New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-10-20
Er1eEtSb Magazines for October.
oficulfs of Housekeeping in Uganda-Fre-Fshins- ya
Board School"
,,o1-sFKEEPING IN UGANDA.

obristened our house The Barn" It's
We - door were poor ia plane surfaces; they
N@1.s5 Unexpectedly me moor III particular
balsC-arious in its Levels as the Sussex Downs,
vas y. - the end Of our time the dining table
50 10 10 prance raklShly on two legs like
Rss ~ -tilar.srad quadruped. There as no cell
sol1e from the old matched roof gambOlling
ing o. and rats shook down unsayoTy particles
shn n orr food. During the rains this thatch'
nPre5 il spouts OF muddy water Ike the nose
T. n-aferius pot, 50 that there was practically
O. . -. enot in the bedrooms. and in time / be-
- % accustomed TO sleeping under a mackn-
osiL0 - umbrella. Ventilated roofs of this
iosn erSs~g moi uncommon in the station Din
la.,1+ one night a thunder storm came on with
" GSssert and we finished dinner crowded into
u u comparatively dry corner, with our feet
-sEed 40 of the floor, while q procession of
us basins and jugs took places around
70 basnitahe board. Though our host apollo
- rerfuuctoTiiy for the noisy entry OF his
Hth no one s. elned 10 regard me proceedings
al all unusual
T & WINDOWS Of our dwelling house were
nsagre Sits with calico nailed across them in
go q glass but we had four excellent door
SO To one door there was q lock and KEY
.nother possessed a handle, the third had no
sesten.ng at all. and the fourth did not exist
r[erv night We methodically turned our only
tsr in its lock. determined that such a luxury
S5oud not want recognition; but there was
sothng 10 prevent all the burglars in Uganda
ron streaming through the other three en-
,-ences and ] have always wondered why ~,
earth they never did so.
From the moment OF our arrival at The
psrn" il became evident that my lot in life wa
N contend hourly with predatory insects who
Ike tropical insects everyY here seemed To mr.
sue their nefarious callings night and day. I'M
resting Thus the war waged against them was
syays losing one, for while we slept they bit
rhewed and devOured. they bored. tunneIled and
climbed and we woke in the morning TO find
fresh TaTageS as the result of their nights Z=al
There were not only the usual mosquitoes that
fsd upon and the usual hshtail insects that
CheKei our wOollen clothing. and the usual
.ol,a hat
f7ken Vestments, but there were others There
were insects that sprang and insects that did
moi spring, there were ticks OF revolving outline
there were JlgGerS who famed us times without
uumter. there were boring beetles who Consci-
eHi0usy mined out the interior of all service
able wood I'LL our chairs and tables became hol-
low shamS, lettering to destruction before our
eyes. There were little ants who swarmed up
ed5y heights in order 10 batten on butter there
we're big bodied, gluttonous ants who swelled
themselves on sugar eaten in secret, and-WOe
vas me!-there were whole empires Of white
ants. who flourished their tunnels and traceries
Of red mud in every direction. These were
emnivorous and omnipresent. We could hang
- pictures, for they ate them. They ate nv
only waterproof and throve upon it, In nv
ignorance Of their powers I put up a dado of
native bark clOth to hide the marks of their in
oustTy in our sitting room, and while | was
down with lever they ate the dado. In spite of
!ncessant Watchfulness and daily tappings of the
walls they defeated us continually, and to this
cay ! can think Of no more detestable sound
than the dry rafting made by them if disturbed
In their crimes. When the interesting cOec-
don Of insect life indoors were held TO have ex-
eeeded the average the remedy of the country
vas extremely simple. Every stick of our be-
longngs was carried forth and recklessly
Bumped IN the compound. Then game the
chain gang, laden with baskets Of COW dung
ana shooting this substance broadcast into our
rooms they proceeded to plaster the floors with
4 Camped into the compound well TO wind
Fard Of our home, wore out the long hours of
eviction IN no patient spirit. for not being a
Hindu, I found II difficult TO regard this process
as one OF sacred publication, although some
Ting Of the kind was certainly intended. BY
evening the work was done. and the house hav-
ing been thus newly decorated was hurriedly
FURNISHED, so that we were able TO eat what
onner we could amid d SAVIOR of fifty concen-
us'so coWyards- Presumably the insects per-
h1d; know that I very nearly did-Hilda V
A0fst, in Cornhill