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to go to the mountain. It was a two-and-a-half mile climb to the 
top, through absolutely untouched jungle, and Vi had to make his 
way along game trails, crouching to get through the vines and 
underbrush, sometimes practically on his hands and knees where 
the ascent was steep* Anyway he got to the top, the first white 
man ever to do this, and found that it was a narrow ridge, 2042 
feet above sea level* The Firestone Company had hoped that this, 
as the nearest mountain in the country, would be a suitable place 
for a rest house or hill station, but Vi reports that it is too 
narrow to be used* There would be room for a large bungalow, and 
perhaps tennis courts, but no golf course* He left Bobo at 
a stream 900 feet altitude, and here Bobo collected until Vi and 
his half dozen companions returned* 
About seven o’cl&ck we got word from the District Commissioner, 
Watson of Kakata, that we could not go to the Polish Plantation 
tomorrow* The President is going to be there, and then the Secretary 
of the Treasury taking inventory of the now- abandoned establishment. 
This is the s econd time that old buzzard has stopped us from going 
up country after all our plans were made, and we are furious, but 
finally decide to be diplomatic and call on him tomorrow* 
April 23 - 
We left the plantation at ten o ‘clock, and were in Kakata 
in the house of the District Commissioner before noon. We found 
Watson a slender, elderly negro, with a quiet, rather formal 
manner, and a big black cancer on his lower lip* He has been 
offered the post of Secretary of the Interior, but has not yet 
accepted it, the reason being ( says the report ) that he has 
seventeen women in his establishment in Kakata, and it would not 
do to move them all to Monrovia, He suggested that we go to other 
parts of the country first, Saneyeh or Gbanga, and see the Polish 
Plantation later on* 
We had taken sandwiches with us for lunch, and went into 
the trading company of the C avail a River Company, and asked our 
friend in there, Fr. Burkenhagen, if we could have some beer to 
wash down our sandwiches with. He took us upstairs into his own 
quarters, and we had a pleasant luncheon. Then we went out to 
Henry Cooper ’ s, because Bill had heard of a famous "Snake Man" 
out there • Cooper is a former Secretary of the Interior, a Howard 
University graduate, and a plump and genial soul. He offered us 
whisky soda, graham crackers and cheese, and we had a pleasant visit 
with him. One of his employees brought in a nice little civet cat 
which we bought* The Snake Man produced two enormous rhinoceros 
vipers, which he handled casually - even Bill, to prove that he, too, 
was a Snake Man, held one of the fat, vigly, triangular-headed reptiles 
while I shuddered for him. I was mortally afraid Bill would buy 
them and we would have to take them, in an op en box. In the car with 
us, but they were not for sale* 
Farther down the road we bought a beautiful Diana monkey from 
a native woman. It is a little more than half -grown, tame as a 
kitten and twice as lively. It was tremendously Interested in 
its first automobile ride , and sat in the window with its head out. 
