Patrick and I traveled many a bush trail as he showed me the area, taught me about Mende culture and ways, and was our friend. He came from east of Kenema and worked from time to time on the HRSS and TTC compound as a laborer. He had been to secondary school but left early due to no school fees. Of all our Sierra Leone friends I spent most time with Patrick. Generous, he asked for nothing. I think he was about my age in those years, he spoke English well-enough and from time to time we spoke in Krio. As we traveled about he would teach me words for things we saw in Mende. His family to the east had been intimately involved in the "Hut Tax War" at the turn of the century - a war of rebellion against the British tax on houses in his area. He was my good friend. I have no idea as to what happened to him. Did he survive the war? Is he alive today? Does he have family?
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