Carrie Chapman Catt - Diaries, Europe, South Africa, August 2 - November 15, 1911 (Box 1, Folder 1)

reception where I spoke and again got even with those who bored me.

On Tuesday we met in the morning and in the afternoon we went out in to naphtha launches to Salisbury Island where among the trees and mosquitoes we had tea with which was served some delicious home made cake. It was a pleasant afternoon.

That evening there was a public meeting in a small hall where the delegates were to speak. Some had been tired out and had headaches as the result of the heavy work so I had to make a speech to help out.

The next day we met in the morning as usual and in the afternoon there was a trolly ride and a tea at a fine home.

I excused myself from that and went to bed. The public meeting came that evening.

Durban had a town hall which covers a block and it contains a beautiful big hall with most disconcerting acoustic properties. For the first time I could not wear my velvet. The sweat poured off in buckets as it was.

Thursday morning there was another meeting and calls from delegates all the afternoon. I was glad to get to bed early again.

On Friday the Mayoress gave us a lunch includoing [including] the Executive of the Suffrage Club. This was given at the Hotel Royal.

In the morning Miss Cameron and I went to the dock to see our ship but by the time we arrived the rain was falling in torrents and we did not get out of the tram. We went back to the starting point and took a ricksha to the hotel.

The rain ceased about noon and when the Mayoress invited us for a drive I requested a trip to the dock. Dr. Jacobs went with me and we went over the ship. We were quite disgusted and indignant as it was far from our ideas of being a first class ship. I returned to my dressmakers and got home for dinner.

Those four dresses all came home Saturday night and during the week had demanded several calls and fittings which had made the week much harder, but the comfort of being provided with thin things for these tropical climates simply repaid the trouble. It is worth mentioning that for each of the five dresses, I gave a definite order as to style and none was made after it.

On Sunday the Heavens opened and the rain descended in torrents, being interspersed with thunder storms. No one interrupted, the delegates had gone, and the day was devoted to packing.

I went over my papers, wrote seven letters to S.A. packed three trunks one case of books, and ten small packages. We were all worn to a frazzle by bed time.

It rained all night and all the next day. We were to leave the Hotel with our baggage at ten o'clock. A man in Cape Town owed me on an overcharge on my roll which had got sent to Johannesburg instead of my Hotel in Cape Town when I arrived.

I received a telegram that he had telegraphed money, but where? The hotel manager said it would be at the post office, so early I took the ricksha and went there, got my money and returned in another all the time in pouring rain.

That morning I had to unpack three packages to get as many articles required because of the storm conditions At last we reached our steamer and on a muddy deck in the rain received the large delegation who had come to see us off.

The Norwegian Consul, Mr. Egeland brought the Dr. and I each a bouquet of carnations. The Club brought me a book of views of S.A. Mrs. Ayres, president, Mrs. Jessie Forbes Secretary, Mrs. Behr treasurer, Mrs Ankotill and many others were among the group.

We pulled out about one and the rain had about ceased but the sea was rocky as a result of the three days rain. Mrs. Boersma gave up, frankly delivered up her meals and stayed in bed until we reached the first stop. The Doctor took her meals on deck and Miss Cameron had a struggle, but I was right side up. I found my bed the worst possible, the table indifferent, the drawing room so small that four people around a table for cards and that table filled the room, and our cabin provided with no place to sit.

These things we had discovered when we visited the ship and later had called on the Manager in Durban and gave him such a lecture on the way we were being treated that I am sure he said afterwards that that was one of those soured suffragettes.

But after putting things away and filling the upper berth I could make my room fairly comfortable. We got used to the table although the bed was always bad I yielded to the inevitable.

We sailed October 23 at 1 o'clock, Monday. We arrived at Lorenco Marques the next day in the early afternoon. There was a dock and we went off at once taking a walk about the town getting back for dinner.

The next morning we went off again, took a tram ride about the City, visited the really remarkable botanical garden, had coffee at a public tea house and got back to lunch

thoroughly tired out for it had been a very hot day. Delagoa Bay is the best harbor on the East Coast. The buildings are portuguese [Portuguese] in style, the streets are macadamed, the public square, and side walks all mosaics of cobble were made of stone tile laid in carpet patterns. Trees grew everywhere, and the garden was laid out wth [with] several little artificial lakes, over which artistic bridges pass and the whole City was Portuguese and modern and pretty. I thought it the prettirst [prettiest] town we had seen but I was accused by Miss Cameron of liking the last one best. The Natives were a different tribe, the costumes or lack of them different. We took a cup of coffee at a kiosk on the square. There was a characteristic quite unique and wholly different from any English town. In the afternoon a terrific thunder storm came up and the Heavens were a perpetual blaze of sheet and zigzag lightning. The deck was cleared for the rain deluged everything. There was no place to go so I got into my cabin which opens on the deck, closed the door and turned on my fan. I ran through the wet to dinner and returned, not to leave again that night. The Captain held the ship back an hour for the storm The sea had been whipped up into a fury and the rocking of the boat emptied the dining room. Miss C. and I were on hand. When we arrived before Beira, we had to lie out some distance in mouth of [inelligible] River waiting for the tide to enable us to come nearer the town. This we did near evening. This was Friday and we remained most of the next day, [.] We went on shore in the morning being carried in a launch for we could not come up to the dock. The town has a good sea wall and would be washed away had it not. It is built on shifting sands. The streets are provided witha [with a] narrow little track upon which small cars not unlike a ricksha are run by native boys. The Hotels and private people have their own cars. There are good buildings, stone walks and interesting Natives, but an hour and a half in the brilliant scorching sunshine was satisfying and we were glad to return to the ship. We lft [left] Saturday night at 4.30 and arrived off Chinde on Sunday morning. We were five miles out and never got any nearer. A nice yacht came out but could not go back owing to the tide. Both lay out in the sea for 12 hours. Then the yacht took off the thirty passengers, a basket being used. A door permits the passenger to enter and it is then swung out by the freight cranes and from the door the passenger steps into the other boat. It is a rather dangerous proceeding. I never say [saw] a boat toss about more wildly than that one did and our hearts ached for poor women and children. Like the fox and grapes we consoled ourselves with the belief that Chinde was not worth seeing. It is here that the Zanbesi flows into the sea and we did want to see that, but never mind! We learn that the Gascon which preceeded us lay there four days. On Tuesday we arrived off Mosambique. We were surrounded at once with all kinds of little craft manned by Natives. We wnt [went] on shore and could find no one who could speak English. I announced that I could not and would not walk in the broiling sun and finally got a rickshawhich [ricksha which] Miss Cameron and I occupied. We went all aroud [around] the town [.] Some nice clean big buildings occupy the shore. It is a very old town and was for a long time the Capital of the Prtuguese [Portuguese] Territory. Now that Capital has been removed to Lourenco Marquesand [Marques and] this place is occupied mostly by Natives and Indians. The chief sight was the Native quarter where small one roomed houses with thatched roofs and square sides often covered with rush mats were placed close together. Cocoanut [Coconut] trees grew in every vacant spot. We went on the beach, for this is a coral Island. There I got a few shells. This place is famed for its shells. Boat loads of Natives with baskets and boxes of them came to the ship. There were many beauties of big shellsbut [shells but] I only got a few little ones. The day was most interesting for we never tired of watching the many busy little boats with their queer people. Now we have come to the Mohammedan country and many natives wear long white garments like a ladies nightgown and this adds variety to the scene. Through Mozambique channel we travelled north. We arrived in ZANZIBAR about 4.30 on Friday and as this is the show place of the East Coast, we got off on the first boat being rowed ashore.

[71?] We took a guide and for an hour or more walked through the quaint streets. These are probably similar to those of many oriental towns but this has a characteristic all its own. It is now clean and the streets are paved or asphalted. No street runs straight. Evidently there was no order of laying out the land. The buildings are old for the town dates from the 16th century. It has been the scene of repeated wars between the Portuguese and the Arabs, sometimes under the rule of one and sometimes of the other. The streets are so narrow that a narrow carriage driven through compels the people to scurry into door ways in order that it may pass. The driver jangles his bell and shouts the warning for the crookedness of the streets does not allow the pedestrians to see many feet ahead. Here is the chief distributing point for all Eastern Africa and for three centuries the town has been famed as a market for all kinds of goods from the orient. Shops without number containing the choicest things from Parisian jewelery to Japanese embroidery tempt the unwary. Buildings of stone or at least cement covered with curious Portuguese and Arab architecture, adorned with beautiful porticos, or balconys carefully screened, make the scene fascinatingly picturesque. The chief interest centers in the people however. They are chiefly Indian, Arabic, and Swahili (the native tribe) with a very small percent of whites. The Indian and Arabic Mohammedan do not dress the same apparently. The Arabic women wear their black dismal strip of calico well arapped [wrapped] about the upper part of the body and covering the head and face, the Indian women were dressed in beautiful, fancysilk [fancy silk] wraps with head uncovered and with the invariable gold button in the side of the nose and at least three earrings in each ear, one in the top, one in the side and one in the lobe. The Swahilis were in part merely covered with their gay calico wrap covering the body from the top of the busts down to the knees and with Hair or wool in even rows and braid the hair so that the head looks as if covered with rows of tiny braids. This was very neat and pretty. Then the Swahilis who were Mohammedan were swathed in black heads and faces covered down to the knees but with legs and feet bare. The Arab men are clad with what looks like a woman's high necked night dress of white. He seems to havesometing [have something] under it but what I do not know. This is the land where men invariably wear skirts and many women-Mohammedan- wear trousers. One kind of women's pants were white and came to the ankle closing rather tightly above the bare feet. A very full ruffle of about five inches wide adorned the bottom and made them look like bantams. One could remain a very long time in Zanzibar and be entertaind [entertained] by the dress of the people were there no other attractions.

The most conspicuous building on the shore front looks like a summer hotel of commodious proportion. It is the Sultan's palace. His father had one befitting a Sultan, but the British bombarded it and the ruins are only to be seen. It stands in a beau[tiful] old garden and faces the sea. The hew [view] is not beautiful. A row of big solid stone buildings adjoins the Sultan's Palace. This is the Harem, where resides the two Arabic and 98 Swahili wives. As the Sultan is only 28 years old, he has a fair record in matrimony. Zanzibar is on an island 50 miles long and 27 wide. There is an island of good size near-Pemba-and there are several small islands and a strip of coast land in the Sultan's domains. It is all under the British Protection.

The next morning we went ashore at nine o clock. The guide of the day before met us and we entered a small antique carriage drawn by two woe begone looking mules. We drove about the town visiting the market which ws [was] most interesting. Pawpaws, mangoes, [naatches?], queer melons, mallows and many things without name of place engaged our attention. Great grapefruits which must be the original of this popular fruit were there also and nothing so conspicuous as the great piles of cocoanuts and casava roots. From the latter tapioca is made but the natives boiled and prepared it into a sort of meal. It forms the staple food of large numbers of natives in the interior of Africa. There were little stalls without number also where the native demands could be satisfied. We drove into the country and on both sides of the street were the native thatched houses with plastered "stoeps" and here the family work was done and often articles were there for sale. We passed a laundry where the work was being done out of doors and all by men. They slapped te [the] garments on stone tables made for the purpose to get them clean.

We visited an Indian Club set in a beautiful garden where were many strage [strange] and beautiful trees. The most beautiful were the mangoes, large, shaped like elms

10 and with a very dense foliage, and dotted here and there with the fruit. I bought a dozen in the market to try. We had heard how delicious they were but they were not yet ripe in S. A. They have a decided flavor of turpentine and it would take time to acquire the taste for these.

Our object in going into the country was to visit Abubu, the clove plantation. All these islands possess qualities which are especially adapted to the clove and 90% of the cloves of the world are grown here. It has been a great Arab monopoly. The clove grows on a large and graceful tree. These are planted about 24ft apart and their branches touch when grown. Alarge [A large] bright red bud appears inbunches [in bunches]. From the end a flowerinsignificant [flower insignificant] in appearance and of bright yellow in color blossoms. The seed pods which follow are in shape like the clove with only one on a stem. These stems are in bunches. They are red and green in patches. When ripe an outer peel comes off. These will not be ripe before spring. The leaf and the blossom and the seed pods all taste of the spice.

I was fortunately able to get good photos of many interesting things in Zanzibar. At 2.30 I was driven to the American Consulate, where Mr. A. W. Weddell has invited several Americans. We had a nice talk and then went to the English Club for lunch. Mrs. Edward Clark, wife of the British Commissioner, was present and after lunch I went with her in her ricksha to the Residency which is a big fine building. She showed me over it and it was beautifully adapted to tropical life with its big verandahs and Indian fans which are hung over tables and chairs and worked by a string pulled by a black boy. The object of the visit was to see some little animals-the smallest antelope in Afraca [Africa], the Paa. There were six and no larger that [than] a cat but decked forth with little horns. They are native in Zanzibar. Mrs. Clark sent me with her ricksha to the beach where I got a boat gor [for] the ship. The others had preceded me. The ship inself [itself] offered good entertainment. It was surrounded by all sorts of curious craft filled with men and boys, in all conceivable dress and undress and with all kinds of head dress. Samll [Small] boats in which two half grown boys could comfortable [comfortably] sit were numerous and were propelled by their hands.. They requested tikkies and when one was thrown out they would jump and catch them under the water. On board several Indian traders had spread their wares and were doing a lively business, the passengers usually getting what they wanted for about half the price asked. Miss Cameron got a beautiful carved ivory box for 2lbs; the Doctor got a well made embroidered blouse for 6shillings (silk) and an embroidered pongee dress pattern for a pound. Mrs. Boesma had the temerity to buy a pearl and diamond ring for a hundred dollars and all the ladies bought drawn work table spreads and similar things for small figures. I bought nothing. Meanwhile the steamer was loading with interesting things. The chief thing is Copra. It is rotted cocoanuts [coconuts] which are taken to Marseilles and there the juice is expressed and made into soap. The smell is strong but not offensive. Much ivory tusks of elephants, comes through this port. Formerly practially [practically] all from central africa [Africa] came here. Then after getting the tusks whch [which] are very heavy and worth from $200 to $500 per pair, the buyers bought or stole or captured slaves to carry them to Zanzibar. Here slaves were bought and sold until 20 and some say 12 years ago. We took on a good many boxes of cloves also. (A tree must be ten years old before it is in full bearing.) The British Government forbid slavery here i n [in] 1890 but the law was violated for some time after. The guide told us that now when people had slaves they had to pay them.

We were sorry to leave when our time arrived, for it certainly seemed as if we had come into a dream land where its strange people, strange flowers and fruits and buildings and boats might well have been the creation of the imagination. A guide book saidof [said of] ZanzibarN [Zanzibar]: "set in a sea of perfect sapphire blue, withits [with its] graceful contours outlined in tenderest green and rounded hills crowned with dainty palms which [palms which] lazily nod their feathery crowns in the balmy air, etc." The cocoanut [coconut] is certainly the most picturesque thing I know as it grows very tall and its tuft of graceful leaves and fruits are always outlines against the sky. My photos must tell the rest of the tale of out [our] delightful visit to Zanzibar.

72 We sailed at about 5o'clock [5 o'clock] and before getting up time the next day the shouts of the crowd of boatmen, quarreling with each other for places near the ship announced the fact of our arrival before Mombasa. This is said to be the hottest place on earth, and we had dreaded coming here for we must stay three days at this port. It was hot indeednin [indeed in] our close cabins during the dressing. When we could get out upon the deck we found it not so uncomfortable but unmistakenly hot. The anchorage is between the island of Mombasa and the mainland. Upon one side a few buildings are to be seen; on another the shore is thickly covered with cocoanuts [coconuts] and shrubs, making a very tropical scene. I felt tired and Miss Cameron and I determined not to go ashore that day. I wrote on this record, mended a little, read a little and so the day passed. The moon is now full and the night view of the palm decked land reflected in the blue waters, over which in all direction the little boats were plying offered amusement enough. Mrs[.] B[.] and Dr. J. went ashore in the afternoon and again in the evening spending mose of the time with their consul. The same kind of a trolly, run by Natives carries the passengers from the shore to Mombasa which is out of sight from our anchorage. The ladies are going again to-day [today] and the Dutch Consul has kindly invited us Americans to join them but Miss C. and I conclude to remain quietly on board. I am now bringing my record up to date. Tomorrow we shall take in the town and come back dripping. This is the port which leads to the growing town of Nairobi. It was here Mr. Roosevelt entered and at Nairobi that he was given a reception. A game preserve containing all sorts of wild game is now carefully guarded. Those who go up to N. may see elephants, lions, many kinds of antelopes, and especially giraffes en route from car windows When this road was built, some man eating lions appeared and before they were caught, they killed 29 white men and at least 200 Natives and Indians. Finally the men refused to work, and for some weeks the work stoppedf [stopped] - in fact it remained at a standstill until the two man eaters were shot. This country has been developed under tragic difficulties. The road to Beira over which we contemplated reaching the coast, is said to have lost a white man for every mile-375- and a Native for every sleeper laid. The chief cause was malaria. It is a mistake to say that the Native is immune from malaria. Here in Mombasa, the tsetse fly does its deadly work, and no horses or mules or imported cattle can live. The native cattle are immune. A similar fly in another district causes the sleeping sickness. Scorpions, tarantulas, and many kinds of horrors besides snakes add to the difficulties of life.

OFF MOMBASA. NOVEMBER 5TH. 1911. I must here record a few things I wish to rememb [remember]. Some of my friends may think I have neglected them in the matter of letters. This record might be offered as a sort of defense. After reaching Durban I made a resume of our doings and at the reception offered some portion of it to the delegates that they might know what we had done in S. A. We were in SOUTH Africa eleven weeks. The trip from Southampton to Cape Town and up the East Coast, cost about 1800 dollars-more rather than less. We travelled 4000 miles by road and 11000 by ship and visited nine chief Cities where we went for suffrage work and where we went to hotels. These were Cape Town, Pt. Elizabeth, Grahamstown, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Pietersmaritzburg, and Durban; [.] We visited two suburbswith [suburbs with] public meetings where we did not take hotels-Uitenhage and Benoni. We "did" Bulawayo while passing through and visited Victoria Falls for pleasure. This makes 13 towns visited, including the capitols of the four provinces composing the Union of S. A. and two places in Rhodesia. I conducted the entire correspondence arranging for the trip, engaging hotels etc and wrote many letters concerning the convention held in Durban. Several towns invited us to visit them and these invitations I had to decline. I think this part of the work was morearduous [more arduous] than any of the party comprehend. The statistics which follow apply to myself alone as the program followed was not quite the same for any two of us. I made 13 public-speeches, each exceeding one hour; I made 22 additional speeches, none shorter than 10 minutes and several varying from 40 minutes to one hour. [ffFx--the?] total 35 speeches. There were 7 receptions; 18 luncheons, three being given by Mayoressof [Mayoress of] Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban, one by Mrs.