-62 
June 9 - 
We had country chop at the Wilsons at noon, then came home 
end slept and read until bed time* 
June 14 - 
This has been a week of hippos* When we returned from 
Cape Mount we were told the story of the hippo that Paramount Chief 
Barclay of Dobli ’ s Island had sent in* It reached Kakata In an 
exhausted condition, and was kept there a week before Norris was 
notified* He and Si then went out to get It, and found it badly 
lacerated, with broken toes, and probably half -starved* They 
brought It in to the rice shed and worked over it all night, but it 
died the next morning* When we came back from Bromley Ralph 
was not here, and we were told he had gone out after another hippo* 
On Monday he got in, completely worn out, having walked most of 
Sunday to get to the place where the hippo was, and then staying 
there over night, sleeping on a mat and rolled up in country cloth# 
A native parson, the Reverend Logan, had caught this hippo, a young 
one and in good shape, and Ralph got it in to the rice shed on 
Monday* Bill paid the Reverend twenty pounds for it, and the little 
man has been buying himself new clothes ever since* Bill has seen 
him around the plantation wearing elegant outfits, including 
rubber boots* 
News came a few days ago that Barclay had another hippo 
at Dobli ’ s Island, and fetorfr Norris sent his trusty 
assistant, Momo, to bring it in* The truck was sent to the end of 
the road on the day the hippo was expected, hut only Momo was there, 
to report that the ani al was so heavy the boys had struck on 
carrying it, and relays must be sent up from here* That meant 
another delay, and further expense in sending the truck again* 
However, twenty-five boys left here on Tuesday noon* We were in the 
rice shed Wednesday morning, and Ralph was busily building a big 
crate for the hippo, and had figured it a^l out that the truck 
would be back with its cargo about five o'clock* It poured rain 
all afternoon, and we were sure that no delivery was ever made on 
time here anyway, and so did not go over to meet the promised 
pygmy. However, when our boys got to the end of the road they only 
had to walk half an hour, instead of four hours as expected, when 
they met the Chief's carriers* They had gone back to Dobli ’ s Island 
and Barclay had sent them hack again# The hippo, a big female, 
weighed seven hundred pounds crated 1 The crate, which was made of 
bamboo with heavy planks to reinforce it, and padded with rice bags, 
weighed about three hundred pounds by itself - quite a load to be 
carried by sweating natives over bad trails* They had apparently taken 
good care of this beast, feeding it allng the way and setting it dim 
from time to time in streams so the animal could drink and keep moist* 
Now we have two hippos, the small male and the big female, and 
are full of hopes for getting at least one of them safely home* 
Ralph has cheered up immensely; homesick as he has been, the care of 
two hippos has been a lifesaver for him* Why he has such a passion 
for the ugly slippery beasts is more than I can understand# 
