June 19, 1925
Dear homefolks:
I have started several letters to you but have never written enough to call a letter. I am ashamed of not writing you more often, but it seems I have just gotten out of the way of writing letters. I will enclose a few lines that I wrote on Sunday with a pencil.
It's a rainy cold day and everything is quiet. The natives don't come to school on a day like this, and you don't hear the hoop of the men cutting grass--a day I enjoy in Congo. I am going to build a fire in the fireplace for the baby when I finish this letter.
He is crawling everywhere now and I have to watch him like a hawk and keep everything put up out of his way. I have a pen for him; when I have to leave him I just put him in it with his playthings, but he is hardly ever satisfied there as he wants to be out and doing. He has as much curiosity as ever and comes over to where I am writing every once in a while to see how this letter writing business is carried on and looks as if he would like to write one himself. Miss Fontaine is very much interested in him and you may be sure anything that is best will be done for him. She is a smart, experienced nurse. Was head of a department in John Hopkins with several nurses and about five hundred patients. She is really better than a doctor for she is here all the time and notices everything that is the least bit wrong with him. It's such a relief to have her. I feed him porridge everyday and extra milk, but have not stopped nursing him yet. Don't think I have much for him, though. I am struggling with his temper now. He seems to have a pretty strong one.
Since it is all over, I'll tell you what an awful experience we had on the boat. We stopped in a village overnight coming up the river where there was smallpox and in the near village, a man had just died with it. A boy sat a hundred yards away from the boat with the wind blowing straight toward us scratching scabs which were all over his body. Our men
slept among them and probably in the same house with this boy. The next day was Sunday, so we spent Sunday there, too. When we found out about the smallpox, we tried to go on, but the; men were scattered and could not be gotten together. We went on to Luebo and stayed around here. Ten days exactly from that night, a man developed smallpox on the Lapsley and there was a rule of the State that no native should be put off boats on account of contagious diseases. Well!! I was simply scared to death for Max had not been vaccinated. There was nothing to be done, not even a way to exclude him from the rest of us, so I spent the rest of the journey-four days--in a continual worry. But it is twenty days now since we got off the boat, so Miss Fontaine says all danger is over. I think this had something to do with my not being able to feed Max for a while. We are anxious to hear from the Wilds going back down river.
We are comfortable here and it's so pretty to watch the little boats crossing the river and they always sing as they cross. I love to hear them. We go walking after five and I take the baby in his buggy which he enjoys. The boy rolls him and we sometimes go a long way.
I bought another nest of those raffia baskets. They are scarce here and very expensive. Thanks for fixing the curios. Did you send some to Miss Chapman? I wish you would do with them just as though they were yours. It seems as though you feel that you can't use them because they are ours, but it hurts me for you to feel that way. Please take that monkey ivory medallion if you like that one, or any of those little things you like and wear for my sake. I mean I want to give it to you, then perhaps you will wear it. Hope I will be able to send or bring you some beads. Tell daddy the pine burrs we got on the way to Warren came in fairly good condition. I have them on the organ--2 large and 2 small. My machine is nice and I am going to start right away using it. I have not enough thin dresses such as voiles and I got voile for a white one in Belgium. I could not buy anything of that kind ready made when I left. If you could get me about two thin dresses and have a dress maker in either Livingston or Terrell make them. My supply of ginghams and afternoon dresses is good, but I have nothing for nice. The evening dress I got in New York came in well on the boat, but is not likely to last long and is not exactly what I need. I hate to ask you to do this, but perhaps you won't mind after your school is out. You could send them by Georgia McKay or anyone you find coming.
If you fix your table on top, get one of those madiera table sets, cut off the fringe and use it. Mrs. Stegall had one on her table the day we ate there. She had napkins for doilies under the plates.
If you get my dresses, please keep all the bills and enclose or I won't feel free to ask you to do anything for me. So if you don't send bills, I will feel that that is your answer. Pink or blue, I believe are the colors I prefer, but be governed by the style. I want nice material and as pretty as possible. I want a pongee sometimes, too, but these voiles are what I need now. It was so hard for me to know what I wanted and needed when I was at home.
Dr. Moore left on Tuesday and B. M. took him about two hours on the motorcycle. He had to leave his motorcycle here on account of the roads. B. M. sprained his ankle on the way back, but it is much better now. He suffered pretty bad for a while.
It's time to send this off, so I'll say goodbye for this letter, but I have other things to say and this letter is too long already.
Love to all,
Dorothy
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