September 3, 1969 
Mr. John Seago 
c/o Barclay's Bank 
Box 30011 
Nairobi, Kenya 
Dear John: 
I have your letter of August 28, which arrived September 2 -- fantastic 
time. lalso have not replied to your letter of August 21, although I 
believe I have talked to you on the phone at least twice. It was good to 
hear your voice, particularly on our first conversation. 
I hope you have received the cable by now, saying that the 8 viclet- 
backed starlings arrived in good shape, as did one crested porcupine. 
Your bill is being processed and we will send the check to your account 
in New York. I don't know what happened to the previous check; it 
was apparently sent to youin Nairobi. This was certainly an oversight 
and I apologize for it. 
Send the colobus monkey whenever you are ready with the other animals. 
Incidentally, I was in Pittsburgh last weekend, taking Mary Alyce up to 
Carnegie Mellon University, and I had a chance to visit the newly 
expanded aviaries there (not a part of the Pittsburgh Zoo although run 
by the city of Pittsburgh as is the Zoo) and they hadtwo male golden- 
breasted starlings. These were the first I had ever seen alive; they 
certainly are beautiful, even better than the pictures I had seen of thern. 
As long as somebody had to turn starlings loose in the United States, 
why couldn't they have turned that one loose? 
The little porcupine is just fine. 
Now te the bongo. Iam delighted to hear that the little girl arrived after 
her long and complicated trip, and we are eternally grateful to you for 
taking care of her. You must present us with a bill for her care and 
maintenance, which I guess will have to be until next spring's quarantine. 
Aslvrecall, the government of Kenya does not permit shipping out during 
cold weather, which is very wise. By that time we hope to have more 
bongos, dikdik, duiker, etc. 
lam glad the American Embassy finally got moving and that you did have 
the proper health certificate even if it only arrived a few hours before 
the bongo. 
