    next day when George would arrive with a lorry for our goods and chattels. I started to
                    pack immediately with the help of the houseboy and by the time George arrived with
                    the lorry only the frig remained to be packed and this was soon done.

                    Throughout the morning Game Scouts had been arriving from outlying parts of
                    the District. I don’t think they had the least idea where they were supposed to go or
                    whom they were to fight but were ready to fight anybody, anywhere, with George.
                    They all looked very smart in well pressed uniforms hung about with water bottles and
                    ammunition pouches. The large buffalo badge on their round pill box hats absolutely
                    glittered with polish. All of course carried rifles and when George arrived they all lined up
                    and they looked most impressive. I took some snaps but unfortunately it was drizzling
                    and they may not come out well.

                    We left Nzassa without a backward glance. We were pretty fed up with it by
                    then. The children and I are spending a few days here with George but our luggage, the
                    dogs, and the houseboys have already left by train for Morogoro where a small house
                    has been found for the children and me.

                    George tells me that all the German males in this Territory were interned without a
                    hitch. The whole affair must have been very well organised. In every town and
                    settlement special constables were sworn in to do the job. It must have been a rather
                    unpleasant one but seems to have gone without incident. There is a big transit camp
                    here at Dar for the German men. Later they are to be sent out of the country, possibly to
                    Rhodesia.

                    The Indian tailors in the town are all terribly busy making Army uniforms, shorts
                    and tunics in khaki drill. George swears that they have muddled their orders and he has
                    been given the wrong things. Certainly the tunic is far too tight. His hat, a khaki slouch hat
                    like you saw the Australians wearing in the last war, is also too small though it is the
                    largest they have in stock. We had a laugh over his other equipment which includes a
                    small canvas haversack and a whistle on a black cord. George says he feels like he is
                    back in his Boy Scouting boyhood.

                    George has just come in to say the we will be leaving for Morogoro tomorrow
                    afternoon.

                    Eleanor.

                    Morogoro 14th September 1939

                    Dearest Family,

                    Morogoro is a complete change from Nzassa. This is a large and sprawling
                    township. The native town and all the shops are down on the flat land by the railway but
                    all the European houses are away up the slope of the high Uluguru Mountains.
                    Morogoro was a flourishing town in the German days and all the streets are lined with
                    trees for coolness as is the case in other German towns. These trees are the flamboyant
                    acacia which has an umbrella top and throws a wide but light shade.

                    Most of the houses have large gardens so they cover a considerable area and it
                    is quite a safari for me to visit friends on foot as our house is on the edge of this area and
                    the furthest away from the town. Here ones house is in accordance with ones seniority in
                    Government service. Ours is a simple affair, just three lofty square rooms opening on to
                    a wide enclosed verandah. Mosquitoes are bad here so all doors and windows are
                    screened and we will have to carry on with our daily doses of quinine.

                    George came up to Morogoro with us on the train. This was fortunate because I
                    went down with a sharp attack of malaria at the hotel on the afternoon of our departure
                    from Dar es Salaam. George’s drastic cure of vast doses of quinine, a pillow over my
                    head, and the bed heaped with blankets soon brought down the temperature so I was
                    fit enough to board the train but felt pretty poorly on the trip. However next day I felt
                    much better which was a good thing as George had to return to Dar es Salaam after two
                    days. His train left late at night so I did not see him off but said good-bye at home
                    feeling dreadful but trying to keep the traditional stiff upper lip of the wife seeing her
                    husband off to the wars. He hopes to go off to Abyssinia but wrote from Dar es Salaam
                    to say that he is being sent down to Rhodesia by road via Mbeya to escort the first
                    detachment of Rhodesian white troops.

                    First he will have to select suitable camping sites for night stops and arrange for
                    supplies of food. I am very pleased as it means he will be safe for a while anyway. We
                    are both worried about Ann and George in England and wonder if it would be safer to
                    have them sent out.

                    Eleanor.

                    Morogoro 4th November 1939

                    Dearest Family,

                    My big news is that George has been released from the Army. He is very
                    indignant and disappointed because he hoped to go to Abyssinia but I am terribly,
                    terribly glad. The Chief Secretary wrote a very nice letter to George pointing out that he
                    would be doing a greater service to his country by his work of elephant control, giving
                    crop protection during the war years when foodstuffs are such a vital necessity, than by
                    doing a soldiers job. The Government plan to start a huge rice scheme in the Rufiji area,
                    and want George to control the elephant and hippo there. First of all though. he must go
                    to the Southern Highlands Province where there is another outbreak of Rinderpest, to
                    shoot out diseased game especially buffalo, which might spread the disease.

                    So off we go again on our travels but this time we are leaving the two dogs
                    behind in the care of Daniel, the Game Clerk. Fanny is very pregnant and I hate leaving
                    her behind but the clerk has promised to look after her well. We are taking Hamisi, our
                    dignified Swahili cook and the houseboy Juma and his wife whom we brought with us
                    from Nzassa. The boy is not very good but his wife makes a cheerful and placid ayah
                    and adores Johnny.

                    Eleanor.

                    Iringa 8th December 1939

                    Dearest Family,

                    The children and I are staying in a small German house leased from the
                    Custodian of Enemy Property. I can’t help feeling sorry for the owners who must be in
                    concentration camps somewhere.George is away in the bush dealing with the
                    Rinderpest emergency and the cook has gone with him. Now I have sent the houseboy
                    and the ayah away too. Two days ago my houseboy came and told me that he felt
                    very ill and asked me to write a ‘chit’ to the Indian Doctor. In the note I asked the Doctor
                    to let me know the nature of his complaint and to my horror I got a note from him to say
                    that the houseboy had a bad case of Venereal Disease. Was I horrified! I took it for
                    granted that his wife must be infected too and told them both that they would have to
                    return to their home in Nzassa. The boy shouted and the ayah wept but I paid them in
                    lieu of notice and gave them money for the journey home. So there I was left servant
                    less with firewood to chop, a smokey wood burning stove to control, and of course, the
                    two children.

                    To add to my troubles Johnny had a temperature so I sent for the European
                    Doctor. He diagnosed malaria and was astonished at the size of Johnny’s spleen. He
                    said that he must have had suppressed malaria over a long period and the poor child
                    must now be fed maximum doses of quinine for a long time. The Doctor is a fatherly
                    soul, he has been recalled from retirement to do this job as so many of the young
                    doctors have been called up for service with the army.

                    I told him about my houseboy’s complaint and the way I had sent him off
                    immediately, and he was very amused at my haste, saying that it is most unlikely that
                    they would have passed the disease onto their employers. Anyway I hated the idea. I
                    mean to engage a houseboy locally, but will do without an ayah until we return to
                    Morogoro in February.

                    Something happened today to cheer me up. A telegram came from Daniel which
                    read, “FLANNEL HAS FIVE CUBS.”

                    Eleanor.

                    Morogoro 10th March 1940

                    Dearest Family,

                    We are having very heavy rain and the countryside is a most beautiful green. In
                    spite of the weather George is away on safari though it must be very wet and
                    unpleasant. He does work so hard at his elephant hunting job and has got very thin. I
                    suppose this is partly due to those stomach pains he gets and the doctors don’t seem
                    to diagnose the trouble.

                    Living in Morogoro is much like living in a country town in South Africa, particularly
                    as there are several South African women here. I go out quite often to morning teas. We
                    all take our war effort knitting, and natter, and are completely suburban.
                    I sometimes go and see an elderly couple who have been interred here. They
                    are cold shouldered by almost everyone else but I cannot help feeling sorry for them.
                    Usually I go by invitation because I know Mrs Ruppel prefers to be prepared and
                    always has sandwiches and cake. They both speak English but not fluently and
                    conversation is confined to talking about my children and theirs. Their two sons were
                    students in Germany when war broke out but are now of course in the German Army.
                    Such nice looking chaps from their photographs but I suppose thorough Nazis. As our
                    conversation is limited I usually ask to hear a gramophone record or two. They have a
                    large collection.

                    Janet, the ayah whom I engaged at Mbeya, is proving a great treasure. She is a
                    trained hospital ayah and is most dependable and capable. She is, perhaps, a little strict
                    but the great thing is that I can trust her with the children out of my sight.
                    Last week I went out at night for the first time without George. The occasion was
                    a farewell sundowner given by the Commissioner of Prisoners and his wife. I was driven
                    home by the District Officer and he stopped his car by the back door in a large puddle.
                    Ayah came to the back door, storm lamp in hand, to greet me. My escort prepared to
                    drive off but the car stuck. I thought a push from me might help, so without informing the
                    driver, I pushed as hard as I could on the back of the car. Unfortunately the driver
                    decided on other tactics. He put the engine in reverse and I was knocked flat on my back
                    in the puddle. The car drove forward and away without the driver having the least idea of
                    what happened. The ayah was in quite a state, lifting me up and scolding me for my
                    stupidity as though I were Kate. I was a bit shaken but non the worse and will know
                    better next time.

                    Eleanor.

                    Morogoro 14th July 1940

                    Dearest Family,

                    How good it was of Dad to send that cable to Mother offering to have Ann and
                    George to live with you if they are accepted for inclusion in the list of children to be
                    evacuated to South Africa. It would be wonderful to know that they are safely out of the
                    war zone and so much nearer to us but I do dread the thought of the long sea voyage
                    particularly since we heard the news of the sinking of that liner carrying child evacuees to
                    Canada. I worry about them so much particularly as George is so often away on safari.
                    He is so comforting and calm and I feel brave and confident when he is home.
                    We have had no news from England for five weeks but, when she last wrote,
                    mother said the children were very well and that she was sure they would be safe in the
                    country with her.

                    Kate and John are growing fast. Kate is such a pretty little girl, rosy in spite of the
                    rather trying climate. I have allowed her hair to grow again and it hangs on her shoulders
                    in shiny waves. John is a more slightly built little boy than young George was, and quite
                    different in looks. He has Dad’s high forehead and cleft chin, widely spaced brown eyes
                    that are not so dark as mine and hair that is still fair and curly though ayah likes to smooth it
                    down with water every time she dresses him. He is a shy child, and although he plays
                    happily with Kate, he does not care to play with other children who go in the late
                    afternoons to a lawn by the old German ‘boma’.

                    Kate has playmates of her own age but still rather clings to me. Whilst she loves
                    to have friends here to play with her, she will not go to play at their houses unless I go
                    too and stay. She always insists on accompanying me when I go out to morning tea
                    and always calls JanetJohn’s ayah”. One morning I went to a knitting session at a
                    neighbours house. We are all knitting madly for the troops. As there were several other
                    women in the lounge and no other children, I installed Kate in the dining room with a
                    colouring book and crayons. My hostess’ black dog was chained to the dining room
                    table leg, but as he and Kate are on friendly terms I was not bothered by this.
                    Some time afterwards, during a lull in conversation, I heard a strange drumming
                    noise coming from the dining room. I went quickly to investigate and, to my horror, found
                    Kate lying on her back with the dog chain looped around her neck. The frightened dog
                    was straining away from her as far as he could get and the chain was pulled so tightly
                    around her throat that she could not scream. The drumming noise came from her heels
                    kicking in a panic on the carpet.

                    Even now I do not know how Kate got herself into this predicament. Luckily no
                    great harm was done but I think I shall do my knitting at home in future.

                    Eleanor.

                    Morogoro 16th November 1940

                    Dearest Family,

                    I much prefer our little house on the hillside to the larger one we had down below.
                    The only disadvantage is that the garden is on three levels and both children have had
                    some tumbles down the steps on the tricycle. John is an extremely stoical child. He
                    never cries when he hurts himself.

                    I think I have mentioned ‘Morningside’ before. It is a kind of Resthouse high up in
                    the Uluguru Mountains above Morogoro. Jess Howe-Browne, who runs the large
                    house as a Guest House, is a wonderful woman. Besides running the boarding house
                    she also grows vegetables, flowers and fruit for sale in Morogoro and Dar es Salaam.
                    Her guests are usually women and children from Dar es Salaam who come in the hot
                    season to escape the humidity on the coast. Often the mothers leave their children for
                    long periods in Jess Howe-Browne’s care. There is a road of sorts up the mountain side
                    to Morningside, but this is so bad that cars do not attempt it and guests are carried up
                    the mountain in wicker chairs lashed to poles. Four men carry an adult, and two a child,
                    and there are of course always spare bearers and they work in shifts.

                    Last week the children and I went to Morningside for the day as guests. John
                    rode on my lap in one chair and Kate in a small chair on her own. This did not please
                    Kate at all. The poles are carried on the bearers shoulders and one is perched quite high.
                    The motion is a peculiar rocking one. The bearers chant as they go and do not seem
                    worried by shortness of breath! They are all hillmen of course and are, I suppose, used
                    to trotting up and down to the town.

                    Morningside is well worth visiting and we spent a delightful day there. The fresh
                    cool air is a great change from the heavy air of the valley. A river rushes down the
                    mountain in a series of cascades, and the gardens are shady and beautiful. Behind the
                    property is a thick indigenous forest which stretches from Morningside to the top of the
                    mountain. The house is an old German one, rather in need of repair, but Jess has made
                    it comfortable and attractive, with some of her old family treasures including a fine old
                    Grandfather clock. We had a wonderful lunch which included large fresh strawberries and
                    cream. We made the return journey again in the basket chairs and got home before dark.
                    George returned home at the weekend with a baby elephant whom we have
                    called Winnie. She was rescued from a mud hole by some African villagers and, as her
                    mother had abandoned her, they took her home and George was informed. He went in
                    the truck to fetch her having first made arrangements to have her housed in a shed on the
                    Agriculture Department Experimental Farm here. He has written to the Game Dept
                    Headquarters to inform the Game Warden and I do not know what her future will be, but
                    in the meantime she is our pet. George is afraid she will not survive because she has
                    had a very trying time. She stands about waist high and is a delightful creature and quite
                    docile. Asian and African children as well as Europeans gather to watch her and George
                    encourages them to bring fruit for her – especially pawpaws which she loves.
                    Whilst we were there yesterday one of the local ladies came, very smartly
                    dressed in a linen frock, silk stockings, and high heeled shoes. She watched fascinated
                    whilst Winnie neatly split a pawpaw and removed the seeds with her trunk, before
                    scooping out the pulp and putting it in her mouth. It was a particularly nice ripe pawpaw
                    and Winnie enjoyed it so much that she stretched out her trunk for more. The lady took
                    fright and started to run with Winnie after her, sticky trunk outstretched. Quite an
                    entertaining sight. George managed to stop Winnie but not before she had left a gooey
                    smear down the back of the immaculate frock.

                    Eleanor.

                     

                    #6265
                    TracyTracy
                    Participant

                      From Tanganyika with Love

                      continued  ~ part 6

                      With thanks to Mike Rushby.

                      Mchewe 6th June 1937

                      Dearest Family,

                      Home again! We had an uneventful journey. Kate was as good as gold all the
                      way. We stopped for an hour at Bulawayo where we had to change trains but
                      everything was simplified for me by a very pleasant man whose wife shared my
                      compartment. Not only did he see me through customs but he installed us in our new
                      train and his wife turned up to see us off with magazines for me and fruit and sweets for
                      Kate. Very, very kind, don’t you think?

                      Kate and I shared the compartment with a very pretty and gentle girl called
                      Clarice Simpson. She was very worried and upset because she was going home to
                      Broken Hill in response to a telegram informing her that her young husband was
                      dangerously ill from Blackwater Fever. She was very helpful with Kate whose
                      cheerfulness helped Clarice, I think, though I, quite unintentionally was the biggest help
                      at the end of our journey. Remember the partial dentures I had had made just before
                      leaving Cape Town? I know I shall never get used to the ghastly things, I’ve had them
                      two weeks now and they still wobble. Well this day I took them out and wrapped them
                      in a handkerchief, but when we were packing up to leave the train I could find the
                      handkerchief but no teeth! We searched high and low until the train had slowed down to
                      enter Broken Hill station. Then Clarice, lying flat on the floor, spied the teeth in the dark
                      corner under the bottom bunk. With much stretching she managed to retrieve the
                      dentures covered in grime and fluff. My look of horror, when I saw them, made young
                      Clarice laugh. She was met at the station by a very grave elderly couple. I do wonder
                      how things turned out for her.

                      I stayed overnight with Kate at the Great Northern Hotel, and we set off for
                      Mbeya by plane early in the morning. One of our fellow passengers was a young
                      mother with a three week old baby. How ideas have changed since Ann was born. This
                      time we had a smooth passage and I was the only passenger to get airsick. Although
                      there were other women passengers it was a man once again, who came up and
                      offered to help. Kate went off with him amiably and he entertained her until we touched
                      down at Mbeya.

                      George was there to meet us with a wonderful surprise, a little red two seater
                      Ford car. She is a bit battered and looks a bit odd because the boot has been
                      converted into a large wooden box for carrying raw salt, but she goes like the wind.
                      Where did George raise the cash to buy a car? Whilst we were away he found a small
                      cave full of bat guano near a large cave which is worked by a man called Bob Sargent.
                      As Sargent did not want any competition he bought the contents of the cave from
                      George giving him the small car as part payment.

                      It was lovely to return to our little home and find everything fresh and tidy and the
                      garden full of colour. But it was heartbreaking to go into the bedroom and see George’s
                      precious forgotten boots still standing by his empty bed.

                      With much love,
                      Eleanor.

                      Mchewe 25th June 1937

                      Dearest Family,

                      Last Friday George took Kate and me in the little red Ford to visit Mr Sargent’s
                      camp on the Songwe River which cuts the Mbeya-Mbosi road. Mr Sargent bought
                      Hicky-Wood’s guano deposit and also our small cave and is making a good living out of
                      selling the bat guano to the coffee farmers in this province. George went to try to interest
                      him in a guano deposit near Kilwa in the Southern Province. Mr Sargent agreed to pay
                      25 pounds to cover the cost of the car trip and pegging costs. George will make the trip
                      to peg the claim and take samples for analysis. If the quality is sufficiently high, George
                      and Mr Sargent will go into partnership. George will work the claim and ship out the
                      guano from Kilwa which is on the coast of the Southern Province of Tanganyika. So now
                      we are busy building castles in the air once more.

                      On Saturday we went to Mbeya where George had to attend a meeting of the
                      Trout Association. In the afternoon he played in a cricket match so Kate and I spent the
                      whole day with the wife of the new Superintendent of Police. They have a very nice
                      new house with lawns and a sunken rose garden. Kate had a lovely romp with Kit, her
                      three year old son.

                      Mrs Wolten also has two daughters by a previous marriage. The elder girl said to
                      me, “Oh Mrs Rushby your husband is exactly like the strong silent type of man I
                      expected to see in Africa but he is the only one I have seen. I think he looks exactly like
                      those men in the ‘Barney’s Tobacco’ advertisements.”

                      I went home with a huge pile of magazines to keep me entertained whilst
                      George is away on the Kilwa trip.

                      Lots of love,
                      Eleanor.

                      Mchewe 9th July 1937

                      Dearest Family,

                      George returned on Monday from his Kilwa safari. He had an entertaining
                      tale to tell.

                      Before he approached Mr Sargent about going shares in the Kilwa guano
                      deposit he first approached a man on the Lupa who had done very well out of a small
                      gold reef. This man, however said he was not interested so you can imagine how
                      indignant George was when he started on his long trip, to find himself being trailed by
                      this very man and a co-driver in a powerful Ford V8 truck. George stopped his car and
                      had some heated things to say – awful threats I imagine as to what would happen to
                      anyone who staked his claim. Then he climbed back into our ancient little two seater and
                      went off like a bullet driving all day and most of the night. As the others took turns in
                      driving you can imagine what a feat it was for George to arrive in Kilwa ahead of them.
                      When they drove into Kilwa he met them with a bright smile and a bit of bluff –
                      quite justifiable under the circumstances I think. He said, you chaps can have a rest now,
                      you’re too late.” He then whipped off and pegged the claim. he brought some samples
                      of guano back but until it has been analysed he will not know whether the guano will be
                      an economic proposition or not. George is not very hopeful. He says there is a good
                      deal of sand mixed with the guano and that much of it was damp.

                      The trip was pretty eventful for Kianda, our houseboy. The little two seater car
                      had been used by its previous owner for carting bags of course salt from his salt pans.
                      For this purpose the dicky seat behind the cab had been removed, and a kind of box
                      built into the boot of the car. George’s camp kit and provisions were packed into this
                      open box and Kianda perched on top to keep an eye on the belongings. George
                      travelled so fast on the rough road that at some point during the night Kianda was
                      bumped off in the middle of the Game Reserve. George did not notice that he was
                      missing until the next morning. He concluded, quite rightly as it happened, that Kianda
                      would be picked up by the rival truck so he continued his journey and Kianda rejoined
                      him at Kilwa.

                      Believe it or not, the same thing happened on the way back but fortunately this
                      time George noticed his absence. He stopped the car and had just started back on his
                      tracks when Kianda came running down the road still clutching the unlighted storm lamp
                      which he was holding in his hand when he fell. The glass was not even cracked.
                      We are finding it difficult just now to buy native chickens and eggs. There has
                      been an epidemic amongst the poultry and one hesitates to eat the survivors. I have a
                      brine tub in which I preserve our surplus meat but I need the chickens for soup.
                      I hope George will be home for some months. He has arranged to take a Mr
                      Blackburn, a wealthy fruit farmer from Elgin, Cape, on a hunting safari during September
                      and October and that should bring in some much needed cash. Lillian Eustace has
                      invited Kate and me to spend the whole of October with her in Tukuyu.
                      I am so glad that you so much enjoy having Ann and George with you. We miss
                      them dreadfully. Kate is a pretty little girl and such a little madam. You should hear the
                      imperious way in which she calls the kitchenboy for her meals. “Boy Brekkis, Boy Lunch,
                      and Boy Eggy!” are her three calls for the day. She knows no Ki-Swahili.

                      Eleanor

                      Mchewe 8th October 1937

                      Dearest Family,

                      I am rapidly becoming as superstitious as our African boys. They say the wild
                      animals always know when George is away from home and come down to have their
                      revenge on me because he has killed so many.

                      I am being besieged at night by a most beastly leopard with a half grown cub. I
                      have grown used to hearing leopards grunt as they hunt in the hills at night but never
                      before have I had one roaming around literally under the windows. It has been so hot at
                      night lately that I have been sleeping with my bedroom door open onto the verandah. I
                      felt quite safe because the natives hereabouts are law-abiding and in any case I always
                      have a boy armed with a club sleeping in the kitchen just ten yards away. As an added
                      precaution I also have a loaded .45 calibre revolver on my bedside table, and Fanny
                      our bullterrier, sleeps on the mat by my bed. I am also looking after Barney, a fine
                      Airedale dog belonging to the Costers. He slept on a mat by the open bedroom door
                      near a dimly burning storm lamp.

                      As usual I went to sleep with an easy mind on Monday night, but was awakened
                      in the early hours of Tuesday by the sound of a scuffle on the front verandah. The noise
                      was followed by a scream of pain from Barney. I jumped out of bed and, grabbing the
                      lamp with my left hand and the revolver in my right, I rushed outside just in time to see
                      two animal figures roll over the edge of the verandah into the garden below. There they
                      engaged in a terrific tug of war. Fortunately I was too concerned for Barney to be
                      nervous. I quickly fired two shots from the revolver, which incidentally makes a noise like
                      a cannon, and I must have startled the leopard for both animals, still locked together,
                      disappeared over the edge of the terrace. I fired two more shots and in a few moments
                      heard the leopard making a hurried exit through the dry leaves which lie thick under the
                      wild fig tree just beyond the terrace. A few seconds later Barney appeared on the low
                      terrace wall. I called his name but he made no move to come but stood with hanging
                      head. In desperation I rushed out, felt blood on my hands when I touched him, so I
                      picked him up bodily and carried him into the house. As I regained the verandah the boy
                      appeared, club in hand, having been roused by the shots. He quickly grasped what had
                      happened when he saw my blood saturated nightie. He fetched a bowl of water and a
                      clean towel whilst I examined Barney’s wounds. These were severe, the worst being a
                      gaping wound in his throat. I washed the gashes with a strong solution of pot permang
                      and I am glad to say they are healing remarkably well though they are bound to leave
                      scars. Fanny, very prudently, had taken no part in the fighting except for frenzied barking
                      which she kept up all night. The shots had of course wakened Kate but she seemed
                      more interested than alarmed and kept saying “Fanny bark bark, Mummy bang bang.
                      Poor Barney lots of blood.”

                      In the morning we inspected the tracks in the garden. There was a shallow furrow
                      on the terrace where Barney and the leopard had dragged each other to and fro and
                      claw marks on the trunk of the wild fig tree into which the leopard climbed after I fired the
                      shots. The affair was of course a drama after the Africans’ hearts and several of our
                      shamba boys called to see me next day to make sympathetic noises and discuss the
                      affair.

                      I went to bed early that night hoping that the leopard had been scared off for
                      good but I must confess I shut all windows and doors. Alas for my hopes of a restful
                      night. I had hardly turned down the lamp when the leopard started its terrifying grunting
                      just under the bedroom windows. If only she would sniff around quietly I should not
                      mind, but the noise is ghastly, something like the first sickening notes of a braying
                      donkey, amplified here by the hills and the gorge which is only a stones throw from the
                      bedroom. Barney was too sick to bark but Fanny barked loud enough for two and the more
                      frantic she became the hungrier the leopard sounded. Kate of course woke up and this
                      time she was frightened though I assured her that the noise was just a donkey having
                      fun. Neither of us slept until dawn when the leopard returned to the hills. When we
                      examined the tracks next morning we found that the leopard had been accompanied by
                      a fair sized cub and that together they had prowled around the house, kitchen, and out
                      houses, visiting especially the places to which the dogs had been during the day.
                      As I feel I cannot bear many more of these nights, I am sending a note to the
                      District Commissioner, Mbeya by the messenger who takes this letter to the post,
                      asking him to send a game scout or an armed policeman to deal with the leopard.
                      So don’t worry, for by the time this reaches you I feel sure this particular trouble
                      will be over.

                      Eleanor.

                      Mchewe 17th October 1937

                      Dearest Family,

                      More about the leopard I fear! My messenger returned from Mbeya to say that
                      the District Officer was on safari so he had given the message to the Assistant District
                      Officer who also apparently left on safari later without bothering to reply to my note, so
                      there was nothing for me to do but to send for the village Nimrod and his muzzle loader
                      and offer him a reward if he could frighten away or kill the leopard.

                      The hunter, Laza, suggested that he should sleep at the house so I went to bed
                      early leaving Laza and his two pals to make themselves comfortable on the living room
                      floor by the fire. Laza was armed with a formidable looking muzzle loader, crammed I
                      imagine with nuts and bolts and old rusty nails. One of his pals had a spear and the other
                      a panga. This fellow was also in charge of the Petromax pressure lamp whose light was
                      hidden under a packing case. I left the campaign entirely to Laza’s direction.
                      As usual the leopard came at midnight stealing down from the direction of the
                      kitchen and announcing its presence and position with its usual ghastly grunts. Suddenly
                      pandemonium broke loose on the back verandah. I heard the roar of the muzzle loader
                      followed by a vigourous tattoo beaten on an empty paraffin tin and I rushed out hoping
                      to find the dead leopard. however nothing of the kind had happened except that the
                      noise must have scared the beast because she did not return again that night. Next
                      morning Laza solemnly informed me that, though he had shot many leopards in his day,
                      this was no ordinary leopard but a “sheitani” (devil) and that as his gun was no good
                      against witchcraft he thought he might as well retire from the hunt. Scared I bet, and I
                      don’t blame him either.

                      You can imagine my relief when a car rolled up that afternoon bringing Messers
                      Stewart and Griffiths, two farmers who live about 15 miles away, between here and
                      Mbeya. They had a note from the Assistant District Officer asking them to help me and
                      they had come to set up a trap gun in the garden. That night the leopard sniffed all
                      around the gun and I had the added strain of waiting for the bang and wondering what I
                      should do if the beast were only wounded. I conjured up horrible visions of the two little
                      totos trotting up the garden path with the early morning milk and being horribly mauled,
                      but I needn’t have worried because the leopard was far too wily to be caught that way.
                      Two more ghastly nights passed and then I had another visitor, a Dr Jackson of
                      the Tsetse Department on safari in the District. He listened sympathetically to my story
                      and left his shotgun and some SSG cartridges with me and instructed me to wait until the
                      leopard was pretty close and blow its b—– head off. It was good of him to leave his
                      gun. George always says there are three things a man should never lend, ‘His wife, his
                      gun and his dog.’ (I think in that order!)I felt quite cheered by Dr Jackson’s visit and sent
                      once again for Laza last night and arranged a real show down. In the afternoon I draped
                      heavy blankets over the living room windows to shut out the light of the pressure lamp
                      and the four of us, Laza and his two stooges and I waited up for the leopard. When we
                      guessed by her grunts that she was somewhere between the kitchen and the back door
                      we all rushed out, first the boy with the panga and the lamp, next Laza with his muzzle
                      loader, then me with the shotgun followed closely by the boy with the spear. What a
                      farce! The lamp was our undoing. We were blinded by the light and did not even
                      glimpse the leopard which made off with a derisive grunt. Laza said smugly that he knew
                      it was hopeless to try and now I feel tired and discouraged too.

                      This morning I sent a runner to Mbeya to order the hotel taxi for tomorrow and I
                      shall go to friends in Mbeya for a day or two and then on to Tukuyu where I shall stay
                      with the Eustaces until George returns from Safari.

                      Eleanor.

                      Mchewe 18th November 1937

                      My darling Ann,

                      Here we are back in our own home and how lovely it is to have Daddy back from
                      safari. Thank you very much for your letter. I hope by now you have got mine telling you
                      how very much I liked the beautiful tray cloth you made for my birthday. I bet there are
                      not many little girls of five who can embroider as well as you do, darling. The boy,
                      Matafari, washes and irons it so carefully and it looks lovely on the tea tray.

                      Daddy and I had some fun last night. I was in bed and Daddy was undressing
                      when we heard a funny scratching noise on the roof. I thought it was the leopard. Daddy
                      quickly loaded his shotgun and ran outside. He had only his shirt on and he looked so
                      funny. I grabbed the loaded revolver from the cupboard and ran after Dad in my nightie
                      but after all the rush it was only your cat, Winnie, though I don’t know how she managed
                      to make such a noise. We felt so silly, we laughed and laughed.

                      Kate talks a lot now but in such a funny way you would laugh to her her. She
                      hears the houseboys call me Memsahib so sometimes instead of calling me Mummy
                      she calls me “Oompaab”. She calls the bedroom a ‘bippon’ and her little behind she
                      calls her ‘sittendump’. She loves to watch Mandawi’s cattle go home along the path
                      behind the kitchen. Joseph your donkey, always leads the cows. He has a lazy life now.
                      I am glad you had such fun on Guy Fawkes Day. You will be sad to leave
                      Plumstead but I am sure you will like going to England on the big ship with granny Kate.
                      I expect you will start school when you get to England and I am sure you will find that
                      fun.

                      God bless my dear little girl. Lots of love from Daddy and Kate,
                      and Mummy

                      Mchewe 18th November 1937

                      Hello George Darling,

                      Thank you for your lovely drawing of Daddy shooting an elephant. Daddy says
                      that the only thing is that you have drawn him a bit too handsome.

                      I went onto the verandah a few minutes ago to pick a banana for Kate from the
                      bunch hanging there and a big hornet flew out and stung my elbow! There are lots of
                      them around now and those stinging flies too. Kate wears thick corduroy dungarees so
                      that she will not get her fat little legs bitten. She is two years old now and is a real little
                      pickle. She loves running out in the rain so I have ordered a pair of red Wellingtons and a
                      tiny umbrella from a Nairobi shop for her Christmas present.

                      Fanny’s puppies have their eyes open now and have very sharp little teeth.
                      They love to nip each other. We are keeping the fiercest little one whom we call Paddy
                      but are giving the others to friends. The coffee bushes are full of lovely white flowers
                      and the bees and ants are very busy stealing their honey.

                      Yesterday a troop of baboons came down the hill and Dad shot a big one to
                      scare the others off. They are a nuisance because they steal the maize and potatoes
                      from the native shambas and then there is not enough food for the totos.
                      Dad and I are very proud of you for not making a fuss when you went to the
                      dentist to have that tooth out.

                      Bye bye, my fine little son.
                      Three bags full of love from Kate, Dad and Mummy.

                      Mchewe 12th February, 1938

                      Dearest Family,

                      here is some news that will please you. George has been offered and has
                      accepted a job as Forester at Mbulu in the Northern Province of Tanganyika. George
                      would have preferred a job as Game Ranger, but though the Game Warden, Philip
                      Teare, is most anxious to have him in the Game Department, there is no vacancy at
                      present. Anyway if one crops up later, George can always transfer from one
                      Government Department to another. Poor George, he hates the idea of taking a job. He
                      says that hitherto he has always been his own master and he detests the thought of
                      being pushed around by anyone.

                      Now however he has no choice. Our capitol is almost exhausted and the coffee
                      market shows no signs of improving. With three children and another on the way, he
                      feels he simply must have a fixed income. I shall be sad to leave this little farm. I love
                      our little home and we have been so very happy here, but my heart rejoices at the
                      thought of overseas leave every thirty months. Now we shall be able to fetch Ann and
                      George from England and in three years time we will all be together in Tanganyika once
                      more.

                      There is no sale for farms so we will just shut the house and keep on a very small
                      labour force just to keep the farm from going derelict. We are eating our hens but will
                      take our two dogs, Fanny and Paddy with us.

                      One thing I shall be glad to leave is that leopard. She still comes grunting around
                      at night but not as badly as she did before. I do not mind at all when George is here but
                      until George was accepted for this forestry job I was afraid he might go back to the
                      Diggings and I should once more be left alone to be cursed by the leopard’s attentions.
                      Knowing how much I dreaded this George was most anxious to shoot the leopard and
                      for weeks he kept his shotgun and a powerful torch handy at night.

                      One night last week we woke to hear it grunting near the kitchen. We got up very
                      quietly and whilst George loaded the shotgun with SSG, I took the torch and got the
                      heavy revolver from the cupboard. We crept out onto the dark verandah where George
                      whispered to me to not switch on the torch until he had located the leopard. It was pitch
                      black outside so all he could do was listen intently. And then of course I spoilt all his
                      plans. I trod on the dog’s tin bowl and made a terrific clatter! George ordered me to
                      switch on the light but it was too late and the leopard vanished into the long grass of the
                      Kalonga, grunting derisively, or so it sounded.

                      She never comes into the clearing now but grunts from the hillside just above it.

                      Eleanor.

                      Mbulu 18th March, 1938

                      Dearest Family,

                      Journeys end at last. here we are at Mbulu, installed in our new quarters which are
                      as different as they possibly could be from our own cosy little home at Mchewe. We
                      live now, my dears, in one wing of a sort of ‘Beau Geste’ fort but I’ll tell you more about
                      it in my next letter. We only arrived yesterday and have not had time to look around.
                      This letter will tell you just about our trip from Mbeya.

                      We left the farm in our little red Ford two seater with all our portable goods and
                      chattels plus two native servants and the two dogs. Before driving off, George took one
                      look at the flattened springs and declared that he would be surprised if we reached
                      Mbeya without a breakdown and that we would never make Mbulu with the car so
                      overloaded.

                      However luck was with us. We reached Mbeya without mishap and at one of the
                      local garages saw a sturdy used Ford V8 boxbody car for sale. The garage agreed to
                      take our small car as part payment and George drew on our little remaining capitol for the
                      rest. We spent that night in the house of the Forest Officer and next morning set out in
                      comfort for the Northern Province of Tanganyika.

                      I had done the journey from Dodoma to Mbeya seven years before so was
                      familiar with the scenery but the road was much improved and the old pole bridges had
                      been replaced by modern steel ones. Kate was as good as gold all the way. We
                      avoided hotels and camped by the road and she found this great fun.
                      The road beyond Dodoma was new to me and very interesting country, flat and
                      dry and dusty, as little rain falls there. The trees are mostly thorn trees but here and there
                      one sees a giant baobab, weird trees with fantastically thick trunks and fat squat branches
                      with meagre foliage. The inhabitants of this area I found interesting though. They are
                      called Wagogo and are a primitive people who ape the Masai in dress and customs
                      though they are much inferior to the Masai in physique. They are also great herders of
                      cattle which, rather surprisingly, appear to thrive in that dry area.

                      The scenery alters greatly as one nears Babati, which one approaches by a high
                      escarpment from which one has a wonderful view of the Rift Valley. Babati township
                      appears to be just a small group of Indian shops and shabby native houses, but I
                      believe there are some good farms in the area. Though the little township is squalid,
                      there is a beautiful lake and grand mountains to please the eye. We stopped only long
                      enough to fill up with petrol and buy some foodstuffs. Beyond Babati there is a tsetse
                      fly belt and George warned our two native servants to see that no tsetse flies settled on
                      the dogs.

                      We stopped for the night in a little rest house on the road about 80 miles from
                      Arusha where we were to spend a few days with the Forest Officer before going on to
                      Mbulu. I enjoyed this section of the road very much because it runs across wide plains
                      which are bounded on the West by the blue mountains of the Rift Valley wall. Here for
                      the first time I saw the Masai on their home ground guarding their vast herds of cattle. I
                      also saw their strange primitive hovels called Manyattas, with their thorn walled cattle
                      bomas and lots of plains game – giraffe, wildebeest, ostriches and antelope. Kate was
                      wildly excited and entranced with the game especially the giraffe which stood gazing
                      curiously and unafraid of us, often within a few yards of the road.

                      Finally we came across the greatest thrill of all, my first view of Mt Meru the extinct
                      volcano about 16,000 feet high which towers over Arusha township. The approach to
                      Arusha is through flourishing coffee plantations very different alas from our farm at Mchewe. George says that at Arusha coffee growing is still a paying proposition
                      because here the yield of berry per acre is much higher than in the Southern highlands
                      and here in the North the farmers have not such heavy transport costs as the railway runs
                      from Arusha to the port at Tanga.

                      We stayed overnight at a rather second rate hotel but the food was good and we
                      had hot baths and a good nights rest. Next day Tom Lewis the Forest Officer, fetched
                      us and we spent a few days camping in a tent in the Lewis’ garden having meals at their
                      home. Both Tom and Lillian Lewis were most friendly. Tom lewis explained to George
                      what his work in the Mbulu District was to be, and they took us camping in a Forest
                      Reserve where Lillian and her small son David and Kate and I had a lovely lazy time
                      amidst beautiful surroundings. Before we left for Mbulu, Lillian took me shopping to buy
                      material for curtains for our new home. She described the Forest House at Mbulu to me
                      and it sounded delightful but alas, when we reached Mbulu we discovered that the
                      Assistant District Officer had moved into the Forest House and we were directed to the
                      Fort or Boma. The night before we left Arusha for Mbulu it rained very heavily and the
                      road was very treacherous and slippery due to the surface being of ‘black cotton’ soil
                      which has the appearance and consistency of chocolate blancmange, after rain. To get to
                      Mbulu we had to drive back in the direction of Dodoma for some 70 miles and then turn
                      to the right and drive across plains to the Great Rift Valley Wall. The views from this
                      escarpment road which climbs this wall are magnificent. At one point one looks down
                      upon Lake Manyara with its brilliant white beaches of soda.

                      The drive was a most trying one for George. We had no chains for the wheels
                      and several times we stuck in the mud and our two houseboys had to put grass and
                      branches under the wheels to stop them from spinning. Quite early on in the afternoon
                      George gave up all hope of reaching Mbulu that day and planned to spend the night in
                      a little bush rest camp at Karatu. However at one point it looked as though we would not
                      even reach this resthouse for late afternoon found us properly bogged down in a mess
                      of mud at the bottom of a long and very steep hill. In spite of frantic efforts on the part of
                      George and the two boys, all now very wet and muddy, the heavy car remained stuck.
                      Suddenly five Masai men appeared through the bushes beside the road. They
                      were all tall and angular and rather terrifying looking to me. Each wore only a blanket
                      knotted over one shoulder and all were armed with spears. They lined up by the side of
                      the road and just looked – not hostile but simply aloof and supercilious. George greeted
                      them and said in Ki-Swahili, “Help to push and I will reward you.” But they said nothing,
                      just drawing back imperceptibly to register disgust at the mere idea of manual labour.
                      Their expressions said quite clearly “A Masai is a warrior and does not soil his hands.”
                      George then did something which startled them I think, as much as me. He
                      plucked their spears from their hands one by one and flung them into the back of the
                      boxbody. “Now push!” he said, “And when we are safely out of the mud you shall have
                      your spears back.” To my utter astonishment the Masai seemed to applaud George’s
                      action. I think they admire courage in a man more than anything else. They pushed with a
                      will and soon we were roaring up the long steep slope. “I can’t stop here” quoth George
                      as up and up we went. The Masai were in mad pursuit with their blankets streaming
                      behind. They took a very steep path which was a shortcut to the top. They are certainly
                      amazing athletes and reached the top at the same time as the car. Their route of course
                      was shorter but much more steep, yet they came up without any sign of fatigue to claim
                      their spears and the money which George handed out with a friendly grin. The Masai
                      took the whole episode in good heart and we parted on the most friendly terms.

                      After a rather chilly night in the three walled shack, we started on the last lap of our
                      journey yesterday morning in bright weather and made the trip to Mbulu without incident.

                      Eleanor.

                      Mbulu 24th March, 1938

                      Dearest Family,

                      Mbulu is an attractive station but living in this rather romantic looking fort has many
                      disadvantages. Our quarters make up one side of the fort which is built up around a
                      hollow square. The buildings are single storied but very tall in the German manner and
                      there is a tower on one corner from which the Union Jack flies. The tower room is our
                      sitting room, and one has very fine views from the windows of the rolling country side.
                      However to reach this room one has to climb a steep flight of cement steps from the
                      court yard. Another disadvantage of this tower room is that there is a swarm of bees in
                      the roof and the stray ones drift down through holes in the ceiling and buzz angrily
                      against the window panes or fly around in a most menacing manner.

                      Ours are the only private quarters in the Fort. Two other sides of the Fort are
                      used as offices, storerooms and court room and the fourth side is simply a thick wall with
                      battlements and loopholes and a huge iron shod double door of enormous thickness
                      which is always barred at sunset when the flag is hauled down. Two Police Askari always
                      remain in the Fort on guard at night. The effect from outside the whitewashed fort is very
                      romantic but inside it is hardly homely and how I miss my garden at Mchewe and the
                      grass and trees.

                      We have no privacy downstairs because our windows overlook the bare
                      courtyard which is filled with Africans patiently waiting to be admitted to the courtroom as
                      witnesses or spectators. The outside windows which overlook the valley are heavily
                      barred. I can only think that the Germans who built this fort must have been very scared
                      of the local natives.

                      Our rooms are hardly cosy and are furnished with typical heavy German pieces.
                      We have a vast bleak bedroom, a dining room and an enormous gloomy kitchen in
                      which meals for the German garrison were cooked. At night this kitchen is alive with
                      gigantic rats but fortunately they do not seem to care for the other rooms. To crown
                      everything owls hoot and screech at night on the roof.

                      On our first day here I wandered outside the fort walls with Kate and came upon a
                      neatly fenced plot enclosing the graves of about fifteen South African soldiers killed by
                      the Germans in the 1914-18 war. I understand that at least one of theses soldiers died in
                      the courtyard here. The story goes, that during the period in the Great War when this fort
                      was occupied by a troop of South African Horse, a German named Siedtendorf
                      appeared at the great barred door at night and asked to speak to the officer in command
                      of the Troop. The officer complied with this request and the small shutter in the door was
                      opened so that he could speak with the German. The German, however, had not come
                      to speak. When he saw the exposed face of the officer, he fired, killing him, and
                      escaped into the dark night. I had this tale on good authority but cannot vouch for it. I do
                      know though, that there are two bullet holes in the door beside the shutter. An unhappy
                      story to think about when George is away, as he is now, and the moonlight throws queer
                      shadows in the court yard and the owls hoot.

                      However though I find our quarters depressing, I like Mbulu itself very much. It is
                      rolling country, treeless except for the plantations of the Forestry Dept. The land is very
                      fertile in the watered valleys but the grass on hills and plains is cropped to the roots by
                      the far too numerous cattle and goats. There are very few Europeans on the station, only
                      Mr Duncan, the District Officer, whose wife and children recently left for England, the
                      Assistant District Officer and his wife, a bachelor Veterinary Officer, a Road Foreman and
                      ourselves, and down in the village a German with an American wife and an elderly
                      Irishman whom I have not met. The Government officials have a communal vegetable
                      garden in the valley below the fort which keeps us well supplied with green stuff. 

                      Most afternoons George, Kate and I go for walks after tea. On Fridays there is a
                      little ceremony here outside the fort. In the late afternoon a little procession of small
                      native schoolboys, headed by a drum and penny whistle band come marching up the
                      road to a tune which sounds like ‘Two lovely black eyes”. They form up below our tower
                      and as the flag is lowered for the day they play ‘God save the King’, and then march off
                      again. It is quite a cheerful little ceremony.

                      The local Africans are a skinny lot and, I should say, a poor tribe. They protect
                      themselves against the cold by wrapping themselves in cotton blankets or a strip of
                      unbleached sheeting. This they drape over their heads, almost covering their faces and
                      the rest is wrapped closely round their bodies in the manner of a shroud. A most
                      depressing fashion. They live in very primitive comfortless houses. They simply make a
                      hollow in the hillside and build a front wall of wattle and daub. Into this rude shelter at night
                      go cattle and goats, men, women, and children.

                      Mbulu village has the usual mud brick and wattle dukas and wattle and daub
                      houses. The chief trader is a Goan who keeps a surprisingly good variety of tinned
                      foodstuffs and also sells hardware and soft goods.

                      The Europeans here have been friendly but as you will have noted there are
                      only two other women on station and no children at all to be companions for Kate.

                      Eleanor.

                      Mbulu 20th June 1938

                      Dearest Family,

                      Here we are on Safari with George at Babati where we are occupying a rest
                      house on the slopes of Ufiome Mountain. The slopes are a Forest Reserve and
                      George is supervising the clearing of firebreaks in preparation for the dry weather. He
                      goes off after a very early breakfast and returns home in the late afternoon so Kate and I
                      have long lazy days.

                      Babati is a pleasant spot and the resthouse is quite comfortable. It is about a mile
                      from the village which is just the usual collection of small mud brick and corrugated iron
                      Indian Dukas. There are a few settlers in the area growing coffee, or going in for mixed
                      farming but I don’t think they are doing very well. The farm adjoining the rest house is
                      owned by Lord Lovelace but is run by a manager.

                      George says he gets enough exercise clambering about all day on the mountain,
                      so Kate and I do our walking in the mornings when George is busy, and we all relax in
                      the evenings when George returns from his field work. Kate’s favourite walk is to the big
                      block of mtama (sorghum) shambas lower down the hill. There are huge swarms of tiny
                      grain eating birds around waiting the chance to plunder the mtama, so the crops are
                      watched from sunrise to sunset.

                      Crude observation platforms have been erected for this purpose in the centre of
                      each field and the women and the young boys of the family concerned, take it in turn to
                      occupy the platform and scare the birds. Each watcher has a sling and uses clods of
                      earth for ammunition. The clod is placed in the centre of the sling which is then whirled
                      around at arms length. Suddenly one end of the sling is released and the clod of earth
                      flies out and shatters against the mtama stalks. The sling makes a loud whip like crack and
                      the noise is quite startling and very effective in keeping the birds at a safe distance.

                      Eleanor.

                      Karatu 3rd July 1938

                      Dearest Family,

                      Still on safari you see! We left Babati ten days ago and passed through Mbulu
                      on our way to this spot. We slept out of doors one night beside Lake Tiawa about eight
                      miles from Mbulu. It was a peaceful spot and we enjoyed watching the reflection of the
                      sunset on the lake and the waterhens and duck and pelicans settling down for the night.
                      However it turned piercingly cold after sunset so we had an early supper and then all
                      three of us lay down to sleep in the back of the boxbody (station wagon). It was a tight
                      fit and a real case of ‘When Dad turns, we all turn.’

                      Here at Karatu we are living in a grass hut with only three walls. It is rather sweet
                      and looks like the setting for a Nativity Play. Kate and I share the only camp bed and
                      George and the dogs sleep on the floor. The air here is very fresh and exhilarating and
                      we all feel very fit. George is occupied all day supervising the cutting of firebreaks
                      around existing plantations and the forest reserve of indigenous trees. Our camp is on
                      the hillside and below us lie the fertile wheat lands of European farmers.

                      They are mostly Afrikaners, the descendants of the Boer families who were
                      invited by the Germans to settle here after the Boer War. Most of them are pro-British
                      now and a few have called in here to chat to George about big game hunting. George
                      gets on extremely well with them and recently attended a wedding where he had a
                      lively time dancing at the reception. He likes the older people best as most are great
                      individualists. One fine old man, surnamed von Rooyen, visited our camp. He is a Boer
                      of the General Smuts type with spare figure and bearded face. George tells me he is a
                      real patriarch with an enormous family – mainly sons. This old farmer fought against the
                      British throughout the Boer War under General Smuts and again against the British in the
                      German East Africa campaign when he was a scout and right hand man to Von Lettow. It
                      is said that Von Lettow was able to stay in the field until the end of the Great War
                      because he listened to the advise given to him by von Rooyen. However his dislike for
                      the British does not extend to George as they have a mutual interest in big game
                      hunting.

                      Kate loves being on safari. She is now so accustomed to having me as her nurse
                      and constant companion that I do not know how she will react to paid help. I shall have to
                      get someone to look after her during my confinement in the little German Red Cross
                      hospital at Oldeani.

                      George has obtained permission from the District Commissioner, for Kate and
                      me to occupy the Government Rest House at Oldeani from the end of July until the end
                      of August when my baby is due. He will have to carry on with his field work but will join
                      us at weekends whenever possible.

                      Eleanor.

                      Karatu 12th July 1938

                      Dearest Family,

                      Not long now before we leave this camp. We have greatly enjoyed our stay
                      here in spite of the very chilly earl mornings and the nights when we sit around in heavy
                      overcoats until our early bed time.

                      Last Sunday I persuaded George to take Kate and me to the famous Ngoro-
                      Ngoro Crater. He was not very keen to do so because the road is very bumpy for
                      anyone in my interesting condition but I feel so fit that I was most anxious to take this
                      opportunity of seeing the enormous crater. We may never be in this vicinity again and in
                      any case safari will not be so simple with a small baby.

                      What a wonderful trip it was! The road winds up a steep escarpment from which
                      one gets a glorious birds eye view of the plains of the Great Rift Valley far, far below.
                      The crater is immense. There is a road which skirts the rim in places and one has quite
                      startling views of the floor of the crater about two thousand feet below.

                      A camp for tourists has just been built in a clearing in the virgin forest. It is most
                      picturesque as the camp buildings are very neatly constructed log cabins with very high
                      pitched thatched roofs. We spent about an hour sitting on the grass near the edge of the
                      crater enjoying the sunshine and the sharp air and really awe inspiring view. Far below us
                      in the middle of the crater was a small lake and we could see large herds of game
                      animals grazing there but they were too far away to be impressive, even seen through
                      George’s field glasses. Most appeared to be wildebeest and zebra but I also picked
                      out buffalo. Much more exciting was my first close view of a wild elephant. George
                      pointed him out to me as we approached the rest camp on the inward journey. He
                      stood quietly under a tree near the road and did not seem to be disturbed by the car
                      though he rolled a wary eye in our direction. On our return journey we saw him again at
                      almost uncomfortably close quarters. We rounded a sharp corner and there stood the
                      elephant, facing us and slap in the middle of the road. He was busily engaged giving
                      himself a dust bath but spared time to give us an irritable look. Fortunately we were on a
                      slight slope so George quickly switched off the engine and backed the car quietly round
                      the corner. He got out of the car and loaded his rifle, just in case! But after he had finished
                      his toilet the elephant moved off the road and we took our chance and passed without
                      incident.

                      One notices the steepness of the Ngoro-Ngoro road more on the downward
                      journey than on the way up. The road is cut into the side of the mountain so that one has
                      a steep slope on one hand and a sheer drop on the other. George told me that a lorry
                      coming down the mountain was once charged from behind by a rhino. On feeling and
                      hearing the bash from behind the panic stricken driver drove off down the mountain as
                      fast as he dared and never paused until he reached level ground at the bottom of the
                      mountain. There was no sign of the rhino so the driver got out to examine his lorry and
                      found the rhino horn embedded in the wooden tail end of the lorry. The horn had been
                      wrenched right off!

                      Happily no excitement of that kind happened to us. I have yet to see a rhino.

                      Eleanor.

                      Oldeani. 19th July 1938

                      Dearest Family,

                      Greetings from a lady in waiting! Kate and I have settled down comfortably in the
                      new, solidly built Government Rest House which comprises one large living room and
                      one large office with a connecting door. Outside there is a kitchen and a boys quarter.
                      There are no resident Government officials here at Oldeani so the office is in use only
                      when the District Officer from Mbulu makes his monthly visit. However a large Union
                      Jack flies from a flagpole in the front of the building as a gentle reminder to the entirely
                      German population of Oldeani that Tanganyika is now under British rule.

                      There is quite a large community of German settlers here, most of whom are
                      engaged in coffee farming. George has visited several of the farms in connection with his
                      forestry work and says the coffee plantations look very promising indeed. There are also
                      a few German traders in the village and there is a large boarding school for German
                      children and also a very pleasant little hospital where I have arranged to have the baby.
                      Right next door to the Rest House is a General Dealers Store run by a couple named
                      Schnabbe. The shop is stocked with drapery, hardware, china and foodstuffs all
                      imported from Germany and of very good quality. The Schnabbes also sell local farm
                      produce, beautiful fresh vegetables, eggs and pure rich milk and farm butter. Our meat
                      comes from a German butchery and it is a great treat to get clean, well cut meat. The
                      sausages also are marvellous and in great variety.

                      The butcher is an entertaining character. When he called round looking for custom I
                      expected him to break out in a yodel any minute, as it was obvious from a glance that
                      the Alps are his natural background. From under a green Tyrollean hat with feather,
                      blooms a round beefy face with sparkling small eyes and such widely spaced teeth that
                      one inevitably thinks of a garden rake. Enormous beefy thighs bulge from greasy
                      lederhosen which are supported by the traditional embroidered braces. So far the
                      butcher is the only cheery German, male or female, whom I have seen, and I have met
                      most of the locals at the Schnabbe’s shop. Most of the men seem to have cultivated
                      the grim Hitler look. They are all fanatical Nazis and one is usually greeted by a raised
                      hand and Heil Hitler! All very theatrical. I always feel like crying in ringing tones ‘God
                      Save the King’ or even ‘St George for England’. However the men are all very correct
                      and courteous and the women friendly. The women all admire Kate and cry, “Ag, das
                      kleine Englander.” She really is a picture with her rosy cheeks and huge grey eyes and
                      golden curls. Kate is having a wonderful time playing with Manfried, the Scnabbe’s small
                      son. Neither understands a word said by the other but that doesn’t seem to worry them.

                      Before he left on safari, George took me to hospital for an examination by the
                      nurse, Sister Marianne. She has not been long in the country and knows very little
                      English but is determined to learn and carried on an animated, if rather quaint,
                      conversation with frequent references to a pocket dictionary. She says I am not to worry
                      because there is not doctor here. She is a very experienced midwife and anyway in an
                      emergency could call on the old retired Veterinary Surgeon for assistance.
                      I asked sister Marianne whether she knew of any German woman or girl who
                      would look after Kate whilst I am in hospital and today a very top drawer German,
                      bearing a strong likeness to ‘Little Willie’, called and offered the services of his niece who
                      is here on a visit from Germany. I was rather taken aback and said, “Oh no Baron, your
                      niece would not be the type I had in mind. I’m afraid I cannot pay much for a companion.”
                      However the Baron was not to be discouraged. He told me that his niece is seventeen
                      but looks twenty, that she is well educated and will make a cheerful companion. Her
                      father wishes her to learn to speak English fluently and that is why the Baron wished her
                      to come to me as a house daughter. As to pay, a couple of pounds a month for pocket
                      money and her keep was all he had in mind. So with some misgivings I agreed to take
                      the niece on as a companion as from 1st August.

                      Eleanor.

                      Oldeani. 10th August 1938

                      Dearest Family,

                      Never a dull moment since my young companion arrived. She is a striking looking
                      girl with a tall boyish figure and very short and very fine dark hair which she wears
                      severely slicked back. She wears tweeds, no make up but has shiny rosy cheeks and
                      perfect teeth – she also,inevitably, has a man friend and I have an uncomfortable
                      suspicion that it is because of him that she was planted upon me. Upon second
                      thoughts though, maybe it was because of her excessive vitality, or even because of
                      her healthy appetite! The Baroness, I hear is in poor health and I can imagine that such
                      abundant health and spirit must have been quite overpowering. The name is Ingeborg,
                      but she is called Mouche, which I believe means Mouse. Someone in her family must
                      have a sense of humour.

                      Her English only needed practice and she now chatters fluently so that I know her
                      background and views on life. Mouche’s father is a personal friend of Goering. He was
                      once a big noise in the German Airforce but is now connected with the car industry and
                      travels frequently and intensively in Europe and America on business. Mouche showed
                      me some snap shots of her family and I must say they look prosperous and charming.
                      Mouche tells me that her father wants her to learn to speak English fluently so that
                      she can get a job with some British diplomat in Cairo. I had immediate thought that I
                      might be nursing a future Mata Hari in my bosom, but this was immediately extinguished
                      when Mouche remarked that her father would like her to marry an Englishman. However
                      it seems that the mere idea revolts her. “Englishmen are degenerates who swill whisky
                      all day.” I pointed out that she had met George, who was a true blue Englishman, but
                      was nevertheless a fine physical specimen and certainly didn’t drink all day. Mouche
                      replied that George is not an Englishman but a hunter, as though that set him apart.
                      Mouche is an ardent Hitler fan and an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth
                      Movement. The house resounds with Hitler youth songs and when she is not singing,
                      her gramophone is playing very stirring marching songs. I cannot understand a word,
                      which is perhaps as well. Every day she does the most strenuous exercises watched
                      with envy by me as my proportions are now those of a circus Big Top. Mouche eats a
                      fantastic amount of meat and I feel it is a blessing that she is much admired by our
                      Tyrollean butcher who now delivers our meat in person and adds as a token of his
                      admiration some extra sausages for Mouche.

                      I must confess I find her stimulating company as George is on safari most of the
                      time and my evenings otherwise would be lonely. I am a little worried though about
                      leaving Kate here with Mouche when I go to hospital. The dogs and Kate have not taken
                      to her. I am trying to prepare Kate for the separation but she says, “She’s not my
                      mummy. You are my dear mummy, and I want you, I want you.” George has got
                      permission from the Provincial Forestry Officer to spend the last week of August here at
                      the Rest House with me and I only hope that the baby will be born during that time.
                      Kate adores her dad and will be perfectly happy to remain here with him.

                      One final paragraph about Mouche. I thought all German girls were domesticated
                      but not Mouche. I have Kesho-Kutwa here with me as cook and I have engaged a local
                      boy to do the laundry. I however expected Mouche would take over making the
                      puddings and pastry but she informed me that she can only bake a chocolate cake and
                      absolutely nothing else. She said brightly however that she would do the mending. As
                      there is none for her to do, she has rescued a large worn handkerchief of George’s and
                      sits with her feet up listening to stirring gramophone records whilst she mends the
                      handkerchief with exquisite darning.

                      Eleanor.

                      Oldeani. 20th August 1938

                      Dearest Family,

                      Just after I had posted my last letter I received what George calls a demi official
                      letter from the District Officer informing me that I would have to move out of the Rest
                      House for a few days as the Governor and his hangers on would be visiting Oldeani
                      and would require the Rest House. Fortunately George happened to be here for a few
                      hours and he arranged for Kate and Mouche and me to spend a few days at the
                      German School as borders. So here I am at the school having a pleasant and restful
                      time and much entertained by all the goings on.

                      The school buildings were built with funds from Germany and the school is run on
                      the lines of a contemporary German school. I think the school gets a grant from the
                      Tanganyika Government towards running expenses, but I am not sure. The school hall is
                      dominated by a more than life sized oil painting of Adolf Hitler which, at present, is
                      flanked on one side by the German Flag and on the other by the Union Jack. I cannot
                      help feeling that the latter was put up today for the Governor’s visit today.
                      The teachers are very amiable. We all meet at mealtimes, and though few of the
                      teachers speak English, the ones who do are anxious to chatter. The headmaster is a
                      scholarly man but obviously anti-British. He says he cannot understand why so many
                      South Africans are loyal to Britain – or rather to England. “They conquered your country
                      didn’t they?” I said that that had never occurred to me and that anyway I was mainly of
                      Scots descent and that loyalty to the crown was natural to me. “But the English
                      conquered the Scots and yet you are loyal to England. That I cannot understand.” “Well I
                      love England,” said I firmly, ”and so do all British South Africans.” Since then we have
                      stuck to English literature. Shakespeare, Lord Byron and Galsworthy seem to be the
                      favourites and all, thank goodness, make safe topics for conversation.
                      Mouche is in her element but Kate and I do not enjoy the food which is typically
                      German and consists largely of masses of fat pork and sauerkraut and unfamiliar soups. I
                      feel sure that the soup at lunch today had blobs of lemon curd in it! I also find most
                      disconcerting the way that everyone looks at me and says, “Bon appetite”, with much
                      smiling and nodding so I have to fight down my nausea and make a show of enjoying
                      the meals.

                      The teacher whose room adjoins mine is a pleasant woman and I take my
                      afternoon tea with her. She, like all the teachers, has a large framed photo of Hitler on her
                      wall flanked by bracket vases of fresh flowers. One simply can’t get away from the man!
                      Even in the dormitories each child has a picture of Hitler above the bed. Hitler accepting
                      flowers from a small girl, or patting a small boy on the head. Even the children use the
                      greeting ‘Heil Hitler’. These German children seem unnaturally prim when compared with
                      my cheerful ex-pupils in South Africa but some of them are certainly very lovely to look
                      at.

                      Tomorrow Mouche, Kate and I return to our quarters in the Rest House and in a
                      few days George will join us for a week.

                      Eleanor.

                      Oldeani Hospital. 9th September 1938

                      Dearest Family,

                      You will all be delighted to hear that we have a second son, whom we have
                      named John. He is a darling, so quaint and good. He looks just like a little old man with a
                      high bald forehead fringed around the edges with a light brown fluff. George and I call
                      him Johnny Jo because he has a tiny round mouth and a rather big nose and reminds us
                      of A.A.Milne’s ‘Jonathan Jo has a mouth like an O’ , but Kate calls him, ‘My brother John’.
                      George was not here when he was born on September 5th, just two minutes
                      before midnight. He left on safari on the morning of the 4th and, of course, that very night
                      the labour pains started. Fortunately Kate was in bed asleep so Mouche walked with
                      me up the hill to the hospital where I was cheerfully received by Sister Marianne who
                      had everything ready for the confinement. I was lucky to have such an experienced
                      midwife because this was a breech birth and sister had to manage single handed. As
                      there was no doctor present I was not allowed even a sniff of anaesthetic. Sister slaved
                      away by the light of a pressure lamp endeavouring to turn the baby having first shoved
                      an inverted baby bath under my hips to raise them.

                      What a performance! Sister Marianne was very much afraid that she might not be
                      able to save the baby and great was our relief when at last she managed to haul him out
                      by the feet. One slap and the baby began to cry without any further attention so Sister
                      wrapped him up in a blanket and took Johnny to her room for the night. I got very little
                      sleep but was so thankful to have the ordeal over that I did not mind even though I
                      heard a hyaena cackling and calling under my window in a most evil way.
                      When Sister brought Johnny to me in the early morning I stared in astonishment.
                      Instead of dressing him in one of his soft Viyella nighties, she had dressed him in a short
                      sleeved vest of knitted cotton with a cotton cloth swayed around his waist sarong
                      fashion. When I protested, “But Sister why is the baby not dressed in his own clothes?”
                      She answered firmly, “I find it is not allowed. A baby’s clotheses must be boiled and I
                      cannot boil clotheses of wool therefore your baby must wear the clotheses of the Red
                      Cross.”

                      It was the same with the bedding. Poor Johnny lies all day in a deep wicker
                      basket with a detachable calico lining. There is no pillow under his head but a vast kind of
                      calico covered pillow is his only covering. There is nothing at all cosy and soft round my
                      poor baby. I said crossly to the Sister, “As every thing must be so sterile, I wonder you
                      don’t boil me too.” This she ignored.

                      When my message reached George he dashed back to visit us. Sister took him
                      first to see the baby and George was astonished to see the baby basket covered by a
                      sheet. “She has the poor little kid covered up like a bloody parrot,” he told me. So I
                      asked him to go at once to buy a square of mosquito netting to replace the sheet.
                      Kate is quite a problem. She behaves like an Angel when she is here in my
                      room but is rebellious when Sister shoos her out. She says she “Hates the Nanny”
                      which is what she calls Mouche. Unfortunately it seems that she woke before midnight
                      on the night Johnny Jo was born to find me gone and Mouche in my bed. According to
                      Mouche, Kate wept all night and certainly when she visited me in the early morning
                      Kate’s face was puffy with crying and she clung to me crying “Oh my dear mummy, why
                      did you go away?” over and over again. Sister Marianne was touched and suggested
                      that Mouche and Kate should come to the hospital as boarders as I am the only patient
                      at present and there is plenty of room. Luckily Kate does not seem at all jealous of the
                      baby and it is a great relief to have here here under my eye.

                      Eleanor.

                      #6264
                      TracyTracy
                      Participant

                        From Tanganyika with Love

                        continued  ~ part 5

                        With thanks to Mike Rushby.

                        Chunya 16th December 1936

                        Dearest Family,

                        Since last I wrote I have visited Chunya and met several of the diggers wives.
                        On the whole I have been greatly disappointed because there is nothing very colourful
                        about either township or women. I suppose I was really expecting something more like
                        the goldrush towns and women I have so often seen on the cinema screen.
                        Chunya consists of just the usual sun-dried brick Indian shops though there are
                        one or two double storied buildings. Most of the life in the place centres on the
                        Goldfields Hotel but we did not call there. From the store opposite I could hear sounds
                        of revelry though it was very early in the afternoon. I saw only one sight which was quite
                        new to me, some elegantly dressed African women, with high heels and lipsticked
                        mouths teetered by on their way to the silk store. “Native Tarts,” said George in answer
                        to my enquiry.

                        Several women have called on me and when I say ‘called’ I mean called. I have
                        grown so used to going without stockings and wearing home made dresses that it was
                        quite a shock to me to entertain these ladies dressed to the nines in smart frocks, silk
                        stockings and high heeled shoes, handbags, makeup and whatnot. I feel like some
                        female Rip van Winkle. Most of the women have a smart line in conversation and their
                        talk and views on life would make your nice straight hair curl Mummy. They make me feel
                        very unsophisticated and dowdy but George says he has a weakness for such types
                        and I am to stay exactly as I am. I still do not use any makeup. George says ‘It’s all right
                        for them. They need it poor things, you don’t.” Which, though flattering, is hardly true.
                        I prefer the men visitors, though they also are quite unlike what I had expected
                        diggers to be. Those whom George brings home are all well educated and well
                        groomed and I enjoy listening to their discussion of the world situation, sport and books.
                        They are extremely polite to me and gentle with the children though I believe that after a
                        few drinks at the pub tempers often run high. There were great arguments on the night
                        following the abdication of Edward VIII. Not that the diggers were particularly attached to
                        him as a person, but these men are all great individualists and believe in freedom of
                        choice. George, rather to my surprise, strongly supported Edward. I did not.

                        Many of the diggers have wireless sets and so we keep up to date with the
                        news. I seldom leave camp. I have my hands full with the three children during the day
                        and, even though Janey is a reliable ayah, I would not care to leave the children at night
                        in these grass roofed huts. Having experienced that fire on the farm, I know just how
                        unlikely it would be that the children would be rescued in time in case of fire. The other
                        women on the diggings think I’m crazy. They leave their children almost entirely to ayahs
                        and I must confess that the children I have seen look very well and happy. The thing is
                        that I simply would not enjoy parties at the hotel or club, miles away from the children
                        and I much prefer to stay at home with a book.

                        I love hearing all about the parties from George who likes an occasional ‘boose
                        up’ with the boys and is terribly popular with everyone – not only the British but with the
                        Germans, Scandinavians and even the Afrikaans types. One Afrikaans woman said “Jou
                        man is ‘n man, al is hy ‘n Engelsman.” Another more sophisticated woman said, “George
                        is a handsome devil. Aren’t you scared to let him run around on his own?” – but I’m not. I
                        usually wait up for George with sandwiches and something hot to drink and that way I
                        get all the news red hot.

                        There is very little gold coming in. The rains have just started and digging is
                        temporarily at a standstill. It is too wet for dry blowing and not yet enough water for
                        panning and sluicing. As this camp is some considerable distance from the claims, all I see of the process is the weighing of the daily taking of gold dust and tiny nuggets.
                        Unless our luck changes I do not think we will stay on here after John Molteno returns.
                        George does not care for the life and prefers a more constructive occupation.
                        Ann and young George still search optimistically for gold. We were all saddened
                        last week by the death of Fanny, our bull terrier. She went down to the shopping centre
                        with us and we were standing on the verandah of a store when a lorry passed with its
                        canvas cover flapping. This excited Fanny who rushed out into the street and the back
                        wheel of the lorry passed right over her, killing her instantly. Ann was very shocked so I
                        soothed her by telling her that Fanny had gone to Heaven. When I went to bed that
                        night I found Ann still awake and she asked anxiously, “Mummy, do you think God
                        remembered to give Fanny her bone tonight?”

                        Much love to all,
                        Eleanor.

                        Itewe, Chunya 23rd December 1936

                        Dearest Family,

                        Your Christmas parcel arrived this morning. Thank you very much for all the
                        clothing for all of us and for the lovely toys for the children. George means to go hunting
                        for a young buffalo this afternoon so that we will have some fresh beef for Christmas for
                        ourselves and our boys and enough for friends too.

                        I had a fright this morning. Ann and Georgie were, as usual, searching for gold
                        whilst I sat sewing in the living room with Kate toddling around. She wandered through
                        the curtained doorway into the store and I heard her playing with the paraffin pump. At
                        first it did not bother me because I knew the tin was empty but after ten minutes or so I
                        became irritated by the noise and went to stop her. Imagine my horror when I drew the
                        curtain aside and saw my fat little toddler fiddling happily with the pump whilst, curled up
                        behind the tin and clearly visible to me lay the largest puffadder I have ever seen.
                        Luckily I acted instinctively and scooped Kate up from behind and darted back into the
                        living room without disturbing the snake. The houseboy and cook rushed in with sticks
                        and killed the snake and then turned the whole storeroom upside down to make sure
                        there were no more.

                        I have met some more picturesque characters since I last wrote. One is a man
                        called Bishop whom George has known for many years having first met him in the
                        Congo. I believe he was originally a sailor but for many years he has wandered around
                        Central Africa trying his hand at trading, prospecting, a bit of elephant hunting and ivory
                        poaching. He is now keeping himself by doing ‘Sign Writing”. Bish is a gentle and
                        dignified personality. When we visited his camp he carefully dusted a seat for me and
                        called me ‘Marm’, quite ye olde world. The only thing is he did spit.

                        Another spitter is the Frenchman in a neighbouring camp. He is in bed with bad
                        rheumatism and George has been going across twice a day to help him and cheer him
                        up. Once when George was out on the claim I went across to the Frenchman’s camp in
                        response to an SOS, but I think he was just lonely. He showed me snapshots of his
                        two daughters, lovely girls and extremely smart, and he chatted away telling me his life
                        history. He punctuated his remarks by spitting to right and left of the bed, everywhere in
                        fact, except actually at me.

                        George took me and the children to visit a couple called Bert and Hilda Farham.
                        They have a small gold reef which is worked by a very ‘Heath Robinson’ type of
                        machinery designed and erected by Bert who is reputed to be a clever engineer though
                        eccentric. He is rather a handsome man who always looks very spruce and neat and
                        wears a Captain Kettle beard. Hilda is from Johannesburg and quite a character. She
                        has a most generous figure and literally masses of beetroot red hair, but she also has a
                        warm deep voice and a most generous disposition. The Farhams have built
                        themselves a more permanent camp than most. They have a brick cottage with proper
                        doors and windows and have made it attractive with furniture contrived from petrol
                        boxes. They have no children but Hilda lavishes a great deal of affection on a pet
                        monkey. Sometimes they do quite well out of their gold and then they have a terrific
                        celebration at the Club or Pub and Hilda has an orgy of shopping. At other times they
                        are completely broke but Hilda takes disasters as well as triumphs all in her stride. She
                        says, “My dear, when we’re broke we just live on tea and cigarettes.”

                        I have met a young woman whom I would like as a friend. She has a dear little
                        baby, but unfortunately she has a very wet husband who is also a dreadful bore. I can’t
                        imagine George taking me to their camp very often. When they came to visit us George
                        just sat and smoked and said,”Oh really?” to any remark this man made until I felt quite
                        hysterical. George looks very young and fit and the children are lively and well too. I ,
                        however, am definitely showing signs of wear and tear though George says,
                        “Nonsense, to me you look the same as you always did.” This I may say, I do not
                        regard as a compliment to the young Eleanor.

                        Anyway, even though our future looks somewhat unsettled, we are all together
                        and very happy.

                        With love,
                        Eleanor.

                        Itewe, Chunya 30th December 1936

                        Dearest Family,

                        We had a very cheery Christmas. The children loved the toys and are so proud
                        of their new clothes. They wore them when we went to Christmas lunch to the
                        Cresswell-Georges. The C-Gs have been doing pretty well lately and they have a
                        comfortable brick house and a large wireless set. The living room was gaily decorated
                        with bought garlands and streamers and balloons. We had an excellent lunch cooked by
                        our ex cook Abel who now works for the Cresswell-Georges. We had turkey with
                        trimmings and plum pudding followed by nuts and raisons and chocolates and sweets
                        galore. There was also a large variety of drinks including champagne!

                        There were presents for all of us and, in addition, Georgie and Ann each got a
                        large tin of chocolates. Kate was much admired. She was a picture in her new party frock
                        with her bright hair and rosy cheeks. There were other guests beside ourselves and
                        they were already there having drinks when we arrived. Someone said “What a lovely
                        child!” “Yes” said George with pride, “She’s a Marie Stopes baby.” “Truby King!” said I
                        quickly and firmly, but too late to stop the roar of laughter.

                        Our children played amicably with the C-G’s three, but young George was
                        unusually quiet and surprised me by bringing me his unopened tin of chocolates to keep
                        for him. Normally he is a glutton for sweets. I might have guessed he was sickening for
                        something. That night he vomited and had diarrhoea and has had an upset tummy and a
                        slight temperature ever since.

                        Janey is also ill. She says she has malaria and has taken to her bed. I am dosing
                        her with quinine and hope she will soon be better as I badly need her help. Not only is
                        young George off his food and peevish but Kate has a cold and Ann sore eyes and
                        they all want love and attention. To complicate things it has been raining heavily and I
                        must entertain the children indoors.

                        Eleanor.

                        Itewe, Chunya 19th January 1937

                        Dearest Family,

                        So sorry I have not written before but we have been in the wars and I have had neither
                        the time nor the heart to write. However the worst is now over. Young George and
                        Janey are both recovering from Typhoid Fever. The doctor had Janey moved to the
                        native hospital at Chunya but I nursed young George here in the camp.

                        As I told you young George’s tummy trouble started on Christmas day. At first I
                        thought it was only a protracted bilious attack due to eating too much unaccustomed rich
                        food and treated him accordingly but when his temperature persisted I thought that the
                        trouble might be malaria and kept him in bed and increased the daily dose of quinine.
                        He ate less and less as the days passed and on New Years Day he seemed very
                        weak and his stomach tender to the touch.

                        George fetched the doctor who examined small George and said he had a very
                        large liver due no doubt to malaria. He gave the child injections of emertine and quinine
                        and told me to give young George frequent and copious drinks of water and bi-carb of
                        soda. This was more easily said than done. Young George refused to drink this mixture
                        and vomited up the lime juice and water the doctor had suggested as an alternative.
                        The doctor called every day and gave George further injections and advised me
                        to give him frequent sips of water from a spoon. After three days the child was very
                        weak and weepy but Dr Spiers still thought he had malaria. During those anxious days I
                        also worried about Janey who appeared to be getting worse rather that better and on
                        January the 3rd I asked the doctor to look at her. The next thing I knew, the doctor had
                        put Janey in his car and driven her off to hospital. When he called next morning he
                        looked very grave and said he wished to talk to my husband. I said that George was out
                        on the claim but if what he wished to say concerned young George’s condition he might
                        just as well tell me.

                        With a good deal of reluctance Dr Spiers then told me that Janey showed all the
                        symptoms of Typhoid Fever and that he was very much afraid that young George had
                        contracted it from her. He added that George should be taken to the Mbeya Hospital
                        where he could have the professional nursing so necessary in typhoid cases. I said “Oh
                        no,I’d never allow that. The child had never been away from his family before and it
                        would frighten him to death to be sick and alone amongst strangers.” Also I was sure that
                        the fifty mile drive over the mountains in his weak condition would harm him more than
                        my amateur nursing would. The doctor returned to the camp that afternoon to urge
                        George to send our son to hospital but George staunchly supported my argument that
                        young George would stand a much better chance of recovery if we nursed him at home.
                        I must say Dr Spiers took our refusal very well and gave young George every attention
                        coming twice a day to see him.

                        For some days the child was very ill. He could not keep down any food or liquid
                        in any quantity so all day long, and when he woke at night, I gave him a few drops of
                        water at a time from a teaspoon. His only nourishment came from sucking Macintosh’s
                        toffees. Young George sweated copiously especially at night when it was difficult to
                        change his clothes and sponge him in the draughty room with the rain teeming down
                        outside. I think I told you that the bedroom is a sort of shed with only openings in the wall
                        for windows and doors, and with one wall built only a couple of feet high leaving a six
                        foot gap for air and light. The roof leaked and the damp air blew in but somehow young
                        George pulled through.

                        Only when he was really on the mend did the doctor tell us that whilst he had
                        been attending George, he had also been called in to attend to another little boy of the same age who also had typhoid. He had been called in too late and the other little boy,
                        an only child, had died. Young George, thank God, is convalescent now, though still on a
                        milk diet. He is cheerful enough when he has company but very peevish when left
                        alone. Poor little lad, he is all hair, eyes, and teeth, or as Ann says” Georgie is all ribs ribs
                        now-a-days Mummy.” He shares my room, Ann and Kate are together in the little room.
                        Anyway the doctor says he should be up and around in about a week or ten days time.
                        We were all inoculated against typhoid on the day the doctor made the diagnosis
                        so it is unlikely that any of us will develop it. Dr Spiers was most impressed by Ann’s
                        unconcern when she was inoculated. She looks gentle and timid but has always been
                        very brave. Funny thing when young George was very ill he used to wail if I left the
                        room, but now that he is convalescent he greatly prefers his dad’s company. So now I
                        have been able to take the girls for walks in the late afternoons whilst big George
                        entertains small George. This he does with the minimum of effort, either he gets out
                        cartons of ammunition with which young George builds endless forts, or else he just sits
                        beside the bed and cleans one of his guns whilst small George watches with absorbed
                        attention.

                        The Doctor tells us that Janey is also now convalescent. He says that exhusband
                        Abel has been most attentive and appeared daily at the hospital with a tray of
                        food that made his, the doctor’s, mouth water. All I dare say, pinched from Mrs
                        Cresswell-George.

                        I’ll write again soon. Lots of love to all,
                        Eleanor.

                        Chunya 29th January 1937

                        Dearest Family,

                        Georgie is up and about but still tires very easily. At first his legs were so weak
                        that George used to carry him around on his shoulders. The doctor says that what the
                        child really needs is a long holiday out of the Tropics so that Mrs Thomas’ offer, to pay all
                        our fares to Cape Town as well as lending us her seaside cottage for a month, came as
                        a Godsend. Luckily my passport is in order. When George was in Mbeya he booked
                        seats for the children and me on the first available plane. We will fly to Broken Hill and go
                        on to Cape Town from there by train.

                        Ann and George are wildly thrilled at the idea of flying but I am not. I remember
                        only too well how airsick I was on the old Hannibal when I flew home with the baby Ann.
                        I am longing to see you all and it will be heaven to give the children their first seaside
                        holiday.

                        I mean to return with Kate after three months but, if you will have him, I shall leave
                        George behind with you for a year. You said you would all be delighted to have Ann so
                        I do hope you will also be happy to have young George. Together they are no trouble
                        at all. They amuse themselves and are very independent and loveable.
                        George and I have discussed the matter taking into consideration the letters from
                        you and George’s Mother on the subject. If you keep Ann and George for a year, my
                        mother-in-law will go to Cape Town next year and fetch them. They will live in England
                        with her until they are fit enough to return to the Tropics. After the children and I have left
                        on this holiday, George will be able to move around and look for a job that will pay
                        sufficiently to enable us to go to England in a few years time to fetch our children home.
                        We both feel very sad at the prospect of this parting but the children’s health
                        comes before any other consideration. I hope Kate will stand up better to the Tropics.
                        She is plump and rosy and could not look more bonny if she lived in a temperate
                        climate.

                        We should be with you in three weeks time!

                        Very much love,
                        Eleanor.

                        Broken Hill, N Rhodesia 11th February 1937

                        Dearest Family,

                        Well here we are safe and sound at the Great Northern Hotel, Broken Hill, all
                        ready to board the South bound train tonight.

                        We were still on the diggings on Ann’s birthday, February 8th, when George had
                        a letter from Mbeya to say that our seats were booked on the plane leaving Mbeya on
                        the 10th! What a rush we had packing up. Ann was in bed with malaria so we just
                        bundled her up in blankets and set out in John Molteno’s car for the farm. We arrived that
                        night and spent the next day on the farm sorting things out. Ann and George wanted to
                        take so many of their treasures and it was difficult for them to make a small selection. In
                        the end young George’s most treasured possession, his sturdy little boots, were left
                        behind.

                        Before leaving home on the morning of the tenth I took some snaps of Ann and
                        young George in the garden and one of them with their father. He looked so sad. After
                        putting us on the plane, George planned to go to the fishing camp for a day or two
                        before returning to the empty house on the farm.

                        John Molteno returned from the Cape by plane just before we took off, so he
                        will take over the running of his claims once more. I told John that I dreaded the plane trip
                        on account of air sickness so he gave me two pills which I took then and there. Oh dear!
                        How I wished later that I had not done so. We had an extremely bumpy trip and
                        everyone on the plane was sick except for small George who loved every moment.
                        Poor Ann had a dreadful time but coped very well and never complained. I did not
                        actually puke until shortly before we landed at Broken Hill but felt dreadfully ill all the way.
                        Kate remained rosy and cheerful almost to the end. She sat on my lap throughout the
                        trip because, being under age, she travelled as baggage and was not entitled to a seat.
                        Shortly before we reached Broken Hill a smartly dressed youngish man came up
                        to me and said, “You look so poorly, please let me take the baby, I have children of my
                        own and know how to handle them.” Kate made no protest and off they went to the
                        back of the plane whilst I tried to relax and concentrate on not getting sick. However,
                        within five minutes the man was back. Kate had been thoroughly sick all over his collar
                        and jacket.

                        I took Kate back on my lap and then was violently sick myself, so much so that
                        when we touched down at Broken Hill I was unable to speak to the Immigration Officer.
                        He was so kind. He sat beside me until I got my diaphragm under control and then
                        drove me up to the hotel in his own car.

                        We soon recovered of course and ate a hearty dinner. This morning after
                        breakfast I sallied out to look for a Bank where I could exchange some money into
                        Rhodesian and South African currency and for the Post Office so that I could telegraph
                        to George and to you. What a picnic that trip was! It was a terribly hot day and there was
                        no shade. By the time we had done our chores, the children were hot, and cross, and
                        tired and so indeed was I. As I had no push chair for Kate I had to carry her and she is
                        pretty heavy for eighteen months. George, who is still not strong, clung to my free arm
                        whilst Ann complained bitterly that no one was helping her.

                        Eventually Ann simply sat down on the pavement and declared that she could
                        not go another step, whereupon George of course decided that he also had reached his
                        limit and sat down too. Neither pleading no threats would move them so I had to resort
                        to bribery and had to promise that when we reached the hotel they could have cool
                        drinks and ice-cream. This promise got the children moving once more but I am determined that nothing will induce me to stir again until the taxi arrives to take us to the
                        station.

                        This letter will go by air and will reach you before we do. How I am longing for
                        journeys end.

                        With love to you all,
                        Eleanor.

                        Leaving home 10th February 1937,  George Gilman Rushby with Ann and Georgie (Mike) Rushby:

                        George Rushby Ann and Georgie

                        NOTE
                        We had a very warm welcome to the family home at Plumstead Cape Town.
                        After ten days with my family we moved to Hout Bay where Mrs Thomas lent us her
                        delightful seaside cottage. She also provided us with two excellent maids so I had
                        nothing to do but rest and play on the beach with the children.

                        After a month at the sea George had fully recovered his health though not his
                        former gay spirits. After another six months with my parents I set off for home with Kate,
                        leaving Ann and George in my parent’s home under the care of my elder sister,
                        Marjorie.

                        One or two incidents during that visit remain clearly in my memory. Our children
                        had never met elderly people and were astonished at the manifestations of age. One
                        morning an elderly lady came around to collect church dues. She was thin and stooped
                        and Ann surveyed her with awe. She turned to me with a puzzled expression and
                        asked in her clear voice, “Mummy, why has that old lady got a moustache – oh and a
                        beard?’ The old lady in question was very annoyed indeed and said, “What a rude little
                        girl.” Ann could not understand this, she said, “But Mummy, I only said she had a
                        moustache and a beard and she has.” So I explained as best I could that when people
                        have defects of this kind they are hurt if anyone mentions them.

                        A few days later a strange young woman came to tea. I had been told that she
                        had a most disfiguring birthmark on her cheek and warned Ann that she must not
                        comment on it. Alas! with the kindest intentions Ann once again caused me acute
                        embarrassment. The young woman was hardly seated when Ann went up to her and
                        gently patted the disfiguring mark saying sweetly, “Oh, I do like this horrible mark on your
                        face.”

                        I remember also the afternoon when Kate and George were christened. My
                        mother had given George a white silk shirt for the occasion and he wore it with intense
                        pride. Kate was baptised first without incident except that she was lost in admiration of a
                        gold bracelet given her that day by her Godmother and exclaimed happily, “My
                        bangle, look my bangle,” throughout the ceremony. When George’s turn came the
                        clergyman held his head over the font and poured water on George’s forehead. Some
                        splashed on his shirt and George protested angrily, “Mum, he has wet my shirt!” over
                        and over again whilst I led him hurriedly outside.

                        My last memory of all is at the railway station. The time had come for Kate and
                        me to get into our compartment. My sisters stood on the platform with Ann and George.
                        Ann was resigned to our going, George was not so, at the last moment Sylvia, my
                        younger sister, took him off to see the engine. The whistle blew and I said good-bye to
                        my gallant little Ann. “Mummy”, she said urgently to me, “Don’t forget to wave to
                        George.”

                        And so I waved good-bye to my children, never dreaming that a war would
                        intervene and it would be eight long years before I saw them again.

                        #6263
                        TracyTracy
                        Participant

                          From Tanganyika with Love

                          continued  ~ part 4

                          With thanks to Mike Rushby.

                          Mchewe Estate. 31st January 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          Life is very quiet just now. Our neighbours have left and I miss them all especially
                          Joni who was always a great bearer of news. We also grew fond of his Swedish
                          brother-in-law Max, whose loud ‘Hodi’ always brought a glad ‘Karibu’ from us. His wife,
                          Marion, I saw less often. She is not strong and seldom went visiting but has always
                          been friendly and kind and ready to share her books with me.

                          Ann’s birthday is looming ahead and I am getting dreadfully anxious that her
                          parcels do not arrive in time. I am delighted that you were able to get a good head for
                          her doll, dad, but horrified to hear that it was so expensive. You would love your
                          ‘Charming Ann’. She is a most responsible little soul and seems to have outgrown her
                          mischievous ways. A pity in a way, I don’t want her to grow too serious. You should see
                          how thoroughly Ann baths and towels herself. She is anxious to do Georgie and Kate
                          as well.

                          I did not mean to teach Ann to write until after her fifth birthday but she has taught
                          herself by copying the large print in newspaper headlines. She would draw a letter and
                          ask me the name and now I find that at four Ann knows the whole alphabet. The front
                          cement steps is her favourite writing spot. She uses bits of white clay we use here for
                          whitewashing.

                          Coffee prices are still very low and a lot of planters here and at Mbosi are in a
                          mess as they can no longer raise mortgages on their farms or get advances from the
                          Bank against their crops. We hear many are leaving their farms to try their luck on the
                          Diggings.

                          George is getting fed up too. The snails are back on the shamba and doing
                          frightful damage. Talk of the plagues of Egypt! Once more they are being collected in
                          piles and bashed into pulp. The stench on the shamba is frightful! The greybeards in the
                          village tell George that the local Chief has put a curse on the farm because he is angry
                          that the Government granted George a small extension to the farm two years ago! As
                          the Chief was consulted at the time and was agreeable this talk of a curse is nonsense
                          but goes to show how the uneducated African put all disasters down to witchcraft.

                          With much love,
                          Eleanor.

                          Mchewe Estate. 9th February 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          Ann’s birthday yesterday was not quite the gay occasion we had hoped. The
                          seventh was mail day so we sent a runner for the mail, hoping against hope that your
                          parcel containing the dolls head had arrived. The runner left for Mbeya at dawn but, as it
                          was a very wet day, he did not return with the mail bag until after dark by which time Ann
                          was fast asleep. My heart sank when I saw the parcel which contained the dolls new
                          head. It was squashed quite flat. I shed a few tears over that shattered head, broken
                          quite beyond repair, and George felt as bad about it as I did. The other parcel arrived in
                          good shape and Ann loves her little sewing set, especially the thimble, and the nursery
                          rhymes are a great success.

                          Ann woke early yesterday and began to open her parcels. She said “But
                          Mummy, didn’t Barbara’s new head come?” So I had to show her the fragments.
                          Instead of shedding the flood of tears I expected, Ann just lifted the glass eyes in her
                          hand and said in a tight little voice “Oh poor Barbara.” George saved the situation. as
                          usual, by saying in a normal voice,”Come on Ann, get up and lets play your new
                          records.” So we had music and sweets before breakfast. Later I removed Barbara’s
                          faded old blond wig and gummed on the glossy new brown one and Ann seems quite
                          satisfied.

                          Last night, after the children were tucked up in bed, we discussed our financial
                          situation. The coffee trees that have survived the plagues of borer beetle, mealie bugs
                          and snails look strong and fine, but George says it will be years before we make a living
                          out of the farm. He says he will simply have to make some money and he is leaving for
                          the Lupa on Saturday to have a look around on the Diggings. If he does decide to peg
                          a claim and work it he will put up a wattle and daub hut and the children and I will join him
                          there. But until such time as he strikes gold I shall have to remain here on the farm and
                          ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’.

                          Now don’t go and waste pity on me. Women all over the country are having to
                          stay at home whilst their husbands search for a livelihood. I am better off than most
                          because I have a comfortable little home and loyal servants and we still have enough
                          capitol to keep the wolf from the door. Anyway this is the rainy season and hardly the
                          best time to drag three small children around the sodden countryside on prospecting
                          safaris.

                          So I’ll stay here at home and hold thumbs that George makes a lucky strike.

                          Heaps of love to all,
                          Eleanor.

                          Mchewe Estate. 27th February 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          Well, George has gone but here we are quite safe and cosy. Kate is asleep and
                          Ann and Georgie are sprawled on the couch taking it in turns to enumerate the things
                          God has made. Every now and again Ann bothers me with an awkward question. “Did
                          God make spiders? Well what for? Did he make weeds? Isn’t He silly, mummy? She is
                          becoming a very practical person. She sews surprisingly well for a four year old and has
                          twice made cakes in the past week, very sweet and liberally coloured with cochineal and
                          much appreciated by Georgie.

                          I have been without George for a fortnight and have adapted myself to my new
                          life. The children are great company during the day and I have arranged my evenings so
                          that they do not seem long. I am determined that when George comes home he will find
                          a transformed wife. I read an article entitled ‘Are you the girl he married?’ in a magazine
                          last week and took a good look in the mirror and decided that I certainly was not! Hair dry,
                          skin dry, and I fear, a faint shadow on the upper lip. So now I have blown the whole of
                          your Christmas Money Order on an order to a chemist in Dar es Salaam for hair tonic,
                          face cream and hair remover and am anxiously awaiting the parcel.

                          In the meantime, after tucking the children into bed at night, I skip on the verandah
                          and do the series of exercises recommended in the magazine article. After this exertion I
                          have a leisurely bath followed by a light supper and then read or write letters to pass
                          the time until Kate’s ten o’clock feed. I have arranged for Janey to sleep in the house.
                          She comes in at 9.30 pm and makes up her bed on the living room floor by the fire.

                          The days are by no means uneventful. The day before yesterday the biggest
                          troop of monkeys I have ever seen came fooling around in the trees and on the grass
                          only a few yards from the house. These monkeys were the common grey monkeys
                          with black faces. They came in all sizes and were most entertaining to watch. Ann and
                          Georgie had a great time copying their antics and pulling faces at the monkeys through
                          the bedroom windows which I hastily closed.

                          Thomas, our headman, came running up and told me that this troop of monkeys
                          had just raided his maize shamba and asked me to shoot some of them. I would not of
                          course do this. I still cannot bear to kill any animal, but I fired a couple of shots in the air
                          and the monkeys just melted away. It was fantastic, one moment they were there and
                          the next they were not. Ann and Georgie thought I had been very unkind to frighten the
                          poor monkeys but honestly, when I saw what they had done to my flower garden, I
                          almost wished I had hardened my heart and shot one or two.

                          The children are all well but Ann gave me a nasty fright last week. I left Ann and
                          Georgie at breakfast whilst I fed Fanny, our bull terrier on the back verandah. Suddenly I
                          heard a crash and rushed inside to find Ann’s chair lying on its back and Ann beside it on
                          the floor perfectly still and with a paper white face. I shouted for Janey to bring water and
                          laid Ann flat on the couch and bathed her head and hands. Soon she sat up with a wan
                          smile and said “I nearly knocked my head off that time, didn’t I.” She must have been
                          standing on the chair and leaning against the back. Our brick floors are so terribly hard that
                          she might have been seriously hurt.

                          However she was none the worse for the fall, but Heavens, what an anxiety kids
                          are.

                          Lots of love,
                          Eleanor

                          Mchewe Estate. 12th March 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          It was marvellous of you to send another money order to replace the one I spent
                          on cosmetics. With this one I intend to order boots for both children as a protection from
                          snake bite, though from my experience this past week the threat seems to be to the
                          head rather than the feet. I was sitting on the couch giving Kate her morning milk from a
                          cup when a long thin snake fell through the reed ceiling and landed with a thud just behind
                          the couch. I shouted “Nyoka, Nyoka!” (Snake,Snake!) and the houseboy rushed in with
                          a stick and killed the snake. I then held the cup to Kate’s mouth again but I suppose in
                          my agitation I tipped it too much because the baby choked badly. She gasped for
                          breath. I quickly gave her a sharp smack on the back and a stream of milk gushed
                          through her mouth and nostrils and over me. Janey took Kate from me and carried her
                          out into the fresh air on the verandah and as I anxiously followed her through the door,
                          another long snake fell from the top of the wall just missing me by an inch or so. Luckily
                          the houseboy still had the stick handy and dispatched this snake also.

                          The snakes were a pair of ‘boomslangs’, not nice at all, and all day long I have
                          had shamba boys coming along to touch hands and say “Poli Memsahib” – “Sorry
                          madam”, meaning of course ‘Sorry you had a fright.’

                          Apart from that one hectic morning this has been a quiet week. Before George
                          left for the Lupa he paid off most of the farm hands as we can now only afford a few
                          labourers for the essential work such as keeping the weeds down in the coffee shamba.
                          There is now no one to keep the grass on the farm roads cut so we cannot use the pram
                          when we go on our afternoon walks. Instead Janey carries Kate in a sling on her back.
                          Janey is a very clean slim woman, and her clothes are always spotless, so Kate keeps
                          cool and comfortable. Ann and Georgie always wear thick overalls on our walks as a
                          protection against thorns and possible snakes. We usually make our way to the
                          Mchewe River where Ann and Georgie paddle in the clear cold water and collect shiny
                          stones.

                          The cosmetics parcel duly arrived by post from Dar es Salaam so now I fill the
                          evenings between supper and bed time attending to my face! The much advertised
                          cream is pink and thick and feels revolting. I smooth it on before bedtime and keep it on
                          all night. Just imagine if George could see me! The advertisements promise me a skin
                          like a rose in six weeks. What a surprise there is in store for George!

                          You will have been wondering what has happened to George. Well on the Lupa
                          he heard rumours of a new gold strike somewhere in the Sumbawanga District. A couple
                          of hundred miles from here I think, though I am not sure where it is and have no one to
                          ask. You look it up on the map and tell me. John Molteno is also interested in this and
                          anxious to have it confirmed so he and George have come to an agreement. John
                          Molteno provided the porters for the journey together with prospecting tools and
                          supplies but as he cannot leave his claims, or his gold buying business, George is to go
                          on foot to the area of the rumoured gold strike and, if the strike looks promising will peg
                          claims in both their names.

                          The rainy season is now at its height and the whole countryside is under water. All
                          roads leading to the area are closed to traffic and, as there are few Europeans who
                          would attempt the journey on foot, George proposes to get a head start on them by
                          making this uncomfortable safari. I have just had my first letter from George since he left
                          on this prospecting trip. It took ages to reach me because it was sent by runner to
                          Abercorn in Northern Rhodesia, then on by lorry to Mpika where it was put on a plane
                          for Mbeya. George writes the most charming letters which console me a little upon our
                          all too frequent separations.

                          His letter was cheerful and optimistic, though reading between the lines I should
                          say he had a grim time. He has reached Sumbawanga after ‘a hell of a trip’, to find that
                          the rumoured strike was at Mpanda and he had a few more days of foot safari ahead.
                          He had found the trip from the Lupa even wetter than he had expected. The party had
                          three days of wading through swamps sometimes waist deep in water. Of his sixteen
                          porters, four deserted an the second day out and five others have had malaria and so
                          been unable to carry their loads. He himself is ‘thin but very fit’, and he sounds full of
                          beans and writes gaily of the marvellous holiday we will have if he has any decent luck! I
                          simply must get that mink and diamonds complexion.

                          The frustrating thing is that I cannot write back as I have no idea where George is
                          now.

                          With heaps of love,
                          Eleanor.

                          Mchewe Estate. 24th March 1936

                          Dearest Family,
                          How kind you are. Another parcel from home. Although we are very short
                          of labourers I sent a special runner to fetch it as Ann simply couldn’t bear the suspense
                          of waiting to see Brenda, “My new little girl with plaits.” Thank goodness Brenda is
                          unbreakable. I could not have born another tragedy. She really is an exquisite little doll
                          and has hardly been out of Ann’s arms since arrival. She showed Brenda proudly to all
                          the staff. The kitchen boy’s face was a study. His eyes fairly came out on sticks when he
                          saw the dolls eyes not only opening and shutting, but moving from side to side in that
                          incredibly lifelike way. Georgie loves his little model cars which he carries around all day
                          and puts under his pillow at night.

                          As for me, I am enchanted by my very smart new frock. Janey was so lavish with
                          her compliments when I tried the frock on, that in a burst of generosity I gave her that
                          rather tartish satin and lace trousseau nighty, and she was positively enthralled. She
                          wore it that very night when she appeared as usual to doss down by the fire.
                          By the way it was Janey’s turn to have a fright this week. She was in the
                          bathroom washing the children’s clothes in an outsize hand basin when it happened. As
                          she took Georgie’s overalls from the laundry basket a large centipede ran up her bare
                          arm. Luckily she managed to knock the centipede off into the hot water in the hand basin.
                          It was a brute, about six inches long of viciousness with a nasty sting. The locals say that
                          the bite is much worse than a scorpions so Janey had a lucky escape.

                          Kate cut her first two teeth yesterday and will, I hope, sleep better now. I don’t
                          feel that pink skin food is getting a fair trial with all those broken nights. There is certainly
                          no sign yet of ‘The skin he loves to touch”. Kate, I may say, is rosy and blooming. She
                          can pull herself upright providing she has something solid to hold on to. She is so plump
                          I have horrible visions of future bow legs so I push her down, but she always bobs up
                          again.

                          Both Ann and Georgie are mad on books. Their favourites are ‘Barbar and
                          Celeste” and, of all things, ‘Struvel Peter’ . They listen with absolute relish to the sad tale
                          of Harriet who played with matches.

                          I have kept a laugh for the end. I am hoping that it will not be long before George
                          comes home and thought it was time to take the next step towards glamour, so last
                          Wednesday after lunch I settled the children on their beds and prepared to remove the ,
                          to me, obvious down on my upper lip. (George always loyally says that he can’t see
                          any.) Well I got out the tube of stuff and carefully followed the directions. I smoothed a
                          coating on my upper lip. All this was watched with great interest by the children, including
                          the baby, who stood up in her cot for a better view. Having no watch, I had propped
                          the bedroom door open so that I could time the operation by the cuckoo clock in the
                          living room. All the children’s surprised comments fell on deaf ears. I would neither talk
                          nor smile for fear of cracking the hair remover which had set hard. The set time was up
                          and I was just about to rinse the remover off when Kate slipped, knocking her head on
                          the corner of the cot. I rushed to the rescue and precious seconds ticked off whilst I
                          pacified her.

                          So, my dears, when I rinsed my lip, not only the plaster and the hair came away
                          but the skin as well and now I really did have a Ronald Coleman moustache – a crimson
                          one. I bathed it, I creamed it, powdered it but all to no avail. Within half an hour my lip
                          had swollen until I looked like one of those Duckbilled West African women. Ann’s
                          comments, “Oh Mummy, you do look funny. Georgie, doesn’t Mummy look funny?”
                          didn’t help to soothe me and the last straw was that just then there was the sound of a car drawing up outside – the first car I had heard for months. Anyway, thank heaven, it
                          was not George, but the representative of a firm which sells agricultural machinery and
                          farm implements, looking for orders. He had come from Dar es Salaam and had not
                          heard that all the planters from this district had left their farms. Hospitality demanded that I
                          should appear and offer tea. I did not mind this man because he was a complete
                          stranger and fat, middle aged and comfortable. So I gave him tea, though I didn’t
                          attempt to drink any myself, and told him the whole sad tale.

                          Fortunately much of the swelling had gone next day and only a brown dryness
                          remained. I find myself actually hoping that George is delayed a bit longer. Of one thing
                          I am sure. If ever I grow a moustache again, it stays!

                          Heaps of love from a sadder but wiser,
                          Eleanor

                          Mchewe Estate. 3rd April 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          Sound the trumpets, beat the drums. George is home again. The safari, I am sad
                          to say, was a complete washout in more ways than one. Anyway it was lovely to be
                          together again and we don’t yet talk about the future. The home coming was not at all as
                          I had planned it. I expected George to return in our old A.C. car which gives ample
                          warning of its arrival. I had meant to wear my new frock and make myself as glamourous
                          as possible, with our beautiful babe on one arm and our other jewels by my side.
                          This however is what actually happened. Last Saturday morning at about 2 am , I
                          thought I heard someone whispering my name. I sat up in bed, still half asleep, and
                          there was George at the window. He was thin and unshaven and the tiredest looking
                          man I have ever seen. The car had bogged down twenty miles back along the old Lupa
                          Track, but as George had had no food at all that day, he decided to walk home in the
                          bright moonlight.

                          This is where I should have served up a tasty hot meal but alas, there was only
                          the heal of a loaf and no milk because, before going to bed I had given the remaining
                          milk to the dog. However George seemed too hungry to care what he ate. He made a
                          meal off a tin of bully, a box of crustless cheese and the bread washed down with cup
                          after cup of black tea. Though George was tired we talked for hours and it was dawn
                          before we settled down to sleep.

                          During those hours of talk George described his nightmarish journey. He started
                          up the flooded Rukwa Valley and there were days of wading through swamp and mud
                          and several swollen rivers to cross. George is a strong swimmer and the porters who
                          were recruited in that area, could also swim. There remained the problem of the stores
                          and of Kianda the houseboy who cannot swim. For these they made rough pole rafts
                          which they pulled across the rivers with ropes. Kianda told me later that he hopes never
                          to make such a journey again. He swears that the raft was submerged most of the time
                          and that he was dragged through the rivers underwater! You should see the state of
                          George’s clothes which were packed in a supposedly water tight uniform trunk. The
                          whole lot are mud stained and mouldy.

                          To make matters more trying for George he was obliged to live mostly on
                          porters rations, rice and groundnut oil which he detests. As all the district roads were
                          closed the little Indian Sores in the remote villages he passed had been unable to
                          replenish their stocks of European groceries. George would have been thinner had it not
                          been for two Roman Catholic missions enroute where he had good meals and dry
                          nights. The Fathers are always wonderfully hospitable to wayfarers irrespective of
                          whether or not they are Roman Catholics. George of course is not a Catholic. One finds
                          the Roman Catholic missions right out in the ‘Blue’ and often on spots unhealthy to
                          Europeans. Most of the Fathers are German or Dutch but they all speak a little English
                          and in any case one can always fall back on Ki-Swahili.

                          George reached his destination all right but it soon became apparent that reports
                          of the richness of the strike had been greatly exaggerated. George had decided that
                          prospects were brighter on the Lupa than on the new strike so he returned to the Lupa
                          by the way he had come and, having returned the borrowed equipment decided to
                          make his way home by the shortest route, the old and now rarely used road which
                          passes by the bottom of our farm.

                          The old A.C. had been left for safe keeping at the Roman Catholic Galala
                          Mission 40 miles away, on George’s outward journey, and in this old car George, and
                          the houseboy Kianda , started for home. The road was indescribably awful. There were long stretches that were simply one big puddle, in others all the soil had been washed
                          away leaving the road like a rocky river bed. There were also patches where the tall
                          grass had sprung up head high in the middle of the road,
                          The going was slow because often the car bogged down because George had
                          no wheel chains and he and Kianda had the wearisome business of digging her out. It
                          was just growing dark when the old A.C. settled down determinedly in the mud for the
                          last time. They could not budge her and they were still twenty miles from home. George
                          decided to walk home in the moonlight to fetch help leaving Kianda in charge of the car
                          and its contents and with George’s shot gun to use if necessary in self defence. Kianda
                          was reluctant to stay but also not prepared to go for help whilst George remained with
                          the car as lions are plentiful in that area. So George set out unarmed in the moonlight.
                          Once he stopped to avoid a pride of lion coming down the road but he circled safely
                          around them and came home without any further alarms.

                          Kianda said he had a dreadful night in the car, “With lions roaming around the car
                          like cattle.” Anyway the lions did not take any notice of the car or of Kianda, and the next
                          day George walked back with all our farm boys and dug and pushed the car out of the
                          mud. He brought car and Kianda back without further trouble but the labourers on their
                          way home were treed by the lions.

                          The wet season is definitely the time to stay home.

                          Lots and lots of love,
                          Eleanor

                          Mchewe Estate. 30th April 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          Young George’s third birthday passed off very well yesterday. It started early in
                          the morning when he brought his pillow slip of presents to our bed. Kate was already
                          there and Ann soon joined us. Young George liked all the presents you sent, especially
                          the trumpet. It has hardly left his lips since and he is getting quite smart about the finger
                          action.

                          We had quite a party. Ann and I decorated the table with Christmas tree tinsel
                          and hung a bunch of balloons above it. Ann also decorated young George’s chair with
                          roses and phlox from the garden. I had made and iced a fruit cake but Ann begged to
                          make a plain pink cake. She made it entirely by herself though I stood by to see that
                          she measured the ingredients correctly. When the cake was baked I mixed some soft
                          icing in a jug and she poured it carefully over the cake smoothing the gaps with her
                          fingers!

                          During the party we had the gramophone playing and we pulled crackers and
                          wore paper hats and altogether had a good time. I forgot for a while that George is
                          leaving again for the Lupa tomorrow for an indefinite time. He was marvellous at making
                          young George’s party a gay one. You will have noticed the change from Georgie to
                          young George. Our son declares that he now wants to be called George, “Like Dad”.
                          He an Ann are a devoted couple and I am glad that there is only a fourteen
                          months difference in their ages. They play together extremely well and are very
                          independent which is just as well for little Kate now demands a lot of my attention. My
                          garden is a real cottage garden and looks very gay and colourful. There are hollyhocks
                          and Snapdragons, marigolds and phlox and of course the roses and carnations which, as
                          you know, are my favourites. The coffee shamba does not look so good because the
                          small labour force, which is all we can afford, cannot cope with all the weeds. You have
                          no idea how things grow during the wet season in the tropics.

                          Nothing alarming ever seems to happen when George is home, so I’m afraid this
                          letter is rather dull. I wanted you to know though, that largely due to all your gifts of toys
                          and sweets, Georgie’s 3rd birthday party went with a bang.

                          Your very affectionate,
                          Eleanor

                          Mchewe Estate. 17th September 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          I am sorry to hear that Mummy worries about me so much. “Poor Eleanor”,
                          indeed! I have a quite exceptional husband, three lovely children, a dear little home and
                          we are all well.It is true that I am in rather a rut but what else can we do? George comes
                          home whenever he can and what excitement there is when he does come. He cannot
                          give me any warning because he has to take advantage of chance lifts from the Diggings
                          to Mbeya, but now that he is prospecting nearer home he usually comes walking over
                          the hills. About 50 miles of rough going. Really and truly I am all right. Although our diet is
                          monotonous we have plenty to eat. Eggs and milk are cheap and fruit plentiful and I
                          have a good cook so can devote all my time to the children. I think it is because they are
                          my constant companions that Ann and Georgie are so grown up for their years.
                          I have no ayah at present because Janey has been suffering form rheumatism
                          and has gone home for one of her periodic rests. I manage very well without her except
                          in the matter of the afternoon walks. The outward journey is all right. George had all the
                          grass cut on his last visit so I am able to push the pram whilst Ann, George and Fanny
                          the dog run ahead. It is the uphill return trip that is so trying. Our walk back is always the
                          same, down the hill to the river where the children love to play and then along the car
                          road to the vegetable garden. I never did venture further since the day I saw a leopard
                          jump on a calf. I did not tell you at the time as I thought you might worry. The cattle were
                          grazing on a small knoll just off our land but near enough for me to have a clear view.
                          Suddenly the cattle scattered in all directions and we heard the shouts of the herd boys
                          and saw – or rather had the fleeting impression- of a large animal jumping on a calf. I
                          heard the herd boy shout “Chui, Chui!” (leopard) and believe me, we turned in our
                          tracks and made for home. To hasten things I picked up two sticks and told the children
                          that they were horses and they should ride them home which they did with
                          commendable speed.

                          Ann no longer rides Joseph. He became increasingly bad tempered and a
                          nuisance besides. He took to rolling all over my flower beds though I had never seen
                          him roll anywhere else. Then one day he kicked Ann in the chest, not very hard but
                          enough to send her flying. Now George has given him to the native who sells milk to us
                          and he seems quite happy grazing with the cattle.

                          With love to you all,
                          Eleanor.

                          Mchewe Estate. 2nd October 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          Since I last wrote George has been home and we had a lovely time as usual.
                          Whilst he was here the District Commissioner and his wife called. Mr Pollock told
                          George that there is to be a big bush clearing scheme in some part of the Mbeya
                          District to drive out Tsetse Fly. The game in the area will have to be exterminated and
                          there will probably be a job for George shooting out the buffalo. The pay would be
                          good but George says it is a beastly job. Although he is a professional hunter, he hates
                          slaughter.

                          Mrs P’s real reason for visiting the farm was to invite me to stay at her home in
                          Mbeya whilst she and her husband are away in Tukuyu. Her English nanny and her small
                          daughter will remain in Mbeya and she thought it might be a pleasant change for us and
                          a rest for me as of course Nanny will do the housekeeping. I accepted the invitation and I
                          think I will go on from there to Tukuyu and visit my friend Lillian Eustace for a fortnight.
                          She has given us an open invitation to visit her at any time.

                          I had a letter from Dr Eckhardt last week, telling me that at a meeting of all the
                          German Settlers from Mbeya, Tukuyu and Mbosi it had been decided to raise funds to
                          build a school at Mbeya. They want the British Settlers to co-operate in this and would
                          be glad of a subscription from us. I replied to say that I was unable to afford a
                          subscription at present but would probably be applying for a teaching job.
                          The Eckhardts are the leaders of the German community here and are ardent
                          Nazis. For this reason they are unpopular with the British community but he is the only
                          doctor here and I must say they have been very decent to us. Both of them admire
                          George. George has still not had any luck on the Lupa and until he makes a really
                          promising strike it is unlikely that the children and I will join him. There is no fresh milk there
                          and vegetables and fruit are imported from Mbeya and Iringa and are very expensive.
                          George says “You wouldn’t be happy on the diggings anyway with a lot of whores and
                          their bastards!”

                          Time ticks away very pleasantly here. Young George and Kate are blooming
                          and I keep well. Only Ann does not look well. She is growing too fast and is listless and
                          pale. If I do go to Mbeya next week I shall take her to the doctor to be overhauled.
                          We do not go for our afternoon walks now that George has returned to the Lupa.
                          That leopard has been around again and has killed Tubbage that cowardly Alsatian. We
                          gave him to the village headman some months ago. There is no danger to us from the
                          leopard but I am terrified it might get Fanny, who is an excellent little watchdog and
                          dearly loved by all of us. Yesterday I sent a note to the Boma asking for a trap gun and
                          today the farm boys are building a trap with logs.

                          I had a mishap this morning in the garden. I blundered into a nest of hornets and
                          got two stings in the left arm above the elbow. Very painful at the time and the place is
                          still red and swollen.

                          Much love to you all,
                          Eleanor.

                          Mchewe Estate. 10th October 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          Well here we are at Mbeya, comfortably installed in the District Commissioner’s
                          house. It is one of two oldest houses in Mbeya and is a charming gabled place with tiled
                          roof. The garden is perfectly beautiful. I am enjoying the change very much. Nanny
                          Baxter is very entertaining. She has a vast fund of highly entertaining tales of the goings
                          on amongst the British Aristocracy, gleaned it seems over the nursery teacup in many a
                          Stately Home. Ann and Georgie are enjoying the company of other children.
                          People are very kind about inviting us out to tea and I gladly accept these
                          invitations but I have turned down invitations to dinner and one to a dance at the hotel. It
                          is no fun to go out at night without George. There are several grass widows at the pub
                          whose husbands are at the diggings. They have no inhibitions about parties.
                          I did have one night and day here with George, he got the chance of a lift and
                          knowing that we were staying here he thought the chance too good to miss. He was
                          also anxious to hear the Doctor’s verdict on Ann. I took Ann to hospital on my second
                          day here. Dr Eckhardt said there was nothing specifically wrong but that Ann is a highly
                          sensitive type with whom the tropics does not agree. He advised that Ann should
                          spend a year in a more temperate climate and that the sooner she goes the better. I felt
                          very discouraged to hear this and was most relieved when George turned up
                          unexpectedly that evening. He phoo-hood Dr Eckhardt’s recommendation and next
                          morning called in Dr Aitkin, the Government Doctor from Chunya and who happened to
                          be in Mbeya.

                          Unfortunately Dr Aitkin not only confirmed Dr Eckhardt’s opinion but said that he
                          thought Ann should stay out of the tropics until she had passed adolescence. I just don’t
                          know what to do about Ann. She is a darling child, very sensitive and gentle and a
                          lovely companion to me. Also she and young George are inseparable and I just cannot
                          picture one without the other. I know that you would be glad to have Ann but how could
                          we bear to part with her?

                          Your worried but affectionate,
                          Eleanor.

                          Tukuyu. 23rd October 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          As you see we have moved to Tukuyu and we are having a lovely time with
                          Lillian Eustace. She gave us such a warm welcome and has put herself out to give us
                          every comfort. She is a most capable housekeeper and I find her such a comfortable
                          companion because we have the same outlook in life. Both of us are strictly one man
                          women and that is rare here. She has a two year old son, Billy, who is enchanted with
                          our rolly polly Kate and there are other children on the station with whom Ann and
                          Georgie can play. Lillian engaged a temporary ayah for me so I am having a good rest.
                          All the children look well and Ann in particular seems to have benefited by the
                          change to a cooler climate. She has a good colour and looks so well that people all
                          exclaim when I tell them, that two doctors have advised us to send Ann out of the
                          country. Perhaps after all, this holiday in Tukuyu will set her up.

                          We had a trying journey from Mbeya to Tukuyu in the Post Lorry. The three
                          children and I were squeezed together on the front seat between the African driver on
                          one side and a vast German on the other. Both men smoked incessantly – the driver
                          cigarettes, and the German cheroots. The cab was clouded with a blue haze. Not only
                          that! I suddenly felt a smarting sensation on my right thigh. The driver’s cigarette had
                          burnt a hole right through that new checked linen frock you sent me last month.
                          I had Kate on my lap all the way but Ann and Georgie had to stand against the
                          windscreen all the way. The fat German offered to take Ann on his lap but she gave him
                          a very cold “No thank you.” Nor did I blame her. I would have greatly enjoyed the drive
                          under less crowded conditions. The scenery is gorgeous. One drives through very high
                          country crossing lovely clear streams and at one point through rain forest. As it was I
                          counted the miles and how thankful I was to see the end of the journey.
                          In the days when Tanganyika belonged to the Germans, Tukuyu was the
                          administrative centre for the whole of the Southern Highlands Province. The old German
                          Fort is still in use as Government offices and there are many fine trees which were
                          planted by the Germans. There is a large prosperous native population in this area.
                          They go in chiefly for coffee and for bananas which form the basis of their diet.
                          There are five British married couples here and Lillian and I go out to tea most
                          mornings. In the afternoon there is tennis or golf. The gardens here are beautiful because
                          there is rain or at least drizzle all the year round. There are even hedge roses bordering
                          some of the district roads. When one walks across the emerald green golf course or
                          through the Boma gardens, it is hard to realise that this gentle place is Tropical Africa.
                          ‘Such a green and pleasant land’, but I think I prefer our corner of Tanganyika.

                          Much love,
                          Eleanor.

                          Mchewe. 12th November 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          We had a lovely holiday but it is so nice to be home again, especially as Laza,
                          the local Nimrod, shot that leopard whilst we were away (with his muzzleloader gun). He
                          was justly proud of himself, and I gave him a tip so that he could buy some native beer
                          for a celebration. I have never seen one of theses parties but can hear the drums and
                          sounds of merrymaking, especially on moonlight nights.

                          Our house looks so fresh and uncluttered. Whilst I was away, the boys
                          whitewashed the house and my houseboy had washed all the curtains, bedspreads,
                          and loose covers and watered the garden. If only George were here it would be
                          heaven.

                          Ann looked so bonny at Tukuyu that I took her to the Government Doctor there
                          hoping that he would find her perfectly healthy, but alas he endorsed the finding of the
                          other two doctors so, when an opportunity offers, I think I shall have to send Ann down
                          to you for a long holiday from the Tropics. Mother-in-law has offered to fetch her next
                          year but England seems so far away. With you she will at least be on the same
                          continent.

                          I left the children for the first time ever, except for my stay in hospital when Kate
                          was born, to go on an outing to Lake Masoko in the Tukuyu district, with four friends.
                          Masoko is a beautiful, almost circular crater lake and very very deep. A detachment of
                          the King’s African Rifles are stationed there and occupy the old German barracks
                          overlooking the lake.

                          We drove to Masoko by car and spent the afternoon there as guests of two
                          British Army Officers. We had a good tea and the others went bathing in the lake but i
                          could not as I did not have a costume. The Lake was as beautiful as I had been lead to
                          imagine and our hosts were pleasant but I began to grow anxious as the afternoon
                          advanced and my friends showed no signs of leaving. I was in agonies when they
                          accepted an invitation to stay for a sundowner. We had this in the old German beer
                          garden overlooking the Lake. It was beautiful but what did I care. I had promised the
                          children that I would be home to give them their supper and put them to bed. When I
                          did at length return to Lillian’s house I found the situation as I had expected. Ann, with her
                          imagination had come to the conclusion that I never would return. She had sobbed
                          herself into a state of exhaustion. Kate was screaming in sympathy and George 2 was
                          very truculent. He wouldn’t even speak to me. Poor Lillian had had a trying time.
                          We did not return to Mbeya by the Mail Lorry. Bill and Lillian drove us across to
                          Mbeya in their new Ford V8 car. The children chattered happily in the back of the car
                          eating chocolate and bananas all the way. I might have known what would happen! Ann
                          was dreadfully and messily car sick.

                          I engaged the Mbeya Hotel taxi to drive us out to the farm the same afternoon
                          and I expect it will be a long time before we leave the farm again.

                          Lots and lots of love to all,
                          Eleanor.

                          Chunya 27th November 1936

                          Dearest Family,

                          You will be surprised to hear that we are all together now on the Lupa goldfields.
                          I have still not recovered from my own astonishment at being here. Until last Saturday
                          night I never dreamed of this move. At about ten o’clock I was crouched in the inglenook
                          blowing on the embers to make a fire so that I could heat some milk for Kate who is
                          cutting teeth and was very restless. Suddenly I heard a car outside. I knew it must be
                          George and rushed outside storm lamp in hand. Sure enough, there was George
                          standing by a strange car, and beaming all over his face. “Something for you my love,”
                          he said placing a little bundle in my hand. It was a knotted handkerchief and inside was a
                          fine gold nugget.

                          George had that fire going in no time, Kate was given the milk and half an aspirin
                          and settles down to sleep, whilst George and I sat around for an hour chatting over our
                          tea. He told me that he had borrowed the car from John Molteno and had come to fetch
                          me and the children to join him on the diggings for a while. It seems that John, who has a
                          camp at Itewe, a couple of miles outside the township of Chunya, the new
                          Administrative Centre of the diggings, was off to the Cape to visit his family for a few
                          months. John had asked George to run his claims in his absence and had given us the
                          loan of his camp and his car.

                          George had found the nugget on his own claim but he is not too elated because
                          he says that one good month on the diggings is often followed by several months of
                          dead loss. However, I feel hopeful, we have had such a run of bad luck that surely it is
                          time for the tide to change. George spent Sunday going over the farm with Thomas, the
                          headman, and giving him instructions about future work whilst I packed clothes and
                          kitchen equipment. I have brought our ex-kitchenboy Kesho Kutwa with me as cook and
                          also Janey, who heard that we were off to the Lupa and came to offer her services once
                          more as ayah. Janey’s ex-husband Abel is now cook to one of the more successful
                          diggers and I think she is hoping to team up with him again.

                          The trip over the Mbeya-Chunya pass was new to me and I enjoyed it very
                          much indeed. The road winds over the mountains along a very high escarpment and
                          one looks down on the vast Usangu flats stretching far away to the horizon. At the
                          highest point the road rises to about 7000 feet, and this was too much for Ann who was
                          leaning against the back of my seat. She was very thoroughly sick, all over my hair.
                          This camp of John Molteno’s is very comfortable. It consists of two wattle and
                          daub buildings built end to end in a clearing in the miombo bush. The main building
                          consists of a large living room, a store and an office, and the other of one large bedroom
                          and a small one separated by an area for bathing. Both buildings are thatched. There are
                          no doors, and there are no windows, but these are not necessary because one wall of
                          each building is built up only a couple of feet leaving a six foot space for light and air. As
                          this is the dry season the weather is pleasant. The air is fresh and dry but not nearly so
                          hot as I expected.

                          Water is a problem and must be carried long distances in kerosene tins.
                          vegetables and fresh butter are brought in a van from Iringa and Mbeya Districts about
                          once a fortnight. I have not yet visited Chunya but I believe it is as good a shopping
                          centre as Mbeya so we will be able to buy all the non perishable food stuffs we need.
                          What I do miss is the fresh milk. The children are accustomed to drinking at least a pint of
                          milk each per day but they do not care for the tinned variety.

                          Ann and young George love being here. The camp is surrounded by old
                          prospecting trenches and they spend hours each day searching for gold in the heaps of gravel. Sometimes they find quartz pitted with little spots of glitter and they bring them
                          to me in great excitement. Alas it is only Mica. We have two neighbours. The one is a
                          bearded Frenchman and the other an Australian. I have not yet met any women.
                          George looks very sunburnt and extremely fit and the children also look well.
                          George and I have decided that we will keep Ann with us until my Mother-in-law comes
                          out next year. George says that in spite of what the doctors have said, he thinks that the
                          shock to Ann of being separated from her family will do her more harm than good. She
                          and young George are inseparable and George thinks it would be best if both
                          George and Ann return to England with my Mother-in-law for a couple of years. I try not
                          to think at all about the breaking up of the family.

                          Much love to all,
                          Eleanor.

                           

                          #6261
                          TracyTracy
                          Participant

                            From Tanganyika with Love

                            continued

                            With thanks to Mike Rushby.

                            Mchewe Estate. 11th July 1931.

                            Dearest Family,

                            You say that you would like to know more about our neighbours. Well there is
                            not much to tell. Kath Wood is very good about coming over to see me. I admire her
                            very much because she is so capable as well as being attractive. She speaks very
                            fluent Ki-Swahili and I envy her the way she can carry on a long conversation with the
                            natives. I am very slow in learning the language possibly because Lamek and the
                            houseboy both speak basic English.

                            I have very little to do with the Africans apart from the house servants, but I do
                            run a sort of clinic for the wives and children of our employees. The children suffer chiefly
                            from sore eyes and worms, and the older ones often have bad ulcers on their legs. All
                            farmers keep a stock of drugs and bandages.

                            George also does a bit of surgery and last month sewed up the sole of the foot
                            of a boy who had trodden on the blade of a panga, a sort of sword the Africans use for
                            hacking down bush. He made an excellent job of it. George tells me that the Africans
                            have wonderful powers of recuperation. Once in his bachelor days, one of his men was
                            disembowelled by an elephant. George washed his “guts” in a weak solution of
                            pot.permang, put them back in the cavity and sewed up the torn flesh and he
                            recovered.

                            But to get back to the neighbours. We see less of Hicky Wood than of Kath.
                            Hicky can be charming but is often moody as I believe Irishmen often are.
                            Major Jones is now at home on his shamba, which he leaves from time to time
                            for temporary jobs on the district roads. He walks across fairly regularly and we are
                            always glad to see him for he is a great bearer of news. In this part of Africa there is no
                            knocking or ringing of doorbells. Front doors are always left open and visitors always
                            welcome. When a visitor approaches a house he shouts “Hodi”, and the owner of the
                            house yells “Karibu”, which I believe means “Come near” or approach, and tea is
                            produced in a matter of minutes no matter what hour of the day it is.
                            The road that passes all our farms is the only road to the Gold Diggings and
                            diggers often drop in on the Woods and Major Jones and bring news of the Goldfields.
                            This news is sometimes about gold but quite often about whose wife is living with
                            whom. This is a great country for gossip.

                            Major Jones now has his brother Llewyllen living with him. I drove across with
                            George to be introduced to him. Llewyllen’s health is poor and he looks much older than
                            his years and very like the portrait of Trader Horn. He has the same emaciated features,
                            burning eyes and long beard. He is proud of his Welsh tenor voice and often bursts into
                            song.

                            Both brothers are excellent conversationalists and George enjoys walking over
                            sometimes on a Sunday for a bit of masculine company. The other day when George
                            walked across to visit the Joneses, he found both brothers in the shamba and Llew in a
                            great rage. They had been stooping to inspect a water furrow when Llew backed into a
                            hornets nest. One furious hornet stung him on the seat and another on the back of his
                            neck. Llew leapt forward and somehow his false teeth shot out into the furrow and were
                            carried along by the water. When George arrived Llew had retrieved his teeth but
                            George swears that, in the commotion, the heavy leather leggings, which Llew always
                            wears, had swivelled around on his thin legs and were calves to the front.
                            George has heard that Major Jones is to sell pert of his land to his Swedish brother-in-law, Max Coster, so we will soon have another couple in the neighbourhood.

                            I’ve had a bit of a pantomime here on the farm. On the day we went to Tukuyu,
                            all our washing was stolen from the clothes line and also our new charcoal iron. George
                            reported the matter to the police and they sent out a plain clothes policeman. He wears
                            the long white Arab gown called a Kanzu much in vogue here amongst the African elite
                            but, alas for secrecy, huge black police boots protrude from beneath the Kanzu and, to
                            add to this revealing clue, the askari springs to attention and salutes each time I pass by.
                            Not much hope of finding out the identity of the thief I fear.

                            George’s furrow was entirely successful and we now have water running behind
                            the kitchen. Our drinking water we get from a lovely little spring on the farm. We boil and
                            filter it for safety’s sake. I don’t think that is necessary. The furrow water is used for
                            washing pots and pans and for bath water.

                            Lots of love,
                            Eleanor

                            Mchewe Estate. 8th. August 1931

                            Dearest Family,

                            I think it is about time I told you that we are going to have a baby. We are both
                            thrilled about it. I have not seen a Doctor but feel very well and you are not to worry. I
                            looked it up in my handbook for wives and reckon that the baby is due about February
                            8th. next year.

                            The announcement came from George, not me! I had been feeling queasy for
                            days and was waiting for the right moment to tell George. You know. Soft lights and
                            music etc. However when I was listlessly poking my food around one lunch time
                            George enquired calmly, “When are you going to tell me about the baby?” Not at all
                            according to the book! The problem is where to have the baby. February is a very wet
                            month and the nearest Doctor is over 50 miles away at Tukuyu. I cannot go to stay at
                            Tukuyu because there is no European accommodation at the hospital, no hotel and no
                            friend with whom I could stay.

                            George thinks I should go South to you but Capetown is so very far away and I
                            love my little home here. Also George says he could not come all the way down with
                            me as he simply must stay here and get the farm on its feet. He would drive me as far
                            as the railway in Northern Rhodesia. It is a difficult decision to take. Write and tell me what
                            you think.

                            The days tick by quietly here. The servants are very willing but have to be
                            supervised and even then a crisis can occur. Last Saturday I was feeling squeamish and
                            decided not to have lunch. I lay reading on the couch whilst George sat down to a
                            solitary curry lunch. Suddenly he gave an exclamation and pushed back his chair. I
                            jumped up to see what was wrong and there, on his plate, gleaming in the curry gravy
                            were small bits of broken glass. I hurried to the kitchen to confront Lamek with the plate.
                            He explained that he had dropped the new and expensive bottle of curry powder on
                            the brick floor of the kitchen. He did not tell me as he thought I would make a “shauri” so
                            he simply scooped up the curry powder, removed the larger pieces of glass and used
                            part of the powder for seasoning the lunch.

                            The weather is getting warmer now. It was very cold in June and July and we had
                            fires in the daytime as well as at night. Now that much of the land has been cleared we
                            are able to go for pleasant walks in the weekends. My favourite spot is a waterfall on the
                            Mchewe River just on the boundary of our land. There is a delightful little pool below the
                            waterfall and one day George intends to stock it with trout.

                            Now that there are more Europeans around to buy meat the natives find it worth
                            their while to kill an occasional beast. Every now and again a native arrives with a large
                            bowl of freshly killed beef for sale. One has no way of knowing whether the animal was
                            healthy and the meat is often still warm and very bloody. I hated handling it at first but am
                            becoming accustomed to it now and have even started a brine tub. There is no other
                            way of keeping meat here and it can only be kept in its raw state for a few hours before
                            going bad. One of the delicacies is the hump which all African cattle have. When corned
                            it is like the best brisket.

                            See what a housewife I am becoming.
                            With much love,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. Sept.6th. 1931

                            Dearest Family,

                            I have grown to love the life here and am sad to think I shall be leaving
                            Tanganyika soon for several months. Yes I am coming down to have the baby in the
                            bosom of the family. George thinks it best and so does the doctor. I didn’t mention it
                            before but I have never recovered fully from the effects of that bad bout of malaria and
                            so I have been persuaded to leave George and our home and go to the Cape, in the
                            hope that I shall come back here as fit as when I first arrived in the country plus a really
                            healthy and bouncing baby. I am torn two ways, I long to see you all – but how I would
                            love to stay on here.

                            George will drive me down to Northern Rhodesia in early October to catch a
                            South bound train. I’ll telegraph the date of departure when I know it myself. The road is
                            very, very bad and the car has been giving a good deal of trouble so, though the baby
                            is not due until early February, George thinks it best to get the journey over soon as
                            possible, for the rains break in November and the the roads will then be impassable. It
                            may take us five or six days to reach Broken Hill as we will take it slowly. I am looking
                            forward to the drive through new country and to camping out at night.
                            Our days pass quietly by. George is out on the shamba most of the day. He
                            goes out before breakfast on weekdays and spends most of the day working with the
                            men – not only supervising but actually working with his hands and beating the labourers
                            at their own jobs. He comes to the house for meals and tea breaks. I potter around the
                            house and garden, sew, mend and read. Lamek continues to be a treasure. he turns out
                            some surprising dishes. One of his specialities is stuffed chicken. He carefully skins the
                            chicken removing all bones. He then minces all the chicken meat and adds minced onion
                            and potatoes. He then stuffs the chicken skin with the minced meat and carefully sews it
                            together again. The resulting dish is very filling because the boned chicken is twice the
                            size of a normal one. It lies on its back as round as a football with bloated legs in the air.
                            Rather repulsive to look at but Lamek is most proud of his accomplishment.
                            The other day he produced another of his masterpieces – a cooked tortoise. It
                            was served on a dish covered with parsley and crouched there sans shell but, only too
                            obviously, a tortoise. I took one look and fled with heaving diaphragm, but George said
                            it tasted quite good. He tells me that he has had queerer dishes produced by former
                            cooks. He says that once in his hunting days his cook served up a skinned baby
                            monkey with its hands folded on its breast. He says it would take a cannibal to eat that
                            dish.

                            And now for something sad. Poor old Llew died quite suddenly and it was a sad
                            shock to this tiny community. We went across to the funeral and it was a very simple and
                            dignified affair. Llew was buried on Joni’s farm in a grave dug by the farm boys. The
                            body was wrapped in a blanket and bound to some boards and lowered into the
                            ground. There was no service. The men just said “Good-bye Llew.” and “Sleep well
                            Llew”, and things like that. Then Joni and his brother-in-law Max, and George shovelled
                            soil over the body after which the grave was filled in by Joni’s shamba boys. It was a
                            lovely bright afternoon and I thought how simple and sensible a funeral it was.
                            I hope you will be glad to have me home. I bet Dad will be holding thumbs that
                            the baby will be a girl.

                            Very much love,
                            Eleanor.

                            Note
                            “There are no letters to my family during the period of Sept. 1931 to June 1932
                            because during these months I was living with my parents and sister in a suburb of
                            Cape Town. I had hoped to return to Tanganyika by air with my baby soon after her
                            birth in Feb.1932 but the doctor would not permit this.

                            A month before my baby was born, a company called Imperial Airways, had
                            started the first passenger service between South Africa and England. One of the night
                            stops was at Mbeya near my husband’s coffee farm, and it was my intention to take the
                            train to Broken Hill in Northern Rhodesia and to fly from there to Mbeya with my month
                            old baby. In those days however, commercial flying was still a novelty and the doctor
                            was not sure that flying at a high altitude might not have an adverse effect upon a young
                            baby.

                            He strongly advised me to wait until the baby was four months old and I did this
                            though the long wait was very trying to my husband alone on our farm in Tanganyika,
                            and to me, cherished though I was in my old home.

                            My story, covering those nine long months is soon told. My husband drove me
                            down from Mbeya to Broken Hill in NorthernRhodesia. The journey was tedious as the
                            weather was very hot and dry and the road sandy and rutted, very different from the
                            Great North road as it is today. The wooden wheel spokes of the car became so dry
                            that they rattled and George had to bind wet rags around them. We had several
                            punctures and with one thing and another I was lucky to catch the train.
                            My parents were at Cape Town station to welcome me and I stayed
                            comfortably with them, living very quietly, until my baby was born. She arrived exactly
                            on the appointed day, Feb.8th.

                            I wrote to my husband “Our Charmian Ann is a darling baby. She is very fair and
                            rather pale and has the most exquisite hands, with long tapering fingers. Daddy
                            absolutely dotes on her and so would you, if you were here. I can’t bear to think that you
                            are so terribly far away. Although Ann was born exactly on the day, I was taken quite by
                            surprise. It was awfully hot on the night before, and before going to bed I had a fancy for
                            some water melon. The result was that when I woke in the early morning with labour
                            pains and vomiting I thought it was just an attack of indigestion due to eating too much
                            melon. The result was that I did not wake Marjorie until the pains were pretty frequent.
                            She called our next door neighbour who, in his pyjamas, drove me to the nursing home
                            at breakneck speed. The Matron was very peeved that I had left things so late but all
                            went well and by nine o’clock, Mother, positively twittering with delight, was allowed to
                            see me and her first granddaughter . She told me that poor Dad was in such a state of
                            nerves that he was sick amongst the grapevines. He says that he could not bear to go
                            through such an anxious time again, — so we will have to have our next eleven in
                            Tanganyika!”

                            The next four months passed rapidly as my time was taken up by the demands
                            of my new baby. Dr. Trudy King’s method of rearing babies was then the vogue and I
                            stuck fanatically to all the rules he laid down, to the intense exasperation of my parents
                            who longed to cuddle the child.

                            As the time of departure drew near my parents became more and more reluctant
                            to allow me to face the journey alone with their adored grandchild, so my brother,
                            Graham, very generously offered to escort us on the train to Broken Hill where he could
                            put us on the plane for Mbeya.

                            Eleanor Rushby

                             

                            Mchewe Estate. June 15th 1932

                            Dearest Family,

                            You’ll be glad to know that we arrived quite safe and sound and very, very
                            happy to be home.The train Journey was uneventful. Ann slept nearly all the way.
                            Graham was very kind and saw to everything. He even sat with the baby whilst I went
                            to meals in the dining car.

                            We were met at Broken Hill by the Thoms who had arranged accommodation for
                            us at the hotel for the night. They also drove us to the aerodrome in the morning where
                            the Airways agent told us that Ann is the first baby to travel by air on this section of the
                            Cape to England route. The plane trip was very bumpy indeed especially between
                            Broken Hill and Mpika. Everyone was ill including poor little Ann who sicked up her milk
                            all over the front of my new coat. I arrived at Mbeya looking a sorry caricature of Radiant
                            Motherhood. I must have been pale green and the baby was snow white. Under the
                            circumstances it was a good thing that George did not meet us. We were met instead
                            by Ken Menzies, the owner of the Mbeya Hotel where we spent the night. Ken was
                            most fatherly and kind and a good nights rest restored Ann and me to our usual robust
                            health.

                            Mbeya has greatly changed. The hotel is now finished and can accommodate
                            fifty guests. It consists of a large main building housing a large bar and dining room and
                            offices and a number of small cottage bedrooms. It even has electric light. There are
                            several buildings out at the aerodrome and private houses going up in Mbeya.
                            After breakfast Ken Menzies drove us out to the farm where we had a warm
                            welcome from George, who looks well but rather thin. The house was spotless and the
                            new cook, Abel, had made light scones for tea. George had prepared all sorts of lovely
                            surprises. There is a new reed ceiling in the living room and a new dresser gay with
                            willow pattern plates which he had ordered from England. There is also a writing table
                            and a square table by the door for visitors hats. More personal is a lovely model ship
                            which George assembled from one of those Hobbie’s kits. It puts the finishing touch to
                            the rather old world air of our living room.

                            In the bedroom there is a large double bed which George made himself. It has
                            strips of old car tyres nailed to a frame which makes a fine springy mattress and on top
                            of this is a thick mattress of kapok.In the kitchen there is a good wood stove which
                            George salvaged from a Mission dump. It looks a bit battered but works very well. The
                            new cook is excellent. The only blight is that he will wear rubber soled tennis shoes and
                            they smell awful. I daren’t hurt his feelings by pointing this out though. Opposite the
                            kitchen is a new laundry building containing a forty gallon hot water drum and a sink for
                            washing up. Lovely!

                            George has been working very hard. He now has forty acres of coffee seedlings
                            planted out and has also found time to plant a rose garden and fruit trees. There are
                            orange and peach trees, tree tomatoes, paw paws, guavas and berries. He absolutely
                            adores Ann who has been very good and does not seem at all unsettled by the long
                            journey.

                            It is absolutely heavenly to be back and I shall be happier than ever now that I
                            have a baby to play with during the long hours when George is busy on the farm,
                            Thank you for all your love and care during the many months I was with you. Ann
                            sends a special bubble for granddad.

                            Your very loving,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate Mbeya July 18th 1932

                            Dearest Family,

                            Ann at five months is enchanting. She is a very good baby, smiles readily and is
                            gaining weight steadily. She doesn’t sleep much during the day but that does not
                            matter, because, apart from washing her little things, I have nothing to do but attend to
                            her. She sleeps very well at night which is a blessing as George has to get up very
                            early to start work on the shamba and needs a good nights rest.
                            My nights are not so good, because we are having a plague of rats which frisk
                            around in the bedroom at night. Great big ones that come up out of the long grass in the
                            gorge beside the house and make cosy homes on our reed ceiling and in the thatch of
                            the roof.

                            We always have a night light burning so that, if necessary, I can attend to Ann
                            with a minimum of fuss, and the things I see in that dim light! There are gaps between
                            the reeds and one night I heard, plop! and there, before my horrified gaze, lay a newly
                            born hairless baby rat on the floor by the bed, plop, plop! and there lay two more.
                            Quite dead, poor things – but what a careless mother.

                            I have also seen rats scampering around on the tops of the mosquito nets and
                            sometimes we have them on our bed. They have a lovely game. They swarm down
                            the cord from which the mosquito net is suspended, leap onto the bed and onto the
                            floor. We do not have our net down now the cold season is here and there are few
                            mosquitoes.

                            Last week a rat crept under Ann’s net which hung to the floor and bit her little
                            finger, so now I tuck the net in under the mattress though it makes it difficult for me to
                            attend to her at night. We shall have to get a cat somewhere. Ann’s pram has not yet
                            arrived so George carries her when we go walking – to her great content.
                            The native women around here are most interested in Ann. They come to see
                            her, bearing small gifts, and usually bring a child or two with them. They admire my child
                            and I admire theirs and there is an exchange of gifts. They produce a couple of eggs or
                            a few bananas or perhaps a skinny fowl and I hand over sugar, salt or soap as they
                            value these commodities. The most lavish gift went to the wife of Thomas our headman,
                            who produced twin daughters in the same week as I had Ann.

                            Our neighbours have all been across to welcome me back and to admire the
                            baby. These include Marion Coster who came out to join her husband whilst I was in
                            South Africa. The two Hickson-Wood children came over on a fat old white donkey.
                            They made a pretty picture sitting astride, one behind the other – Maureen with her arms
                            around small Michael’s waist. A native toto led the donkey and the children’ s ayah
                            walked beside it.

                            It is quite cold here now but the sun is bright and the air dry. The whole
                            countryside is beautifully green and we are a very happy little family.

                            Lots and lots of love,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate August 11th 1932

                            Dearest Family,

                            George has been very unwell for the past week. He had a nasty gash on his
                            knee which went septic. He had a swelling in the groin and a high temperature and could
                            not sleep at night for the pain in his leg. Ann was very wakeful too during the same
                            period, I think she is teething. I luckily have kept fit though rather harassed. Yesterday the
                            leg looked so inflamed that George decided to open up the wound himself. he made
                            quite a big cut in exactly the right place. You should have seen the blackish puss
                            pouring out.

                            After he had thoroughly cleaned the wound George sewed it up himself. he has
                            the proper surgical needles and gut. He held the cut together with his left hand and
                            pushed the needle through the flesh with his right. I pulled the needle out and passed it
                            to George for the next stitch. I doubt whether a surgeon could have made a neater job
                            of it. He is still confined to the couch but today his temperature is normal. Some
                            husband!

                            The previous week was hectic in another way. We had a visit from lions! George
                            and I were having supper about 8.30 on Tuesday night when the back verandah was
                            suddenly invaded by women and children from the servants quarters behind the kitchen.
                            They were all yelling “Simba, Simba.” – simba means lions. The door opened suddenly
                            and the houseboy rushed in to say that there were lions at the huts. George got up
                            swiftly, fetched gun and ammunition from the bedroom and with the houseboy carrying
                            the lamp, went off to investigate. I remained at the table, carrying on with my supper as I
                            felt a pioneer’s wife should! Suddenly something big leapt through the open window
                            behind me. You can imagine what I thought! I know now that it is quite true to say one’s
                            hair rises when one is scared. However it was only Kelly, our huge Irish wolfhound,
                            taking cover.

                            George returned quite soon to say that apparently the commotion made by the
                            women and children had frightened the lions off. He found their tracks in the soft earth
                            round the huts and a bag of maize that had been playfully torn open but the lions had
                            moved on.

                            Next day we heard that they had moved to Hickson-Wood’s shamba. Hicky
                            came across to say that the lions had jumped over the wall of his cattle boma and killed
                            both his white Muskat riding donkeys.
                            He and a friend sat up all next night over the remains but the lions did not return to
                            the kill.

                            Apart from the little set back last week, Ann is blooming. She has a cap of very
                            fine fair hair and clear blue eyes under straight brow. She also has lovely dimples in both
                            cheeks. We are very proud of her.

                            Our neighbours are picking coffee but the crops are small and the price is low. I
                            am amazed that they are so optimistic about the future. No one in these parts ever
                            seems to grouse though all are living on capital. They all say “Well if the worst happens
                            we can always go up to the Lupa Diggings.”

                            Don’t worry about us, we have enough to tide us over for some time yet.

                            Much love to all,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. 28th Sept. 1932

                            Dearest Family,

                            News! News! I’m going to have another baby. George and I are delighted and I
                            hope it will be a boy this time. I shall be able to have him at Mbeya because things are
                            rapidly changing here. Several German families have moved to Mbeya including a
                            German doctor who means to build a hospital there. I expect he will make a very good
                            living because there must now be some hundreds of Europeans within a hundred miles
                            radius of Mbeya. The Europeans are mostly British or German but there are also
                            Greeks and, I believe, several other nationalities are represented on the Lupa Diggings.
                            Ann is blooming and developing according to the Book except that she has no
                            teeth yet! Kath Hickson-Wood has given her a very nice high chair and now she has
                            breakfast and lunch at the table with us. Everything within reach goes on the floor to her
                            amusement and my exasperation!

                            You ask whether we have any Church of England missionaries in our part. No we
                            haven’t though there are Lutheran and Roman Catholic Missions. I have never even
                            heard of a visiting Church of England Clergyman to these parts though there are babies
                            in plenty who have not been baptised. Jolly good thing I had Ann Christened down
                            there.

                            The R.C. priests in this area are called White Fathers. They all have beards and
                            wear white cassocks and sun helmets. One, called Father Keiling, calls around frequently.
                            Though none of us in this area is Catholic we take it in turn to put him up for the night. The
                            Catholic Fathers in their turn are most hospitable to travellers regardless of their beliefs.
                            Rather a sad thing has happened. Lucas our old chicken-boy is dead. I shall miss
                            his toothy smile. George went to the funeral and fired two farewell shots from his rifle
                            over the grave – a gesture much appreciated by the locals. Lucas in his day was a good
                            hunter.

                            Several of the locals own muzzle loading guns but the majority hunt with dogs
                            and spears. The dogs wear bells which make an attractive jingle but I cannot bear the
                            idea of small antelope being run down until they are exhausted before being clubbed of
                            stabbed to death. We seldom eat venison as George does not care to shoot buck.
                            Recently though, he shot an eland and Abel rendered down the fat which is excellent for
                            cooking and very like beef fat.

                            Much love to all,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. P.O.Mbeya 21st November 1932

                            Dearest Family,

                            George has gone off to the Lupa for a week with John Molteno. John came up
                            here with the idea of buying a coffee farm but he has changed his mind and now thinks of
                            staking some claims on the diggings and also setting up as a gold buyer.

                            Did I tell you about his arrival here? John and George did some elephant hunting
                            together in French Equatorial Africa and when John heard that George had married and
                            settled in Tanganyika, he also decided to come up here. He drove up from Cape Town
                            in a Baby Austin and arrived just as our labourers were going home for the day. The little
                            car stopped half way up our hill and John got out to investigate. You should have heard
                            the astonished exclamations when John got out – all 6 ft 5 ins. of him! He towered over
                            the little car and even to me it seemed impossible for him to have made the long
                            journey in so tiny a car.

                            Kath Wood has been over several times lately. She is slim and looks so right in
                            the shirt and corduroy slacks she almost always wears. She was here yesterday when
                            the shamba boy, digging in the front garden, unearthed a large earthenware cooking pot,
                            sealed at the top. I was greatly excited and had an instant mental image of fabulous
                            wealth. We made the boy bring the pot carefully on to the verandah and opened it in
                            happy anticipation. What do you think was inside? Nothing but a grinning skull! Such a
                            treat for a pregnant female.

                            We have a tree growing here that had lovely straight branches covered by a
                            smooth bark. I got the garden boy to cut several of these branches of a uniform size,
                            peeled off the bark and have made Ann a playpen with the poles which are much like
                            broom sticks. Now I can leave her unattended when I do my chores. The other morning
                            after breakfast I put Ann in her playpen on the verandah and gave her a piece of toast
                            and honey to keep her quiet whilst I laundered a few of her things. When I looked out a
                            little later I was horrified to see a number of bees buzzing around her head whilst she
                            placidly concentrated on her toast. I made a rapid foray and rescued her but I still don’t
                            know whether that was the thing to do.

                            We all send our love,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mbeya Hospital. April 25th. 1933

                            Dearest Family,

                            Here I am, installed at the very new hospital, built by Dr Eckhardt, awaiting the
                            arrival of the new baby. George has gone back to the farm on foot but will walk in again
                            to spend the weekend with us. Ann is with me and enjoys the novelty of playing with
                            other children. The Eckhardts have two, a pretty little girl of two and a half and a very fair
                            roly poly boy of Ann’s age. Ann at fourteen months is very active. She is quite a little girl
                            now with lovely dimples. She walks well but is backward in teething.

                            George, Ann and I had a couple of days together at the hotel before I moved in
                            here and several of the local women visited me and have promised to visit me in
                            hospital. The trip from farm to town was very entertaining if not very comfortable. There
                            is ten miles of very rough road between our farm and Utengule Mission and beyond the
                            Mission there is a fair thirteen or fourteen mile road to Mbeya.

                            As we have no car now the doctor’s wife offered to drive us from the Mission to
                            Mbeya but she would not risk her car on the road between the Mission and our farm.
                            The upshot was that I rode in the Hickson-Woods machila for that ten mile stretch. The
                            machila is a canopied hammock, slung from a bamboo pole, in which I reclined, not too
                            comfortably in my unwieldy state, with Ann beside me or sometime straddling me. Four
                            of our farm boys carried the machila on their shoulders, two fore and two aft. The relief
                            bearers walked on either side. There must have been a dozen in all and they sang a sort
                            of sea shanty song as they walked. One man would sing a verse and the others took up
                            the chorus. They often improvise as they go. They moaned about my weight (at least
                            George said so! I don’t follow Ki-Swahili well yet) and expressed the hope that I would
                            have a son and that George would reward them handsomely.

                            George and Kelly, the dog, followed close behind the machila and behind
                            George came Abel our cook and his wife and small daughter Annalie, all in their best
                            attire. The cook wore a palm beach suit, large Terai hat and sunglasses and two colour
                            shoes and quite lent a tone to the proceedings! Right at the back came the rag tag and
                            bobtail who joined the procession just for fun.

                            Mrs Eckhardt was already awaiting us at the Mission when we arrived and we had
                            an uneventful trip to the Mbeya Hotel.

                            During my last week at the farm I felt very tired and engaged the cook’s small
                            daughter, Annalie, to amuse Ann for an hour after lunch so that I could have a rest. They
                            played in the small verandah room which adjoins our bedroom and where I keep all my
                            sewing materials. One afternoon I was startled by a scream from Ann. I rushed to the
                            room and found Ann with blood steaming from her cheek. Annalie knelt beside her,
                            looking startled and frightened, with my embroidery scissors in her hand. She had cut off
                            half of the long curling golden lashes on one of Ann’s eyelids and, in trying to finish the
                            job, had cut off a triangular flap of skin off Ann’s cheek bone.

                            I called Abel, the cook, and demanded that he should chastise his daughter there and
                            then and I soon heard loud shrieks from behind the kitchen. He spanked her with a
                            bamboo switch but I am sure not as well as she deserved. Africans are very tolerant
                            towards their children though I have seen husbands and wives fighting furiously.
                            I feel very well but long to have the confinement over.

                            Very much love,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mbeya Hospital. 2nd May 1933.

                            Dearest Family,

                            Little George arrived at 7.30 pm on Saturday evening 29 th. April. George was
                            with me at the time as he had walked in from the farm for news, and what a wonderful bit
                            of luck that was. The doctor was away on a case on the Diggings and I was bathing Ann
                            with George looking on, when the pains started. George dried Ann and gave her
                            supper and put her to bed. Afterwards he sat on the steps outside my room and a
                            great comfort it was to know that he was there.

                            The confinement was short but pretty hectic. The Doctor returned to the Hospital
                            just in time to deliver the baby. He is a grand little boy, beautifully proportioned. The
                            doctor says he has never seen a better formed baby. He is however rather funny
                            looking just now as his head is, very temporarily, egg shaped. He has a shock of black
                            silky hair like a gollywog and believe it or not, he has a slight black moustache.
                            George came in, looked at the baby, looked at me, and we both burst out
                            laughing. The doctor was shocked and said so. He has no sense of humour and couldn’t
                            understand that we, though bursting with pride in our son, could never the less laugh at
                            him.

                            Friends in Mbeya have sent me the most gorgeous flowers and my room is
                            transformed with delphiniums, roses and carnations. The room would be very austere
                            without the flowers. Curtains, bedspread and enamelware, walls and ceiling are all
                            snowy white.

                            George hired a car and took Ann home next day. I have little George for
                            company during the day but he is removed at night. I am longing to get him home and
                            away from the German nurse who feeds him on black tea when he cries. She insists that
                            tea is a medicine and good for him.

                            Much love from a proud mother of two.
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate 12May 1933

                            Dearest Family,

                            We are all together at home again and how lovely it feels. Even the house
                            servants seem pleased. The boy had decorated the lounge with sprays of
                            bougainvillaea and Abel had backed one of his good sponge cakes.

                            Ann looked fat and rosy but at first was only moderately interested in me and the
                            new baby but she soon thawed. George is good with her and will continue to dress Ann
                            in the mornings and put her to bed until I am satisfied with Georgie.

                            He, poor mite, has a nasty rash on face and neck. I am sure it is just due to that
                            tea the nurse used to give him at night. He has lost his moustache and is fast loosing his
                            wild black hair and emerging as quite a handsome babe. He is a very masculine looking
                            infant with much more strongly marked eyebrows and a larger nose that Ann had. He is
                            very good and lies quietly in his basket even when awake.

                            George has been making a hatching box for brown trout ova and has set it up in
                            a small clear stream fed by a spring in readiness for the ova which is expected from
                            South Africa by next weeks plane. Some keen fishermen from Mbeya and the District
                            have clubbed together to buy the ova. The fingerlings are later to be transferred to
                            streams in Mbeya and Tukuyu Districts.

                            I shall now have my hands full with the two babies and will not have much time for the
                            garden, or I fear, for writing very long letters. Remember though, that no matter how
                            large my family becomes, I shall always love you as much as ever.

                            Your affectionate,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. 14th June 1933

                            Dearest Family,

                            The four of us are all well but alas we have lost our dear Kelly. He was rather a
                            silly dog really, although he grew so big he retained all his puppy ways but we were all
                            very fond of him, especially George because Kelly attached himself to George whilst I
                            was away having Ann and from that time on he was George’s shadow. I think he had
                            some form of biliary fever. He died stretched out on the living room couch late last night,
                            with George sitting beside him so that he would not feel alone.

                            The children are growing fast. Georgie is a darling. He now has a fluff of pale
                            brown hair and his eyes are large and dark brown. Ann is very plump and fair.
                            We have had several visitors lately. Apart from neighbours, a car load of diggers
                            arrived one night and John Molteno and his bride were here. She is a very attractive girl
                            but, I should say, more suited to life in civilisation than in this back of beyond. She has
                            gone out to the diggings with her husband and will have to walk a good stretch of the fifty
                            or so miles.

                            The diggers had to sleep in the living room on the couch and on hastily erected
                            camp beds. They arrived late at night and left after breakfast next day. One had half a
                            beard, the other side of his face had been forcibly shaved in the bar the night before.

                            your affectionate,
                            Eleanor

                            Mchewe Estate. August 10 th. 1933

                            Dearest Family,

                            George is away on safari with two Indian Army officers. The money he will get for
                            his services will be very welcome because this coffee growing is a slow business, and
                            our capitol is rapidly melting away. The job of acting as White Hunter was unexpected
                            or George would not have taken on the job of hatching the ova which duly arrived from
                            South Africa.

                            George and the District Commissioner, David Pollock, went to meet the plane
                            by which the ova had been consigned but the pilot knew nothing about the package. It
                            came to light in the mail bag with the parcels! However the ova came to no harm. David
                            Pollock and George brought the parcel to the farm and carefully transferred the ova to
                            the hatching box. It was interesting to watch the tiny fry hatch out – a process which took
                            several days. Many died in the process and George removed the dead by sucking
                            them up in a glass tube.

                            When hatched, the tiny fry were fed on ant eggs collected by the boys. I had to
                            take over the job of feeding and removing the dead when George left on safari. The fry
                            have to be fed every four hours, like the baby, so each time I have fed Georgie. I hurry
                            down to feed the trout.

                            The children are very good but keep me busy. Ann can now say several words
                            and understands more. She adores Georgie. I long to show them off to you.

                            Very much love
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. October 27th 1933

                            Dear Family,

                            All just over flu. George and Ann were very poorly. I did not fare so badly and
                            Georgie came off best. He is on a bottle now.

                            There was some excitement here last Wednesday morning. At 6.30 am. I called
                            for boiling water to make Georgie’s food. No water arrived but muffled shouting and the
                            sound of blows came from the kitchen. I went to investigate and found a fierce fight in
                            progress between the house boy and the kitchen boy. In my efforts to make them stop
                            fighting I went too close and got a sharp bang on the mouth with the edge of an
                            enamelled plate the kitchen boy was using as a weapon. My teeth cut my lip inside and
                            the plate cut it outside and blood flowed from mouth to chin. The boys were petrified.
                            By the time I had fed Georgie the lip was stiff and swollen. George went in wrath
                            to the kitchen and by breakfast time both house boy and kitchen boy had swollen faces
                            too. Since then I have a kettle of boiling water to hand almost before the words are out
                            of my mouth. I must say that the fight was because the house boy had clouted the
                            kitchen boy for keeping me waiting! In this land of piece work it is the job of the kitchen
                            boy to light the fire and boil the kettle but the houseboy’s job to carry the kettle to me.
                            I have seen little of Kath Wood or Marion Coster for the past two months. Major
                            Jones is the neighbour who calls most regularly. He has a wireless set and calls on all of
                            us to keep us up to date with world as well as local news. He often brings oranges for
                            Ann who adores him. He is a very nice person but no oil painting and makes no effort to
                            entertain Ann but she thinks he is fine. Perhaps his monocle appeals to her.

                            George has bought a six foot long galvanised bath which is a great improvement
                            on the smaller oval one we have used until now. The smaller one had grown battered
                            from much use and leaks like a sieve. Fortunately our bathroom has a cement floor,
                            because one had to fill the bath to the brim and then bath extremely quickly to avoid
                            being left high and dry.

                            Lots and lots of love,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. P.O. Mbeya 1st December 1933

                            Dearest Family,

                            Ann has not been well. We think she has had malaria. She has grown a good
                            deal lately and looks much thinner and rather pale. Georgie is thriving and has such
                            sparkling brown eyes and a ready smile. He and Ann make a charming pair, one so fair
                            and the other dark.

                            The Moltenos’ spent a few days here and took Georgie and me to Mbeya so
                            that Georgie could be vaccinated. However it was an unsatisfactory trip because the
                            doctor had no vaccine.

                            George went to the Lupa with the Moltenos and returned to the farm in their Baby
                            Austin which they have lent to us for a week. This was to enable me to go to Mbeya to
                            have a couple of teeth filled by a visiting dentist.

                            We went to Mbeya in the car on Saturday. It was quite a squash with the four of
                            us on the front seat of the tiny car. Once George grabbed the babies foot instead of the
                            gear knob! We had Georgie vaccinated at the hospital and then went to the hotel where
                            the dentist was installed. Mr Dare, the dentist, had few instruments and they were very
                            tarnished. I sat uncomfortably on a kitchen chair whilst he tinkered with my teeth. He filled
                            three but two of the fillings came out that night. This meant another trip to Mbeya in the
                            Baby Austin but this time they seem all right.

                            The weather is very hot and dry and the garden a mess. We are having trouble
                            with the young coffee trees too. Cut worms are killing off seedlings in the nursery and
                            there is a borer beetle in the planted out coffee.

                            George bought a large grey donkey from some wandering Masai and we hope
                            the children will enjoy riding it later on.

                            Very much love,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. 14th February 1934.

                            Dearest Family,

                            You will be sorry to hear that little Ann has been very ill, indeed we were terribly
                            afraid that we were going to lose her. She enjoyed her birthday on the 8th. All the toys
                            you, and her English granny, sent were unwrapped with such delight. However next
                            day she seemed listless and a bit feverish so I tucked her up in bed after lunch. I dosed
                            her with quinine and aspirin and she slept fitfully. At about eleven o’clock I was
                            awakened by a strange little cry. I turned up the night light and was horrified to see that
                            Ann was in a convulsion. I awakened George who, as always in an emergency, was
                            perfectly calm and practical. He filled the small bath with very warm water and emersed
                            Ann in it, placing a cold wet cloth on her head. We then wrapped her in blankets and
                            gave her an enema and she settled down to sleep. A few hours later we had the same
                            thing over again.

                            At first light we sent a runner to Mbeya to fetch the doctor but waited all day in
                            vain and in the evening the runner returned to say that the doctor had gone to a case on
                            the diggings. Ann had been feverish all day with two or three convulsions. Neither
                            George or I wished to leave the bedroom, but there was Georgie to consider, and in
                            the afternoon I took him out in the garden for a while whilst George sat with Ann.
                            That night we both sat up all night and again Ann had those wretched attacks of
                            convulsions. George and I were worn out with anxiety by the time the doctor arrived the
                            next afternoon. Ann had not been able to keep down any quinine and had had only
                            small sips of water since the onset of the attack.

                            The doctor at once diagnosed the trouble as malaria aggravated by teething.
                            George held Ann whilst the Doctor gave her an injection. At the first attempt the needle
                            bent into a bow, George was furious! The second attempt worked and after a few hours
                            Ann’s temperature dropped and though she was ill for two days afterwards she is now
                            up and about. She has also cut the last of her baby teeth, thank God. She looks thin and
                            white, but should soon pick up. It has all been a great strain to both of us. Georgie
                            behaved like an angel throughout. He played happily in his cot and did not seem to
                            sense any tension as people say, babies do. Our baby was cheerful and not at all
                            subdued.

                            This is the rainy season and it is a good thing that some work has been done on
                            our road or the doctor might not have got through.

                            Much love to all,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. 1st October 1934

                            Dearest Family,

                            We are all well now, thank goodness, but last week Georgie gave us such a
                            fright. I was sitting on the verandah, busy with some sewing and not watching Ann and
                            Georgie, who were trying to reach a bunch of bananas which hung on a rope from a
                            beam of the verandah. Suddenly I heard a crash, Georgie had fallen backward over the
                            edge of the verandah and hit the back of his head on the edge of the brick furrow which
                            carries away the rainwater. He lay flat on his back with his arms spread out and did not
                            move or cry. When I picked him up he gave a little whimper, I carried him to his cot and
                            bathed his face and soon he began sitting up and appeared quite normal. The trouble
                            began after he had vomited up his lunch. He began to whimper and bang his head
                            against the cot.

                            George and I were very worried because we have no transport so we could not
                            take Georgie to the doctor and we could not bear to go through again what we had gone
                            through with Ann earlier in the year. Then, in the late afternoon, a miracle happened. Two
                            men George hardly knew, and complete strangers to me, called in on their way from the
                            diggings to Mbeya and they kindly drove Georgie and me to the hospital. The Doctor
                            allowed me to stay with Georgie and we spent five days there. Luckily he responded to
                            treatment and is now as alive as ever. Children do put years on one!

                            There is nothing much else to report. We have a new vegetable garden which is
                            doing well but the earth here is strange. Gardens seem to do well for two years but by
                            that time the soil is exhausted and one must move the garden somewhere else. The
                            coffee looks well but it will be another year before we can expect even a few bags of
                            coffee and prices are still low. Anyway by next year George should have some good
                            return for all his hard work.

                            Lots of love,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. November 4th 1934

                            Dearest Family,

                            George is home from his White Hunting safari looking very sunburnt and well.
                            The elderly American, who was his client this time, called in here at the farm to meet me
                            and the children. It is amazing what spirit these old lads have! This one looked as though
                            he should be thinking in terms of slippers and an armchair but no, he thinks in terms of
                            high powered rifles with telescopic sights.

                            It is lovely being together again and the children are delighted to have their Dad
                            home. Things are always exciting when George is around. The day after his return
                            George said at breakfast, “We can’t go on like this. You and the kids never get off the
                            shamba. We’ll simply have to get a car.” You should have heard the excitement. “Get a
                            car Daddy?’” cried Ann jumping in her chair so that her plaits bounced. “Get a car
                            Daddy?” echoed Georgie his brown eyes sparkling. “A car,” said I startled, “However
                            can we afford one?”

                            “Well,” said George, “on my way back from Safari I heard that a car is to be sold
                            this week at the Tukuyu Court, diseased estate or bankruptcy or something, I might get it
                            cheap and it is an A.C.” The name meant nothing to me, but George explained that an
                            A.C. is first cousin to a Rolls Royce.

                            So off he went to the sale and next day the children and I listened all afternoon for
                            the sound of an approaching car. We had many false alarms but, towards evening we
                            heard what appeared to be the roar of an aeroplane engine. It was the A.C. roaring her
                            way up our steep hill with a long plume of steam waving gaily above her radiator.
                            Out jumped my beaming husband and in no time at all, he was showing off her
                            points to an admiring family. Her lines are faultless and seats though worn are most
                            comfortable. She has a most elegant air so what does it matter that the radiator leaks like
                            a sieve, her exhaust pipe has broken off, her tyres are worn almost to the canvas and
                            she has no windscreen. She goes, and she cost only five pounds.

                            Next afternoon George, the kids and I piled into the car and drove along the road
                            on lookout for guinea fowl. All went well on the outward journey but on the homeward
                            one the poor A.C. simply gasped and died. So I carried the shot gun and George
                            carried both children and we trailed sadly home. This morning George went with a bunch
                            of farmhands and brought her home. Truly temperamental, she came home literally
                            under her own steam.

                            George now plans to get a second hand engine and radiator for her but it won’t
                            be an A.C. engine. I think she is the only one of her kind in the country.
                            I am delighted to hear, dad, that you are sending a bridle for Joseph for
                            Christmas. I am busy making a saddle out of an old piece of tent canvas stuffed with
                            kapok, some webbing and some old rug straps. A car and a riding donkey! We’re
                            definitely carriage folk now.

                            Lots of love to all,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. 28th December 1934

                            Dearest Family,

                            Thank you for the wonderful Christmas parcel. My frock is a splendid fit. George
                            declares that no one can knit socks like Mummy and the children love their toys and new
                            clothes.

                            Joseph, the donkey, took his bit with an air of bored resignation and Ann now
                            rides proudly on his back. Joseph is a big strong animal with the looks and disposition of
                            a mule. he will not go at all unless a native ‘toto’ walks before him and when he does go
                            he wears a pained expression as though he were carrying fourteen stone instead of
                            Ann’s fly weight. I walk beside the donkey carrying Georgie and our cat, ‘Skinny Winnie’,
                            follows behind. Quite a cavalcade. The other day I got so exasperated with Joseph that
                            I took Ann off and I got on. Joseph tottered a few paces and sat down! to the huge
                            delight of our farm labourers who were going home from work. Anyway, one good thing,
                            the donkey is so lazy that there is little chance of him bolting with Ann.

                            The Moltenos spent Christmas with us and left for the Lupa Diggings yesterday.
                            They arrived on the 22nd. with gifts for the children and chocolates and beer. That very
                            afternoon George and John Molteno left for Ivuna, near Lake Ruckwa, to shoot some
                            guinea fowl and perhaps a goose for our Christmas dinner. We expected the menfolk
                            back on Christmas Eve and Anne and I spent a busy day making mince pies and
                            sausage rolls. Why I don’t know, because I am sure Abel could have made them better.
                            We decorated the Christmas tree and sat up very late but no husbands turned up.
                            Christmas day passed but still no husbands came. Anne, like me, is expecting a baby
                            and we both felt pretty forlorn and cross. Anne was certain that they had been caught up
                            in a party somewhere and had forgotten all about us and I must say when Boxing Day
                            went by and still George and John did not show up I felt ready to agree with her.
                            They turned up towards evening and explained that on the homeward trip the car
                            had bogged down in the mud and that they had spent a miserable Christmas. Anne
                            refused to believe their story so George, to prove their case, got the game bag and
                            tipped the contents on to the dining room table. Out fell several guinea fowl, long past
                            being edible, followed by a large goose so high that it was green and blue where all the
                            feathers had rotted off.

                            The stench was too much for two pregnant girls. I shot out of the front door
                            closely followed by Anne and we were both sick in the garden.

                            I could not face food that evening but Anne is made of stronger stuff and ate her
                            belated Christmas dinner with relish.

                            I am looking forward enormously to having Marjorie here with us. She will be able
                            to carry back to you an eyewitness account of our home and way of life.

                            Much love to you all,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. 5th January 1935

                            Dearest Family,

                            You cannot imagine how lovely it is to have Marjorie here. She came just in time
                            because I have had pernicious vomiting and have lost a great deal of weight and she
                            took charge of the children and made me spend three days in hospital having treatment.
                            George took me to the hospital on the afternoon of New Years Eve and decided
                            to spend the night at the hotel and join in the New Years Eve celebrations. I had several
                            visitors at the hospital that evening and George actually managed to get some imported
                            grapes for me. He returned to the farm next morning and fetched me from the hospital
                            four days later. Of course the old A.C. just had to play up. About half way home the
                            back axle gave in and we had to send a passing native some miles back to a place
                            called Mbalizi to hire a lorry from a Greek trader to tow us home to the farm.
                            The children looked well and were full of beans. I think Marjorie was thankful to
                            hand them over to me. She is delighted with Ann’s motherly little ways but Georgie she
                            calls “a really wild child”. He isn’t, just has such an astonishing amount of energy and is
                            always up to mischief. Marjorie brought us all lovely presents. I am so thrilled with my
                            sewing machine. It may be an old model but it sews marvellously. We now have an
                            Alsatian pup as well as Joseph the donkey and the two cats.

                            Marjorie had a midnight encounter with Joseph which gave her quite a shock but
                            we had a good laugh about it next day. Some months ago George replaced our wattle
                            and daub outside pit lavatory by a substantial brick one, so large that Joseph is being
                            temporarily stabled in it at night. We neglected to warn Marj about this and one night,
                            storm lamp in hand, she opened the door and Joseph walked out braying his thanks.
                            I am afraid Marjorie is having a quiet time, a shame when the journey from Cape
                            Town is so expensive. The doctor has told me to rest as much as I can, so it is
                            impossible for us to take Marj on sight seeing trips.

                            I hate to think that she will be leaving in ten days time.

                            Much love,
                            Eleanor.

                            Mchewe Estate. 18th February 1935

                            Dearest Family,

                            You must be able to visualise our life here quite well now that Marj is back and
                            has no doubt filled in all the details I forget to mention in my letters. What a journey we
                            had in the A.C. when we took her to the plane. George, the children and I sat in front and
                            Marj sat behind with numerous four gallon tins of water for the insatiable radiator. It was
                            raining and the canvas hood was up but part of the side flaps are missing and as there is
                            no glass in the windscreen the rain blew in on us. George got fed up with constantly
                            removing the hot radiator cap so simply stuffed a bit of rag in instead. When enough
                            steam had built up in the radiator behind the rag it blew out and we started all over again.
                            The car still roars like an aeroplane engine and yet has little power so that George sent
                            gangs of boys to the steep hills between the farm and the Mission to give us a push if
                            necessary. Fortunately this time it was not, and the boys cheered us on our way. We
                            needed their help on the homeward journey however.

                            George has now bought an old Chev engine which he means to install before I
                            have to go to hospital to have my new baby. It will be quite an engineering feet as
                            George has few tools.

                            I am sorry to say that I am still not well, something to do with kidneys or bladder.
                            George bought me some pills from one of the several small shops which have opened
                            in Mbeya and Ann is most interested in the result. She said seriously to Kath Wood,
                            “Oh my Mummy is a very clever Mummy. She can do blue wee and green wee as well
                            as yellow wee.” I simply can no longer manage the children without help and have
                            engaged the cook’s wife, Janey, to help. The children are by no means thrilled. I plead in
                            vain that I am not well enough to go for walks. Ann says firmly, “Ann doesn’t want to go
                            for a walk. Ann will look after you.” Funny, though she speaks well for a three year old,
                            she never uses the first person. Georgie say he would much rather walk with
                            Keshokutwa, the kitchen boy. His name by the way, means day-after-tomorrow and it
                            suits him down to the ground, Kath Wood walks over sometimes with offers of help and Ann will gladly go walking with her but Georgie won’t. He on the other hand will walk with Anne Molteno
                            and Ann won’t. They are obstinate kids. Ann has developed a very fertile imagination.
                            She has probably been looking at too many of those nice women’s magazines you
                            sent. A few days ago she said, “You are sick Mummy, but Ann’s got another Mummy.
                            She’s not sick, and my other mummy (very smugly) has lovely golden hair”. This
                            morning’ not ten minutes after I had dressed her, she came in with her frock wet and
                            muddy. I said in exasperation, “Oh Ann, you are naughty.” To which she instantly
                            returned, “My other Mummy doesn’t think I am naughty. She thinks I am very nice.” It
                            strikes me I shall have to get better soon so that I can be gay once more and compete
                            with that phantom golden haired paragon.

                            We had a very heavy storm over the farm last week. There was heavy rain with
                            hail which stripped some of the coffee trees and the Mchewe River flooded and the
                            water swept through the lower part of the shamba. After the water had receded George
                            picked up a fine young trout which had been stranded. This was one of some he had
                            put into the river when Georgie was a few months old.

                            The trials of a coffee farmer are legion. We now have a plague of snails. They
                            ring bark the young trees and leave trails of slime on the glossy leaves. All the ring
                            barked trees will have to be cut right back and this is heartbreaking as they are bearing
                            berries for the first time. The snails are collected by native children, piled upon the
                            ground and bashed to a pulp which gives off a sickening stench. I am sorry for the local
                            Africans. Locusts ate up their maize and now they are losing their bean crop to the snails.

                            Lots of love, Eleanor

                            #6243
                            TracyTracy
                            Participant

                              William Housley’s Will and the Court Case

                              William Housley died in 1848, but his widow Ellen didn’t die until 1872.  The court case was in 1873.  Details about the court case are archived at the National Archives at Kew,  in London, but are not available online. They can be viewed in person, but that hasn’t been possible thus far.  However, there are a great many references to it in the letters.

                              William Housley’s first wife was Mary Carrington 1787-1813.  They had three children, Mary Anne, Elizabeth and William. When Mary died, William married Mary’s sister Ellen, not in their own parish church at Smalley but in Ashbourne.  Although not uncommon for a widower to marry a deceased wife’s sister, it wasn’t legal.  This point is mentioned in one of the letters.

                              One of the pages of William Housley’s will:

                              William Housleys Will

                               

                              An excerpt from Barbara Housley’s Narrative on the Letters:

                              A comment in a letter from Joseph (August 6, 1873) indicated that William was married twice and that his wives were sisters: “What do you think that I believe that Mary Ann is trying to make our father’s will of no account as she says that my father’s marriage with our mother was not lawful he marrying two sisters. What do you think of her? I have heard my mother say something about paying a fine at the time of the marriage to make it legal.” Markwell and Saul in The A-Z Guide to Tracing Ancestors in Britain explain that marriage to a deceased wife’s sister was not permissible under Canon law as the relationship was within the prohibited degrees. However, such marriages did take place–usually well away from the couple’s home area. Up to 1835 such marriages were not void but were voidable by legal action. Few such actions were instituted but the risk was always there.

                              Joseph wrote that when Emma was married, Ellen “broke up the comfortable home and the things went to Derby and she went to live with them but Derby didn’t agree with her so she left again leaving her things behind and came to live with John in the new house where she died.” Ellen was listed with John’s household in the 1871 census. 
                              In May 1872, the Ilkeston Pioneer carried this notice: “Mr. Hopkins will sell by auction on Saturday next the eleventh of May 1872 the whole of the useful furniture, sewing machine, etc. nearly new on the premises of the late Mrs. Housley at Smalley near Heanor in the county of Derby. Sale at one o’clock in the afternoon.”

                              There were hard feelings between Mary Ann and Ellen and her children. Anne wrote: “If you remember we were not very friendly when you left. They never came and nothing was too bad for Mary Ann to say of Mother and me, but when Robert died Mother sent for her to the funeral but she did not think well to come so we took no more notice. She would not allow her children to come either.”
                              Mary Ann was still living in May 1872. Joseph implied that she and her brother, Will “intend making a bit of bother about the settlement of the bit of property” left by their mother. The 1871 census listed Mary Ann’s occupation as “income from houses.”

                              In July 1872, Joseph introduced Ruth’s husband: “No doubt he is a bad lot. He is one of the Heath’s of Stanley Common a miller and he lives at Smalley Mill” (Ruth Heath was Mary Anne Housley’s daughter)
                              In 1873 Joseph wrote, “He is nothing but a land shark both Heath and his wife and his wife is the worst of the two. You will think these is hard words but they are true dear brother.” The solicitor, Abraham John Flint, was not at all pleased with Heath’s obstruction of the settlement of the estate. He wrote on June 30, 1873: “Heath agreed at first and then because I would not pay his expenses he refused and has since instructed another solicitor for his wife and Mrs. Weston who have been opposing us to the utmost. I am concerned for all parties interested except these two….The judge severely censured Heath for his conduct and wanted to make an order for sale there and then but Heath’s council would not consent….” In June 1875, the solicitor wrote: “Heath bid for the property but it fetched more money than he could give for it. He has been rather quieter lately.”

                              In May 1872, Joseph wrote: “For what do you think, John has sold his share and he has acted very bad since his wife died and at the same time he sold all his furniture. You may guess I have never seen him but once since poor mother’s funeral and he is gone now no one knows where.”

                              In 1876, the solicitor wrote to George: “Have you heard of John Housley? He is entitled to Robert’s share and I want him to claim it.”

                              Anne intended that one third of the inheritance coming to her from her father and her grandfather, William Carrington, be divided between her four nieces: Sam’s three daughters and John’s daughter Elizabeth.
                              In the same letter (December 15, 1872), Joseph wrote:
                              “I think we have now found all out now that is concerned in the matter for there was only Sam that we did not know his whereabouts but I was informed a week ago that he is dead–died about three years ago in Birmingham Union. Poor Sam. He ought to have come to a better end than that”

                              However, Samuel was still alive was on the 1871 census in Henley in Arden, and no record of his death can be found. Samuel’s brother in law said he was dead: we do not know why he lied, or perhaps the brothers were lying to keep his share, or another possibility is that Samuel himself told his brother in law to tell them that he was dead. I am inclined to think it was the latter.

                              Excerpts from Barbara Housley’s Narrative on the Letters continued:

                              Charles went to Australia in 1851, and was last heard from in January 1853. According to the solicitor, who wrote to George on June 3, 1874, Charles had received advances on the settlement of their parent’s estate. “Your promissory note with the two signed by your brother Charles for 20 pounds he received from his father and 20 pounds he received from his mother are now in the possession of the court.”

                              In December 1872, Joseph wrote: “I’m told that Charles two daughters has wrote to Smalley post office making inquiries about his share….” In January 1876, the solicitor wrote: “Charles Housley’s children have claimed their father’s share.”

                              In the Adelaide Observer 28 Aug 1875

                              HOUSLEY – wanted information
                              as to the Death, Will, or Intestacy, and
                              Children of Charles Housley, formerly of
                              Smalley, Derbyshire, England, who died at
                              Geelong or Creewick Creek Diggings, Victoria
                              August, 1855. His children will hear of something to their advantage by communicating with
                              Mr. A J. Flint, solicitor, Derby, England.
                              June 16,1875.

                              The Diggers & Diggings of Victoria in 1855. Drawn on Stone by S.T. Gill:

                              Victoria Diggings, Australie

                               

                              The court case:

                               Kerry v Housley.
                              Documents: Bill, demurrer.
                              Plaintiffs: Samuel Kerry and Joseph Housley.
                              Defendants: William Housley, Joseph Housley (deleted), Edwin Welch Harvey, Eleanor Harvey (deleted), Ernest Harvey infant, William Stafford, Elizabeth Stafford his wife, Mary Ann Housley, George Purdy and Catherine Purdy his wife, Elizabeth Housley, Mary Ann Weston widow and William Heath and Ruth Heath his wife (deleted).
                              Provincial solicitor employed in Derbyshire.
                              Date: 1873

                              From the Narrative on the Letters:

                              The solicitor wrote on May 23, 1874: “Lately I have not written because I was not certain of your address and because I doubted I had much interesting news to tell you.” Later, Joseph wrote concerning the problems settling the estate, “You see dear brother there is only me here on our side and I cannot do much. I wish you were here to help me a bit and if you think of going for another summer trip this turn you might as well run over here.”

                              In March 1873, Joseph wrote: “You ask me what I think of you coming to England. I think as you have given the trustee power to sign for you I think you could do no good but I should like to see you once again for all that. I can’t say whether there would be anything amiss if you did come as you say it would be throwing good money after bad.”

                              In September 1872 Joseph wrote; “My wife is anxious to come. I hope it will suit her health for she is not over strong.” Elsewhere Joseph wrote that Harriet was “middling sometimes. She is subject to sick headaches. It knocks her up completely when they come on.” In December 1872 Joseph wrote, “Now dear brother about us coming to America you know we shall have to wait until this affair is settled and if it is not settled and thrown into Chancery I’m afraid we shall have to stay in England for I shall never be able to save money enough to bring me out and my family but I hope of better things.”
                              On July 19, 1875 Abraham Flint (the solicitor) wrote: “Joseph Housley has removed from Smalley and is working on some new foundry buildings at Little Chester near Derby. He lives at a village called Little Eaton near Derby. If you address your letter to him as Joseph Housley, carpenter, Little Eaton near Derby that will no doubt find him.”

                              In his last letter (February 11, 1874), Joseph sounded very discouraged and wrote that Harriet’s parents were very poorly and both had been “in bed for a long time.” In addition, Harriet and the children had been ill.
                              The move to Little Eaton may indicate that Joseph received his settlement because in August, 1873, he wrote: “I think this is bad news enough and bad luck too, but I have had little else since I came to live at Kiddsley cottages but perhaps it is all for the best if one could only think so. I have begun to think there will be no chance for us coming over to you for I am afraid there will not be so much left as will bring us out without it is settled very shortly but I don’t intend leaving this house until it is settled either one way or the other. ”

                              Joseph’s letters were much concerned with the settling of their mother’s estate. In 1854, Anne wrote, “As for my mother coming (to America) I think not at all likely. She is tied here with her property.” A solicitor, Abraham John Flint of 42 Full Street Derby, was engaged by John following the death of their mother. On June 30, 1873 the solicitor wrote: “Dear sir, On the death of your mother I was consulted by your brother John. I acted for him with reference to the sale and division of your father’s property at Smalley. Mr. Kerry was very unwilling to act as trustee being over 73 years of age but owing to the will being a badly drawn one we could not appoint another trustee in his place nor could the property be sold without a decree of chancery. Therefore Mr. Kerry consented and after a great deal of trouble with Heath who has opposed us all throughout whenever matters did not suit him, we found the title deeds and offered the property for sale by public auction on the 15th of July last. Heath could not find his purchase money without mortaging his property the solicitor which the mortgagee employed refused to accept Mr. Kerry’s title and owing to another defect in the will we could not compel them.”

                              In July 1872, Joseph wrote, “I do not know whether you can remember who the trustee was to my father’s will. It was Thomas Watson and Samuel Kerry of Smalley Green. Mr. Watson is dead (died a fortnight before mother) so Mr. Kerry has had to manage the affair.”

                              On Dec. 15, 1972, Joseph wrote, “Now about this property affair. It seems as far off of being settled as ever it was….” and in the following March wrote: “I think we are as far off as ever and farther I think.”

                              Concerning the property which was auctioned on July 15, 1872 and brought 700 pounds, Joseph wrote: “It was sold in five lots for building land and this man Heath bought up four lots–that is the big house, the croft and the cottages. The croft was made into two lots besides the piece belonging to the big house and the cottages and gardens was another lot and the little intake was another. William Richardson bought that.” Elsewhere Richardson’s purchase was described as “the little croft against Smith’s lane.” Smith’s Lane was probably named for their neighbor Daniel Smith, Mrs. Davy’s father.
                              But in December 1872, Joseph wrote that they had not received any money because “Mr. Heath is raising all kinds of objections to the will–something being worded wrong in the will.” In March 1873, Joseph “clarified” matters in this way: “His objection was that one trustee could not convey the property that his signature was not guarantee sufficient as it states in the will that both trustees has to sign the conveyance hence this bother.”
                              Joseph indicated that six shares were to come out of the 700 pounds besides Will’s 20 pounds. Children were to come in for the parents shares if dead. The solicitor wrote in 1873, “This of course refers to the Kidsley property in which you take a one seventh share and which if the property sells well may realize you about 60-80 pounds.” In March 1873 Joseph wrote: “You have an equal share with the rest in both lots of property, but I am afraid there will be but very little for any of us.”

                              The other “lot of property” was “property in Smalley left under another will.” On July 17, 1872, Joseph wrote: “It was left by my grandfather Carrington and Uncle Richard is trustee. He seems very backward in bringing the property to a sale but I saw him and told him that I for one expect him to proceed with it.” George seemed to have difficulty understanding that there were two pieces of property so Joseph explained further: “It was left by my grandfather Carrington not by our father and Uncle Richard is the trustee for it but the will does not give him power to sell without the signatures of the parties concerned.” In June 1873 the solicitor Abraham John Flint asked: “Nothing has been done about the other property at Smalley at present. It wants attention and the other parties have asked me to attend to it. Do you authorize me to see to it for you as well?”
                              After Ellen’s death, the rent was divided between Joseph, Will, Mary Ann and Mr. Heath who bought John’s share and was married to Mary Ann’s daughter, Ruth. Joseph said that Mr. Heath paid 40 pounds for John’s share and that John had drawn 110 pounds in advance. The solicitor said Heath said he paid 60. The solicitor said that Heath was trying to buy the shares of those at home to get control of the property and would have defied the absent ones to get anything.
                              In September 1872 Joseph wrote that the lawyer said the trustee cannot sell the property at the bottom of Smalley without the signatures of all parties concerned in it and it will have to go through chancery court which will be a great expense. He advised Joseph to sell his share and Joseph advised George to do the same.

                              George sent a “portrait” so that it could be established that it was really him–still living and due a share. Joseph wrote (July 1872): “the trustee was quite willing to (acknowledge you) for the portrait I think is a very good one.” Several letters later in response to an inquiry from George, Joseph wrote: “The trustee recognized you in a minute…I have not shown it to Mary Ann for we are not on good terms….Parties that I have shown it to own you again but they say it is a deal like John. It is something like him, but I think is more like myself.”
                              In September 1872 Joseph wrote that the lawyer required all of their ages and they would have to pay “succession duty”. Joseph requested that George send a list of birth dates.

                              On May 23, 1874, the solicitor wrote: “I have been offered 240 pounds for the three cottages and the little house. They sold for 200 pounds at the last sale and then I was offered 700 pounds for the whole lot except Richardson’s Heanor piece for which he is still willing to give 58 pounds. Thus you see that the value of the estate has very materially increased since the last sale so that this delay has been beneficial to your interests than other-wise. Coal has become much dearer and they suppose there is coal under this estate. There are many enquiries about it and I believe it will realize 800 pounds or more which increase will more than cover all expenses.” Eventually the solicitor wrote that the property had been sold for 916 pounds and George would take a one-ninth share.

                              January 14, 1876:  “I am very sorry to hear of your lameness and illness but I trust that you are now better. This matter as I informed you had to stand over until December since when all the costs and expenses have been taxed and passed by the court and I am expecting to receive the order for these this next week, then we have to pay the legacy duty and them divide the residue which I doubt won’t come to very much amongst so many of you. But you will hear from me towards the end of the month or early next month when I shall have to send you the papers to sign for your share. I can’t tell you how much it will be at present as I shall have to deduct your share with the others of the first sale made of the property before it went to court.
                              Wishing you a Happy New Year, I am Dear Sir, Yours truly
                              Abram J. Flint”

                              September 15, 1876 (the last letter)
                              “I duly received your power of attorney which appears to have been properly executed on Thursday last and I sent it on to my London agent, Mr. Henry Lyvell, who happens just now to be away for his annual vacation and will not return for 14 or 20 days and as his signature is required by the Paymaster General before he will pay out your share, it must consequently stand over and await his return home. It shall however receive immediate attention as soon as he returns and I hope to be able to send your checque for the balance very shortly.”

                              1874 in chancery:

                              Housley Estate Sale

                              #6070

                              “Wake up Glo, you don’t want to miss Cryoga class,” said Sharon. She tore open the curtains, letting in the merciless mid morning light.

                              “Oh Sha, can’t I sleep a little more? My head’s still dizzy after that cryo gin treatment. All those shots, I don’t remember what I did afterward.”

                              “You tried to seduce that young Canadian boy. I can tell, his lady wasn’t very pleased. If she could make voodoo dolls you’d be in big trouble.”

                              “Ah! Shouldn’t be so far from that acupuncture treatment in Bali when you didn’t want to pay the price. Remember your face afterwards? I bet that girl had used those needles on sick pangolins without cleaning’em.”

                              “It hurt. But never had my face skin so tight in my life!” Sha cackled.

                              “And lips so big you could replace Anjelyna Jawlee in Lara Crop.”

                              “Don’t make me laugh so hard Glo. Not in the morning before I went to the loo.” said Sha trotting to the bathroom.

                              “Where’s Mavis?” asked Glo who noticed the third bed empty.

                              “She’s already up. Wanted to take a walk on the beach with the cows, she said. You better don’t invite us, I said.”

                              They put on their tight yogarments, a beach hat and left for the class.

                              “I don’t like walking in the sand like that,” said Glo. “With or without shoes, the sand come in between your toes. I could still have eaten something, my stomach sounds like a whale during mating season.”

                              “They sent a message this morning. It said: ‘Come, Fast’.”

                              When they arrived at the practice room, they wondered if they took a wrong turn. Maybe the cryoga class was in another bungalow.

                              “Why all those tables and milk bottles?” asked Glo.

                              They went to see the lady with the beehive hair that looked like a teacher.

                              “Sorry, young’un,” said Sha. “Wasn’t that supposed to be cryoga class?”

                              “Oh! no,” said the teacher. “It’s cryogurt class today. How to make your own yogurt ice cream and apply it on your body to flatten out tight those wrinkles.”

                              #5824

                              Dear Diary

                              Young Jimmy says to me this morning, “I dreamed we were travelling far away from here, Mama. It was only you and me and Bella.” I nearly choked on my grits. I am thankful Cook did not hear. She is as superstitious as the day is long and takes great store in dreams and the like. “Funny things, dreams,” I says to Jimmy. “Hard to know what they mean.” I longed to question him more on the dream, same time, don’t want him talking about it in front of Cook. Best he forgets it.

                              I’ve heard no more of the sickness. Methinks perhaps it has come to naught. And I’m fit as a fiddle and the children too. I’ve decided Thursday next. On Thursdays, Master goes to the meeting in the Village and Cook has her night off when she goes to see her brother in Thombeen.

                              I think how pleased they will be to see me. How astonished they will be. When I think about it like that, stops me from fearing. Ten years it has been. I would send a letter ahead but cannot risk it falling in the wrong hands.

                              #5818

                              Dear Diary

                              Cousin Lisa came calling yesterday morning and she tells us there’s some in the Village have come down with sickness. Of course it would be Lisa being the bearer of such news, her face lit up when I tell her I have heard nothing. Cook, over hearing our conversation, which was private but Cook is always sticking her great nose in where it is not required, she’s hung braids of garlic at the front door. I caught her telling the children it was to keep away the evil spirits that brought death. Poor little Jimmy couldn’t sleep last night he was that afraid of the spirits bringing death in the night. He asked endless questions,  how will the garlic stop them? Can the spirits get in through a window instead? He got his sister afraid also and the pair of them wouldn’t sleep then for crying in fear. I told Cook off roundly this morning for speaking to them thus.

                              The master came home filled with drink, crashing around like the damned drunken fool he is nowadays. He shouted at the children for their crying and shouted at me for not keeping them quiet. At least he did not raise his fists for he wanted to lie with me and I nearly retched with his stinking breath coming close and thank God for His mercies that the fool passed out before he could do the deed. I may have done harm if he’d tried for the brass bell was sitting there on the table (and it is a heavy thing) and I was seeing at it as he came close and there was a moment I could have picked it up and crashed it to his skull. May God forgive me. 

                              He makes my skin crawl for I know what he has done that he thinks I don’t know. But all will come to light if not in this world then the next. I am more sure than ever I must get away and the children with me.

                              #5814

                              Day 2

                              I feel sick in my stomach. Been days actually. Got to try something new, and a line a day seems like a good start.

                              Had dreams last night, it was months I didn’t get any. Nothing really out of the mundane, though I was selling the house in one of the dreams. 

                              To think we’re still stuck on this nightmarish cruise, nor on land nor on water, and I dream of the house. The brain has a sense of humour. 

                              The walls are paper thin, we can hear the endless complains of the nearby cruisers. That’s two left, one right, 3 across the corridor, and at least 2 above and below — that I can count at least. I call them my voices, makes me laugh a little. I didn’t tell Lorel, she would call me barmy. I thought of giving them numbers, it’s like reducing the complexity of human nature to something more… geometric? Reduce them to lines of code, maybe you can hack into the collective mind, make it work for you.

                              I think one of the voice is a pirate. It’s coughing Awwr, arr, arr more and more now. I’ll call him Eleven. Won’t be long before they catch him and isolate him. Good thing he’s the guy under and not above, from what I hear, the thing spreads through the loos too. Maybe he’ll make a run for it, I heard some tried to escape this hellhole. Well, they missed the free booze vouchers, too bad for them. 

                              So long journal, wife is coming back from her trip to the other room. Yeah, I mean the loo, don’t you enjoy promiscuity. We’re not rolling in dough, couldn’t afford the presidential suite you see. Maybe if we survive longer than everybody else, it’ll be ours, who knows…

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