The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-11-21

Allce Caddy Burman
or the thick matt where ele
plants and giant buffalo are feed
ing.
Or he picks up the telephone
% find that the shining instru-
ment gives no response; In q
frenzy Of excitement half a dozen
black house boys rush out into the
garden with rakes and stepladders
TO try to push the wire off the
palm tree it il touching. A moment
later the black boy Of q neighbor
comes running to announce that
the native operators At telephone
headquarters have completely cut
off all service because the daily
thunderstorm il arriving.
But off In the native village
beyond the palm trees there Ia no
cessation in the steady throbbing
Of the tom tom. the native tele-
graph telephone which often far
outruns the complicated commune
cation devices Of the white man.
And the visitor In Braxzaville
knows that he In In Africa
LIFE IN BRAZZAvILE
- A CONSTANT BATTLE
AT first glance the white man
"A seems to have made his pres
ence felt everywhere in this huge.
sprawling continent. But let the
observer look q little deeper and
he finds the white mans civiliza-
ton only . thin transparent COW
ering. like the glass roofing Of 4
gigantic tropical dollhouse in some
botanical garden. Beneath the
glass there Ia always apparent
the jungle, green, gloomy, menac-
Ing.
In America. except in times Of
great catastrophe. nature is gen.
orally considered kind to her hui
man creatures. Here in the AZ
RIGA Of the Equator she is always
hostile, merciless. Close up the
wide-veranda'd offices Of the ad-
ministrators and the military. LET
the uniformed white men and the
black boys move away-and in a
few months tree branches would
be growing through the windows
or the green matiti would be tow
ering thirty feet high over the
straw chairs where the colonel's
wife served her tea.
Life Is q constant battle, q bat.
Tie against the climate, = battle
against the insects. The air pos
sesses . humidity unimaginabl,
even to q dwelier along the Mis-
sissippi accustomed to the swell
tering summers Of Memphis ant
st. Louis. Shoes rot almost IL
your hand. Enormous reaches lit
orally ~ large as mice devoul
your clothing.
The ant, regarded In other landI
with respect as a symbol of in
dustry and foresight here is fear
ed and hated like q plague. Foot
thoughtlessly put down on a tabl'
1s attacked and destroyed in a few
moments. In the forest I hav'
watched with fascination tn
grim armies Of the manion. tn
terrible red ants which move Ii
their thick columns that some
times require three days an
nights to pass. and which devou
every dead or living thing the.
find upon their way.
Quinine is invariably Offered +
the guest n . sort Of hors q
oeuvre ut every meal. for q few
days without this priceless dru,
would mean q certain trip To tn
hospital and often death.
NO LUxURIES IN THIS
FORBlDDING LAND
IT Is rich testimony to the spiri
! and devotion of the men VIII
have rallied to the banner o
General De Caulle that for da,
after day they have risked thei
lives to reach this forbidding lant
and endure its discomforts so tina
they may prepare for the greater
trials and dangers Of the battle
front.
There are none Of the little lux
uries and diversions to which ths
soldier In training is so often &C.
customed Cafes are few and
most drinks impossible to obtain
Any kind Of feminine companion