If 
Both Mrs. Bodewes ' mother and Mrs. Huygens ' mother live in the same 
block of the sqme street in Rotterdam., and according to reports are 
in the midst of heavy fighting and bombing. 
>&> ' ; ■ • 
In the evening we had supper at the Mission, and found getting 
over there, in the dark .and on these rocky mountain oaths, rather an , 
adventure. We made one wrong turn and found ourselves at the' hospi tal 
back door, but_ eventually reached Miss McKenzie's verandah, somewhat 
j. luohed and dr ipp mg wxth perspxration. . /e had creamed chicken and 
waffles, and I was touched by the Southern atmosphere of the Mission 
house ( Miss McKenzie is from North Carolina). There was a fine 
linen cloth on the table, flowers in the center and candles with" 
rosy shades, ^and both women were wearing pretty chiffon dresses. Miss 
McKenzie - told us many stories of her experiences in Liberia, including 
one hair-raising tale of trying to get out in a surf boat to her 
Steamer one time when she was going home on leave. A big breaker 
caught the boat, and all the boatmen jumped overboard, leaving her 
to be washed back and forth by the waves,. Some of the Mission boys 
swam out to her rescue, including one Robert Sherman, and paddled 
her safely out to the steamer, but there was great excitement for a 
time, with the school .children wailing and trying to pray, and one 
of the native priests shouting "0 God, be rightsruous to the merciful 
May 13 - 
-V 
Oxjr caravan of porters, with Flomo, Pay-Pay and Mofto, left 
the house at 6.45, after the usual palaver over loads. We sent a 
note over to the doctors asking for an invitation to breakfast, which 
wao promptly granted. About nxne we went down to tij.e town, and found 
Robert Sherman waiting for us with the Mission launch. Mr. Paul 
joined us for the expedition to Benda j a. As we started across the bay 
to the mouth of the Marti River, we saw the surf boat, loaded with our' 
b °ys ^-d baggage, just beside us, and learned later that they had had 
trouble getting a boat, and had been delayed two hours at the waterside. 
The . launch took us up a jungle-bordered river to a tiny town 
called Medina, where we transferred to a dug out canoe, and went 
about a mile farther up the river to Dia. Here Mr. Paul has a small 
branch store, and the wife of the agent there cooked us country chop, 
while we sat and watched the rain, and waited for our porters. They 
made good time, and arrived only aft out an hour and a half after we did, 
having taken a trail that leads here from Sawilo. 
vfe were then introduced to a new type of conveyance for Africa, 
called ricksha by the Mission and wheelbarrow by the natives. Father 
Simmons, of the Mission, had invented it, and as far as I know there are- 
only two of them in all the world. He took one wicker chair and one " 
one canvas camp chair and mounted them on rubber-tired wheels. An 
iron shaft for and aft enables one boy to puch and one to pull. Tt 
is not a bad way of getting over the road in those portions of the 
country where trails are wide and kept in good condition* Where the 
road was level, or going down hill the ricksha boys ran at top speed, 
a little terrifying at first until "one is quite _ convinced that the 
makeshift vehicle will really hold together. f course there are the 
countless native oridges of logs and saplings afid twigs that have to 
Dq crossed on loot, and some hills so steep and rocky that w© had to 
walk up ^ and down them. However, we arrived at Mombo in two hours and 
forty-five minutes, while the last of caravan did not get in until 
two hours later. 
