Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-09-11
VISITED NIGHTLY BY
LE0PARDS AND HYENAS
Nevertheless Mrs. Arthur L.
Piper Yearns for Her Tropical
Home in Africa, Preferrirg
1t to the Excitement of New
York City


out seeing another white woman was the
unique experience Of Mrs Arthur l..
PIPER or New York city. who Is visiting
Mrs Fl. H. Wilder on North Winooski
avenue. Mrs. Pipers husband. DR.
Piper. is medical missionary for the
Nathodist Episcopal board and he ia
stationed in Portuguese West Africa.
He took a course in tropical medicine
in London and went to his post in 1919
Or. and Mrs. Piper left New York
IN october, 1913. and reached Cape Town
in March. 1914 The trip from South
anpton. England to the cane took "a
and one-half days and a railroad trip Of
1000 miles followed II. This was north
on the Cape TO Cairo railroad way I'D
into the Belgian Congo After they
reached the railroad head they had TO
travel A 500-nfle trek" to the mission
station This was eight weeks by bicycle
and hammock. Since that trip Dr. and
Mrs Piper have "treked~ 100 miles and
most Of it has been through the cannibal
country. They found the natives very
courteous. which is not the case toward
the government officials and the rubber
collectors for the natives seem to sense
that the missionaries come to help them
When Dr. and Mrs. Piper reached their
settlement they had only small nucleus
around which to begin their work A
| native by the name Of Kayeka who was
, once slave and had been traded from
slave owner 70 slave owner had formed
| this nucleus. He had finally come into
the hands Of native chief who at his
death freed him This native had become
Christian and wished to have mis-
sionary sent to his people. Since they
nave gone there the missionaries have
ouiit hospital. school buildings. chapel
! on the mission compound and three
chapels In the surrounding villages.
The work of the doctor however -
! curing disease. In that uav he reaches
a different class than il reached in
the chapel. He usually has from 81
! TO 20 at his clinic and he opens It
with short service. Surgery TO The
! native is the romance Of missionary
| medicine How he can go to sleep. he
cut open. sewed up and wake up and
later get we'll is the deepest Of n1vs-
terry to him Surgery, however. during
the war was greatly handica pped be-
cause of the lack Of anaesthics. In
this part Of Africa there is great
deal Of tropical ulcer, great deal
! of leprosv and great deal Of preu-
monia This last is usually fatal for
! the African native does not seem 70
be able to combat it. There is. how
curing of disease. important as that
! is, The people must learn hygiene.
/ For that reason DR. Piper has a class
Of bows who have two hours instruc
ton each day and who in three or
! four years will be sent out as native
teachers. They will teach hygiene.
anatomy and some first aid work.
One discovery which the doctor
made almost accidentally has been Of
vi De, ,6
the shortage Of absorbent cotton the
doctor took a sort of moss which is
! long and silky and green and washed
, it thoroughly. Then he dried IT and
sprinkled on it some boric acid pow
der and used II as absorbent cotton.
II did the trick and more IL seemed
to possess a marvellous healing power
so that the worst sores responded 70
The diet of the native in this part
Of the world is very peculiar They
eat but one meal day and that 10
/ largely made up Of the root OF the
same plant from which the apioca
| comes. They soak this for five DAYS
and then dry II in the sun, peel il and
pound it into a flour. Then they cook
! il like corn meal mush and Mrs Piper
SAYS that it is anything but appetiz-
ing They also eat the leaves Of this
plant, the FdSsbNH plant d Gems
Usually they eat that sort Of mush
with wild honey They roll it into
little balls, dip it into the honey ard
swallow it whole. never chew II. In
the corn season they raise sort OF
corn but il is very poor.
When DR. and Mrs Piper went thers
to live for a year they could get no
imported foods. so their diet consisted
of rice and chicken, with once n
while poor sort Of sweet potato. Buy
now they have strawberries six months
a year and they raise all OF the nome
vegetables and have all 81 the tropical
fruits. They have seven head Of cat
tie and many goats. On their return
thew will have oranges grapefruit and
lemons on the trees they planted when
thew first went there The lemons bear
all the year around
DR. and Mrs Piper live in an adobe
brick house and all Of their furniture
is of mahogany, not polished but the
rough native wood They are visited
every night by leopards and hyenas,
the former very ferocious and there
are also hons near by They often
see the tracks OF elephants. and hip
popottari and crocodiles are very
plentiful.
With Mrs Piper is her little daugh-
ter Ruth four years old, who until she
started on this trip TO England ard
America could not speak any English.
She understood it easily but talked the
native language exclusively Now she
talks like any American child Little
Ruth was born a year after her par
ents reached the mission post and so
during all Of her life had seen no white
people except her father and mother,
another missionary and his wife who
came later and nurse, so when che
hrst got to a white settlement she was
very much frightened
Or Piper is at present taking po.t-
graduate course in hospital IN New
York city and expects to return 20 Africa
with his family in February Just afte,
he landed he received a gift OF $1,000
to be spent in building a new hospital.
This was the gift OF a Mr.. Morrison II
Chicago in memory of his wife It IL
expected that other donations for equip
ment will be received
Mrs, Piper says that she will be slae
10 return to her tropical home for she
says her life there is full and she much
prefers 1t TO the rush and tumble of New
York city. She also hopes to do much
to better the condition of the native
woman, which is pitifully low
CHITTENDEN co. HAS SAC
SILOS; 6,36S HORSES