Letters From Gervas

From Gervas’ friend Cambell
who is not in the Service but is the only white man in Mankoya.

                         Rec’d                                    Mankoya
                      Xmas day                              Barotseland
                          1934                                  N. Rhodesia

Dear Mr. Clay                                    14/11/34.

   Many thanks for yours of 12/10/34 which I received yesterday. It seems quite marvellous as it takes 3 weeks for a letter to reach here from Livingstone! 

I am so glad you liked the “ash tray” & sincerely hope you did not inadvertently put a burning cigarette down in it,  there-by making a nice pattern in one of Mrs. Clay’s best tea-cloths!

It comforts me very much that you & Mrs. Clay are pleased that I am with Gervas, as I can never repay his goodness & generous hospitality to me.     Although I think I am company for him, I can assure you that he is most competent to look after his extremely acute self !

Incidentally, he told me of your remarks as to practicing with the rifle at a target.  I must respectfully differ.  It is a well-known fact that many men who are excellent target shots are very poor game ones & the best practice for game 

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shooting is shooting at game. On the last tour he did some quite good shooting & got quite a lot. There is no doubt he has improved considerably & in my opinion, his previous uncertainty was due to nervousness, sometimes known as “ buck-fever”.  He also bowled over some duck in very good style . I think everyone “goes off” at times & some of my shooting recently has been rotten. Tho’ we passed thro’ some wonderful game country Gervas was not lucky, did not see any of the animals he particularly wanted, sable, eland & kudu. He got a Sharpe’s steinbok ram tho,’ which pleased him, & me too, very much. The record horns are only a trifle over two inches. His are about 1¾’’. This is a topping district for game. I think he is lucky to get it as he is so keen on shooting.

The locusts are terrible , I fear our vegetable garden is “for it”. Not to mention his flowers. We have boys chasing the locusts away as well as they can, but the cursed things are here all day & every day. The whole country is overrun with them, and it is a shocking look out for the native crops which are all coming on now. I'm very much afraid there is bound to be famine in 1935. A very bad look out.

  We went out in the car on Monday (we got back from tour on Sunday) , it did not go too well, but seemed to brighten up as 

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we proceeded. I think he drives very well & seems to know more about its inside   than he admits. I know absolutely nothing I'm sorry to say. I have lived most of my life up here & have been as much as seven or eight years without sighting a railway, - let alone a car. 

The P.C. (Stokes) is back again in Mongu & writes he will leave there for here on 16th Nov.  Should reach here about 24th & says he will stay 4 days. He is bringing the Ngambela (Prime Minister) with him to hold a court & settle disputes, etc. - which will be very useful to Gervas.

 Gervas is very fit indeed & “full of beans”. I pull his leg by saying that I never saw such a bony fellow eat so much & show no improvement ! Of course, being a bit plump (Ahem!) myself, he retorts with dreadful remarks as to my majestic figure!  In fact we spend quite a lot of time chipping each other.

The little cheetah has disappeared, which is, perhaps, as well. When these carnivores grow up they are apt to be awkward customers as pets. I have just heard from my wife of a man named Hubbard who has a full grown lioness as a pet.  It is absolutely tame & he loves it. Now he has to go home to America & cannot take it on account of the foot & mouth & is not allowed to leave it with anyone, so he will have to shoot it.