Ernest Hemingway writes John Dos Passos to discuss rheumatic fever, travel plans, and Marlin fishing, and encloses a thousand dollars in the letter.
Dear Dos:
Damned glad your [sic] coming along. That’s a hell of a disease and had me spooked—consulted Black’s Med. Dictionary at once and would have come up to Baltimore if hadn’t heard you were better. Did you run any of that 106˚ fever?
Enclosed the bludy [sic] grand [$1000]. Listen this G is off the record. Uncle Gus gave me some stock to use to make the African trip. I cashed this out of that. There’s plenty to go to Africa still and even come back from Africa. I couldn’t make a trip to Coney Island let alone Africa with you, you ignorant Portuguese having some lousy disease that swells the hands and saps the brain. So cash this before I change it into pennies and pelt you publicly as a hypochondriac—this won’t keep you from giving the pooblishers hell—nor anything else—just make it simpler to turn around—you can pay a few creditors and re-establish their borrowability [sic]. Hope to Christ I haven’t been intrusive. But I was spooked about you. Didn’t mean to be [Don] Stewart mink coating a Pal.
Caught 2 damned fine marlin. They bit like grunts. Saw 20 yesterday. We go to Mariel Cabañas Bahia Honda on Tuesday.
Wish to hell you and Katey could come down—come in June and you can still get to Pamplona—a boat from here to Vigo—see Santiago de Compostella—get a train Coruña—Madrid—train to Pamplona. Buy your Kilometrico [mileage ticket] in Vigo.
You can get a car cheap to drive to Santiago from Vigo—can drive to Noya too—use the damned $ before it’s worthless.
Must close to get this off on the plane.
You are sound on Proust. We should be here another month anyway—am trying to get title for book of stories—lousy hard. Wish I could show them to you. Have some good ones.
Will lay off Marlin when moon goes bad and write some more. They run on the filling moon. Current drops off in declining moon—end of declining moon makes all fish sick—like women—they won’t eat—women will however.
Learning a lot. Some of it true. Get well Dos. Love to Stut.
Pauline is writing too. Sends much love.
Hem
FURTHER READING
To see a photograph of Hemingway standing next to an enormous Marlin, click here
For one of Hemingway and “Dos” posing with fish together, click here