Katherine Mary Barrow

“ If a household possesses any tea or coffee, then open house is kept for the whole day, and any one can drop in from early morning till late in the evening and expect a cup of something. On the first occasion of a birthday we were invited, but Graham felt it would not be wise to accept, as if we went to one we should have to go to all. We are always apprised of a birthday by a present from the person whose birthday it is. The present may be a pair of socks or stockings, or a hot dish of meat, or a pot of tea, or almost anything to be had. ”

“ Wednesday, June 27.—This morning to my dismay I found the rain had come down the chimney on to the bowl of yeast which Ellen and I had prepared with some labour, and had spoilt it.
Repetto came in this evening with the cover for the harmonium. It is a clever piece of work. He turns his hand to almost anything, and can even make his own suits. Tonight he was decidedly droll, and in his broken language gave us a description of a certain wedding. There was only one person, a woman, who was able to read the marriage service, and she would not, as she did not approve of the marriage. ”

“ A little time ago we happened to say to Tom Rogers how tiring we found cooking in the sitting-room owing to the fire being on the hearth, which entailed constant stooping. Two or three days afterwards he came to measure the fire-place, and that afternoon he and Bob Green fixed two large stones, raising the fire a good foot. But the men are not always so ready to help. We wanted them to build on an extra room to our house, as there is no larder and the kitchen is very small. Our bedroom and the kitchen share the same window, and when the wind is contrary the smoke pours into the bedroom. ”

“ But we could see quite a crowd awaiting us on the shore and others running down the steep cliff to the beach. We were not allowed to land until the boat was drawn up on the shingle. There we found nearly all the colony and a swarm of dogs. We struggled up the bank of shingle over wet seaweed, and went round and shook hands with the elders. Seeing we had no hats, and the veils which we were wearing in their place were wet through, two of the younger women came forward and offered Ellen and myself a coloured handkerchief to tie over our heads, and, I think, tied them on. ”

“ Martha Green, Betty's sister, came to see us this afternoon. Poor woman, she has never recovered from the shock of the boat accident. She then lost her husband, two sons, two brothers, and, I believe, two brothers-in-law. She presented me with a pair of stockings, the fourth pair I have had given me, and Graham with a pair of socks, and said we were to tell her when we were in want of more. She lives with her married son Henry Green, and is the mother of Mrs. Repetto.
We fear a great part of our garden will be useless, as there is so much white mould in it which rots the roots of the plants. ”

“ This afternoon Mrs. Sam Swain brought us some craw-fish, and told Ellen her husband said she must cook the fish the way he had it at breakfast. The high gale has continued all day, but the people say the winds are nothing to what they used to be.
Monday, July 27.—We have had a holiday to-day, as Mr. Keytel asked Graham to go with him and Repetto up the mountain in search of eaglets, which he wants for specimens. Following the practice of the island women, I thought I would take them out some tea in our new Thermos bottle. So Ellen and I started off in spite of a drizzling rain. ”

“ To find things is almost an impossibility. By the end of the week we hope to be much straighter. All the men have worked with a will. This morning they fetched the remaining luggage from the shore, and this afternoon have been working hard at the house. I went down with my camera and took photographs of the boats unloading and of the ox-wagons which had gone to bring up the luggage. The women came down with hot coffee and tea for the men.
Graham picked up the other day an old porthole window with the glass unbroken, and it has been used for the house. ”

“ The dogs have been worrying and killing sheep, and yesterday drove three into the sea, where they were drowned. As a result several of the dogs have been shot. Complaints were made to Repetto about his dogs, and half in temper he picked up his white fox-terrier and hammered it to death, as he thought, and threw it into the tussock. In a few days it crawled back to the house and had to be shot. Animal life is little thought of here. It is no wonder the dogs prey as they do, for many are half famished. ”

“ Ellen and I are sleeping in our deck-chairs in the sitting-room. Graham goes out first thing to fetch water for our baths, as we have not enough utensils to lay in a store the night before. Life is delightfully primitive here.
A man named John Glass is to be the church clerk, and he appeared about eight o'clock to carry the harmonium up to the church; service was at 10.30. No one went into church until we arrived; groups of men and women were waiting on the common in their Sunday clothes, the women looking so picturesque in bright garments. ”

“ Graham spoke this morning to the people in church about Sunday trading. He said he saw no harm in going out to a ship on a Sunday, but that they ought not to trade on that day unless they were in real need. Mr. Dodgson was very strong on this point.
We are ready packed so far as we can be when our boxes are our chests-of-drawers. I think Ellen will manage all right while we are away. She likes the people, and if she feels lonely can have one of the children to stay with her. She will teach a little. ”

“ The minds of the inhabitants are centred on the arrival of a warship; it is the great event in their lives, and they cannot yet believe one is not coming.
Christmas Eve.—This has been a busy day, almost as busy at it is at home, there has been so much coming and going. Many have brought offerings of fish and fruit-pies, and Rebekah as a birthday offering a nicely baked cake. I had a blouse ready for her. She stayed to supper. We have been able to give a little tea and sugar all round. I patched up an old coat for William, and as a last thing watered the garden. ”

“ It appears from a book Repetto has that the Cape duty on imported animals is rather high, and the men do not seem inclined to come down in their prices. We are seriously contemplating the future as regards food. We have been taking stock and find our stores are getting very low. If we knew definitely a gun-boat was coming and would bring our stores it would be all right, but alas we do not. One cannot get very much from passing ships, so Graham is rather anxious we should go to Cape Town to get a supply of food, if for nothing else. ”

“ The fowl-house is finished, and this morning I had several gifts of hens to put into it. While we were at breakfast one small child of five, Lizzie Rogers, brought as her birthday gift a hen in a bag. One hen laid an egg an hour after its arrival! The eggs here are very small. I visit the house many times a day to show it to various visitors.
The garden is looking so bright; the zinnias have done splendidly, and some are over two feet high. Our vegetable garden now produces cabbages, turnips, and a few peas. Carrots are coming on, and the tomato plants are in blossom and look most flourishing. ”

“ The Sunday class of girls is very well attended, no girl staying away unless ill. It is difficult to get replies from some of them, but there are one or two who give very intelligent answers.
Tuesday, February 11.—It is a thick misty day, but a ship is coming in. The men have had such a rush to get off, some having run all the way from the Potato patches and arriving on the beach in a great state of heat. In a few minutes others appeared just as the second boat was going off, one so breathless he could not speak. ”

“ We are having a whole holiday to-day owing to the presence of the whaler. The men did not board her yesterday as there was a fog, and when it cleared off and she came in it was too late for them to go out. They went off this morning. Every one is in the greatest excitement. Dressed in their best all went down to the beach to meet Betty and Martha's nephew, Joe Beetham, who was coming on shore from the whaler. He was first brought in here. Graham had met him at Cape Town; since then he has been to America, where his home is. ”

“ This afternoon, however, though it was still blowing, I went with Graham to the foot of the mountain to get some drinking water at the spring. We do not drink water from the stream outside, as on its way to us it passes other houses, and we do not know what may go into it. Our bedroom today was covered with dust from the thatch. Betty Cotton came in to tea. Sitting in the armchair she chatted away most cheerfully. She has not lived all her life here, but has been away twice to the Cape where she was in service. ”

“ Most of the people are out of tea, so a cup of it is a treat to them. They stayed three hours, talking chiefly of old times and shipwrecks. One of their favourite stories is of a captain who lashed his wife and child to the rigging and then swam ashore through the breakers. But instead of remaining on the beach near the foundering ship so as to be at hand to help and rescue them he went off to the settlement five miles away and comfortably slept through the night, leaving the islanders to do the watching and rescuing. ”

“ The houses are thatched with a reed-like grass called tussock, which is grown in the gardens or on a piece of ground near. The thatch will last from ten to fifteen years, that on the sunny side lasting considerably the longer. Turf is used to cover the ridge of the roof, but this is not altogether satisfactory as the soil works through, and when there is a gale the rooms below are thick with dust. Perhaps the dust is also caused by the innumerable wood-lice which work in the wood and make a fine wood-dust. Every house has a loft running the whole length of it. ”

“ When the men started for the ship there was a comparatively quiet sea, but towards two o'clock there was a squall, a breeze sprang up, and all the afternoon a gale has been blowing, with occasional hailstorms. The sea is covered with white caps and the wind sweeping over it. Every now and then we can see a ring of spray being blown along which is called a "whilly" by the people and is thought to denote danger. The men must be having a very bad time of it. ”

“ He is keen upon improvements. Amongst other points he suggests that only a few cattle should be kept and that food should be grown to supply them in winter; and that a piece of land be railed off for the pigs which do so much havoc to the turf. He has won the men's confidence and I believe they will do what he wishes. He hopes if all goes well to send a schooner next January to take off the sheep, which will probably have to be sold at a low price. Had we gone to Cape Town we could not have obtained a better result than this unexpected visit of Mr. Keytel promises to yield. ”

“ The donkey, it seems, took a deep step as its rider was gazing at the scenery. Graham looked tired, but said he had had a most enjoyable time. They rode to just below Burntwood, where we were the other day; there they tethered their donkeys and ascended the mountain to get past a bluff, and then descended to the shore, along which they had a walk of about three miles over boulders and stones. The two men made nothing of this walk, but Graham says it was hard work for one unaccustomed to it, because it not only bruised the feet but every step had to be chosen. ”

“ I went to see the Hagans' and Tom Rogers' cows, which were out on the common. Both had to be pulled up, which was done with the utmost difficulty. Their poor sides get so sore from constant falls. The grass is really beginning to show a little growth, but not enough to get much food off it.
This has been a most beautiful day and the air quite balmy. The seeds, such as stock, nasturtium, linum, phlox, and sweet pea, are doing well in the garden. The greater number of the apple-trees are showing life. We watch everything growing with the greatest interest. ”

“ Sometimes he has to go to work, but he comes to school whenever he can. He has most curious sight: in the daytime he can see all right, but at night, even in a lighted room, is not able to see a thing that is handed to him; he says he is "night blind." This afternoon we invited Betty Cotton, of whom we have not seen much lately, in to tea. I think it gave her great satisfaction. She has been in need of spectacles, and I was able to suit her with a pair.
Rob got into disgrace a few days ago. When out with Ellen he suddenly rushed off up the mountainside and chased a sheep to the cliff. ”

“ We tried keeping them in the loft, but to run up a ladder every time you want tea, sugar or biscuits is rather tiresome, and the kitchen is too damp for stores.
We have been rearranging the sitting-room. The Indian rugs have come in most usefully; one does as a tablecloth, and the other as a cover for boxes, making a table in the part of the sitting-room we have screened off. They give such a cheerful look to the room. Two or three of the young girls come in every evening of their own accord to help Ellen to wash up. The boys often help in the garden. ”