1915 Dorothy Ross Cole letter wr

1915 Dorothy Ross Cole letter written in Venezuela to Robert Bell Cole New Zealand

Maracaibo
Venezuela
Dec 3rd 1915

Dear Uncle Bob and Auntie Blanche
I have very sad news to tell you about my dear Daddie. He died on Saturday Nov 20th after 4 weeks great suffering with dysentery and in the end congestion of the lungs. He had really never been as well as before, since he came out from England the last time, always having slight attacks of colitis but always warding them off and never by any chance taking a rest or holiday. He worked very hard. I could never get him to take more than a day off very occasionally, he was unhappy away from his work and since being made British Vice-Council and Lloyds Agent it gave him such a lot more work to do.

I went to Curacao on 2 months visit leaving him in perfect health. I was gone 3 or 4 weeks when I noticed the tone of his letters was tired and dispirited and came back in 3 weeks and found he had been suffering terribly from Inflammation of the Kidneys - but the darling wouldn't tell me anything about it for fear of spoiling my holiday. He was pretty bad for a while after I returned but I looked after him very carefully, also Fransisco, Daddy's male nurse and surgery assistant and he got better alright. He promised me that he would let us go away somewhere close by and take a holiday and rest right away but some operations were pending in his hospital and said he must do them first as he had given his word to the poor patients. So he was barely better when he started doing these, the first three went off very successfully but during the forth he fainted and was bought home absolutely collapsed. Then he found he had dysentery. Oh I can't bear to think about that awful time, it was one of the worst cases the Dr here had ever seen, and was given up more than once but he was so splendidly strong that he would always turn the corner, but three weeks of it pulled him down to such a state of weakness, giant though he was, that although he was recovering daily a wee bit of a cold wind that blew in on him settled down into congestion of the lungs and we couldn't do anything to save him.

He was the dearest and most uncomplaining patient I ever saw and the doctors tormented him so with every treatment under the sun and he bore it all so bravely. He had 5 Drs and the best of attention every body here loved him so no one was ever so good to the hospital of the Poor as he was it was always overflowing when he was head surgeon. Now it is nearly empty no one will go there any more. If all Maracaibo **** a **** him so much what do I feel like?

Deagle (as I always called him) and I were always such good chums and companions always together and he was the dearest father to me it is dreadful to think he is gone and I am left alone. Of course I have my dear Mammie and Julie and Helen left but I have always been Daddie's special property. I have just been out with him one year and a half and this visit was the first time I've ever left him, I wouldn't but the hot weather had pulled me down so much and we had just moved into this new house and that was a terrible undertaking.

Now I have to sell all his magnificent collection of instruments he took such a great pride in and spent a fortune of them and I suppose I won't get a fraction of what they cost him. He had a little private hospital of our own up here took in resident patients from all the various petroleum and sugar companies around and Dad was doing very well indeed. Of course when the war stared more than half the men went up and a great many fields closed down. I shall be able to sell all the house furniture very well

Rest of Letter Missing