220 SAFARI 



tinted a light rose pink by a wash made from a hght 

 dust one of the native maids foimd in a near-by 

 bank, you would scarcely believe that the whole 

 interior had not been planned by some famous 

 decorator. 



Inner partitions were made of slender sticks cut 

 green and woven into artistic designs. Little items 

 like towel racks Osa made herself out of odds and 

 ends left over by the native builders. She painted 

 her bathroom white with many coats imtil it gave 

 a soft milky glow when the sunlight filtered in 

 through the shade trees without. She even built her 

 own tables and one or two of her lighter chairs. She 

 had never looked on herself as carpenter before. 

 She started the jobs at first just to kill time while the 

 men were tied up with their building operations. 

 But she soon found that it was one of the most 

 fascinating games at which she had ever played. 



She planted a garden with sweet potatoes and 

 asparagus in it. She tended the chickens and ran the 

 dairy where we made butter from fresh milk provided 

 by the cows we bought from the natives. 



She shot quail and guinea hen on the trail. She 

 organized oiu* laundry force. She taught the blacks 

 to cook meat and bake bread. She was my com- 

 missary steward; not an easy job five hundred miles 

 from the nearest grocery store. 



In the serious work she also took a very serious 



