So. Indian Ry en route to Madras. Oct. 3, 1949.
7:30 P.M.Dear Miss Turner,
If you could only see us now! Eleanor & I stretched out in our upper berths in a 2nd class compartment while 2 colleagues are sharing a lower, with an Indian girl in the other lower. We're hoping no one else will come in, in the night. But there did! Eleanor & I have been away off up in the Nilgiris at a spot where I had remembered camping with pleasure 20 years ago. We've had a lovely, restful time. Through the father of my nutrition ass't who is construction engineer for the Pykara Dam Project, we arranged to stay in the Inspection Bungalow with a fireplace & electric heater in our bedroom, & 3 attenders to cook, carry water, & clean. We have explored the lovely rolling, grass covered hills, rounding a hilltop & coming unexpectedly on a roaring waterfall or staying in the valley along beside a brook bordered by bushes loaded with red berries. These were a paradise for birds & Eleanor knows them very well. We did long for glasses, however.
- The train got too jiggly - making my already poor writing quite unintelligible. Now I'm back in college & my kitten that has apparently missed me these last 10 days is curled up right on my paper and not helping matters either. I'm afraid this is being a very trivial letter, but at least you will know we did have a very nice holiday together - quiet & cool & out-of-doorsy. Our last walk on Sunday P.M. we chanced on some boys of a native hill tribe, the Bhadagan, camped in a lovely meadow where they milked the buffaloes grazing over the hills, made ghee & took it weekly to town to sell. They were on vacation from school, spoke some English, & the youngest & handsomest said he was going to college to be a Dr. Imagine it - in that really isolated spot - where the Gov. of Madras just a few weeks ago killed a tiger! I am off at the end of the week for a Social Service Conference - talking on "Social Aspects of Malnutrition[.]" I'm not looking forward to the talk nor travelling again so soon & yet I'm interested to be going.
Much love from us both.
D.