Monday, January 17

We were finally allowed to go up to the Firestone Plantation - about 5 miles up in the hills from here. A naval Lt. who is stationed there picked us up in his car and showed us everything. They have several thousand acres with about 100 trees/acre. We saw the big tank trucks bringing the liquid latex into the plants and then we tapped a tree ourselves and watched the white liquid drip into the cups. It hardens into a good quality rubber immediately. We then went up to this Lt's. house - leased from Firestone - it is a beautiful brick house with beautiful lawns & flowers right on the edge of the most beautiful golf course I have seen.

Then we went over to a huge native village and saw the bunches of native huts - they are all round, made of mud with thatched roofs. They have a bed room & parlor - the whole thing about 15 feet in diameter. They were cooking up some "palm oil" - a horrible smell -and cassava - the native potato which they live on. We bought a half stem of bananas for 15c and saw the half naked men and women bartering for goods at the trading post. We saw the witch doctor with all his hocus pocus and he did a very mystifying dance with a small boy contortionist helping him. They were both painted up & had head dresses and bells and bracelets all over them. The children and women smear mud over their faces to make them beautiful.