Congo (110) Luebo, Congo 10/19/1923 [DCS]

"Luebo"

Oct. 19,1923

My own dear homefolks:

This is Fri. afternoon and B. M. is hunting so I am going to write you to keep from getting lonesome. Sat. is generally B. M. 's day to hunt but he decided to go today instead. Luebo is a small station this week, as part are at Mutoto at the Mission Meeting and part at Bulape Lake House for a vacation. Our plans to go to Mission Meeting fell through as it's too close to time to leave for the Pool. We leave in about two or three weeks, and I am getting very anxious to start. From Vinson and McKinnon Parties we have gotten very favorable accounts of the "Guest house." I am sure that the two and a half or three months we have there will pass quickly. At least, I'm hoping they will.

Your letters of July 30 and Aug. 10 reached us yesterday. The first written in Kerrville, the latter back at home. I'm so glad you had your nice trip there and got to meet so many nice people. Did you get to see Miss Louise (Evans)? It's a shame the way I have done her. She has written me two letters since I came to Congo, and I have answered neither one. Do people speak to you again when you do them that way? I love Miss Louise, but I just hate to write letters. I have written several but they didn't suit me so I never mailed them. That's another of my failings, but of course that's my middle name, "Failure."

I hope you did not mention Guss Gribbel's name to Miss Williamson. I never thought of your meeting any of Rowena's people when I mentioned his name. Rowena and Guss went together for years and they were engaged. This must not be told. I have forgotten what I told you or if I told you anything, but be very careful what you say.

From what you tell me I'm sure I shall be pleased with the things you bought me. I will be so dressed up I won't know myself. I'm going to tell you right now that if you don't keep a list of things and prices of the things you get me, I fear you and B. M. will have a fight when we get home. How do you think you make me feel when you talk of sending money for curios to me while you are at home making and sending me things and I more able to buy things than you, unless you are the "get rich quick" kind.

By the time you get this it will be along in December and we will have something over a month longer in Congo. Time is getting mighty short now. I hope to get home about the first or middle of April, but I don't know just how much time we will have to spend in Europe. B. M. has to see about buying some type and other things for the printing office here, in London. I am glad to go through London again, for it's so different from any other city I ever saw, but my! it's going to be so cold there and they don't hardly know what a fire is, especially in the hotels. I imagine we won't want to stay any longer than we have to. I don't think you need worry about me and cold weather much for besides our heavy wraps we are going to take one or two heavy woolen blankets along with us, and I can keep a hot water bottle to my feet most all the time on the boat.

You spoke of making a blue voile for hot evenings on the boat. There is no such thing as a hot day on the boat. In fact it's nearly always cold on deck no matter what time of year you go home. It's likely I'll have to wear a wrap all the time unless they have more fire than they did when we were coming out. We nearly froze the first three or four days on the Anversville. They had practically no heat. There was a rod as big as my thumb running through our cabin that was hot part of the time.

Talking about cold weather, we are not free from it out here. Of course it never freezes nor comes near it, but this morning I am sitting in the swing on our porch with my sweater on and I am shivering and my hands almost stiff.

B. M. just read in the "Observer" of the death of Frank Wright, Indian Evangelist. He was certainly a fine man. I shall never forget the influence he had over the girls the day he spoke at T. P. C.

Don't seem like I can find anything interesting to say, so I am going to try to get some letters off that should have been written months ago.

Love to you all,

Dorothy

P. S. I'm so glad Hickman and Nettie will be so near us. Wish you would tie a string to him

until I get there.

Dot