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Caption
Transcription of a letterfrom a missionary in the field and addressed to Mr Wright (Henry Wright, General Secretary of the Church Missionary Society), dated 2 Feb. 1880, and written from Mpwapwa, Tanzania.
"Just a line to let you know we are all well. This wet season has been extremely dry so that there is great scarcity of food between Unyanyembe + the coast. Until the latter end of last week we have had no rain here excepting the few showers which fell in November + December which we thought were the commencement of the masika [rainy season]. Everything appeared to be scorched up, or nearly, so much of our land has had to be resewn."
Researcher's comment:
"The rainy season in Mpwapwa normally starts at the beginning of December. Thus, this letter indicates that there was 2 months of unseasonal drought in Dec. 1879 – Jan. 1880. "
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Church Missionary Society Archive
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