Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1905-11-17
LETTER FROM Gus II. PAPH.
From The Battalion.

Il II
from Germany only a year or so be-
fore entering A. * M. He was
first lieutenant of {. Co.
Sodo, Togo, July, 9, oS.-Dear
Thomas;-I received your letter in
the jungle. Iguess that am al
together spoiled for civil engineer
ing. Still up till recently had
hopes of becoming an engineer but
they are fading now. I am a bug
hunter, from one end to the other.
You asked about this country.
know a letter description wouldn't
begin to give you an idea. I am
in the other world and you can
imagine what part of it.
You are talking about your hobo
engineers, you ought to be here,
then you would have room to talk.
And then you mention your negro
wenches, we don't have any Of them
we have only the pure and original
women who wear rings in the nose,
rings around their toes, peanuts
in their ears, ahorse-tail and butch
er knife in their belt of tree bark,
cut their skin on the breast in
strings and tie knots and all sorts
of figures with it, and many other
such things but hardly ever any
clothes. There are many different
tribes and many different customs
prevail, yet out of these your
wench has sprung.
Now think, / haven't seen
white man for three days, every
thing around me is black. | ar
rived here in Sodo last night and
intended to leave this morning but
the rain that has fallen last night
and this morning has made travel
ing impossible. am staying here
in rest station; these are some
what better constructed houses than
are usually found being made of
mud, with a straw roof, no doors,
or windows. The government re-
quires the natives to put up these
houses for the use of travelling
whites.
Just think ! started from Lowe on
the roth of June and today is the
9th Of July. | do not expect to
get back to Lowe until the first part |
of August. | have to take enough /
provisions along to do me for the
whole trip. You can't buy a thing
in the brush that a white man can
eat; and the worst of it is, we can
not use animals here to pull wagons
ETC., because animals soon kick
the bucket when this Internal
tsetsi fly bites them. For instance
| want to start OH a bush tour from
Lowe (Lowe, on the coast is my
home now / buy for a long trip
like this; about 600 TO 500 marks
worth of provisions, drinkables,
African water no good, but good
German beer.) Then | have every
thing provisions, clothes, bed table,
chairs, etc, fixed up in about 6s or
IS pound bundles, trunks, crates
and boxes. Now | hire a herd of
natives and each one get one of
these 65 pound loads sometimes
more) on his head. For myself /
lake a hammock, with an awning
over it, fixed so that four men can
carry ii on their heads CASUALLY l
take two sets-eight pair mockmen.
You know that this is pretty good
way to travel, the hammock rests
20 sure on these fellows skull you
IAN sleep, read or smoke, or any
hing you want to, and when it
aims the awning will shed the
water. | have made from IS to so
niles a day with a hammock and
Just think what a skull
md neck these fellows must have
o carry these things and keep it
Up day after d J, sometimes for
Besides these l have to
axe along FIVE; one interpreter, one
.ook, one washman, one or two
general attendants. (local name {
boys When we get to Mig /
ger village the niggers are lined up {