At sea
Sunday
A week after last letter
[1st April 1917]
Dear Mum,
I was writing last Sunday just before we were going into the last port. It was rather interesting and the sort of place you would very seldom get to. We have always heard this coast spoken of as the white man’s grave. It doesnt seem anything like that. I would very much like to spend a holiday round there. The first thing we came to was a most pretty small white light-house on a little island, (Aberdeen Lighthouse, Sierra Leone) with a few really tropical white houses with large verandahs, and the whole island covered in high palms. The harbour of where we made our chief call and stayed for two days was formed by the a wide mouth of a river, about as wide as the mouth of the Tamer (Tamar River, Launceston, Tasmania). The town is about three miles up. All along the shore and sides of the river are most glorious stretches of very yellow sandy beeches, with rocky islands here & there.
The Here I saw saw (I dont think I w better go on, I will tell you later) we went up the river and anchored opposite the town, quite a small place w and the practically the only white are agents and the garrison. There are several quite large churches and a grammar school. The town is built in quite a tropical Style and lies down on waters edge. Some of the houses are quite large. The barracks and European’s houses are all on the top of a hill about as high as Knochlofty (Knocklofty Reserve, West Hobart, Tasmania) just in rear of the town. There are no wharfs atall, the steamers lying out in the stream and being coaled & watered by lighters. There were over 40 craft in the harbour but most were ow only small tramps. But there was our convey, a Tommy convoy for all Mesopatamia, & some returning Australian transport in the harbour as well as a large number of men of war so it looked quite a busy place.
The place belongs to the blacks almost entirely and they are have the same rights as the British. They are a terribly cheeky lot and consider themselves far abo quite equal to you. But they are really far and away superior to the Kaffars & Zulu’s. They talk English as well as anyone else, in fact in the town English is the chief language. They are all well educated, as ed it is compulsory to go to school, and can talk quite reasonably on almost any subject. They are very black with thick woolly hair, and dress in European clothes although usually the colours are of the most violent sort. I saw saw a few real Arabs from the desert in their long white rob robes, and there are a number of French traders in the place.
The natives are payed paid 2/- a day for work. They dont kick up the din the blacks did down south. and are a much superior class although of course very lazy. They will do anything for meat. Sheep will not live in the place & cattle die after a year or so, so there is really little meat atall. The men threw them the bones from dinners. Little black boys in canoes would dive for pennies if you threw them near enough, but I saw a whole lighter full of men with all their clothes on, they were being toed towed out to past us to another boat, jump overboard for a big German Sausage someone threw to them, & there was a fight in the water.
We got into this place on Sunday [25.3.17] about 4P.M. spent all Monday there & left about 2P.M. [27.3.17] on Tuesday, it wasnt atall unbearable there, out in the stream although very damp & muggy.
The world is very small. The first thing I saw in this most out of the way place, “the white-man’s grave,” Was a full tin of Jone’s IXL apple & plum jam, made in Hobart. We got a little fruit here, some wonderful oranges, about the size of a naval (orange) but absolutely black, with a very thin skin. However they are quite sweet inside. Also we took aboard a lot of pineapples. Th We embarked a lady going home & the first night she was very su amused at being handed a slice of pine apple. She said it was the first time she hadnt had a whole one. They only cost 5 a penny there & you just cut the top off & eat them with a spoon. There was not much of interest in the place & nothing except beads to buy, & no mail going back.
I suppose by this you are worrying why you havnt had a wire & you will we be wiring furiously by June to go know why I havnt written.
I havnt been so busy lately, firstly I havnt had to work so hard as everything runs without any trouble and sen secondly I have been doing some rotten Court Martial work. If any one mentions Field General Courts Martial to me again I will the cause them to evaporate. Hubert will tell you what a Field General Court Martial is. (It was a wartime court used when more formal courts were unavailable, often convened by a commanding officer on active service. It could impose the death penalty for serious offenses like cowardice, though it was convened with a minimum of three officers and could proceed with two if necessary. Many death sentences were reduced to other punishments, such as hard labour) The first case was one of disobedience. [30.3.17] Quite a decent man was charged under A.A.Sec 9A, for which the only penalty is death as Hubert will explain instead of as I though sufficient see 9B.
I am afraid I didnt try do do my best against him & he got off. The second man got 14 days, and a third case is still going on, I hope to get this man 6 months at least for accusing an officer of embezzling £14 without any grounds. But it isnt a nice job & I dont think I will ever make a lawyer especially as I am up against a K.C. defending the man. I may write again later
Arndell.
(written on board R.M.S. Osterley)
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